I'm level 30 and have a good queue of friends. Now what?

Onwodori·1/24/2015, 4:32:37 AM·1 votes·972 views

Hey there, Master Fledgling here!

As the title puts it, so is the question: Now what? To Ranked queue or not to queue? That is the question. I think me and my friends are competent enough players to get me to at least Silver, so do I just go and do it? Or is there a fair deal more practice needed before I can make jokes about bronze and cardboard league? I know having a full rune-page helps, and I am getting close to that now ...

Thanks, and don't get your feline companion drunk, or else it will be in a cat-tonic state, ( )

-MF

9 Comments

Downfall1/24/2015, 4:38:57 AM2 votes

In my personal opinion I'd wait until you have at least full rune pages for AD and AP, with armor and mr in them. But aside from that you can play ranked as much as you like, the more you play the more accurately you will be placed.

VesperNadal1/24/2015, 5:16:44 AM1 votes

I wouldn't do it yet. How long have you been playing? I wouldn't start ranked until you've been playing atleast 6 months or you have played with around 80 of the champions in the game. It sucks getting into a match against a champion you have no clue how they work and therefore what to expect.

freeformline1/24/2015, 6:31:04 AM1 votes

I would recommend waiting for a bit before playing ranked until you are confident with at least two champions in each position with significantly different play styles. With this, you would be able to round out those odd teams where everyone is a support main, and you would have enough experience to be familiar with enemy champs from outside your favorite lane. It will also give you a little more appreciation of what your teammates face in other lanes, so you will be a little more sympathetic when they are having a hard time and will be more capable of giving them (friendly and civil) advice and compliments when appropriate. Before going into ranked, I would also recommend playing a lot of normal draft games to practice counter-picking and dealing with being counter-picked.

Keep in mind that I have only ever played one ranked game, so my advice should be taken with a grain of salt. There is a lot to learn about the game beyond champion mechanics that you should probably be aware of before you play in a ranked competitive system. In particular, I would recommend learning how to coordinate vision control when you are playing roles other than support. You'll be a long way ahead of your peers if you are comfortable buying wards as a supplement or replacement for your yellow trinket and working with your team to control vision around target objectives. Your support's single pink ward doesn't impact a game much, but having five pink wards on the map can make a big difference.

draken161/24/2015, 7:45:31 AM1 votes

Once you have a champion pool and runes, the only real practice IS through ranked. Practicing on normals is great, but you can't compare army training to painball practice. You will find that a lot more people take the game seriously in ranked, (although some can get tempered quick if shown signs of a loss) and the serious atmosphere will help you improve gameplay.

Remember, when you first play ranked, your aim shouldn't be a tier or rank, it should be to get better. Play while analyzing & correcting your mistakes and you will go much farther than just silver.

VesperNadal1/24/2015, 4:14:44 PM1 votes

Do you have 10 champions with at least 2 per role?

Beerstein1/24/2015, 8:13:38 PM1 votes

IMO yes. Go for it. You'll land where you belong based on lack of runes and all. But so what? It's WAY WAY better balanced than unranked. Honestly casual play is ranked because the matchmaking is just that much better. If you stick to randoms you'll be getting the same terrible matching that you get in sub lvl 30 where masters and challengers are teaming with lvl 1s to get in low level games. It's not AS bad at lvl 30 but it's still pretty bad. Ranked is a good way to avoid that and improve.