Improve Your Ranked Experience
I am Silver II currently, the highest i have been is Silver I where i failed my promo's more then 7 times for Gold V before plummeting to Silver 4 and giving up on Ranked for that Season. There is one thing I've noticed that is common in almost all of the matches i lose, lack of cooperation/communication. The reason I bring this up now is because i played a game today where no one was happy with each other, mostly due to lack of cooperation/communication. Afterwards I wanted to make this post with the hopes that those who read actually try to improve their cooperation and communication. This post really has nothing to do with personal skill or mechanical skill, its not a guide on how to improve with a champion or at a role. This is a guide that will help in all roles and positions, with all team comps, and with most people.
#Improving Your Chances Before You Even Get On League
Make sure you are feeling good, feeling like you can win, before you even start Ranked. Too many times i start a game and someone is already saying we are going to lose or they are just clearly not happy. Your attitude not only effects your own game play, but of those around you as well. It has an impact on cooperation and communication, no one is going to want to do either with you if you are being negative. If you are not feeling at your best you probably will not play at your best. Make sure to calm yourself and get in the right mood for Ranked. Next you should check your internet, check your mouse, check your keyboard, and make sure you have enough time to play a full game before you hit start. Let your family know you are going to be playing a game and will be unavailable for the next 45-60 minutes.
#Cooperation and Communication Begins in Champion Select
Ok this is really important, more so in lower ELO's as in higher ELO's players can normally play more roles. So, it is ideal for you to be adept in ALL roles and positions, but lets face it not everyone can do everything for various reasons and to me that is fine. I personally am a terrible Marksmen and Jungler, i can do both and as long as everyone is working together. I just do not have all that much fun playing either, which is why i do not practice them, its a bit selfish but for me this game is 100% about fun. I am, however, proficient at Support and Top lane, depending on the match-up I can also be quite good in Mid. These are the roles I normally call during Ban phase, sometimes i get one of those roles and other times i do not.
So here is the issue, lack of communication in who can play what roles. Most of the time people assume "Pick Order" is absolute, but unless you want to lose, it absolutely is not. Pick order is merely the order in which you pick your champions, it should not be set in stone what roles you play. If someone says "hey i can really only Supp or Mid" and you can ADC or Top or Jg or whatever, you should probably give them the role they ask for. Why? Well do you want to win? Why put them in a role they are uncomfortable with or will possibly lose in when you can easily play that role? The next issue is being silent, ALWAYS COMMUNICATE WHICH ROLES AND POSITIONS YOU CAN PLAY. This is super important, do not assume you are going to get your role and do not assume no one will give you a role. You need to tell everyone on your team what you are a capable of so they can work around it.
Also you need to pay attention! Do not leave during Champion Select or you might miss something, too many times i ask someone what role they prefer only for them to be silent until the last second, then we end up picking for the same roles or they freak out and pick a random champion. Champion Select is just as important as any part of the game, its where team comps are made. Your summoners, Runes, and Mastery's can also be changed depending on your team. Its just super important to be present and communicate with your teammates the whole times during Champions Select.
Always communicate with your teammates on Bans as well, DO NOT BE THAT GUY WHO BANS CHAMPIONS ONLY THEY HAVE PROBLEMS WITH! Honestly the whole captain idea is rubbish anyways, why should one person decide the bans for the whole team? All 3 of your bans should be decided on by your whole team! Yes, right now in lower elo there are "must bans" such as Mordekaiser, Gangplank, Tahm, etc. But perhaps one of your teammates is capable of using one of those champions or are super confident in their ability to counter-pick. You would never know unless you asked, so i feel it is super important to ask what everyone wants to ban. Yes your input is important too, if you personally do not want to fight Fizz because you want to Mid, then ban him and let your team know why. Do not use all 3 bans for yourself though, even if you win, it doesn't mean you teammates will.
#Do Not Fight With Teammates!
This goes for Champion Select and in-game, DO NOT FIGHT AND ARGUE WITH TEAMMATES! I have lost so many games just due to this, in-fighting, bickering, and arguing. Not everyone is going to get along, this is just a fact, but that does not mean you need to fight with each other. If you disagree with a teammate on something, instead of going straight to insults, try being calm and word it properly. If you can't than the absolute best thing you can do is NOT TO SAY ANYTHING. If you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all. If they make a mistake, don't harass them, explain how they may perform better next time. If you worded it nicely and they act negatively towards you, ignore them! Forget it and try to play around their mistakes. If someone is losing, do not automatically assume they suck! Someone has to lose, there is a good chance it will be you or your teammate or your enemy. If it is you, ask for help. If it is your teammate, help them. If it is your enemy, good job. If you are losing, do not blame your teammates for not helping, they have their own lanes to deal with. Even if it is their lane that you are losing to, ask for MIA's and for them to roam to your lane for help. If they refuse or throw it back in your face ask someone else for help.
#Do Not Give Up Until the Game Is Over
This is one of the most frustrating problems in my matches. Someone gives up First Blood and they quit or someone else quits. Some people don't like their allies choices and they give up in Champion Select. Some people lose lane and assume the game is over for everyone else. Some people see all their lanes losing, and they give up. STOP GIVING UP! Yes there are some games you can not make a comeback, that does not mean you don't have to try. Even at Worlds with all the pros, there were several wins from teams that were very far behind. It happens with Pros and it can happen with you if you try. Cooperation is key! You need to work as a team more than ever to make a comeback, you need to communicate everything. The game isn't over until one of the Nexus's fall.
