Advice for Bronze Players

IF you're stuck in bronze and keep getting wrecked, don't fret, I'm here to help.

Who am I? I'm a teacher. I know how to analyze something and learn from it. I'm not a pro player, I'm not a youtuber, I don't play this game for money. I've been stuck in bronze II - I for a while because I don't play characters that carry, but those I find fun. I mess up and throw some times, but I usually end with positive KDA. and can carry if you synergize with teammates, but I've had horrible luck doing that in bronze, and I've come to understand why. Here is a series of mistakes that I see constantly, how they drag you down and how to fix them:

1. Playing for Outplays, or Playing with your EGO: If you've ever played a pickup game of soccer or B-ball, you know what this is. People try to dribble the entire team, they lose the ball and get dunked on. Their egos make them reckless. They don't take calculated risks, because they're not calculating--they're not thinking. They dive turrets and jump into fights they have no business being in because they want a "sick outplay LOLOL". They feed, they lose. Their egos place them in dumb situations for no reason.

Giving away a free kill is the quickest way to incur the wrath of your teammates which makes the whole experience a drag for everyone.

Solution: Play objectives. It's that's simple. You don't need to get 90 kills to be a great player. You can still lose if the rest of your team isn't doing well. You need objectives. Ganks _Don't _have to equal kills. Pushing enemies out of lane and attacking the turret for a few seconds still puts the team ahead. Gank for that.

1.2: Remember this is a team game. What happens to your teammates affects you. Don't expect your team to handle lanes. Help them.

Solution: +Jungle: Even if mates are not getting ganked, help them. You depend on them doing well to win, so HELP THEM do well. Get camps after you gank if the enemy is near. So many junglers lose free meals because they don't take opportunities when they're there.

+Mid: Communicate with bot/top/jungle to plan ganks. Don't stay mid the entire game. Look at the map!

+Bot: If you need help, ping. If no help comes, stop pinging and communicate with supp to figure out a strategy.

+Top: If you're getting ganked with no counter-ganks from allied jungle, stop pushing.

+ALL lanes: If you get a ping that enemies are coming, get out, back and push again. No shame in playing safe if it helps the team.

2. Not thinking about what what's happening: Everyone thinks they know best. I'm guilty of this. But if I'm constantly pushing and dying to ganks...I should stop pushing and try something else. But not many people do this. They push and die, push and die, until they can't push anymore because they're so weak.

If someone is running toward a bush out of lane and they're got full health, it's a bait. Stop chasing. Think.

Solution: Stop and think before you tilt. If you've been ganked twice, it's time to stop pushing. Freeze the lane if possible, ward better, do SOMETHING DIFFERENT so that you can get out there without dying. Even if you think the enemy needs one....more...auto...to...die...STOP. Don't chase and dive and die. Pressure the turret for a minute and get out. Back, return to lane and push them out again. Constantly dying and being 200 CS behind are equally frustrating and equally hurtful for the enemy. Use that to your advantage.

If your mid pings "enemy missing", go back to your turret, let the lane push out, and waste the enemy's time. Your midlaner gets CS, you stay alive. It's a win-win. Even if the turret needs....one....more...aa. STOP, go back, get it next time.

Communicate with your jungle or support/ADC about what you expect from the game. Children are difficult to work with (I'm a teacher, I know), but it might help if they're mature enough.

If you're pushed to your turret and you're almost dead, attacking will get you killed and the enemy will still destroy the turret. Back, and think about how to stop them from advancing without dying in the process.

3. Not looking at the map: I don't know remember which youtuber talked about this, but it helps: Peek at your minimap every time you kill a minion. If there are no minions, try every 10 seconds. People miss so many chances to gank or save teammates because they're hyper-focused on their lane. That's all. Use the map.

4. Flaming: If your teammates have fed so much that you're getting steamrolled, flaming is not going to turn the game around.

Solution: Drop your ego and forfeit the match. Your time is precious, so treat it with respect. ** Background information:** I started playing ranked in Season 8. I started in Silver V and dropped all the way to Bronze V in subsequent games. There I stayed for a very long time until I put the above advice into practice.

TL;DR: Stop diving; help your teammates, they affect your game; play as a team, not lone wolves; constantly look at the map; forfeit if it's clear you're going to lose.