Ranked gameplay. HELP

Ramen N00dlez·Jan 22, 2020·1 votes·1,640 views

I'm gonna get the facts out in front:

I'm currently sitting bronze 1. I know for certain I'm a better player than that. And I'm not just saying that out of blind arrogance.
Most of my games will consist of me playing one of the three roles: jungle, support, or bot. I've been sticking with bot cause I feel I have the best chance at carrying games. Although my best role is probably support.
I've never really played ranked games or have had any real urge to do so. I wanted to give it a chance this season. I've played a few games in the past but basically enough to do placements and quit.
I've played the game for 7 years. I have like 5k+ games played. I have a pretty good understanding of what I'm doing and what all the champs do.
I'm currently sitting chat banned cause I finally lost my cool (with bad team mates, I know that sounds arrogant but w/e) after losing multiple consecutive games. I should have taken a break far sooner than when I did.

So now for the "ranting" part. During my normal match made games I feel I play with golds and plats. People that have a well rounded knowledge of the game and how to play. Theres always a few question marks with that statement but it stands generally true. I generally have a pretty good experience in normal matchmade games when it comes to player skill.

Now with the ranked gameplay. I get it, I'm currently sitting in bronze. I feel the matchmaking is just bad. Period. There always seems to be a few players on either team that have no business playing ranked yet and should really just practice more in normal games before directly impacting and (generally) ruining the chances of me winning. All while there are other players just straight stomping the game. As of lately, it seems I'm on the short end of that stick. If teams were actually evenly matched, I wouldn't be posting this.

I'd really appreciate any helpful tips. I'm not trying to get to high diamond or challenger. I know I'm not that good. But if I narrow my champ pool I know I can achieve platinum. I'm well aware I don't play perfectly and try to identify mistakes and reflect what I could have done better after every game. But the grind through low elo is killing me. I get so frustrated with other players that are obviously new (not trying to be rude, they deserve to play too) and refuse to play the game as the 5 man team game it's intended to be and just totally ignoring any kind of basic communication. How do I deal with this?

Much love. Please help. :)

8 Comments

Lazypeon100Jan 22, 20202 votes

The main thing to remember the only constant in your games is you. Yeah, sometimes teammates might end up playing poorly and you lose because of it. But that also happens on the enemy side. It should happen more often to the enemy than your team because you're the constant on your team and not throwing

The first step to improving is taking responsibility. You won't get better or rank up more easily until you take a step back and try to actively look for your mistakes. Did you do a good job with wave management? What was your positioning like against their team? Do you make adjustments on your build based on enemy team comp? Were you consistently landing skill shots? Were you pressing too hard for kills when you shouldn't have been, or were you being the opposite and too passive? Are you consistently taking objectives in your games to work towards closing out the game and pushing your lead?

These are questions that any player trying to advance should ask themselves. Blaming your teammates and faulting bad teams for your rating will only make you feel better, but it will not help you climb nor improve. In the long run, bad teams do not keep you stuck in a particular rating.

I would also recommend taking breaks. I usually take a break after about two losses in a row. Although I'm not worried ahout raging in game (I'm normally pretty chill and don't say much of anything) I do still get frustrated. Taking a break can help stop me from spiraling down making bad choice after bad choice. The other reason is because sometimes, I simply do not recognize that I am making mistakes in the moment. Taking that break not only gives me a breather, but some time for self reflection about what I could do differently.

Wish you luck in your games.

ButterwoodJan 22, 20202 votes

I was about to comment something similar, but you put it better than I would have. Mental is by far the most underrated part of ranked success, and taking responsibility for what you can control and supporting teammates the best you can goes a hell of a long way.

Lazypeon100Jan 22, 20201 votes

Yep. It plays a huge part in it! I totally understand getting frustrated. Should hear me in discord. I definitely whine about stuff more than I care to admit to when I'm playing. But at the end of the day, there is always something I know I can improve and work on.

And you brought up something else I forgot to mention. Supporting your teammates is 100% a huge boost to not only your experience in ranked but also can totally better your odds of ranking up. Often times, people are too quick to give up. But if you see a teammate (especially one who may have been performing poorly) do something good? Let them know! Compliments and acknowledgement go a long way towards making the experience better but also turning a game around. Doesn't matter if that vayne hhas been 0/7. She just got two kills in that last fight? Let her know she did well with a simple "NJ on the kills Vayne!" Or Ekko has been behind all game but managed a dragon steal? Let him know!