Adapt your strategy instead of giving up! Going in 1v1 and dying for the 5th time halfway across the lane is no one's fault but your own! Yes i know, the jungler doesn't gank, i know your teammates do not help, and i know its a bad match-up. Those do not matter! I know from experience, as someone who has lost lane and immediately looks at my teammates. Afterwards i always look at what i could have done differently, guess what? THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING I SHOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY. I should have bought X instead of Y, should have gone here instead of there. Even if you are being ganked constantly, even if your teammates refuse to help, there is always something YOU personally can do to change the outcome. This goes for the teammates of that person as well, just because they are feeding does not mean the game is over! You also need to change your strategy to accommodate this threat. If your teammate can not handle it, instead of going "Welp thats GG then" try to handle it yourself! This can mean so many different things such as focusing them, ignoring them, baiting them, leading them somewhere else, split pushing, catching, defending, stacking objectives, farming, etc. Do not give up, ADAPT!!! There is always something you can do.
#Pings Are the Easiest Form of Communication and Cooperation
Pings are a wondrous thing, so easy to use, and extremely effective at communicating without words. Pings can make or break a game. Calling "Missing In Action" when your enemy laner is gone can not only help your teammates but also yourself! If they can't kill your teammates they can not come back with more gold to beat you with! See? Pinging helps you win your lane. If you want to engage or go in, PING! Sometimes its hard to tell what an ally will do until they do it, by then you may have already made a decision that does not allow you to help them. I can't always be waiting for you to go in never knowing what you will do, if you are going to go in, Ping! If you Ping, GO IN, if you change your mind PING!! Its very simple and is pretty much universally understood. It is hard to be participating in a fight and paying attention to your minimap, some champions and situations require a bit more attention in the here and now, if you notice something amiss, do not assume your teammates notice it as well. Just Ping. Ping enemies, such as Junglers or a roaming enemy laner, to let your teammates know where they are.
There is a way Pinging can be negative though. Spamming it is distracting, it forces attention away from where it needs to be. Random or wrong pings can also be harmful, if you make a wrong ping try to correct it with another ping or in chat. Pinging an objective while said objective is being taken can be both helpful and annoying. If they are backing away and you want them to take it, you ping. Good Job. If they are taking it with no signs of backing off and you ping it. Bad. Its obnoxious to be taking an objective and having your teammates pinging it as if you are too dumb to understand what to do.
#Warding
This is the closest I will get to in game skill, Wards. Why is this here? Well this is a huge part of cooperation and communication that does not requires all that much of either. Everyone starts with a free Ward, USE IT! Every area of Vision you control not only protects you from ganks but also gives information to your whole team. If you do not use your Wards, you are denying both you and your teammates vision. With the Ward cap, everyone needs to do their part to help the team achieve victory, it is possibly no less important than CSing or taking objectives. Warding is the easiest way to improve your cooperation, communication, and even your in-game skill. The more information you have the better you can play, the better you can communicate and cooperate.
Randomly Warding is not good though, you can't just place wards in useless places and expect to improve. Wards need to be placed where they can give maximum information, that can be where your team is, where their team is, the current objectives that need to be taken, the objectives your enemies will be taking, to protect your jungle, to invade theirs. Every Ward you place in the correct place aids your whole team in accomplishing your goals, and if everyone is placing Wards everyone is benefiting all that much more.
#Listening to or Giving Advice
Sometimes there are people more knowledgeable than you, or sometimes you just don't have as much information on the current situation as them. Sometimes you just are not thinking of the correct strategy. Whatever the situation, DO NOT IGNORE YOUR TEAMMATES ADVICE. If you think they are wrong, explain calmly and clearly why. If you do not understand their advice or why they would think that way, ask for an explanation. I know it can be hard to type and play, but sometimes it is necessary. If someone says "Hey push top while Mid pushes" but you think that's a bad idea, explain instead of just ignoring it. SOMETIMES YOU ARE WRONG, ACCEPT THAT, LEARN FROM IT, DO NOT LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN. Maybe it was a good idea to push Top instead of Mid, ok, next time lets push Top or whatever is the better solution. Don't continue to do what is already not working, do not continue to ignore your allies, this also connects with adapting your strategy and not giving up. This is something we all struggle with, we do not like being told what to do, specially not from someone we think worse than us. When making calls, it is not always about personal skill, some people are just better at reading the situation and making calls. I have lost tons of games to enemies with less mechanical skill than us, but better teamwork and cooperation, and i am sure a lot of you have as well. This is because while you may be better at 1v1 or whatever, they are working together as a team. A skilled team of 5 is better than 5 skilled individuals not working as a team.
#Have Fun
This is the biggest misconception ever: "Ranked is not meant for fun, it is meant to compete". This is completely 10000% absolutely false! Ranked is meant for those who think it is FUN to see how their skills rank up to others. It is suppose to be fun for those who like to compete. It is meant to be enjoyed, it is a game after all, its only purpose is for us to have fun. If you are not having fun, you are doing it wrong. Simple as that. Fun is not necessary to win, i have won a lot of games without having any fun, in fact 99% of the time i play Ranked i am not having fun. That has nothing to do with me or the game though, it is entirely due to interactions with people who are not having fun or are purposely trying to ruin others fun. But whats the point then? If you didn't have fun, why did you even play? You got to ask yourself "Why didn't I have fun? What is the point if i didn't/am not having fun?".
Fun does increase your chances of winning too, although it does not guarantee it obviously. If you are having fun, you can raise the morale of your teammates to make it fun for them. The more fun the less toxicity, the less toxicity the more fun. It is a never ending circle and it all leads to not only a better performance overall but also better cooperation and communication with your teammates, thus higher chance of Victory!
Ok so that is my list, i hope some people out there read it and start to try and improve their Cooperation and Communication through various means. Its super important and i believe if everyone participated in improving Cooperation and Communication, there is be less toxicity and a lot more fun all around. Im sure Riot would appreciate that as well.
Thanks for reading.