Learn ALL the roles. Nothing worse than someone who "Only knows top - TOP OR FEED!"

ForFoxSakes·Oct 30, 2014·2 votes·950 views

Start with ADC. Learn to last hit and farm safely with range. Basic zoning with ranged AAs and you come with a babysitter not having to worry about engaging/peels. You're just there for the damage

Support next. Learn how important vision is and how to use cooldowns for trades and when to engage/disengage. You're just here for the CC & learning how important it is to abuse cooldowns for trading

3rd learn Top. Apply what you learnt from bot lane and bring it to the top where now it's just all you. Ward to stay safe, manage CDs for trading and while doing damage + CSing. If you're heavily relying on someone else (jung) as you were while duo laning, you have lots of room for improvement as something is still lacking in you that you need a babysitter. OMGWTF GETTING CAMPED is not an excuse to die/lose lane - thats what vision is for to not get ganked and waste their junglers time. Losing in trades - you can do better managing CDs and zoning

4th learn Mid. Once you've obtained sufficient experience to CS, ward, zone & manage cooldowns you can now be responsible enough to become a more important role as a carry, likely with cooldowns and less focus on basic AAs. After being able to manage not getting ganked from 1 path as top, you now have to watch many paths. Stop calling "MID" right as you get into lobby if you're newer/bad and know nothing about the game wanting to be the center of attention. Now you can practice on roaming and watching jungle more as you're mid and everything is closer to you in proximity if you need to move to another location.

Finally learn Jungle. Not only do you have knowledge on how all the lanes work now, but you have to watch all the lanes. If you see something out of place in that lane by learning that role, you can assist with it. IE- Top no wards - throw a ward down in his river bush so even if you dont gank he has no excuse for dying or losing super hard; Mid getting zoned - provide some presence around mid so the enemy doesnt feel as safe. Even if you take a chunk of their HP off on gank, they cannot zone your mid as effectively as they can be at risk of dying or ganked again.

Ganking and getting zoning power is BETTER than dying for a kill since no one gets ahead kill for kill, but if you get an upper hand you can force missed CS and attention for their jungler. Zoning, HP & mana of your laners becomes another resource you can manage as jungle - if theirs is higher you can throw your weight around to even it out or get it more ahead.

You're now also responsible for even more vision outside of lanes, manage respawn timers, manage your HP/mana to engage ganks, track unseen enemy movement based on jungle patterns (ie can estimate where their jungler is without even seeing him) and additional objectives none of the laners ever consider. You also have to better manage your gold as you have to complete your build while getting less income than laners, while having to stop farm to help laners in addition to buying items for vision control.

Once you get decent at the above, you can abuse power spikes based on when you get your items and when the laners get their items so you can get favorable skirmishes, which will not only award kills but further advantages with towers and dragon/baron. This isn't an AFK farm without having to worry about an enemy poke role. Lots of noobs want this slot to just farm passively without having to worry about fighting an enemy player - THIS IS SO FUCKING WRONG AND MY BIGGEST PEEVE.

Not saying you have to be pro at all of them. There will be one that you're better at and have more fun in but at least have 30-40 games in each before ranked so youre not a huge deadweight that becomes uncarryable. Everyone in solo Q thinks everyone else is BAD and want to be the "superstar carry center of attention I am the team I hold the team together mid" so automatically wants mid even if they dont know the basics mentioned. Any role can carry the team - dont think you have to be mid to do so

7 Comments

ValyrianBladeOct 30, 20141 votes

I agree a lot and even agree with your order.

That said, it's hard if you start bot Lane because everyone else wants mid/top and when you're ready to start there you're going to suck at it if your mmr Rose from bot Lane. I say this from experience, I improved my mmr a lot as adc that now I'm hopeless as a melee laner (which basically means I can't do top). I've tried Games top Lane, but pretty much just get dominated then zoned because I don't know the role well enough (matchups or even my own capabilities). I find it much harder to farm as melee. Practicing bot Games doesn't help as the bots suck at harass/trading and don't play the meta anyways. Part of my problem admittedly is that literally every time I've gone top I end up against a darius (who is a Lane bully and I'm already at a disadvantage in Lane so this kills me).

Due to this, I'd almost recommend starting top and mid at low levels. You'll be matched with other new players and hence learn those roles more easily (and also if you're with new players they might not care as much to get top/mid). Then you can move to support/adc as less people want the role (so you're less likely to be against someone who mains the role) so you'll get the role easily and have easier matchups to learn it.

Jungle should still be last because it definitely requires knowledge of every role so you can act, react, and pre-act effectively.

KinakoCandyOct 30, 20141 votes

I'm not a very skilled player. Knowing this I pick easy champs. Preferably ones that farm well and have mobility.

For example, you say you are bad at melee champions. Pick an easy one with good wave clear such as Shyvanna or Renekton.

Same goes with mid pick safe wave clear champions such as Morgana or Orianna.

Once you build your confidence with easier champions you can progress to other champions that interest you.

ValyrianBladeOct 30, 20141 votes

Thanks :)

I'm fine in mid, I have no problems getting farm (and getting myself fed) as ahri after a couple games.

I just struggle top. I think it's because, originally maining adc, I always see tops as super tanky who can survive for a while, whereas obviously early game they aren't there yet. So I think I can survive longer than I actually can and end up getting killed/zoned due to it. I've done okay with Ryze, but given he's being nerfed soon and I still lack melee champs it's tough to figure out.

