Playing at level 18 sucks.

Monsieur Crepes·Nov 6, 2015·2 votes·1,099 views

Teams of level 20+ players are stupidly hard to play against, because of tier three runes. It's like being 20 when all of your friends are hanging out at the bars. I've been on a crazy losing streak since hitting level 18, because now i'm up against more 20+ players than ever. I dislike being matched up with players who have a literal stat advantage straight off. Just because they're around my level doesn't make it an even match.

I don't know what to do about it. It's not fun at all.

26 Comments

CoolKnightSTNov 6, 20152 votes

You probaly have the mindset. If I can't 1v1 them. I can't win the game. It's actualy the opposite. Just play safe & farm. Wait for some roams or roam yourself. On that level you will rarely see someone placing a ward. Suprise another lane & get them fed.

Monsieur CrepesNov 6, 20151 votes

I main solo top though, it's really rough trying to get out of the lane for any amount of time. It's a special type of stupid when we don't have a jungler, but I really don't blame them because I don't want to jungle without runes either. At this stage of the game whether you're level 20 or not makes a lot more difference than i'm comfortable with. 8 losses in the last 9 games really has me in a shitty mood.

RalanrNov 6, 20151 votes

I'd suggest not overextending when your river ward is down and try to avoid using flash unless you're being ganked.

And ward the river bush, but that obvious. I main solo top (though I've jungled a lot also) and when you can't rely on a jungler you gotta be careful.

Farming under your turret sucks, but not as much as dying multiple times in lane.

Monsieur CrepesNov 6, 20151 votes

I usually run teleport, because malphite and yorick are both kinda mana hungry. Especially malphite haha

It helps keep lane pressure, and I usually do a great job until mid game

DryditchNov 6, 20151 votes

I was an old sion main until they ruined him, but...As a malphite main from post-ruination Sion, TP Flash is the way to go. Malph doesn't eat that much mana if you aren't dumb about using him (Read: DO NOT SPAM Q). Most top laners are currently AD, so stack armor, use E to clear waves and get off nice extra damage in trades, and just focus on farming properly. CS wins games more than over aggression does.

As for your champ pool, Yorick and Malphite are both easily countered.

Champions who do what they do (better) include: DrMundo MonkeyKing and Trundle

You should focus on using auto attacks to last hit minions, use spells only to help balance your waves (you never want a wave pushing freely towards your opponent's tower while he's in lane, unless he can't farm under tower), or to harrass the opponent in lane.

RalanrNov 6, 20151 votes

item 2041 And look up some potions for season 6.

Monsieur CrepesNov 6, 20151 votes

You know? It's just like I have to play so much harder. It's draining and painstakingly slow. Working that hard for loss after loss is very depressing.

Rito StaffNov 6, 20152 votes

Lol common, first thing my friends told me was "wait until you can buy tier 3 to buy runes" until lvl 30 I had nothing and I never gave thought to it.

You could dish out all your runes and play completly 0'd and still win by playing smart and safe.

ArkantasaNov 6, 20152 votes

Um, when I first started playing i didn't buy runes until like lv 30. and then i bought just a few of them. I always invest in champs way more than runes lmao. So 2years later, i hit gold5 like a month ago and only then bought a few more runes for pages 3-6 LOL..

So no, it's not the runes. It's how you play really. Masteries do matter tho.

[slayer-jinx-wink]

IonianNov 6, 20151 votes

Bad excuse. Got my smurf from Silver 3 to Gold 3 without owning a single rune.

Monsieur CrepesNov 6, 20151 votes

It just hasn't been fun at all lately. Even playing Yorick i'm still getting crushed, and I have 43k mastery points on him. I know how to play Yorick. I can't figure out what's up.

Balderdash1000Nov 6, 20151 votes

[{quoted}](name=Monsieur Crepes,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=pZynsEdb,comment-id=00010000,timestamp=2015-11-06T11:33:09.849+0000)

It just hasn't been fun at all lately. Even playing Yorick i'm still getting crushed, and I have 43k mastery points on him. I know how to play Yorick. I can't figure out what's up.

There's still a lot you can do. I understand your frustration with your loosing streak. How you want to deal with it though is up to you. You could just grit your teeth and make it past 2 more levels so you can get tier 3 runes, or you could take this opportunity to polish your own game to the point a few extra stats don't matter. I'd suggest searching for some high end streamers on twitch that actually take the time to explain what their doing and why, then watching intently for tips. One such steamer that plays top a lot would be Wingsofdeath. You can also read guides and talk to friends to see what else you can do.

PS: At level 18 I thought I knew how to play this game too. Trust me, there's still a ton of ways you can get better. Right now all you have is the general shape of things.

PennsNov 6, 20151 votes

But your smurf is a smurf so, assuming you smurfed from a higher rank, you didnt play against people as good as you + with runes.

IonianNov 6, 20151 votes

But it shows that runes are in no way tied to skill level.

RalanrNov 6, 20151 votes

Do you jungle?

IonianNov 6, 20151 votes

Yes. Jungle Ahri. Often.

RalanrNov 6, 20151 votes

I see.

How does that work?

IonianNov 6, 20151 votes

Like any other jungler pick. Start gromp/krugs with a leash, kite the buffs (super important or you lose too much hp), rush item 3724 item 3158 then full AP.

RalanrNov 6, 20151 votes

Doesn't the patience mechanic make kiting more difficult?

IonianNov 6, 20151 votes

No, basically the new leashing system just makes monsters chase you for a lot longer when you leave a camp. As long as you stay within the camp it's the same as before.

RalanrNov 6, 20151 votes

Interesting to know.

Reaper SorakaNov 6, 20151 votes

Sounds like you're learning about disadvantages this game can bring. Don't worry, you'll still see them at level 30. :)

longnecksamNov 6, 20151 votes

try constantly playing against smurfs [slayer-jinx-wink]

JustJaysonNov 6, 20151 votes

I have grinded 3 accounts up to level 30(plat3, gold5, unranked). One of which I just did coop vs ai and an xp boost, but the other 2 I did not run into that problem. Most people in lv20s cannot afford proper rune pages with their current ip. They recently changed the cost of certain runes to allow new players to be able to afford them sooner, that could be why you are struggling; or there are just a lot of smurfs leveling up that are far better than your skill level which seems more likely. If you are truly discouraged go to coop games until you unlock tier 3 runes.

Becoming level 30 is like a right of passage, you should have the experience to perform the basics of the game and allowed to test your self in ranked games. Becoming level 30 does not mean in any way you have mastered the game or a champion. That takes thousands or games. Learn things from your defeats and get better.