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Can you even learn LoL in 2020?

M0CC4·2/4/2020, 10:39:45 AM·5 votes·3,073 views

LoL is not easy I am dead seriously starting to learn LoL right now. I had 1-2 matches at a party like 5-6 years ago and thats it. Basically this is my real first month of LoL. Im not a bad gamer in general (like my OverWatch for example is pretty solid, with some really above average scores with a couple of heros, D2 is good), but you gotta start somewhere. LoL especially has a couple of mechanics that makes it hard to learn, compared to OverWatch:

  • Items, and there are so so many.
  • Runes, and there are like multiple options for each champion even if you do your research
  • Summoner spells
  • 140+ champions and you start with knowing zero of them
  • 4 abilites plus passive each champ (+mana, +cooldown knowledge), with almost always another "special" thing for each champ.
  • As important as all those numbers are, you might not know about synergies of abilites/passives, so team comp is just a big guessing game
  • Level differences ("Can I even take a fight with X?") and scaling ("Can I allow myself to play passively, will I be stronger later?") and so on.

All I can say is:

  • I am trying hard and willing to learn
  • I have a brain and im not dumb, so i will learn given some time ingame
  • I can accept my mistakes
  • I also can accept defeat or if team mates seem to do even worse than me
  • I stay positive and dont bad mouth my team mates or my enemy team
  • I ping with as much sense as I can right now, not spamming, but not expecting the jgler to read my mind.

You gotta start somewhere The problem is people can not understand that you can seriously start from dead zero in 2020, with knowing nothing at all. I sure get that there are really really dumb things, that should not happen like it still would be really stupid of a player to totally forget to buy any items, or to not skill R, or to run under enemy turret and die. Sure, I know the basics from the tutorial and I'd say a little more than that. Still lack the macro and the micro in most cases: How can you mechanically outplay a champ, you have no idea about his abilites, cooldowns, tankiness or damage output? How would you really know as a beginner wether you should join a group fight, push your solo lane (where no enemy is), go solo drake for team support or base because you only have like 20% mana and 50% health, but tp? (just an example).

Why are you bad? So people assume you are trolling, you are feeding intentionally, and - the best part - just insult you for your mistake. And you cant even argue with them, i tried to tell them "Hey, this is legit my second day on fiora, and like my third match outside of bot-games, so hehe, sorry im really trying". STFU, USE YOUR F**** BRAIN. DOG PLAYER. GO UNINSTALL BIG BOY. YOU ARE **** and so on and on. There are games where I really feel doing "okay", and both macro and mechanicals get better and better, knowledge about champs and matchups too. But its just super unfair and frustrating to be expected to either have a positive K/D ratio or be automatically flamed if you do one more mistake. So you are either popping off or you are a troll or a really bad smurf. "Being a beginner" is not an option. Not ONCE has anyone just asked me like "Hey, are you new to the game/champ?".

You know what doesn't help? Smurfs And the best part of it, and I am looking at you, yes YOU!!, are smurfs. Every single one of them. I am okay with losing a lane against a really good riven, that dodges every shot and aggressively hunts me down. But please, dont tell me you got those skills as a beginner on a level 5 account, especially when I look up your match history, and you have never seen my champ before. Dont gimme that crap, and even rub your "skill" all over my face, just because this is my first month in LoL and clearly not your first month! Dont type "lol, first time riven" in chat with your 17/0/4 end result in the match.... THIS IS NOT YOUR FIRST TIME. And even if you are just soft-smurfing from your Silver/Gold/Plat account: You are giving other people unrealistic expectations of a legit beginner level 20 account. They expect me, a level 20 account Fiora to be as good as you, a level 20 Fiora account, but having like a year or more of practice. Easily, it would seem like I am a troll for not being as good as the other soft-smurf Fioras. But I am not, the expectations are just clearly ridiculous! I get that you eventually want a second account and stuff, but it sure makes things just harder for real noobs. This also comes down to pro-streamers bashing beginners for the clicks. Whats even the point of that? What pleasures you to kill a champ that really has no idea how his ability kit works against yours online for people to watch and admire you or make fun of the other guy? Would you record yourself joining a kindergarten sandbox and broadcast on twitch that you can build a better sand castle than them, before destroy their sand castle because "lol, you bad!"? Just insane! Or to put it in a different perspective: There are times, I easily outplay a level 5 or 6 mastery enemy laner with level 50+ and there are times where I get completely rolled by a level 10 (no mastery). It seems that level 1 to 60 is just filled with trolls, smurfs, beginners and bots/insta-afkers (probably from booster sites).

