Tips from a Bronze I baddie
Intro (You can skip me) (I added lots of pictures---Now ADD Friendly!) Howdy, My name is Captain Crayon, and I am, by no means, qualified to tell you you’re bad. Nor, am I qualified to tell you you’re good. I am a recently acquired member of Bronze I and am about to place into Silver…something. I’m currently attempting to recuperate from terribad status of Season 2, of which I have an incredibly low MMR that assisted my placement into Bronze. So, three seasons later, I’m attempting to jump back in. That being said, I AM a perceptive pleb. I play quite a bit of MOBA’s, both this game and DOTA. (Yeah, yeah, elitist blah blah). If you think I suck too bad to listen to me, feel free to read an educational page on random facts about the world. For the rest of you wannabe plebs or has-beens, welcome, in the following passages I will attempt to give an overall idea of how to no longer suck- alongside some helpful other pages that I have found either amusing or insightful.
**In this guide I refer to lots of other people's work, as many people have written many thousands of words before me, and they've done it much better than I ever could, so rather than trying to recreate their work in a far less eloquent way, I've linked their Guides or pages for further reading if one is so inclined. **
http://th08.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/230/0/0/lol_comic_contest_by_razerchris-d5blidv.jpg Comic created by: RazerChris
FYI- This is geared more towards newer players, as those are the people that need help. If you're losing your games and this is nothing new to you, perhaps you should evaluate what you're doing and see if there's something you can do differently. Every individual has strengths and weaknesses in the game. You're not going to improve over night. Focus on one issue and move on to another when a larger one appears. Most of what you see in this article will be similar to what you will see everywhere else, in a condensed form. There is no recipe for success in League, which is why it is so alluring to many, myself included. Every game will be different, focus on improving yourself and you will reap the rewards!
** WARDING AND MAP AWARENESS**
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Map awareness is prime.
So, you've got this UGLY, HUGE thing taking up an 1/8 (or more) of your screen. Yeah, I know it's a pain, but guess what? It should be your best friend. It tells you what you're doing, what your friends (or the not-so-friendly teammates) are doing. A lot of the times, they'll probably ping. It's helpful. If you learn to use your map you will benefit greatly, for several reasons. However, to name a few, it would be to protect/take objectives (or see the opportunity to), catch enemies out of position (if it happens), anticipate ganks, etc.
**How do I practice this?**
For a low impact environment, you can practice in bot games, practicing both csing (last hitting minions) and map awareness. While, bots won’t be doing much of interest, the idea is maintained.
I don't understand what people say when they talk about the map. Hey, dude, Don't worry about it. I found this fancy map online: http://th06.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2013/317/5/c/league_of_legends___summoner_s_rift_regions_map_by_narishm-d6u3f5p.jpg By: Narishm
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But wards are important, too.
In fact, wards are arguably more important than Map awareness, as without wards, you may as well not be looking at your map, because your map will have little to show you. However, it is still useful. "But, I only ward if we're winning!" Oh, okay. You COULD do that, I suppose. But, you should always ward. Ward aggressively if you're winning (I.E. By their Blue/Red, positions of high population I.E. River bush, One or both of the mids, etc.) OR transversely, you could ward DEFENSIVELY. (This one is important, this one will win games.)
“Hey, Crayon, I don’t know where to ward!” Yo, man, It’s cool. I’ve got you covered. I googled this for you.
While the information is a little out-dated, the maps on here are still relevant. Check it out.
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Ward Those purdy green things in the shop? How much gold are they? Do you know? A pink is 100g, and a green is 75g. This is a small price to pay for your life. Let’s say you’re on a killing spree, you’re owning them plebs and they don’t have anything on you. Guess what? You’re a big, fat $$ sign to them. Expect a 2 man or 3 man gank. They want the 200-500g they’re going to get for ending your spree. So, pay for that ward, and thank your lucky stars you know how to look at your map.
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Ward again, you pleb. I’ve repeated this (three times now) to emphasize how important they are. If you look at the history of most won games on the League website, for example, most often, the following things may occur: The enemy team has owned more wards than the enemy team (there’s a detailed pie chart on the league match history now that tells you who bought what). They probably have more Barons (Oh, hey, you know what you want to do before you go for Baron? Ward!!!!!!), Maybe more Dragons (though not necessary), more gold, more kills (you can catch people out of position and save your own skin at the same time by using wards. Rad, right?)
http://th00.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2014/039/b/6/zecka_lol_comic_contest___double_ward_by_joshuagrabinski-d75pa5l.jpg Zecka
Also, Don't double ward. Don't do it- Or you'll make your Support cry.
- So, you see what's going on, on the map. You need to do something with it. [Laning]
...Let's call this the art of laning. There are so many variables to account for laning that it's difficult to tell you precisely what you can do here, there, right and wrong for each match up. However, there’s a small list of things you can ALWAYS improve to do better with each matchup.