Relevant video.

https://youtu.be/cz7TWpRXyRY

ŚtrongMentalJan 22, 20201 votes

i read everything up to "more in normal games before directly impacting and (generally) ruining the chances of me winning"

IE: "Me winning" At that very moment, you lost EVERY amount of momentum you had before and beyond the statement.

That said, ranked play is really about mimicking, up until you can reach plat1//diamond+ - thats where you really begin to think for yourself on builds.

[I may receive a lot of flack for this, but find someone you like, for whatever lane you play, mimic their movement, ask yourself why are they doing X, and Y. Mimic builds, Mimic matchups, etc. everything is about repetition, and sometimes, this puts you into autopilot mode (and that mode can last for MONTHS) its a real pain...
Always try to learn something new. Wave management (yes, you're bot lane, this maybe harder than normal, especially at your ELO, but still possible)
Learn csing so it becomes natural, and less about actually hitting the mark.
limit your champ pool to 1, or 2 champions per role, you will get autofilled, it happens to everyone. there are ways to avoid it, but you'll still be autofilled.
stop worrying about shit teammates and focus on yourself. YOU in a loss, even when you're 20/0/12 could of done SOMETHING, ANYTHING, differently to win the game (Best example of this is proxy and//or splitting - which isn't necessarily viable bot lane, but doable at a very low ELO)

These things all stack, work on it

EDIT: From one of your recent matches - https://blitz.gg/lol/match/na1/Ramen%20N00dlez/3272277245 Edit 2: In case the above link doesn't work correctly like it didn't for me on the refresh - https://imgur.com/a/O8x2Zgx check out the good, and the bad. Focus on improving the bad... and realizing WHY they are bad... not just "doing this because X, Y, Z"

(Also: minimap awareness, its a MUST. and it will strain your eyes if you aren't used to it, get a smaller monitor in such a case)

Ramen N00dlezJan 22, 20201 votes

First off, thanks for the reply. I respectfully don't think there is anything wrong with what I said when you quoted my words in your "1" point. I know my major weakness is avoiding enemies that are clearly fed and stronger than me. Especially in later game fights. For example, fed enemy mid lane assassins. I hate dealing with that as marksman champs. I feel there's no hope sometimes. Csing is probably one of stronger attributes in lane. That game you took a screen shot of may not have been the best example. I generally average between 7-8 cs per minute. (I don't think that's terrible). Also on another note the Malphite on the other team that game straight up destroyed me every fight. Between the ultimate and the aoe slow zone from gauntlet, I didn't have much a chance without flash in team fights. I know you said not to focus on team mates, but the Sett was pretty much straight inting 1v5 and the Ori just wasn't very good. But that's besides the point. **Edit: Also, regarding the csing. I do well in lane. Where I lack in that is continuing to do so when laning phase is over. I knowingly admit that. But if i feel it's better to stay with the team and help instead of being in a side lane getting cs while they get crushed in a fight.

**Second Edit: I guess my vision score is pretty bad as a consistent factor. However when I'm playing support or jungle, its not the case. I guess I seem to get distracted from placing the freebies in the trinket slot when playing marksman.

ŚtrongMentalJan 22, 20201 votes

Blaming your teammates when there is ALWAYS, WITHOUT A DOUBT up until gold, something you can do (only smurfs face off against opponents who are on great win streaks) - there is always something you can do to change the outcome of the game - thats pretty major.

knowing your weaknesses and trying to correct them are good. That isn't a matchmaking problem, thats a you problem, and thats not something matchmaking takes into account.

"I feel there is no hope sometimes" - we've all been there - thats something you have to deal with in a competitive enviroment, and overcome it moving from game to game.

I chose a game at random, clicked around my screen until something moved forward. - Use Blitz.gg to enhance good//bad gameplay - they have good advice overall... just improve on it

if you are going in first in team fights as an adc there is something wrong. work on it (or save flash for that one time where you may live and get the ace)

focus on you. improve yourself. dont worry about sett, ori, the fuckin twitch. it doesn't matter.

ALSO: I didn't say focus on the good - being ahead is good, being negative about winning isn't being positive. focus on the negative, and focus on improving it.

Ramen N00dlezJan 22, 20201 votes

Blaming your team mates when not a single other lane is winning or doing well, is in fact perfectly acceptable. You're not changing my mind with that. Sorry. You'd have a hard time telling that to a lot of people. Maybe not flame in chat, but very acceptable to think to myself, "my team is utter trash". There is nothing wrong with that, its not toxic, it's simply pointing out obvious observations and not living in a fairy imagination land.

ButterwoodJan 22, 20201 votes

Does blaming your teammates in chat help your team win?