Lessons learned from a year and a half old NEWB, and some secrets to success!
INTRO Hi All, Righteous Rage, who am I ? No one of consequence. I apologize for the 2 paragraph intro, but it is necessary in order to see how I view League. How I got into league is rather interesting. I'm actually an active duty SF commo guy. I enjoy video games, and for about a year a buddy of mine tried to get me into league, I thought it looked dumb. HA! In January 2014 my wife was diagnosed with Leukemia and the next 8 months were a little crazy as we ended up in Houston for her to undergo a bone marrow transplant. I downloaded it the first week when I was back home from the hospital after our daughter had gone to bed. Ziggs was free and I chose him because I thought he looked cool. I was hooked. I LOVED ZIGGS! Other than my faith and the gym, League was something that helped me stay sane.
I've got multiple combat rotations under my belt. I have had to say goodbye to a lot of friends; men that were better than me. By far watching my wife have to go through what she did was the hardest thing I have ever endured. The book Gates of Fire (If you have not read it, get off this post and go read it right now! It is about the Spartans at Thermopylae) sums it up well about men and warfare, and the relationships such trials create. I have been ready to die ever day for years on end, I was not prepared to have to watch my wife fight for her life, while I was unable lift a hand to protect her.
INITIAL ADVICE So League. League is a game, this is the first thing that you need to realize. Games are meant to be fun! In the grand scheme of life, they really are not that important. If you are not having fun due to losing, raging, etc... you need to put the mouse down and walk away for a bit. A game is not worth ruining your day. If you find yourself getting uber upset, and raging on other people rather than helping them see how to improve, you need to walk away for a bit. That is something I did not expect. I was literally game 1 and people were yelling and cussing at me because I sucked. Had people taken the extra 10 seconds to give me some pointers like some people eventually did, my learning curve would have been a lot less.
League is a difficult game. There is so much to take into consideration beyond just killing the other champ, like cs (no one told me about the importance of cs until I was 3 months in), objectives, what other champs abilities are, how they build, etc...it really is a hard game to grasp initially. Don't chastise people for their lack of ability, help them become better!
I have even done this for an opposing team. There was a fiddlesticks jungling, I was playing shaco (WHOM I LOVE!!!!) or WW, I can't remember. I shut him down hard and found out instantly he was new at Fiddle, the jungle, and had no idea what he was doing. As the game went on I talked him through his build and the jungle (He actually used Zhons really well and got a couple good team fights in). We won, but it helped him become a better player and enjoy the game. . Again, the keyword is GAME.
FOR THE NOOBS Have fun! Find a champ you enjoy and play them. You are going to lose...A LOT!!!! But have fun with it and just learn the game. Watch youtube streams of how to play, go to mobafire. If league is something you want to turn into a hobby, take the time to learn it and if you can find a friendly player that is experienced, ask them to group with you and give you pointers.
FOR THOSE WANTING TO LVL UP IN RANK OR W/L RATIO It is so easy to say, "This champ OP, NERF THEM!!!!" Or complain about other players feeding. It's like my dad always told me growing up, "Doesn't matter how tough you are, how strong you are, or how fast you are; there is always someone out there who is a little bit tougher, stronger, and faster. The same goes with league. That's life! Yes your team may feed, but get over it. If you don't like it, don't play. I've been up for Silver 5 from Bronze 1 twice. Both times I had a streak of disconnects or feeders on my team and it was usually the ADC and I was the Sup (no saving that lane HA!) WHATEVER!!! At the end of the day, I'm alive, my wife is alive, our daughter is crazy, and I can still clean and jerk 280Lbs.
This brings me to a major point, obviously for anyone in college that has to write as many papers as I do for my bachelors I'm currently working on. Get yourself into some form of physical fitness program and eat well. It does not matter if it is running, body building, weightlifting, crossfit (Which I hate by the way but that is a whole different discussion), whatever. Do some form of physical training. It doesn't have to be an hour a day either. 20-30 minutes a day of good body weight workouts and some sprints will do wonders. The best part of body weight workouts...FREELOOOOOO!!!!! Also, Get on a good diet, and make it part of your daily regiment. You would be amazed what cutting out sugar, soda, and upping your water intake will do for your mental acuity and mood. Give yourself 1 sugar day a week where you just junk out. And again, HYDRATE! Water is so important and people do not drink enough of it. All this will actually help you mentally which in turn will help you with league and every other facet of life. It will sharpen your mind for decision making, and your ability to focus which is the whole of League!
The major key to league is finding a champ that plays the way you think. Each of us has a different way we make decisions, thought process, etc...There are at least 2 if not 3 champs that marry up to this very well. Personally, Nautilus and Sona do well for me, but I really found my muse in the jungle with Shaco. It took a couple of days for the champ, even longer to learn jungling, but I just understood how he worked and I really enjoyed him. If you're not enjoying the champ you are playing, try another. Play until you find the one you absolutely love playing whether you win or lose. For me this is Shaco. When you find them watch videos of people that main these characters. Learn that character inside and out. Get the basics down, then go into a custom game, and practice, practice, practice all the little tricks you see the streamers and pros do.
I did this and I think my match history shows the fruits of my labor. I will admit, It did help that my wife went to her 1 year transplant appointment in Houston so with the 10 day bachelor status re-endowed, outside of work, school, running our T-shirt business that helps cover the medical and travel expenses, studying my Bible, and the gym, all I did was play Shaco. But I have a ton of wins now, because I understand how he works, his role, and how to help my team win EVEN IF MY K/D RATIO IS NEGATIVE!!!
This leads me to a second major "outside of league point." Get another hobby! Find something outside of fitness and and league that you really enjoy doing. For me it is studying the Bible. It is something I'm passionate about. Obviously for a lot of you this will not be the case, but nonetheless find something you are passionate about and pursue it!
CLOSING REMARKS The key to being good at anything is practice. In league it is practice and a cool head. What keeps people alive overseas is not the emotional surge of anger when you take rounds, or pumping yourself up before a mission (This is called possession in Gates of Fire), but the ability to stay calm as possible and make rational decisions that will keep your friends alive. League is no different. The angrier one gets, the more they rage, the worse their decision making process will actually be which leads to them doing terrible in game. Relax have fun, there is always an area to improve in, so look at what you did wrong and fix it the next game.
My final word of advice to success in league is this. If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right! See you on the rift my friends.
