How EXACTLY did I reach diamond?
Hello everybody. I am creating this thread not to speak about mechanical tips and tricks, but to explain the type of thinking you need in order to get better at League. League is a very unique game in the fact that it's one of the first of its kind to require more teamwork than solo skill. It's a decision making and knowledge based game. The better your decision making becomes and the more knowledge you gain, the easier League will become.
Contents: (Control F the number to skip to a section)
- Using Reason to Gain Game Knowledge
- AFKers and You
- Internet Rage
- Basic Ways To Improve
- How Does Being a Good Person Help?
- TL;DR
When I began playing League I, like everyone else, was a total newb. I played most often with my friends and tried to take in their advice while I got killed over and over. The thrill of playing a new champion is what kept me going. After playing for greater than two years, reflecting on the differences between new players and veterans should more easily let people see the changes they need to make in order to improve.
(1) Mistakes happen. Veterans of the game see the mistakes they make and ALWAYS think "How could I have played that better?" or "What could I have been done to prevent that?". Common mistakes made when you're learning the game are missing CS, and going on an adventure into the enemy's jungle and dying. The thoughts you have then are "Hmm, perhaps I need to wait longer before I attack". Those basic ideas need to evolve as you play the game longer. The main idea here is "I". Looking back on everything that happens on a game you have to reflect on how much of an influence YOU could have had. If you are the mid laner and bot lane dies four times in a row than there was nothing you could have done about it. Focus on YOU. To improve on a game you must notice patterns in what works. Thinking in reverse, if you notice you keep dying at a certain part of the game (during lane, near dragon, while roaming etc) you must see that pattern and think of what to do to improve. Recognizing patterns and focusing on how YOU can change or continue those patterns is what you need to do to improve. A major situation to look at with these thoughts in mind is when you die. When I die I try to look at what skills were available that could have saved me. I ask myself questions such as.... "Did I use all the tools available to me (what spells did I not cast/was my flash still up)?" "Could I have used my spells in a different order to save me?" Remember, when it comes down to it YOU are the only one who can improve yourself. Don't dwell on others and always think of these questions. Improving yourself is in your hands, approaching this game with reason is the most assured way to get better. Using this idea and asking myself these questions are how I managed to carry myself to diamond.
(2) AFKers seem to be everywhere. Blind pick, draft, solo queue; all of these are plagued by people that leave. This is one of the most highly frustrating parts of League. There isn't much you can do. Sometimes people are set on leaving because you "stole their cs". Whatever happens in a game subsequent to a person leaving is not their fault. So many times I see people rage because after a person afked, someone else on your team got caught out of place. Remember, **** happens and people leave. You generally do not have any control over them. Do your best not to let your emotions from a game with an AFK in it carry over to the next. If my emotions could get carried away, I would never have been able to focus on improving my gameplay to get diamond.
(3) Welcome to the internet. Now welcome yourself to a growing subset of the internet we lovingly call league of legends. People on this game turn themselves into seven year old little werewolf demon children. These people ruin your mood and ruin the game for nine other people. One thing I do know, if you find yourself raging enough that it effects real life (throwing objects, inability to think afterwards) then it’s time to take a break and play Skyrim. Watching Phantomlord play you'll know that every person rages. One thing you should know about PL's rage is that he will never type in game chat. When you rage directly at someone you become a main factor to that person playing even worse. Curbing teammates' nerdrage is one method to winning more games and having more enjoyable games because of it. What I do when I notice a teammate is performing poorly is to try and get their head back into the game. The vast majority of people were not “boosted” to where they are. They are simply having a bad game but can play well. If a person is clearly feeling down and I have the choice between taking a kill or giving it to them then I’ll give it to them. While climbing to diamond I did not once allow myself to bring my teammates down. I make sure that I create the most family-loving environment possible.
(4) Basic ways to improve -Watch replays of your games -Look for mistakes you make consistently -Think of ways you could have played a situation differently -Did you not cast spells when getting ganked? -After you died, did you check what spells were up that could have saved you? -If you casted a spell sooner would you have lived? -Are you CSing properly? -Did you call MIA on the enemy? -Are you trying to predict where the enemy could be? -The vast majority of times the enemy is not moving randomly. If you notice the enemy mid laner is missing and your top laner is pushed....You might want to let him know what's coming -Place wards -Make sure those wards are in effective places -Are you paying attention to your ward's timers? Knowing when you're vulnerable is key is improving -After you take an objective, look what else you can take. -Often times after taking dragon you can also take a tower, rotations are key -When learning a new champion or lane, NEVER play like a pus*y -Learning your limits is one of the most important aspects of league -Play aggressively as to learn what you can do. If you find yourself constantly backing off when an enemy laner walks at you, perhaps you could play that differently. -Look for times to roam
(5) How does being a good person in real life allow you to be better at League? For me, I very very rarely rage at this game. I am constantly thinking of ways to improve myself rather than dwelling on things that are out of my control. Complimenting teammates during champion selection and reassuring them during the game creates a much better environment to work with them. For the next 35 minutes of your life these people must become your family. You would not tell your brother or sister to hang themselves. You would not tell them you hope they get cancer. Being a good person means helping them out, no man left behind (unless they honestly have no way out). It means sacrificing yourself to save a more valuable teammate. Allow them to get their CS but keep in mind sharing is caring. You and your family do think differently, have different play styles, different ideas. Work with them. If I was an as*hole I would never have gotten diamond. I do not believe myself to be better mechanically than other diamond players. I do not think my decision making is vastly superior. The main reason I was able to get diamond is that I was able to get my teammates to believe in the family-aspect that I spoke about. That the people I play with want to play together in the future. Having a "I love these guys" attitude makes a world of difference when it comes to climbing the solo-queue ladder.
(6) TL;DR Wow.. you really didn't read it? Now I'm sad
P.S. If you notice any grammatical errors let me know so I can fix them. Also, I apologize for the format not transferring over too well. This looked much better before it was posted. May also make a section 7 for suggestions to riot.
Please feel free to ask me any questions at all and to join my in game group chat "Jolly's League school"! I do my very best to respond to each and every person. Unfortunately with the old forums being archived I have to remake this thread after 73k views (ish, between the 2 versions of my old one). I also stream now! My #1 goal is to help other players get better and although I've helped many people get better through talking to them, showing them the ropes first hand is a much more effective way. My twitch channel is twitch.tv/jollyamoeba and facebook page is facebook.com/jollyamoeba
