TL;DR
I wanted to make my first guide on something general. I related a book on warfare to league of legends for general tips. There will be general tips aimed towards lower elo players on the bullet points.

What Is This Guide
It has information from "The Art of War" that was found relevant and relate-able to League of Legends. The information is provided interpretation by myself and attempt not to be repetitive as some themes overlap.

Purpose of This Guide
I have had a desire to write a guide for League of Legends for a while now but could not decide on a champion. Why not start with something general? The Art of War has been annotated for business and women proving it's usefulness outside of real wars. My purpose in this guide is to give me experience in writing guides and to provide general tips by relating The Art of War to League of Legends.

What is The Art of War
The Art of War is by Sun Zhu. It presents a philosophy of war for managing conflicts and winning battles. It is accepted as a masterpiece on strategy and is frequently cited and referred to by generals and theorists since it was first published, translated, and distributed. There are many online sources of The Art of War and if you enjoy reading this, I suggest you check it out. The Art of War Online - Wiki Info

Who is Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu was a Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher who is associated with The Art of War.

Who Am I

I am a plat player who has been playing for 2 seasons now and I main support.


Guide Format
In the following order
TITLE: Will contain the name of the chapter from the book.
"BOLD": Will be the quote from the book .

• : Will be my interpretation.

"3. The art of war, then, is governed by [four] constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field."


"1. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven(3) Earth; (4) The Commander;"

• There are four main factors in League of Legends.

"4. The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger."

• Synergy/Coordination

"5. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons."

• Timing/Control

"6. Earth comprises distances, great and small danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death."

• Positioning

"7. The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.
The five cardinal virtues of the Chinese are (1) humanity or benevolence; (2) uprightness of mind; (3) self-respect, self-control, or "proper feeling"; (4) wisdom; (5) sincerity or good faith "

• The player them-self.
  
• Being a player with self-control and a player who is non-toxic. Not blaming/flaming your team-mates and able to identify your own mistakes.
  
  
• Compliment your team-mates showing benevolence or kindness. Have the courage to make plays because plays are how you win games. The difference between diamond and high diamond, is the ability to make plays.
  
• A player with sincerity is one free of hypocrisy. Don't blame your team-mate for making a mistake. Even if their mistake lost the game, what you should ask is.. Which mistake of yours, if prevented, could have helped win the game. You are the player who is 100% in all your games, focus on self-improvement.

"3. According as circumstances are favorable, on should modify one's plans."

• Each game is different and cannot be played the same; Do not follow guides/build exactly every game.

"4. All warfare is based on deception."

• Use vision and brushes. They will give you an advantage.
  Examples: Play Video

"5. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away we must make him believe we are near."

• Do a Fnatic: Surprising your enemy or catching them off guard will be advantageous. I can't tell you how many times I've stayed after I "should" have been back, and got more kills.

"6. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him."

• Use deception and positioning. Bait an enemy into poor positioning or kite back an enemy into their doom.

"7. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him."

• If the enemy team is grouped, be prepared. If you can't siege vs a team, let them come to you.
• If the enemy team is ahead of yours, do not fight them on even terms.
  (Power spike, item advantage, ect..)

"23. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest."

• Don't let your enemies free farm
• If the enemy goes back, look for an advantage (Dragon,baron,pushing, ect..)
• If your team is ahead, end the game as soon as possible. Do not derp.

"5. Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays."

• Pick your fights intelligently, patience is required to win.

"19. In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns."

• Stay focused on what is going to win you the game

"5. The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants."

• Do not tilt. Tilt: When someone is letting their emotions affect them to the point that they start playing poorly

"8. It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one; attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two."

• If you have a clear advantage, do not hesitate; strike immediately.
• Collapse on your enemies together.
• Use the buddy system.

"9. If equally matched, we can offer battle"

• Whoever strikes first is the victor because you dictate the time of battle causing the enemy react.
• If two mid laners can nuke each other, whoever strikes first will win.
• If two CC team fighting teams fight, the first to strike will win.

"12. (1) By commanding the army to advance or retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army"

• Be mindful of your calls. (Infamous Noob-Trap Baron)
• If something keeps failing, do not keep doing it.

"17. Thus we may know that there are [three] essentials for victory:
[1] He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
[2] He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
[3] He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign."

• If one player on the enemy team has all the kills, make plays on his allies while avoiding the fed one.

"1. The good fighters of the old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy."

"2. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself."

"13. He wins his battles by making no mistakes."

• Make less mistakes, and capitalize on your enemy's.
• Best general advice I could give someone to gain elo.

Thanks for making it this far and reading my guide. Please feel free to leave to comments with criticism. I will add more videos as I find them for the tips. Also, a big thanks to Jhoijhoi's Guide On Guide Writing :)