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The Problems with Bronze (and how to fix them)

Jenova Synthesis·10/28/2014, 2:53:25 AM·1 votes·1,327 views

So, the long standing problem of the entire League of Legends ranked community:

Bronze Yyyaaaaayyyyy

This thread is for the sole purpose of expressing my thoughts, opinions, and suggestions towards the oh-so-loved Bronze Division. I do not claim do be a pro, or even good for that matter. Frankly, I just got out of Bronze and I noticed a lot about It.

Toxic Players (It's really not worth it!): My first thought on this particular subject, and probably one of the most popular, is the excessive toxicity. In my personal opinion, this is one of the absolute worst problems with Bronze in particular. The sheer amount of rage I've experience is an issue, and quite an underrated issue at that. Even in the pre-game lobby there's toxic players and arguments which create a bad air for the entirety of the early-game, which can carry over into mid/late-game. Most people don't realize how much toxicity and arguments hinder the performance of each player, even if it's not you doing the arguing, due to frustration or teammates not cooperating. To be honest, the fighting with in each team is not worth it in the slightest, and if winning is so important to you then why argue if you know it hinders your team? That's a complete matter of maturity and/or common sense in my opinion, which lower ranks don't seem to have much of... Seriously, to all the toxic players, * Don't fight.* Don't argue with your teammates, don't be a jerk. It doesn't accomplish anything except just about ensuring a loss for your team and you getting reported.

Teamwork (Work together!): The second problem I've encountered is the lack of teamwork. Most players I've seen (and I'm guilty of this as well) think that they have to carry the team by themselves and have to "secure" each individual kill for themselves. The point of League is to work as a team. I know it may be a surprise to you, but it's true! Every player needs each other equally or else your team wouldn't function at all. If you're mid, and you feel like you're doing well and can risk a few seconds out of lane, gank for your not-so-good top laner, help out a teammate. You don't even have to get a kill or assist to have a successful gank either! If you can put pressure onto a lane and get some damage towards a turret, awesome! Any little bit helps. Besides the pure greed found in the majority of solo queue'ers, there's not much team fighting capability. Most of the time, I see the ADC or top try to single out an enemy that happens to be slightly out of position. Unless you have a lot of vision, that's an extremely risky play. By chasing an out of position carry into the jungle, you are putting yourself and your teammates out of position which could force a premature team fight that your team isn't ready for. Try to let your tank or engager go into a fight first, with a strong follow up by AP and AD carries. One of my favorite engagers is Xin Zhao because of his E dash ability, or Jax with his E leap. If I'm building full damage on a strong engager, that's when I try to single out the out of position enemy carries and put the out of the game temporarily, which could lead to capturing an objective.

Builds (You got to pay attention): The last problem I'm going to discuss is player builds. I've noticed that a lot of players have specific champions that they're good with (which isn't a bad thing, unless they can't play anyone else) and specific builds for those champions that they refuse to stray off of. Knowing good builds for your champion is a really good thing, unless you don't ever build anything else. There's not a single build in the game that is completely universal and that works for every single game. You have to switch it up a bit based on your situation! If you're playing Zed and you're a bit behind, look at the enemy teams builds. Look at who's fed and who's not. If they have no armor, then don't build armor penetration. If they have 3 tanks who have nothing but armor, then buy a Last Whisper or a Brutalizer, it's simple. Just pay attention to the enemy teams build, and build yourself based on that.

Honestly, most of the improvements that can be made in individual play can be made with common sense. It's really not hard to be polite and think through plays before you try to execute them. It really goes a long way.

Another thing I found quite frustrating is that a lot of bronze players (and even silver) don't know how to play more than 1 or 2 roles. If you want to carry yourself through the ranked ladder,** LEARN ALL OF THE ROLES THOROUGHLY. ** I cannot stress that enough. You're not always going to get your favorite mid laner, or your favorite jungler. Try your best to be a well-rounded player. In lower level ranked games, you (for the most part) are going to have to carry yourself through the ranked ladder, so it's completely worth your time to learn a couple new champions in a couple new roles.

I hope someone got some use out of this. If anyone has things to add, please do so, I would be glad to get some feedback.

Good luck in Bronzing guys. :D

10 Comments

ultratorr10/28/2014, 3:45:25 AM3 votes

To be honest, solo carrying tends to work better in lower leagues, when most people are not so skilled. It's much harder to go 5-0 in lane in Diamond than it is in Bronze. For getting out of Bronze, I suggest muting everyone from the very beginning, getting fed, and carry without saying a word.

genesisrising110/28/2014, 2:59:21 AM1 votes

[deleted]

Raynor111110/28/2014, 3:02:45 AM1 votes

I just wanted to say that I pretty much agree on all fronts. A followup, learning at least 2-3 champions for each role, for some flexibility, can really help. For example, in Jungle I've got Lee Sin as a AD Tank, Vi for more Bruiser, and Diana for AP Assassin. I almost never have to deviate from these three, and there's enough variety in them that I can fill roles that my team hasn't yet.

As far as builds go, I agree and disagree. Most champions have their "Item," the one that works on them pretty much no matter what. With the above for examples, I always build Brutalizer on Lee, though teamcomp determines whether or not to get Youmuu's or Black Cleaver. I always build Ravenous Hydra on Vi, as it gives her both the practically all the damage and sustain she needs, so I can go tanky with pretty much everything else. And, lastly, I always build, usually rush, Lich Bane on Diana, because it synergies so well with her kit.

So, in summary, it's important to adapt to your team's needs, your opponent's builds, etc., but remember to get items that work with your champion.

Jenova Synthesis10/28/2014, 3:15:32 AM1 votes

Another thing I just thought of that kind of goes with the toxicity portion..

This is a video game. It's made to have fun, so have fun. That's what everyone is there for, right? It's not your right to yell at someone else for a bad play and ruin the experience for them, that's exactly why riot has the tribunal. I've played so many games where I've not done well, but I was able to have fun because I can enjoy the game without losing. Of course it's nice to win, it always is, but don't ruin someone else's play time because you don't want to lose or because they made a mistake. Just enjoy yourself.

Rawrful10/28/2014, 7:54:51 AM1 votes

What does any of that have to do with Bronze? Those problems don't go away no matter what rank you are. Builds get a little better as you get higher, but you still often run into ridiculous items.