How To Climb from Low-ELO In Solo Queue

Sick and tired of going into games in Solo Queue and encountering people who think they have it all figured out? Well, this is for those of you whom are wise enough to set your ego aside and wish to learn about the art of climbing out of Bronze/Silver. Just follow these guidelines to being an all-around better player and teammate.

NOTE: This isn't a list of everything you can do. I'm sure I've missed some things or listed some things that can be built upon. If you feel I have left something out, build on it in the comments. Please refrain from flaming. Be constructive, this is a place to learn and improve.

1. Communicate. Always. (ESPECIALLY in Champ select.)

The fundamental precept for every other piece of advice I will give you rests hereupon. You need to talk to your teammates - preferably respectfully - if you want to win. It starts with role calling and champ selection/trading and ends with pushes FTW. Talk things out. You can't coordinate if you don't communicate, and you stand an exponentially better chance of winning if you do coordinate.

1.1. Accept Critiques and Constructive Criticism.

There is a big difference between someone being toxic and someone telling you that you're doing something wrong. If someone is trying to help you correct a mistake, listen to them. Don't flame, tilt, rage, or be toxic in return. Try to understand what they're saying so you can create better chemistry. The hardest part about solo queue is that you don't know the habits of the people your playing with, so when they tell you how you can play better together, listen.

1.2. Mute Toxic Players.

I'll be the first to admit I rage hard. I'm trying to be better about it, but it isn't always easy. And its for people like me why the mute button exists. Don't let toxic people and people on tilt ruin your game. It unquestionably takes a toll on your morale, both as a team and as an individual. If muted players have anything important to say, they can always smart ping.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk about the game.

2. I don't care what anyone says - TEAM COMPOSITIONS Matter in EVERY ELO.

So PAY. ATTENTION. In particular, pay attention to the Jungle, Support, and Top champs.

-- Mid and ADC are (virtually) exclusively squishy and how much CC they have varies. You should at least be familiar with the kits to know for how much of which characteristics you need to compensate. --

Whichever of the three roles (jg, sup, top) are picked serves as the anchor for your team comp. So ask; Is that champ a tank? Bruiser? Assassin? Squishy? AD or AP? Heavy or weak AoE or CC? Is it an initiator? Whatever that champion isn't, seek to fill those gaps with characteristics of the top and support champs.

[Note to Mids: Obviously not all mid champs are AP champs, though the majority of them are. Take a look at how your team is building (and what enemy mid has been chosen, if possible). You will be able to see if it is safe to take that Yasuo against Ahri instead of Diana, for example.]

The goal is to achieve balance. Overloading on or completely forsaking something creates a weakness that can be exploited by your enemy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFgahbZENns

3. I don't care what anyone says - COUNTERING Matters in EVERY ELO.

I can't say it enough; Pay. Attention.

Even if you don't counter a champ, at least be familiar with them so as to prevent YOU being countered. This means that you need to be at least familiar with the kits and mechanics. That is a great (and effortless) service you could do for yourself - and for your team.

The fact of the matter is that, within our respective tiers, we all play enough ranked to be competitive and, at times, well-matched. We also play enough to know that we all have good games and bad games. Thank being said, picking Twisted Fate into an enemy Fizz, A Veigar into a Morgana, a GP into a Pantheon, et cetera is a colossal mistake. On the flip side, you gain a substantial advantage when you make those counter picks.

Thoroughly knowing counters gives you the advantage of at least sustaining presence throughout the game, if not awarding you the ability to completely carry and make your enemy later completely worthless.

Example: Against the right champion, a good Veigar can amass 1,000ap by Q-stacks and in-turn one-shot champs towards endgame. But even a good Veigar will have trouble against an ok Morgana who spam-pools to keep minions pushed under Veigar's turret and always spell shield's Veigar's E. Morgana removes Veigar from the game. And that's why countering is important.

[NOTE: Here is a god tool to use for familiarizing yourself with general counters; http://www.championselect.net ] Counter pick Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIN_14XLO_E

**4. Point 1 + Point 3 = Point 4; TRADE, TRADE, TRADE. **

Don't be that guy in position one (or position two) that picks top or mid without an enemy champ to counter (or avoid being countered.) Good players hate that guy.

Top and Mid are the easiest champs to counter, and allowing the enemy the advantage of picking your counter only makes your job more difficult - if not downright impossible.

COMMUNICATE You have up to three full minutes in Champ Select during Banning Phase to talk. USE EVERY SECOND OF IT. Ask the players that "pref jg/adc/supp" what champs they would like. Let them know what you have and what you expect in return.

You don't give up your Queen at the beginning of a game of Chess to your opponent. Don't do that here, either.

5. Be a Dynamic Player.

Every person has a role they main (or perform best at). But the fact of the matter is that you aren't always going to get the top spot in pick order, and therefore you won't always be able to pick that role. If you are that guy that goes into ranked and says "I can't play [this role]!" you are not helping (again) yourself, your team, or your climb. I'm not saying get to a point where you are so good that you have no clear main role. What I am saying is get to a point where if you HAVE to play a role, you can play it comfortably. After you can play every role comfortably...

5.1 Be Proficient with At Least 3 Champs Per Role.

And try to make them different types of champs, too. This will only serve you and your ability to counter (or avoid being countered) and contribute towards various team compositions. In order to do this, it means you must...

