Keeping a Log to get out of Bronze

JudasX8 Silver·Aug 4, 2015·7 votes·2,008 views

So I started keeping a log of my games, wins or loss and why and it looks like this:

8/2/2015

1st game. Last pick - Support - AFK - Lost 2nd game. Mid Orianna - Lost - Team 1v5 a lot, won lane

8/3/2015

1st game. Annie mid - won, most CS in game 2nd game. Ori mid - won, Highest CS, most Magic Damage, Most Assists 3nd game. Support Janna - won, Most Assists, S- Rank 4th game. Ori mid - AFK - lost 5th game. Ori mid - AFK - lost, Outplayed 6th game. Support Janna - won, Most Assists, shot caller, Mid carried, S- Rank

So do you guys think doing this will help me to get out of Bronze? Taking note of the times I lose matches and why should help at leased.

12 Comments

RiotRiot KoalifierAug 4, 201518 votes

When I was trying to get from Plat to Diamond, I would track each of my games in a similar way. I'd suggest including specific details in every log and having one "actionable" improvement that you could make after each game. For example, instead of: "Ori mid - AFK - lost, Outplayed", you could put "Ori mid - lost, got behind in farm due to bad trades. Goal: improve trading with lane opponent without losing farm."

For my tracking, I would always put one thing that I did very well that game (because I want to keep doing that well) and one thing that I did poorly that I could improve on. Then I would try to do that one thing well in the next game too, as well as improving on what I was doing poorly. For example, you mentioned in a few of your logs that you had "highest CS" or "most magic damage", but that doesn't really remind you of why or how you got to that point. It might be better to expand on that a bit and put something like "got a lot of CS by avoiding trades and focusing on farm," or "got a ton of magic damage by focusing my skillshots on low MR targets." Generally I think that having "actionable" things that you're tracking instead of just general stats will help you figure out what you're doing well, and what you need to improve on.

I'd also suggest taking out the "afk" or "team xyz" tracking, since that doesn't really help you improve your own game, but dwells on things that are out of your control.

That's just my two cents, good luck on the climb ^.^

TouchpadExpertAug 4, 20152 votes

{quoted}

When I was trying to get from Plat to Diamond, I would track each of my games in a similar way. I'd suggest including specific details in every log and having one "actionable" improvement that you could make after each game. For example, instead of: "Ori mid - AFK - lost, Outplayed", you could put "Ori mid - lost, got behind in farm due to bad trades. Goal: improve trading with lane opponent without losing farm."

For my tracking, I would always put one thing that I did very well that game (because I want to keep doing that well) and one thing that I did poorly that I could improve on. Then I would try to do that one thing well in the next game too, as well as improving on what I was doing poorly. For example, you mentioned in a few of your logs that you had "highest CS" or "most magic damage", but that doesn't really remind you of why or how you got to that point. It might be better to expand on that a bit and put something like "got a lot of CS by avoiding trades and focusing on farm," or "got a ton of magic damage by focusing my skillshots on low MR targets." Generally I think that having "actionable" things that you're tracking instead of just general stats will help you figure out what you're doing well, and what you need to improve on.

I'd also suggest taking out the "afk" or "team xyz" tracking, since that doesn't really help you improve your own game, but dwells on things that are out of your control.

That's just my two cents, good luck on the climb ^.^

This is good advice. Don't only put negative stuff but try to find silver linings in your games. This will help keep spirits up and fuel your drive to the top.

SovereignAug 4, 20151 votes

{quoted}

This is good advice. Don't only put negative stuff but try to find silver linings in your games. This will help keep spirits up and fuel your drive to the top.

SILVER linings hehe get it? hihihi

Binxy PrimeAug 4, 20152 votes

Well said I was going to make a similar comment, I should work on this too, I have been doing well in lane with cs and everything but I think that I frequently get out-roamed.

I think I am often more reluctant to team fight than I should be which hurts my contribution. It makes my KDAs look better than they should in losing games but I'm also not making a lot of plays to get leads, I just rely on going even or better with my lane opponent. Because of this I'm very rarely the reason my team loses but I am equally rarely the reason my team wins, which causes most games to feel like luck. Oddly enough I feel like I contribute a lot more in support roles where I am more likely to make aggressive plays and be involved in fights.