- Farm CSing or Farming is arguably, the most important part of the laning phase. Not ganks, not turrets, (they’re important to winning, but not the laning phase) but farming. You want that sweet, sweet golden bling, yo. So what does that mean? You need to learn to last hit. You need to poke in between your last hitting, if you can. If you’re being poked, and there’s no chance for you to CS without getting eaten alive in lane, lose the CS, it’s worth less than your life, and HOPE and PLEAD that your jungle will gank that monstrous enemy laner. However, there’s a caveat to this: It’s not the jungler’s job to win your lane for you. Also, don’t expect them to gank a lost lane. But, if you ask nicely, you may just get some help. So, say “please”.
How do I get better at CS? Practice! Go into a bot game and just try and keep up with this calculator!
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Roam Hey, look at that Champ, you’re winning your lane. Way to go! Are you mid? You should be roaming to top or bottom. Are you Top? You should ward a little deeper into their jungle (think Tribush) or blue’s pass-way (to anticipate the enemy jungler) and shove your lane against the turret or gank mid... And make some SMART PLAYS- “What’s a smart play?” “Well, you see my fellow pleb, it’s something simple: If you have high enough Damage and HEALTH AT THE TIME OF THE GANK, feel free to try to deal some damage to the enemy laner.” You should not gank an enemy lane if you’re: Low on health, or if they have an enemy creep wave--especially more so if they have more creeps (minions) than you do. Now, this has some caveats, as with everything in this guide, however, the prior point (minion wave size) is especially important if you’re a melee champ, because the second you slap-dat-hoe, you’re going to get focused by those winions, and guess what? *They hurt. * Make a smart gank-- Do some damage if you can, give the kill to that laner IF YOU CAN. But- Avoid delivering a meal to the enemy laner, and avoid diving the turret, because: “The jungle is watching.” (They have an enemy jungler, too.)
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Buy the RIGHT ITEMS FOR THE ENEMY TEAM. So, PART of the game is decided the minute you pick your champs, right? Right. Only a minor part, but it should decide your play style. Namely speaking, you should decide what items you’re going to buy based on who you are playing and based on who you’re playing against. Let’s say those UBRE PLEBS on the enemy team are playing...Lucian, Zed (mid), Darius, and...Thresh. Guise, build armor. They are ASKING YOU TO RESIST THEIR DAMAGE. While this is an ideal situation for my example, most games have a 60-40 split in terms of AP and AD Damage. Although, it’s typically weighed more towards AD, but this is not always the case. Be conscious of who’s fed (if anyone, or rather, who’s doing them most damage) on the enemy team, and where you stand in the game, and build accordingly. GP5 items still exist, and they’re still useful for catching up. If you’re an ADC for example, I’d suggest building an Avarice Blade
. (It gives you a rocking 2 gold per cs as well.)
“I don’t understand gold or items.” Hm..Check out the wikia for gold: and as far as items go, Look up some builds on MobaFire or Solomid’s website if you’re new. They’re good places to start.
That was a very, very shallow introduction to laning. I would suggest reading a much better written guide on laning either...here: (http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=3160040 ) or here: (http://www.solomid.net/guide/view/15558-generic-build-guide-by-perfectrecord )
- They are people, too.
Personally, I feel, without a doubt, that this is the most important thing to remember. Every time you play league, you are playing with nine other people. Nine. Everyone makes mistakes, and for someone to win, someone has to lose. You can’t win every game. (And you probably won’t lose all of them either). If you’re good, you can contribute to your team, but you can’t 1v5 them. It’s simply not doable, unless you’re a full build super duper toxic 400/0/0 Vayne in the first 5 minutes of the game. You’re surrounded by people who you will always consider bad. And everyone is going to think you’re bad. Consult the: Dunning Kruger Effect. Anyway, no matter where you finally reach, whether you’re a Bronze V player, or Challenger I or a world series winner, you’re bad. Welcome to League of Legends. There’s always room to improve and there’s always someone that will be better than you. You’re only human. Speak softly to your allies, and don’t trash talk (beyond reason), and you will win more games than you lose.
- As a final note, I’d like to say two things:
You should probably read this: (http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=2602203 ) I found this humorous and you may as well, though the content is worth the read.
And finally;
Don’t be toxic to your teammates and don’t get cocky! Watch lots of pro games (or high ranked streams) and learn a thing or two. And finally, take constructive feedback without getting butthurt! Similarly, I linked a bunch of different articles as I believe there are a lot of guides out there that are both insightful and disclose information much more eloquently than I, so go have a look.
Toodles~ Cpt. Crayon
TL;DR
Ward Don't be toxic Learn Map Awareness Learn to last hit Be conscious of who you're fighting Be patient Spectate games of players whom are better than you, you will learn something EDIT--
-The parenthesis were breaking the links. -Added TL;DR.
