Preparing for ranked?

pattycakes5264·Sep 18, 2015·1 votes·1,460 views

Hello friends and frenemies. I've recently hit level 30. I will eventually get to go through the magical time of placement games. HOWEVER. I am obviously not prepared. I am an ex-smite player, and was fairly high elo in the game. I have also played some DOTA 2. I'm not exactly new to MOBAS. With that said, I do have general knowledge of MOBAS, but my knowledge of League isn't the best, it is very different from the other two I have listed.

That brings me to this question; How do I prepare for ranked games in League?

I realize this is a bit of a vague question so I guess I can try and add other questions/information to further expand what I am interested in knowing.

I've found I enjoy Mid/Support the most in this game, and are roles that I have a "grasp" on from other games. I also realize since this is my first season, there is a good chance of me being placed somewhere into bronze and IF I am lucky, s5.

I have quite a few options for both Mid/Support but my other roles are lacking in what Champs I am able to play. How many champs PER ROLE should I learn how to play? Obviously, I won't get my preferred roles every single time, so at least learning other champs would be a good idea. Some champs I do like playing (like Vlad and Diana) can transfer into other roles, but others like Blitz don't really seem to translate well into other roles in a competitive scene.

The META game is obviously important to the game. How much should I be looking into this, when starting to play ranked?

I guess some final questions that I am not really sure how to give context to. But here they are; Are there any exercises I can do before playing a ranked game? Farming for example? How long should I wait before trying to play ranked even? Are there any champs in particular (any role) I should be learning?

That's all I can really think of for now. I don't know if I am asking enough questions, but last thing I want to do is jump into a ranked game, unprepared and ruin someone else's experience completely due to my own ignorance. I already did that once when I first started playing Ranked smite. I don't want to do that here as well.

Thank you for any time and tips that are given to me. They are greatly appreciated <3

22 Comments

disregardableSep 18, 20153 votes

Because you were high elo at Smite, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you're mechanically sound and you can abuse your opponent properly. You'll also have a rough idea of how classes should interact with each other.

That means your biggest hurdle before heading into ranked play is learning the individual kits of every champion. When you can name every champion and their kits by their picture and in game model, you're probably ready to start ranked. You'll be far better off playing individual games than doing exercises for that purpose, because you'll get exposure to more champs at once. That said, playing a quick custom game with a free week champion isn't out of line- it's just not something that you should replace playing that champion with.

The meta is pretty crucial to winning this game, but once you know all of the champions' kits you /should/ understand the meta decently well. It doesn't matter how many champions or roles you play in ranked (despite what anyone will tell you), just that you do well with them. Make sure you can cs well with whoever you play.

pattycakes5264Sep 18, 20151 votes

Ah yeah. Learning individual kits. That's a very good point lol. I know that was a huge problem for me at first when I started Smite. I will make sure to do this! I honestly may have brushed that off like an idiot. Thank you for that!

kingSHSep 18, 20151 votes

{quoted}

Ah yeah. Learning individual kits. That's a very good point lol. I know that was a huge problem for me at first when I started Smite. I will make sure to do this! I honestly may have brushed that off like an idiot. Thank you for that!

TyrenSep 18, 20152 votes

How many champs PER ROLE should I learn how to play? I'd recommend 3 - 4 champs per role, just to avoid being banned out.

How much should I be looking into this, when starting to play ranked? You really don't need to keep track too much, I check lolking about once a week to see the most popular champs for that week and/ or month.

Are there any exercises I can do before playing a ranked game? Farming for example? Some people practice farming for 10 minutes to warm up, other's play a normal draft pick.

How long should I wait before trying to play ranked even? I read some where, to play 200 - 300 games after you hit level 30. It also gives you time to widen your champ pool, learn other roles, and make more rune pages.

Are there any champs in particular (any role) I should be learning? I'm no expert, but I'll give you what advise I can. Most people recommend to play easy champs. I do recommend to play easy to play champs in roles that are not you're main roles. However, learn champions you do like to play.

I can say for the support role Thresh, Blitz, Soraka, Leona, and Janna are really good supports to learn. All except Soraka have been good solo q supports for a long while now. Soraka recently came into flavor, I'm not sure why.

I do recommend to play a champ that you've never played before that is on free week. Just one game (I play that one in normals), so you can better understand that champion. It makes playing against them so much easier.

pattycakes5264Sep 19, 20151 votes

Thank you so much for your insight! I really appreciate it!

AmelieSep 18, 20152 votes

Some general tips:

Make sure your rune and mastery pages are in order. Compare them to some pro guides online and make changes accordingly.
Learn at least 1-2 champs per role, in case you get stuck in a lane you don't play as much.
Make sure you know how to last hit in all lanes.
Buy wards, use wards, upgrade your trinket.
Play the champs you enjoy, and learn them thoroughly.
Play every champ at least once so you know what they do and won't be surprised in games. This is probably the most time consuming. Some champs aren't even on the free week rotation, like Yorick, so don't worry too much about it. At least read up on the kits of everyone.

