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Is it me or am I off to a bad start?

ChazRumzz·2/22/2015, 8:53:20 PM·3 votes·1,300 views

Back in January of this year I started playing LOL, and after a few games I was really hooked, I had starting chatting with others who were also new to the game. I also started chatting with others who have been in LOL for quite some time. Long story short after taking some advise from some of these others who have been in LOL for a long time I ended up doing what I now think was the biggest mistake, I ended up playing all bot matches and now that I am a level 30, I think what I should of done was to start playing pvp matches after at least level 10. The same people who I had gotten this advise from, nowhere to be found now. I don't blame anyone by myself for this.

I wasn't able to post to these boards until the other day because riot had some sort of database issue where it never updated my account so I could of actually posted sooner.

From some of the messages I have read it looks like going to pvp at this point is going to be a dis-advantage for me, I am against creating another account, I already have spent quite a bit of $$ and I don't want to throw that away. I am not interested in being ranked and until recently had been having a lot of fun with the game in general, now at level 30 it's like the bots really have it in for me(just last night two bots kept me shutdown from my lane, no matter what I tried), I have a few (okay more like a bunch) champions I enjoy playing, but with some I just don't have the IP yet to get the runes properly setup from which I understand are something I should have now.

I am trying to understand the game better than I do, I have watched tons of YouTube videos on game play, read more champion guides than I can remember at this point and I still have yet to understand quite a few things about the game. For example I know now that setting wards in bot matches are pointless but in pvp matches they are important. I understand somewhat what they actually do. Item sets, other than the champion guides I am at a loss, someone told me yesterday that one of my champions I just started playing, Fiora does best with life steal, here I am looking for a life steal item, but there are quints that are life steal, is that what they were talking about?

I haven't been able to decide what champion I like best(so far I like them all), but in the end I would like to understand LOL much better than I do now.

What's the best way I should go about this?

I would greatly appreciate any ideas/suggestions. Thanks

16 Comments

Balderdash10002/22/2015, 10:45:26 PM2 votes

No one has all their runes when they first hit level 30. Starting over would be a huge waste. Instead of listening to a bunch of people telling you what you should do, do what you want to do. Wherever you go it's going to be rough until you get the hang of it, but you're never going to learn if you don't do it.

Remember, you don't have to play any mode at any time. They all have their good points and bad points. Play what you want, enjoy the game, and, remember, there's no mistake you can make that's so bad you can't recover from.

Umbral Light2/22/2015, 9:41:58 PM2 votes

Look, I was in a similar situation once, only a bit worse I went only bot lane and couldn't do much else. Now after a long time of practicing and hard work and even determination, I can do all but jungle (yet) and I didn't have that many runes to begin with when I was Lv 30, only like 3-6 runes and most of them were Tier 1 or 2. Look, the point is that you should try out PVP anyways because if you don't then you will never learn how to play it well against other players. Though in my case I had a friend who showed me the ropes and taught me how to play well enough until I started making stuff on my own like I do now. Try PVP and if possible try it with a friend that can help you understand what you don't know yet. I can give you my friends summoner name so you can search him and ask him to help you out if you want (believe me, he is a good person, a good player, a good friend and a great teacher).

Dr Jarjarbinks2/22/2015, 10:33:14 PM1 votes

When I was in your shoes I found ARAM. I started playing ARAM as my way to catch up after playing against bots so much. It does really help with mechanics and getting a feel for fighting a human enemy. Bots are stupid but perfect, people are highly imperfect but can be very smart.

On a side note I never ended up transitioning to SR as I planned. Turns out ARAM fits me better so thats what I play.

SecretAgentHulk2/22/2015, 11:01:45 PM1 votes

The best thing to do? Keep playing, but do PvP now. I recommend normals until you feel comfortable playing against other people, and then Ranked if you care about it (I've played almost exclusively normals for a bit over a year now; I prefer its laid-back attitude to the competitive spirit of Ranked).

You haven't hurt yourself by playing just bots. You have a better handle on mechanics and some champions than you would have if you started PvP at level 10, so it's not like that's going to hurt you. If I understand the system correctly, your first few normals might be rough, but after that it will start matching you with people at your skill level.

And you'll improve. Just have fun, and don't worry about anything else.

(Also watch out for ganks. Bots don't jungle.)

The Ruin Sage2/22/2015, 11:31:01 PM1 votes

my advice is to pick one champion you like a lot and play about 100 normal games with him/her. By the time you are done with those games your skill level will have increased dramatically even if you don't realize it. also when in doubt with pretty much and AD champ item 3153

GaleWinUnleashed2/22/2015, 11:37:26 PM1 votes

Nothing inherently wrong with what you've done so far. Playing bots clear up to level 30 (which I also did, by the way) will not get you matched up with the top players immediately when you first try PvP. And even if it does, matchmaking will quickly figure it out and will drop you accordingly. Remember than every game is separate from the next; one bad game doesn't mean you should give up.

In all honesty, Co-op vs. AI is underrated. It's an excellent way to learn the basics of any given champion in a low-pressure environment, so you'll know what they're capable of when you try them in PvP. Then you can focus on reacting to the opposing players without fighting to learn how your champion works at the same time.

Regardless of when you do it, level 5 or level 30, jumping into a PvP game for the first time is still a huge step upwards in difficulty.

There are going to be games where you get crushed completely.

There are going to be games where you try your hardest and still have no chance.