5.2 Build your Champ Pool.

Going into ranked with a 20-champion pool isn't a terrible thing, but remember, the goal here is to climb. If you want to escape bronze into silver, and silver into gold, you will want to play enough norms to have build a 40, 50, even 60-champion pool. Become familiar with as many as you can. And remember, this champion pool should definitely contain as many of the champs that are in the current meta as possible.

Now that we are out of champ select, let's get into the game...

6. Vision Is Crucial.

I'm especially looking at you, support. Sightstone is YOUR prerogative! The only circumstance you should not take it is if the enemy jungle is willing to do it for you - which ties back into communicate. Full tanks can bear the burden of your Sightstone, and perhaps bruisers. Assassins never can.

Which brings me to - and here's looking at every player...

** 6.1 Upgrade Your Trinket at Level 9.**

Whoever has sightstone should get the pink trinket upgrade late game, whereas everyone else (save maybe the one person who has either the lens or orb) should get the stealth trinket upgrade. In the end, you want at least 3 stealth trinkets, 1 pink, and maybe 1 lens/orb.

And finally;

** 6.2 EVERYONE buy a Pink Ward,**

Speaking of pinks, by the end of the game, everyone should have bought at least one pink ward. Ideally you want to buy them early game and put them someplace safe(ish) so they will last the majority of the game - using stealth wards, scuttle crabs, and the occasional wolf-smite to ward the deeper parts of yours and the enemy's jungle. Thats only 350 gold between one pink and the trinket upgrade - a minimal expense that can win you team fights or save you from ganks.

7. Use Your Pings.

Communicate. Ping where to ward. Ping where you're going. Ping (especially) where the enemy is going or is missing. Ping that you're going B. Always be pinging, bro.

8. Mind. Your. Positioning.

Losing even one team fight can send your game into a tail-spin. It happens - not all of the time, but it does happen.

Team composition plays a big part in determining team fight position - know who belongs on what line in team fights. If you don't know the three lines in a team fight formation, visit; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzzC0k2Dgto

Also, don't get separated. If half your team goes into river and half go into lane, retreat and regroup, even if it means going around the long way. It's better to spend 20 seconds going all the way through jungle to safely get back into lane, than to try to dive through the enemy and spend 40 seconds away from your team - half of it dead - and award the enemy team free money.

Speaking of positioning...

9. Know the Different Stances.

Trade stance. Farm Stance. Kill Stance. Roam stance. If you don't know them, pull up some videos. I'll leave one specifically for mid lane to get you started... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu1dJqhjcIs

10. DON'T CHASE.

There are exceptions to the rule, such as if you just won a major team fight and you and a few other teammates are chasing down a sole survivor or two. But if you're that guy who loves to go out on his own to hunt in the enemy jungle because you just missed a kill by an AA, we hate you. Why? Because, sure, you might get that kill scott-free once, but that will only work out for you that way, at most, about 25% of the time It's. Just. Not. Worth. It. Forge good habits to climb.

If you're chasing, that usually means you just came out of a winning exchange. Keep it that way. Let the enemy go B to lick their wounds, while you go B with kills/assists, money, and grab new items that will only help you snowball.

Speaking of team fights....

11. Team Fights BEFORE Objectives. Always.

Sure, getting that tower when your enemy laner is gone (or that dragon when your team is running interference) is nice, but when your enemy is gone because they've just tipped the scales of a team fight in their favor 3-2 or 4-3 or what have you, you're NOT doing YOUR job. Forget the objective, win the team fight, and come back to the objective once its over.

Speaking of objectives...

12. Pull Dragon Out of the Cove (If You are Playing from the Top).

There is no simpler way to avoid dragon being stolen from you than to take 5 seconds out of your life to pull dragon out of the cove and into the river. Seriously, I don't understand why red teams don't do this more often - even and especially when it is typed blatantly in chat, "pull drag out of cove." Just AA, step out, and wait. Think of it this way; how many times have people gone into team fights over dragons and, even if the enemy team kills two of your teammates but you get dragon you say "worth?" All of the time. So how can it be that suffering two deaths to secure dragon is worth it, but not the 5 seconds it takes to pull dragon out of the cove? Simple logic...

13. Abide by the Phases.

If you're still laning at level 13 while your team is getting poached by the enemy in 5v4 match ups mid-game, you are only hurting your team. If the enemy team is winning team fights when you're not around, that means they'll also have the player advantage to take objectives (dragon, towers, baron) and even clear your jungle. You aren't doing anyone any favors by not being there for them. [Nasus is one of the few conceivable exceptions to the rule, but your sake, the sake of your team, and the sake of your climb, its best that you know what you're doing.] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUxliujWtgk

By this time, if you do all of these things every single game, you have done basically everything that can be done as a low-ELO player to improve your win-rates and climb. There are only two more things that I can think of at this point that can be done out of game to help you improve;

14. Watch Videos. Read Articles. Listen to Critiques.

We can ALWAYS improve and ALWAYS learn.

Watch LCS Livestreams. Come to the Forums here with a question in mind. Really, there are very many resources you can turn to. Talk to high-ELO players and ask them to refer you to their resources.

15. Read the patch updates. Know your champions.

Knowing who is in the meta is important. There is a reason champions surge into popularity and why others fall by the way-side. Buffs, nerfs, and tweaks make a huge difference in the effectiveness of champions.

What's more, know what champions tend to work well throughout the game and in your tier. Feel free to check out http://na.op.gg/statistics/champion/ for detailed champion statistics, including their individual win rates.

Free to scour the comments for more help and information.