Some advice for those of you wanting to climb in solo queue
Hello. I'm a diamond Summoner in ranked solo queue for two seasons now and--while I'll admit that I'm certainly not a pro and I do have bad games now and then--when it comes to the majority of topics I do know my League of Legends. Having said that, I've gotten a lot (for me) of requests recently from various players asking me to carry for them or boost their elo and even some cash offers which I have declined. While I don't participate in or condone the boosting of elo by another player whether by duoing or account sharing or any other manner, I do feel that I can help those who have been struggling by sharing some advice that has worked for me over the years to build me into a better player. I won't really be focusing that much on basic mechanics (like warding or cs) but on some more advanced ideas that may apply off the Fields of Justice as well.
First of all, allow me to explain more or less why duo queueing in the current system is actually bad for you most of the time.
I'll leave it to a Rioter to give you the specific numbers/formulas where I may be lacking but with the current MMR system the way that it is now, the gist of how it calculates duo queue MMR is as follows: Your MMR and that of your partner are averaged together and used as a sort of baseline for your team's total MMR. Then a bonus of MMR is given to your opponent's team and very typically both duo queue partners are placed near or at the bottom pick. This leads to a very skewed total MMR for both teams which results in your teammates often being matched up against opponents much stronger (more skilled, knowledgeable, etc.) than they can handle and more often than not they lose their lanes. In addition to this imbalance because you and your partner are bottom pick you won't usually get the roles you're good at and thus can't carry your team which is what you need to do because of the imbalance in the first place. This is a recipe for disaster and many bad games and who wants that?
I have nothing against the spirit of duo queue and I think it would be a very fun system if it could be implemented in a healthy way but as things are currently, duo queue will often leave you a sad panda. It should be noted that the one exception to this idea is if you queue with a partner very close to your own MMR, there will not be so much of a discrepancy between your numbers and both teams will be more balanced.
The next idea I have to offer is much more simple: Greed leads to Feed. It is way more often a better idea that you give up that tempting chase when you are low on resources because trading is almost always a bad thing unless you are already behind and you should never trade certain death for a mere chance at a kill. There is some debate as to the merit of that idea but mathematically speaking, unless you have less kills on your team you never want to trade. Dying (even when your enemy dies) sets you back in time spent farming, warding, getting experience, teamfighting, securing objectives and more. Be patient, back off and get some more cs. It's better that you pick the right moment to fight and the right moment to run because as soon as you trade with your opponent your team might lose the 4v4 and then what? You get stomped. Pick the 5v5 at the right time and ace them for the win instead. The obvious exception to the above is when you happen to trade a weak teammate for a strong opponent and, while it does sometimes happen, it's not a tactic you should be relying upon.
The final idea I have to offer is has to do with your personal playing ability. I refer to this as a value of what I have termed "Maximum Normal Effectiveness" which is different from individual to individual but can be affected by a variety of factors including morale, alertness, and skill gained over time. The basic idea is that at 0% MNE you know you're absolutely going to lose. Maybe you're heavily on tilt or just really don't want to play, etc. At 100% MNE and above^ you are ready to go, pumped up, excited and really feeling focused. You can raise your MNE above 100% in a variety of ways as well such as energy drinks, coffee, music that gets you amped up, working out, etc. It should be noted as well that MNE is affected by your willingness to be a team player. This is a team game and teamwork makes the dream work.
I see that often times people will force themselves to play ranked for whatever reason even though they are in a bad mood or playing on tilt or not getting along with teammates, feeling selfish, etc. Their MNE is not high enough that they should be considering a very competitive format (but of course, you can't force people not to queue up) and they usually tend to bring both themselves and their teammates down.
Again, while the value of Maximum Normal Effectiveness will be different from person to person, if you pay attention to yourself I'm sure you'll get a good gauge for your own understanding of what your personal MNE might be at any given moment you decide to play League of Legends (or anything, but we're talking LoL right now). I personally recommend that you only queue up for ranked when you feel that you are at 95% MNE and above because if you consistently play at that level you will raise your elo over time. Better plays mean better games for everyone involved.
These are my thoughts, take them or leave but, but I feel confident that if you heed this advice you will become a better Summoner and, of course, continue to support and follow the Summoner's Code and be a positive example to everyone you meet! Questions and comments are always welcome, good luck fellow Summoners, and good games.