But you're in a far better place than you were when you started. You've learned what most roles are capable of and what they're expected to achieve in a game. You've learned not to attack turrets without minions. You've learned what kinds of items you should buy if you want particular stats. You've even learned that there are runes (you'd be surprised how many reach level 30 without the slightest idea what runes are).

And most importantly... You've learned how to know what you need to improve on.

MonkeyKing: "Every mistake is a lesson."

If you're doing something poorly, you have the experience to know it, and you can probably analyze every death and explain where you went wrong. And if you know how or why it happened, then you can work on fixing the cause of it.

Don't feel pressured to do everything perfectly. It can't happen. Don't worry about not having runes yet; just buy them at your own pace, whenever you think you have enough spare IP between buying your favorite champions. Don't take it too hard when you get yelled at for not having a ward down. Or for dying 2 minutes in. Or for getting killed 5 times in a row. Or for building Ravenous Hydra on a ranged champion.

You will make mistakes. Guaranteed. But as long as you're planning to learn from them, and keep on improving, no one has a legitimate reason to blame you for it.

Stephenizgod2/22/2015, 11:57:31 PM1 votes

I dont see a problem, maybe im misunderstanding something?

So what if you played Bots until level 30, you will learn what its like to play in PvP real quick. It will take 2-3 games before you realize its important to at least ward the river, after 10+ games you will have a great understanding of where to ward and how often. So dont worry about wards, just know to always get the Yellow Trinket and always (usually around levels 3-4) put the ward in the river bush.

BTW Fiora is good with Ravenous Hydra (item 3074) specifically, but Blade of the Ruined King (item 3153) and Bloodthirster (item 3072) are also good on her.

As for runes, those are things you build up over time, if you want to know good runes to buy for a certain champion just look up a few guides.

PL552/23/2015, 12:24:47 AM1 votes

You should be fine if you keep on watching streamers and youtubers play league, but pvp is much harder than bots so it will take quite a few games to get used to it. If you enjoy playing bots then keep on playing it, there is no reason to switch to pvp if you don't feel like it. You will eventually encounter people raging at you for feeding or something but the best thing to do it mute them.

ChazRumzz2/23/2015, 1:19:32 AM1 votes

Thank You for the replies everyone, I just got done with my first pvp match and it was what I thought it would be, I must of had "pvp virgin" written on my back because I got slaughtered and by the time I was even able to build it was too late, I also read that the first few times would be rough because the system takes a couple times to match you with others, and of course there's always that one toxic player, love the mute button though :)

thanks again

Ariel the Cruel2/23/2015, 1:27:43 AM1 votes

Been there. Done that.

No rage is as quotable as the "WTF, lvl 30 with 1 win!?" rage. Feel free to send me an invite any time you play a normal (I still don't touch ranked). We'll get you up to troll in no time. XD

Russian Doll2/23/2015, 2:10:53 AM1 votes

Hiiii. I've dome pretty much the same thing. I've been playing for a month. I'm not the best player but maybe you can add me and we could try some game together:)

tooomine2/23/2015, 2:14:00 AM1 votes

my advice: there's nothing to it but to do it.

summoner's rift, twisted treeline, and aram are all good modes (dominion is too, I jsut don't play it as much) to get introduced to pvp with. I don't think you're far behind, or off to a bad start. What I would do is this: go to team builder, and play your favorite champ in a solo lane. my first 3 months, I played like 120 games with miss fortune, far and above my best champ for all of last year.

Yes, people will rage at you. unfortunately, that seems to be part of this game. You can do well, and people will still be mad. so don't let that get to you, understand that their anger is areflection of them, not you, your skill, OR your performace. Keep fun in mind, and for the most part you'll be cool.

Normals is a very different beast from the ranked que. Normals people care much less about winning, and groups of friends often play together. I recommend looking at this post as a refresher, its got a lot of really good advice:

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/tips-tricks/T1i49i33-guide-league-basics and then jumping into the normals que. if you tell people "hey, its my first time playing this champ", or even "this is my first pvp game" or "i'm very inexperienced" most people will actually try to help you get better. I've even had people on the enemy team give me advice when I was still playing normals (I did bots till lvl 20). but at level 20, I made the jump. its way less intimidating once you get out there, and your skill will greatly improve too.

also, you can add me if you want a partner. I play a lot.

QuantumLight2/23/2015, 11:46:30 PM1 votes

personally i think you should start your new account, and only play pvp in those. once you feel confdent in your abilities switch back to your old account.

Yash Gautam2/22/2015, 8:54:41 PM1 votes

Just play in pvp it will match you up with people in your situation.

Mahautsukai2/25/2015, 4:16:17 AM1 votes

Why would going into PVP be a disadvantage for you? Yeah you will have some odd and bad habits from bots predictable play but on the upside full masteries and rune slots. Jumping into the PVP sucks no matter your level. The early engagers just face different issues than you will. So the best advice I can give is, Don't sweat it and go PVP! Learn and improve.

As far as peoples attitudes or stigma's pointed at you for your approach, just remember, as I said above it doesn't matter if you jumped in at 10 or 30 or anywhere in between. Jerks will find or make up a reason to berate you no matter what, the reasons would just come in different forms. So ignore them. Play as best you can and improve.

Remember mastering LOL-PVP is something hundreds of thousands of people have done so you can too.

Plaguebringer D2/22/2015, 9:33:30 PM1 votes

If you want to understand the game better, I suggest limiting yourself to 2-3 champions to play. The reasoning behind it is that you can focus better on the game dynamics when you don't have to think about your power spikes, matchups or combos.