Where does the hate come from?* I guess the hate comes from being tilted from the match you just had before that, maybe you GF left you yesterday or your dad beat you or your car broke. Maybe you are just tired of playing the game. Or you just try to make yourself feel better by beating others, or - if you are losing - at least beat your teammates verbally. I dont know and I dont care. I want to play the game, I am fine with losing, I'm fine with being not as good as someone that plays the game for a year, or 3 years, of hell 10 years now. I can admit my mistakes and I of course learn from them.

BUT I am not okay with being insulted by some random 2/7 jgler for being 0/6 in this one match. I am not okay, to argue about whether my 3/2 score is acceptable for my team mates or if I should be 4/1 now. This is reaching a point where it is basically just bs all over the place. The LoL tutorial is just a big joke. You learn like a handful of champs, by having their abilites randomly skilled, the items are just recommanded for this one hero you chose to play, and you play the linear game that you basically cant really lose. You cant learn from bot games more than the bare basics. There is no jgl bot. In bot games, you got dual Top lane. The bots are predictable and easy to trap (like hide in a bush with enough mana, and all-in them). There is no vision required in a bot game, and so there is no need for countervision. Drakes and Shelly/Baron completely optional. You can only learn so much from guides without practicing it. It is certainly not fun, to hard learn and memorize all the encounters on paper, while looking up the ability animations on youtube. A computer game should not be this way. You can even learn chess in like 30-60min at a basic level, and can eventually start playing against others. Sure, you will lose hard, but you can play and learn.

So you gotta play "the real deal", which is unranked draft pick (blind pick = you probably get a random role, a random champ and there is no real game or learning curve). How can you just play as a learning beginner in your role to learn LoL or is it just impossible to play with a positive friendly mind and expect to not get hard insulted (and probably reported) every 2nd or 3rd match? If I learned one thing from Overwatch: It is a team play. You dont make your team mates feel better if you insult them, and it wont help yourself feel better. There is no point in tilting your team mates, because you will increase the chance to lose. Instead, it WOULD help to be at least a decent human person and NOT insult the living s*** out of a beginner that had struggles with his first match up against Jax top lane, or misbuilds his items, or forgets one small detail about one of his abilites that could have gave him a kill.

So: Is it possible to learn LoL in 2020?

Oh and btw, if anyone is interested, we can play a game in EU West.

10 Comments

CaptainAntiHeroz2/4/2020, 11:01:23 AM1 votes

Just start with Garen and Teemo and Tryndamere/Ashe

Garen teaches you how to lane and last hit without having to worry about mana

Ashe and Trynda have varius skills that make them safe and good at learning to farm

Teemo's shrooms let you learn about vision in a way and when you can and can't pressure a lane, while being fairly safe

Posui Gart2/4/2020, 11:03:57 AM1 votes
  1. Everyone started from the same position. If you don't give up, you will eventually learn the game.
  2. Mute whoever tries to flame and keep playing. You can't get punished for doing bad, as long as its not obvious you are intentionally doing it(and even then its not 100%).
  3. As long as you learn from your mistakes, you will eventually become a strong player. Low elo players biggest problem is that they don't accept their mistakes and just blame everyone else(allies for not ganking/not signalling missing person, enemies for playing OP/braindead champions/tryharding, Riot for bad matchmaking/balance), as long as you don't fall into this trap, you will be fine
  4. Smurfs are a problem everywhere, from lowlvl normals to Diamond-level rankeds. If you can beat him, do it, if you can't-learn from your loss if possible. Learn how to play lost lanes safe.
Kei1432/4/2020, 1:04:27 PM1 votes

I learn many of my macro from coaching videos on youtube. LS, Saber, and skill capped challenger are things I watch.

For micro .. try playing the free rotating champions 5-10 times, it will give you a good feel of them, what they do, their weaknesses, and their range.

I suggest learning the items separately from the champions. Take your time to read through it out of game and then get a feel for it in game.

Also, don't worry about the people screaming at you. Low levels is a known pool of toxicity where the people whom got banned for bad behavior, start a new account, and continue their ways without change. If they show signs of hostility, make sure you mute them. There can be some nice people around that can teach you a few things here and there, so there is merit to leave chat on. Just make sure you control yourself and don't fight back.

FurriesAreHot2/4/2020, 9:51:12 PM1 votes

My friend TakoParadox taught his 11 year old brother how to play, and he’s actually pretty alright so far.