For this reason I also really enjoy playing passive good scaling poke mages like Ziggs or Utility mages like Veigar and Ori. In Ziggs games I can contribute a lot of poke damage even if I am being safe and in Ori and Veigar games I can be passive and as long as I play the fights well I can do a lot of work in short bursts of time.

DartFeldAug 4, 20151 votes

Here's one of mine:

Viktor mid - loss. Won lane, good kda, good focus in team fights, I single handedly threw the game.

Actionable item: DONT RECALL AS THE LAST MAN ALIVE ON THE MAP. Push towers/inhibs instead.

Context: I could have closed out the game after an ace, but recalled instead. we lost the next team fight and they closed out the game. Gg.

Duke AnaxAug 4, 20151 votes

I actually think it is a good idea to take record of AFK's, if you have the right mindset that is. AFK's are out of your control, but that doesn't mean that the game is out of your control.

4vs5 games are far from impossible, but If you adobt that mindset and give up from the start, you are always gonna loose, even worse you are also gonna loose those games where a teamate is afk for the first five minutes only, because the LoL Client decided to be difficult again.

You shouldn't dwell on it being out of control, but you should take note on how to regain control.

For example, Alistar solo bot: hug the tower, counterpush with AoEs. Soraka: use your range and sustain to poke them down, but stay save. For anyone: stay alive" doesn't matter if you are 0/0, becasue that means they are 0/0 too.

ZyvuxAug 4, 20153 votes

I'd say just keep track of which team has an afk(s), if any, each game, just for statistical purposes as to whether afks are truly common.

CasterGilgameshAug 4, 20152 votes

captain's log 8/2/2015

1st game. Last pick - Support - AFK - Lost 2nd game. Mid Orianna - Lost - Team 1v5 a lot, won lane

8/3/2015

TouchpadExpertAug 4, 20151 votes

I hope those AFKs are one of your teammates and not you...

JudasX8 SilverAug 6, 20151 votes

No, it's the teammates.

SovereignAug 4, 20151 votes

Keeping a log? Interesting idea. I should start to keep one myself. I mostly keep a "mental log".

Anyway, I thought I'd also lend you a piece of advice or more. As someone who started in Bronze 2, dropped to Bronze 5 out of rage (yeah, I was a bit less smart in S2) and then climbed to Silver 3 in S3, Silver 1 in S4 and Gold 3 this season (Go me! I'm Gold 5 now, though; I swear one of these days I'll get to playing ranked again).

So, here's my first and (I think) most important piece of advice: Play the game. A LOT! Don't expect to climb the ladder in the minimum number of games possible. Don't make calculations like "oh, I'll just need 2 more wins to get to promos and then another 2 to promote", it will not happen. The best you can hope for is to make it in 10 games (maybe, maybe more). The idea is to play a lot and you'll eventually get better and hence higher on the ladder. I think I played some 150-200 games from Bronze 5 to Silver 5.

My second piece of advice: Listen to what Koalifier said. There's no reason to keep track of afks/trolls when losing. You will however benefit from looking a bit more in-depth at what you can improve and what you did good that you should keep doing.

My final piece of advice: Play anything. Be versatile. Don't just fulfill one role. Sure, it's good to have a position in which you know what you're doing. But you know what's even better than that? Knowing all roles/positions. Now, of course, I'm not ridiculous. You don't have to be an expert at everything, but at least be good enough that you won't lose one aspect of a lane, say CS, or K/D ratio, or maybe even vision control on your side of the map. I played more than half of my games in Bronze as a support. It's amazing what you can do with a role when you know it well. Especially when nobody wants to play that role, because that means that you know it better than your opponent who only took support because he was last pick.

I hope that this helps. Just a bit of advice from someone who has been where you are. It's not impossible to get out of "elo hell" (even if you play mainly support). Anyway, I wish you good luck in the games to come. ^_^