Hencho101Sep 18, 20152 votes

You Should know all the roles: Top Lane, Jungle, Middle Lane, ADCarry and Support.
You need to have at lest 2-3 champs that you know how to play in all the roles.
You need to have a main role like mid or top mine is jg
You need to know how to last hit minions "i would think you know how this works"
You need to know what most if not ALL the champs do or at lest know i little bit about all the champs
Have fun and don't tilt in your games. If there is some one raging then mute them or just ignore them, don't waist your time talking to them and DON'T be the one toxic Hope this helped and good luck :D

pattycakes5264Sep 19, 20151 votes

In regards to number 4; Are there any tips for this? In smite Last hitting minions gave a small gold boost, but wasn't exactly necessary. So transitioning to here has been a bit difficult in these terms. I originally learned how to do it in DOTA, but was awful at it. I know how to do it, but not well. Some champs I do fine on, where others I fall flat on my face. For example, my laning phase (farm wise) with vel'koz averages around 65 at 10 minutes. Not spectacular, I know. But compared to Diana (Who I love to play) it's a lot better, with an average of only about 42 on her. Which is awful. This is just an example. Is this more of just practicing with the champ due to animations, possible abilities I may be using while farming/harassing, different AD at levels 1-5 etc. Or is this just simply a practice thing?

This question is just more of a curiosity thing. I know it's a bit of a wall of text, and I apologize.

Thank for your response! :D I really do appreciate your time in taking to respond!

Hencho101Sep 19, 20152 votes

So its more of a practice thing but if you can last hit with an AP mage champ then you can last hit with anyone "not karthus or anivia tho they have shit for AD" ill send you a vid to help out with last hitting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfmm40Ow-T8 summoner 31 I rly hope this will help you out :D

pattycakes5264Sep 19, 20151 votes

Thank you for the video! I will be sure to watch it!

Hencho101Sep 19, 20151 votes

Good luck with this, i am still not the best at last hitting

Baseball3bSep 19, 20152 votes

Generally it's more or less just a practice thing as far as CSing.

If you're having issues with the animations, I'd just hop into a custom game with no bots/other players and just focus on CSing. Aim for say, 70 at 10 minutes. Once you hit that, go 75, etc. Though, 65 at 10 is decent for a silver/gold level. Learning to CS and trade simultaneously is pretty much just practice. You can Queue up in a custom with a friend and just practice laning, trading and CSing in general. You eventually get a feel for it.

pattycakes5264Sep 19, 20152 votes

Your bringing up trading might actually be my issue, with say Diana. I've noticed when trading when playing, any melee champ really, I tend to miss out on CS. Probably due to timing. I will most certainly try out the custom game thing!

Thank you so very much!

Baseball3bSep 19, 20151 votes

Any time! and if you're truly having a bad time CSing , you can always sub in an AD quint or two to make things easier

Baseball3bSep 19, 20152 votes

Generally, I'd say to master 2-3 champions per role for every role. You should know their matchups, power spikes, combos, tricks, builds etc and most of all you should feel comfortable playing them. I'd also pick different champion types as well. (i.e. say for mid: Orianna, Talon, Brand, for example. This way you have your utility mage, AD assassin and burst mage which all have different strengths and weaknesses)

As for waiting to play ranked, you obviously want to have 2 full rune pages minimum. One AD and one AP. Aside from that, you should memorize each champion's kit and general play style. Then, once you feel comfortable with your 2-3 champs/role you can hop into ranked.

If you're really looking to climb as fast as possible, the easiest role to carry with imo is jungle. You have influence over all 3 lanes and you can easily either snowball 1 or 2 lanes if you know what you're doing, which, 9 times out of 10 results in a win.

if you have any more questions or even just want to play a game, feel free to add me in game

pattycakes5264Sep 19, 20151 votes

Yes, very good point on the different types of champs for roles. The only role that was like that in smite was basically their "top" lane. Thank you for that reminder!

I actually already have a few finished rune pages lol. I will be honest and say I've bought quite of a few champs that I play with RP.

I will definitely look into jungle!

Thank you sir!

Electric GrandmaSep 19, 20152 votes

I think everyone else has hit the nail on the head, but you should also consider just letting off that ranked anxiety. Sure ranked is more of a higher-pressure game than aram or normals, but feeling nervous can warp your psyche. That in turn can cause you to play too passively/aggressively or just make some dumb mistakes that you normally wouldn't have made. At least, that's what happens to me when I go into ranked and play tired or anxious :p

I think the best way to prepare for ranked, besides the other advice given to you from others, is just to go in there and play. You're obviously gonna lose and win some, but grinding up to higher ranks requires time and patience. If you lose a game, shrug it off and move on. Just keep playing and learn from your mistakes. You'll slowly but surely climb. In S3 I was bronze 4 for quite a long time. I remember playing.. maybe around 600 games before I was finally able to get to gold. It was a long process over a span of maybe 3-4 months lol.