Post factum additions~ Just a warning, the things following these beautiful flashy lines will be much less structured than the OP. This will be much more of a stream of consciousness addition, and as I grow as a player (I am, by no means, a pro) I will be more than happy to share the love.
- Pick a lane, yo.
Let's say you've stagnated, you're struggling to progress and you can't figure out why. Perhaps, you're a jack of all trades (and it's just the rest of the bads on your team....) or perhaps, you're a jack of no trades. Regardless, you're* starting somewhere and getting nowhere.* I can totally relate, however, I have a beautiful solution for you, my fellow aspiring Pleb! Main a role! Or, a champion! It's a harsh, cruel world out there, and without the right understanding of the current meta, mechanics, mechanical skill (I.E. Muscle memory and immediate reaction that is acquired over time...) you may have a tough time.
So...Here's my list as to what to do:
- Pick a role "I love to play an..." (All of these roles have been picked because of their usefulness in their positions along with the short-comings they'll force you to acknowledge.)
Assassin: LEARN TO GANK/PICK PEOPLE OFF. Play Zed.
Tank:
LEARN TO PEEL AND WHEN TO BUILD DAMAGE/HEALTH. Play Nautilus.
Mage: LEARN POSITIONING, MANA and CD MANAGEMENT. Play Malzahar.
CARRY: (Aight, if you're learning...stay away from this, for NOW, until you have a strong grasp of what you're doing.) USE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM EVERYTHING ELSE ON TOP OF PLAYER BODY LANGUAGE. Play Twitch or Draven.
Some of you are going to read this and go, "WTF man, those are awful for beginners!" Precisely. Each of those champions have a cruel, cruel lesson to be learned.
I'll start from the top and go down.
Zed:
So, Zed is a competent Assassin (at the time of writing), however, he's got some nuances. He can poked out of lane if you're unfamiliar. His Ultimate is complicated enough that you'll learn to use a multi-purposed ability (one that may be used both offensively and defensively), and he's capable of repositioning with his W (With AS LITTLE EMPHASIS ON MANA AS POSSIBLE).
While many other Assassin's have great kits as well, Zed allows you to pound on your abilities, and that's not something you would want to focus on when learning an Assassin. Why? Because your job is to run in during the chaos of battle (OR, transversely, catch someone out of position via the WARDS you placed earlier, because, you learned your lesson by now, right? Right???) So, you need to learn more map awareness, how to roam, when it's a good time to go in (This is HUGE as an assassin), how to escape, Jukes, etc.
Long point here is: Zed is good for this lesson.
TANK
Nautilus---
So, Nautilus is one of my favorite champs, and he's a LOT of fun if you learn to play him well. He can be a jungle, top or support, with varying levels of capability...so he can be available in many occasions (though, I wouldn't suggest Supporting as him, as you could take kills from your ADC and that would upset them, lead to QQ blah blah blah...)
BACK TO THE POINT-
Nautilus is NOT there for damage. (He has some built nicely into your kit, though), Instead, as a Naut player, your job is to become the CC bot 5000. You scare blitz, and you cause tremors (eh? eh?) in the boots of every ADC. If you group with your team, you're almost assured a win in team fights if you CC correctly. Why? Well, let's look at his kit:
He has a Shield (W) which will keep you tanky.
His passive is a stun, yo.
^Stuns are good.
His E is an aggressive slow~ One that works best when people are running away!
His R is a terrifying knock-up that knocks up all enemies hit in the process of chasing your target.
His Q is a gap closer-snatcher- time to get a kill- ability.
So, you'll learn to prioritize CCing over damage, as if you build Naut as a damage dealer (while there's exceptions to this, with all things), generally you'll have a bad time. However, if you build HP you'll become the unending stun. Also, you'll HOPEFULLY learn to peel.
"Um... I don't know what peeling is." (Oh, I'm glad you asked.) Generally, this deals with a Support protecting their Carry, though, this could apply to any ally champion versus enemy champion. Let's say you're Nautilus, and you get into a fight. The enemy is going to want to focus your teammates over you, as you'll be tanky (because you can read simple directions) and they won't want to slap you with a mop for a year and a half only to get CC'd. As a result, it's all up to you as to what happens next, however, you're going to want to STOP THEIR ADVANCE. You're going to want to intercept the enemy, and keep them off of whomever you're protecting. Stun them, pull them away, Ult them, slow them, STAND IN THE WAY(I.E. Body Blocking) do whatever it takes to be obnoxious enough for them to either A. Die attempting to hit whatever player, or B. Turn around and run away. (OR SUPER DUPER SECRET OPTION C: Laugh as they make a futile attempt to kill a tanky Naut and CC them to death as your teammates pound away on them).
