Ranked: End of the Season Approaches!
And honestly, I really can't wait for this season to end - if only so I can stop playing Ranked.
I strongly prefer Normal drafts for my solo-queue experience. Mainly, I hate feeling invested in any one match; if I care about it, it can hurt me. It's a lot easier to enjoy Normal games because...well...it doesn't cost me anything to lose, so I stress a lot less.
-AFK? Meh, it's a norm. Sh*t happens. -Botlane is 0-5 at 12 minutes? They must've had a tough matchup. I'll just have to hope for better luck next game. -Lagging? Welp, I guess this game is a loss. I'll just try another one later. -Troll? He's not gonna get a rise out of me. He just made this game a good opportunity to experiment with a new build.
If any of these happen in a Ranked match, though - expect a complete meltdown, because SOMEONE just lost the deciding game of their series.
I started trying to climb when season rewards were announced; 
is my main, and the victorious skin looks sexy. I flew out of Bronze IV in a week, skipping divisions as I went, but I feel like I'm spinning my wheels in Silver 5. I'm really doubting I'll make it into Gold before time's up, which is pretty disappointing (I really want that skin). But what's worse is that playing Ranked is starting to sour the game for me.
I'm not the guy who whines about ELO Hell. Sure, I lose a lot of games because of friendly D/C's and poor play, but I also win a ton of games when my opponents AFK and make stupid mistakes.
The problem is that my negative experience is intensified in Ranked games because of my investment in the outcome of that game. I'm not going to say to myself, "Well I guess I was due a stupid loss because of that stupid win two games ago."
Also, it doesn't help that I have this sense of urgency to reach my goal before the end of season, and that my overall win rate lends itself to a frustratingly slow climb.
I used to end my day on a high note with a fun game of League. Now I end half my days disgusted with the game when I take a stupid loss. I'm telling my friends that "Ranked is like playing League of Legends, only without the fun" - and if it's not fun, why is it worth my time? So I'm looking forward to end of season, even if it means I failed to get Morgana Victorious, because maybe I'll enjoy League again when I'm not forcing myself to solo Ranked queues.
