[Guide Resource] The Real Secret

Sir ArmaMalum·Jun 9, 2014·6 votes·1,807 views

Okay, so I've been putting quite a few [Guide] posts out here in the forums, but this is a special little snippet to tell you the real secret to getting to a higher level of play. This one single thing can help your skill level more than anything else in the game.

So I'm thinking you probably have a few guesses already to the single best thing for increased skill at League (or anything really)....

Analyzing pro play?
Positive attitude?
1000+ hours of practice?
A carrying duo que partner?
Hacking?

The answer is none of the above. The biggest thing for you to have before you even start another game is a mindset, a mindset of:

###YOU. ARE. NOT. PERFECT.

This may seem pretty obvious. Here, let me re-phrase:

###You can ALWAYS improve.

And yes, I mean YOU, and ONLY YOU. I don't care if bot lane is feeding, or that mid is missing cs. You can politely give advice or roam yourself and get them back ahead. A problem is not something to attack and blame and then do nothing about, a problem is merely something to address in the best way you can.

This applies to anyone, someone stuck in the Bronze 5 rut or a Challenger level player. Sure, a Bronze player has a lot more areas to improve than, say, Dyrus. But you can't really get better at the game until you actually watch yourself and ask "how could I have done better there?". If your answer is usually "My team could just not have fed" or "I could be placed against people of my own god damn level" then you're doing it wrong. I'm not saying you would have been able to win that game or anything, but what I'm saying is that the only person you have true control over is yourself ; you know what that means? It means that it's your responsibility to learn from your mistakes and try to not make them again. Identify what you can do better and use that knowledge to improve your play on the next game.

Do you really want to get to a diamond level? Then get your head in gear and focus on improving your strengths and mitigating your weaknesses.

A win is an affirmation of what you learned, a loss is a learning opportunity.

Get out there and learn you clever bastards! https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7yVPyea4dWo/UclFrTKWCjI/AAAAAAAABBg/ci1W7oxYjgw/s800/130624_rene-rancourt-4-fist-pumps-game-6.gif

12 Comments

RiotLtRandolphJun 9, 20142 votes

This is true in LoL just as it is in life.

And now I have an animated gif in mind for whenever I do a bit of self-improvement. Sweet!

Sir ArmaMalumJun 9, 20141 votes

I'll be honest I spent more time than I'd care to admit finding a good pep talk gif. :P

Linna ExcelJun 9, 20141 votes

Both LeBron and Duncan made a few mistakes in the last 2 games.

Hyrum GraffJun 9, 20144 votes

Leblanc and Darius ?

######*Dunkin'

SweetieBrellaJun 9, 20141 votes

Well that's the inevitable problem when you're trying to improve.

"To err is human, to blame someone else is even more human."

The context of the game just makes it really easy to blame everyone else to completely miss your own mistakes.

Sir ArmaMalumJun 9, 20141 votes

Eh, when it comes down to it the people who actually take this advice to heart are the ones who would be doing it eventually. Anyone who reads this, says "that's nice" and doesn't honestly think about it are the ones who will probably be running into helpful life lessons down the road, in or out of League. It's just funny how often I see so many IRL friends of mine ask me for help in League, I tell them how to improve and then they simply continue on about "No, I was doing that" or "I would have done that but....".

DvoltJun 9, 20141 votes

Each trophy, a victory.

Remember every kill.

It's rather funny to think of Rengar's lines as motivational advice, but I think they work well with the message you've given us. Yes, we are not all going to reach Challenger, because statistics... but if you give up because of that, then of course you won't make it. I myself had fallen to the depths of Bronze 5 during last season. And to be honest, I probably did deserve it. But as I sit here now, on a comfortable desk and chair, I can look back and say "Yeah, I did that really badly." If ever you find yourself saying that your team was the reason you lost, then I think it's fair to say you haven't looked close enough at yourself.

And remember, Change is good.

Angry MonsterJun 10, 20141 votes

So i feel like i saw this on LCS, crumbz or zion said this. I feel like you are not giving cerdit where it is due with this post.

That said yes we can usually do better, But you also have to realize just saying that is a real cop out.

example( yes this a bit extreme but its to show a point)

If a player goes 4 1 2 in top lane but mid and bot are suffering all game. The enemey jungler has put amazing pressure in the bot lane and mid and rolled the lanes.

Where can u do better? Random roams mid may cause u to do worse in lane. The fact you are going to lose to their jungler impacting in areas that you have no power in?

The ability to know how to do better and actually preform in so manner is not going to happen in one match. To say well top could of dont better a cop out.

As you can tell i do not like this thread. You are coming off a little high and mighty. Also just saying u can do better is way to simple and abstract. I will look at your guide post and consider it separately

Sir ArmaMalumJun 10, 20141 votes

This is a point of common knowledge, you don't have to be a pro player, psychologist or even all that wise to know this. I only watch enough LCS to know what's going on, and if a pro player said this I didn't see it, and nor would I give credit to them because they are merely stating something a lot of people know already, not a coined or trademark technique they themselves came up with.

Top could have done better in your example, but I never said that would win the game. Yes, there are games you simply will not be able to win, but just because you lost doesn't mean there isn't somewhere to improve and therefore do better in your next game. Therefore increasing your chances of a win through less mistakes and better play.

To shorten this whole point you won't improve unless you want to improve, and if you think everyone except yourself is the problem then your doing it wrong. Because at the end of the day the person you have control over is yourself, and therefore you are the only truly, consistently make a difference in your own play.

Angry MonsterJun 10, 20141 votes

i disagree. U do not know top could of done better. That is a bad statement. While he may not of been prefect no one will reach prefect. Their will always be a slight delay in reaction time.

Yes in general people can do better, but to say that u could of done better in every senerio is a jk. I guess Mozart could of done better. Leonardo could of done better. Albert Einstein could of done better, Edison and mother trease could do better and the list could go on....

See how such a small statement is now stupid? A global statement like that is horrible. Some times u can not do better. And to try to apply "u can always do better" is a travesty.

Also this you can better thing be turned on its head. Well if i can do better then everyone else could of done better to. Now its a blame game.

HORRIBLE STATMENT

Sir ArmaMalumJun 10, 20141 votes

Whether you disagree is up to you, but I think we can both agree that no one is perfect, in League or elsewhere. The key here is to show the importance of humility.

If, in your situation, that that player in top made no mistakes at all and did the absolute best he could in his lane including roaming and well-timed 1-man jungle invades and still loses, okay, that can still happen. But the statement of "Sometimes you can not do better" implies you played perfectly with no mistakes at all. Which, in my experience is either a idealistic impossibility or the sign of someone who was not experienced enough to see areas of improvement themselves. I do think everyone could do better than they are at any one point. Myself, you, any Rioters, any world leaders, even Mozart, Einstein and any other great minds of current and past ages, I am indiscriminate in that belief. Because otherwise the progression of time would be pointless. If there was an end-game, some form of perfection in any area where there are no mistakes and no areas to improve then there would be no point in pursuing that area of life any longer once someone has reached it. Yet we still have amazing artists, scientists and philosophers in the current era trying to make their own mark in history.

Now, yes, that is my own individual belief, but my logic is essentially this: If someone was perfect in anything, it's only because they weren't observant enough to see what they could have done better.

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."
---Albert Einstein

“Melody is the essence of music. I compare a good melodist to a fine racer, and counterpointists to hack post-horses; therefore be advised, let well alone and remember the old Italian proverb: Chi sa più, meno sa—Who knows most, knows least.”
---Mozart