Everything I Know About LoL (Platinum)

I'm not the best LoL player, but I thought I'd give my 2 cents on the game as a lot of higher elo players just say "Don't flame, pick your best champ, work with your team etc." (they are right btw that stuff is all true). However I wanted to take the time to explain somethings about this game that lower level players may not know/understand fully.

First, "The Meta"

"The Meta" is not what champions are good. Many people think that. The Meta is what other people think is good. For example it is accepted that Janna/Thresh are the two best supports and Trist/Twitch/Luc are the three best adcs (with regards to the professional scene and thus the minds of many players). The Meta champions are the answers most people would give if asked "Who is the best champion for role x?"

Why I bring this up, is you can use it to your advantage. The Meta's place in LoL is most evident in the evolution of Flavor of the Month top laners. Shyv was king (or queen) and then people started playing Trundle who could build offense and steal the enemies tank stats. This caused people to shift to bruisers and more damage like Jax. Tanks couldn't stop these champions from split pushing which lead to the rise of the regen tanks like Maokai and Mundo. Knowing what the average opponent considers "op" and what that things weakness is paramount. Know the current "op" champions and their weakness that's the beauty of a game with checks and balances like LoL, everything is equally good and bad if in the right situation or hands.

Stepping away from the actual champions there seems to be a thought line in lower level play (I was silver last season) that says "It's ok guys, we have the late game." The truth is late game champions are not usually the best in soloq as the late game requires more swift and accurate decisions and without voice communication it is hard. With increased death timers it doesn't matter if you have a level 18 Trist with IE/BT/LW/PD/ and the enemy Varus is level 15 with just an IE/PD. If you through a fight he can end the game just the same. It is generally better to pick champions that will yield rewards sooner in the game rather than later.

Gold. Is. Everything.

Not the League the currency. If you are in a lane, and you die once, it's ok. If you are in a lane that you can literally not even farm without being poked to base or dying. Leave it. Staying in a losing lane grows an enemies gold lead and your team gains nothing. If you are bottom and can't stay in lane, go mid and take tower, then when the enemy team goes mid, go top and take that tower. Never willingly let your opponents gain gold over you. That doesn't mean the enemy team with a haunting guise level 6 rumble and your team with the level 5 mundo with a giant's belt should fight over dragon. It means you should try to take a tower while they do that. Don't fight when you don't have to, but always try to make progress on the map.

Fighting:

If your team has a member get picked off late game, don't try to fight 4v5, don't try to fight when the enemy team has baron, don't sit farming when you have baron. Know the power levels of the teams and fight when you have the upperhand.