But yeah. Relax yourself about ranked. Realistically, it's just one game--win or lose.

Oh, and another thing I guess. If you find that you're starting to lose a lot or such, stop playing ranked and switch to a low-pressure environment (aram/normals/whatever). Or just log off lol. For myself, if I lose 2 ranked games in a row, I'll stop playing ranked for a couple hours or for the day. I remember watching a stream of Dyrus' and he talked about taking a break even after every game and not to queue into another one immediately. 10-15 can really loosen you up from the previous game. Oh, and don't take your mentality that you had from the previous game into the next. If you loss the previous one, don't queue in and get pissed off at your team. Same for winning, because let's face it, a big ego can be detrimental sometimes. If anything, just take the positive vibes and go in, if that makes sense lol

Anyway, good luck to you and your placements.

pattycakes5264Sep 20, 20151 votes

So. I took your advice to just go in there and play, and played my 1st ranked game. I was up to ban, and accidentally missed a ban because I was a bit panicky. Couldn't find morde to ban him. I was mid, and played annie (mid), I was up against viktor. Ended 4/2/14 w/ a mere 114 CS. I won. Not only does it feel good to win a ranked game. But damn does it feel good to be able to say I won my very first ranked game, even with trash CS.

I understand you probably didn't mean, "get your bitch ass in there right this second scrublord" But I definitely saw what you mean about anxiety. I had a clear mind going in, panicked at ban phase, calmed down a bit after seeing I wasn't the first one with their first ranked game, panicked after hecarim ganked me and killed me one time, and after calming down after that. The more and more calm I seemed to have gotten, the better I seemed to do. So thanks for bringing that up to me. Anxiety wasn't a huge issue for me when I was playing an absolute ton of Smite. I was somehow stone cold playing that. But even in normals has been stressful to me at times. Perhaps it could have been my first experiences playing league a couple of years ago (before going to smite for a couple of years) that just had a lasting effect on me? People were really mean to me then so I quit rofl. I digress on that though. You bringing mentality up to me actually really made me a bit more aware of it going into the game, during, and afterwards.

I will be sure to remember to take breaks in-between ranked games. That's a very good idea. Didn't do that in smite, once one was over, it was always onto the next for me.

So all in all, I thank you for both mentioning to just go in there and play, and everything you said about being calm and collected. ESPECIALLY being about being calm and collected. That helped me IMMENSELY.

Electric GrandmaSep 20, 20152 votes

No prob and congrats on your win.

I think that the reason why you were much calmer about playing Smite was, as you said, you played a ton of it. I completely understand when you say that having had someone beat you up early on in your time in League can have a bit of a lasting effect. I think the only way you can get over that sort of thing is just to think that 'whatever, it's just a game. No need to get pissy about it' and such. Cuz, let's face it, you'll be coming across more and more of those kind of people especially in ranked. If you accept the rage and mute them, move on and report them, it'll just be in the past.

As others may have said already, don't be afraid to hit the mute on a person, whether they're your teammate or enemy. You'll still hear their pings, but them raging at you is zapped. Honestly, I'm the kind of person that goes on tilt--even a little--if the enemy team starts spamming the laughs and taunts. I'll straight up mute them and ignore it just to keep in the zone. Hell, sometimes I've muted entire teams from the first second we spawn into game. I've even muted my teammates when I make a visible mistake, just to avoid the 'wtf r u doing' or '...' situation LOL..

Anyway, back to the point I was making in the first place.. I think that because you played a ton of Smite, you just got used to everything. That's why you went in more clear-minded or such. With league, it's the same concept honestly. S3 and S4, I used to get really nervous in ranked, even though I played a ton. This season, however, I've found that it's been easier to play.

But yeah, keep at your game. Don't fret about where you get placed. It's not a fixed rank and you can obviously go up or down from there. So have a positive attitude and keep on truckin'. I don't generally play with others in ranked (I found that I do better playing by myself in ranked rather than with a duo partner) but if you'd like you can add me and I can spectate a few games of yours. I could probably give you some pointers, though I ain't no diamond player so you'll have to take it with a grain of salt. But yeah good luck again :p

LaceUp23Sep 19, 20151 votes

How do you prepare for ranked? Prepare to get 2 players on your team every game that go 1-7 because "lulz nuuub itz jus a gayme".

pattycakes5264Sep 19, 20151 votes

Haha, I imagine these are the same guys that are "Plat 2 smurfs guiz" in my normal games? :p

LaceUp23Sep 19, 20151 votes

Pretty much. Ranked is pretty much a 50/50 shot of who will win. Unless you are like plat skill in silver, the game is decided 98% by who gets more trolls.