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Friends or Solo?

cheekz·11/26/2013, 6:17:34 AM·1 votes·134 views

So I've been playing League for about 2 years now and believe it or not I've been playing with the same small group of friends since the very beginning. I've really learned a lot about the game and so, recently, I've been wondering if I would've learned a lot more if I'd played by myself. Sometimes, when we play as a full pre made, the match seems to be way more difficult than it should have been. So my question is. Is it better to play with friends, or by yourself? Maybe there is a reason we (my friends and I) are all in the same division and league. (No, we do not play ranked together as a full 5s team simply because we wanted to test ourselves via solo queue to see if we've progressed individually).

Now keep in mind I'm not asking which is better in terms of solo queue vs. ranked 5s. What I am truly asking is if one learns things about the game more efficiently as a full 5s (a group of friends) or if you learn more playing solo via ranked or non-ranked?

I find myself wanting to learn more to be a better player. Maybe I should play more by myself. Thoughts and opinions appreciated. I wonder what the Rioters think of this.

5 Comments

HitYouInTheFace11/26/2013, 6:49:31 AM2 votes

I enjoy playing by myself more. It allows you to experience a wider genre of people and play styles and you will be able to learn a lot of new things about the game just by observing how strangers play the game. Also, I know my friends really well - I know their strong points and their weak spots in the game. I get easily annoyed when I see them making the same mistakes they always make, so I tend to just play solo q, because (like I said) I can learn from other peoples play styles AND I can have strangers correct/criticize my play style, so I become a better player.

The nice thing about playing with friends is you can coordinate over skype to make some bad ass plays. It really depends on what you like playing with more - random people or your friends. Each has their own advantages.

Opportunistic11/26/2013, 1:37:46 PM2 votes

Personally I prefer to play with friends. I tend to find that whenever I play solo I get very annoyed at my team because they are either complete morons or they are just extremely toxic. If I play this game I want to have fun and I still learn a lot from my friends because this is an always changing game. people google tactics and people experiment on their own as well I'm always informed when one of my friends experiment or hear about something. So my opinion is to just stick with your friends... I find it much more enjoyable.

LE lJeStErl11/26/2013, 2:21:14 PM1 votes

The answer is most def both! Its pretty obvious if you think about it, on 1 hand playing with friends is going to be more enjoyable as far as in game conversation (skype) for example and on the other you all get to share your in game experence and learn the value of close team communication along with other things you might pick up about the game, builds, OP gank plans ect ect. Then the other hand solo you get to see improve as a individual so to speak. I personally haaatttee solo Q ranked ive been playing sense the beginning of last season, this season being my first ranked and I didnt have the luck of having any advice or help when it came to planning a ranked season so my placement got rough, and ive been stuck in solo hell sense, afks, no planning, people who shhould be demoted to lvl 10 lol. Makes it almost impossible when ur with the bronzies to solo q out.

Amak11/27/2013, 9:49:11 AM1 votes

You can learn from any situation. Sometimes when I'm bored, I just spectate games and see how they move and what they do. I've learned a lot from that. My friends kinda suck, but I learn from their mistakes. I'm no pro, but I learn quickly and I'm climbing Ranked pretty quickly now that I've made some changes to my style.

If you really want to get better, you will. I just analyze what worked and what didn't after every game, and try to think of ways to fix the things that didn't.