MAGE:
So, let's talk Malzahar. Why? Well, Malzahar is a Mage, so he's going to go here. Don't get me wrong, he's awesome, but he has one fatal flaw: no escapes. If you learn to play Malzahar well, you're going to have learned how to position yourself in a place where you won't get caught. Why? Because he has ZERO escapes. Let's count them...1...2...5...0 ESCAPES. On top of that, your base movement speed isn't stellar. So? What's your final option? Positioning, yo. (Weren't you listening?)
Early game- Malz has high mana costs and low mobility. So, that sounds really crappy, right? Yeah, pretty much. However, Malz has something awesome, his E. It's a DoT (Damage over Time) ability, that will YOU GUESSED IT- deal damage over time. It's going to slowly tick down whatever enemy- however, if you kill that enemy, it refunds some mana- SO, you're going to deal some decent damage. On top of that, his R is kind of picky. Once you use it, you can't move or you'll cancel your own ult (If you haven't played him yet, it's going to happen, and you're going to want to tear your hair out or punch your monitor or something. Accept it, learn from it, and enjoy the rewards!)--but it deals some K.A. damage and if used effectively in a 1v1 situation, combined with say... an ignite, E, W, and R, you're almost definitely going to kill them. So, it's also a good teacher to that regard. Also, he has free farm, which is good, because last hitting is hard. (Something that is learned with time).
CARRIES: Are you new? Go away. Go play the other ones. ...You're still reading?
OK. So you're determined to bloom early and you want to ADC. Well, I want to warn you of one thing: You are a Camel. (Metaphor) That's right. A camel. A literal camel. http://www.acerlux.com/images/860_Camel_PB.jpg You're smelly, you're awkward, and you're heavy. Oh, and your whole team is on your back. ...Okay, that's not entirely true, however, your team will HEAVILY rely on you, and if you mess things up bottom lane you can (potentially) make some real problems later on in the game. You're still here?
Okay, you smelly camels, it's time to talk about ADC's. Rule # 1. Don't rage. Seriously, don't. And if you play Vayne...Don't be a stereotypical Vayne that is super duper toxic.
Kay. MOVING ALONG~~~~ ADC's are essential to the game, as they have the highest potential for damage late game, if they're protected well early game and they get to farm up. There's a lot of factors involved, but arguably, ADC is the hardest role to play, as you need to be able to coordinate with your Support, position yourself well in team fights, know WHEN to fight, make plays, learn to run, last hit properly, orb-walk (shoot and move-Kalista is a new champion that would be AWESOME to learn how to do this for as the game rewards you for doing it), and so on.
It requires a culmination of all of this information to do WELL. And even then, it can still be hard. The team will be happy to hail you as the best thing since the loaf of bread if you carry your games or call you mean names if you lose your lane.
Wow, I was really close to getting derailed there.
So, to get back on point:
You've chosen your role (1). Now, it's time to (2)get good. Learn your role, and learn the rules that will be taught to you through the mistakes that you will make from playing that role, and learn to accommodate those weaknesses in each Champion. 3. Pick a new role after you've learned your first one well. 4. Apply what you've learned from the previous role to the new one. 5. Branch off slowly until you have a general understanding of all roles and can play all of them competently (Please don't play ranked only knowing one role, as that will be an upsetting realization for both yourself or your teammates, eventually).
OR. You can watch lots of high ranked games or streams. While, you can't learn everything from watching (you're going to have to play eventually), you can learn a lot about roles and positioning if you can dissect what they do, OR, Better yet, you can watch one that is noob-friendly and commentates their play.
Time played versus rank:
So, you think you're bad. Well, you are. And so am I, everyone you're playing with, every single pro, the Tai Pei Assassins, etc. We're all bad, welcome to the club!
Maybe, you've gotten discouraged, perhaps you're feeling down about your current rank or position in the game. Don't get discouraged. There's a high correlation between games won and skill level. It's something I've noticed over time and I'm sure you'll eventually see it, too.
Now, I have roughly ~500 games won, and I'm currently in Silver (Silver X as I'm still beating out dem plebs, yo), and about 8 months ago, my friend whom was also Silver (who is now Gold) had 500 wins. However, he's now got over a thousand and is in gold. This case is true with three of my friends, so there's at least some kind of correlation.
Of course, there are people out there who could have 10,000 wins and still be in Bronze V. Those are the people unwilling to learn and unwilling to change. Stay. Away. From. Them.
Anyway, just some food for thought. If you're actively aware of your full-bad status you can improve at incredible speeds!
Resources:
So, I saw this pop up the same day I wrote this, and I just got time to read it through all the way, and it's really helpful. I'd give this a read if you have the time:
Written by the All Tomato. It pretty much describes everything down to the very t and dotted i in terms of terminology and basic of basics.
Another great guide would be written by the Infectious Lepar, explaining the Champion Selection Process .