ForFoxSakesOct 30, 20141 votes

That's true, but when you're levelling up MMR isnt in consideration and same with team builder & normals. Most people in those are testing out new builds, champs or roles so theyre in a similar spot. Even if you do find yourself against someone who mains that role it'll provide you with a better learning experience than stomping some adc main who went mid poorly

Even if you lose lane and take something away from the experience you'll be better than raging at someone else on the team while winning lane & learning nothing :)

Darius bullies lanes but usually either wins lanes & loses game from not proving much else to the team, or gets shut down and useless after. He was the champ I started with and felt like I was doing super good but really knew nothing because of the way he works. You can win trades w him by baiting out (& avoid) his Q decimate then going in as that's his main damage source, OR dive straight in to take reduced decimate damage and out damaging him w burst champs. Have to bait & counter or all in - no in between poke fest. Good experience to learn abuse cooldown timings & winning trades

EthriOct 30, 20141 votes

I don't really see the point in "learning all the roles", at least from personal experience. I've mained support for so long that my habits end up transferring to other lanes (I try to help out in situations where I don't have the necessary items to be a threat... because supports have high base scaling/cc).

Right now I'm a dead weight Top laner/ Jungle/ Adc.
-Top lane: I have no idea how play in team fights. I usually just go in and die instantly even if fed and tanky. If I remember correctly, I have about a 20% win rate with Irelia over about 60 games. -Jungle: I want to be everywhere at once to help out and end up being under leveled from neglecting farm. I usually find my mid laner convincing me to take blue for myself because I'm behind. The only good point is that I put a huge emphasis on finding windows of time to do dragon as a jungler. -ADC: Although I used to main it, I always end up miss-clicking minions when I want to attack the enemy. I often find myself canceling my auto attacks too early when trying to cs/ attacking the enemy if I didn't play that specific champion for the past 2 games.

Even if someone knows every role, it can still mean they don't play other roles well.

ForFoxSakesOct 30, 20141 votes

I don't really see the point in "learning all the roles", at least from personal experience. I've mained support for so long that my habits end up transferring to other lanes
Right now I'm a dead weight Top laner/ Jungle/ Adc.

What you just said in these 2 lines contradict each other. You say what you know transfers to the other roles yet dead weight in those roles. Which means you dont know those roles and end up just being utility rather than something else the team needs.

-Top lane: I have no idea how play in team fights. I usually just go in and die instantly even if fed and tanky. If I remember correctly, I have about a 20% win rate with Irelia over about 60 games.

Knowing how a top performs and teamfight can help you make your decisions as support. If you dont know what youre looking at seeing a top do action X - do you know how you're supposed to react as support to complement it? If you did you'll improve as support. Not saying you are bad at it, but it'll definitely help the team out more knowing when to do something by having small tells.

For example, I see lots of bad thresh throw out a hook then nothing - whose fault is that? The rest of the team for not following up or the support for not knowing that the team isnt looking for an engage? Is your top supposed to be the one to engage or are you?

-Jungle: I want to be everywhere at once to help out and end up being under leveled from neglecting farm. I usually find my mid laner convincing me to take blue for myself because I'm behind. The only good point is that I put a huge emphasis on finding windows of time to do dragon as a jungler.

If you're behind your mid should be the one whose taking the buff to carry harder. If you can recognize what the laners are trying to do you can make those windows by doing something else to free dragon instead of waiting for it to happen.

You cant be everywhere so you have to set priorities on what will get your team ahead the most. Trying to be everywhere and failed ganks is what'll set you behind. Make your non farm time count.

-ADC: Although I used to main it, I always end up miss-clicking minions when I want to attack the enemy. I often find myself canceling my auto attacks too early when trying to cs/ attacking the enemy if I didn't play that specific champion for the past 2 games.

Last hitting will help you in every lane, even as support. You can learn to recognize when the ADC will miss a CS if you dont help them prime a hit along w turret shots.

Even if someone knows every role, it can still mean they don't play other roles well.

It will definitely help your mechanics in you main role by knowing what the other roles are doing. It's like when laners bitch about not getting ganks when they dont even realize theyre getting map vision to prevent you from getting ganked while setting up to take dragon. You know your team is prepping for dragon - dont all in die/forced to B, which loses your lane, loses your tower and to free up your laner to contest dragon while youre back at base.

EthriOct 30, 20141 votes

-What is implied in learning a role? If I play top for 3 games, I'll probably be bad at support for the next game even with thousands of support games. Anyways, I was referring to knowing how useful I can be at low hp/ trying to help allies when I really should be farming.

-I don't play engage supports (I play mostly Lulu/ Nami/ Janna). If I do, then I (usually) focus on peeling and picking over engaging. I'm good at reading intentions of my allies and do my best to fulfill their desires unless I think the idea is stupid.

-I figured that mid is better with blue, but there is no point in debating things out in game. I don't think I fully understand how to gank well though even with 40+ jungle games. I usually come in from behind to intercept/ burn a flash, but my largest issue is dying to counter ganks or being killed in my jungle. I agree I need to prioritize better.

-As I said I am bad at aiming my clicks rapidly, and sometimes do it too fast making me cancel attacks before the animation finishes. This has nothing to do with csing as I already know when to take/ prime cs.

-I know the objectives of other roles. I know their intentions. Though my basic mechanics in those roles are awful now that I tend to fail combos if I didn't play that champion in the previous game. I think the ability to play multiple roles depends on how strong a persons' muscle memory is for multiple champions.