7 Reasons You Lose Ranked Games (How to Get Out...

[quote=gatekept]I've been seeing quite a few threads from people about doing poorly in ranked/asking for tips to improve. So, I've come up with a list of 7 of the biggest no-nos I see happen in ranked and how you can prevent them and get ELO! I don't necessarily believe in "ELO hell" but if you do, then you might find this helpful in understanding how to get out of bronze or how to get out of silver. [color=#ffff00][b]1. You Rage[/b][/color] I know this might sound obvious, but raging does so much more than kill team morale. In lower ELO, it can cause your teammates to AFK, intentionally feed, or refuse to group with the team – netting you a big fat loss. But what you may not realize is not only does it turn your teammates against you and ruin morale, but it causes you and your teammates to lose awareness. Here's what you're doing when you rage: - Losing CS - Losing awareness - Feeding free kills because you weren't paying attention to a gank - Causing your teammates to lose awareness because they are typing back to you You give your opponent the advantage every time you type. [color=#ffff00][b]2. You Don't CS Well[/b][/color] CSing well is really important in League of Legends. A lot of people think 100 CS at 20 minutes is good, but it's really not. If you're not good at CSing, make custom games and practice. The best way to practice CSing is with an AP champ because of the low base damage, making it more difficult to last hit. Once you can consistently hit 80 CS by the 10-minute mark, you'll be more prepared for ranked games. [b]Remember:[/b] One and a half creep waves is worth roughly the same as a kill, which many players seem to forget. Focus on CSing well in lane and capitalize on your opponent's mistakes rather than always focusing on getting the kill. [color=#ffff00][b]3. You Don't Ward[/b][/color] I remember the days of low ELO and hearing this one Riven say "Wards waste cash." Ugh. Couldn't be further from the truth. Vision control gives your team such a big advantage. It allows you to see where the enemy jungler might be, giving you the ability to safely push a lane, go for dragon, or get another objective. A ward also pays for itself in gold if you can manage to get a kill because of it or avoid dying to a gank from the enemy jungler or a laner. If you have a spare 75 gold after basing, you should always try to buy a ward. Pinks are even better, if you can afford one. Remember, trinkets only last 60 seconds so they're really not enough to solely rely on. [color=#ffff00][b]4. You Pick Anti-Meta Champions[/b][/color] Might sound dumb, but the meta exists for a reason. As patches happen, specific champions and items get stronger and weaker and you need to be paying attention to those changes. If you're really trying to gain ELO, exploiting a champion that's currently super strong can be really helpful. Champions that aren't in the current meta usually don't scale as well and are harder to carry with. Pick strong champions that scale, snowball, and carry easily. [color=#ffff00][b]5. You Lack Awareness[/b][/color] Lower ELO players tend to not be very aware when it comes to paying attention to the map. If your mid lane is getting ganked and you're sitting at wraiths (Razorbeaks) and could have helped them avoid dying or even scored a kill, then that's your fault for not paying attention. Sure mid could have avoided this by warding, but you could have been aware and counterganked, as well. Always be looking at the mini map and keep tabs on lanes, which side they're pushed to, where the enemy jungler is, and if there are a large number of enemies pushing one lane. If bot lane is being pushed in by four people on the enemy team, that's a great opportunity to split push top (unless of course, they are on an inhib turret and going for an inhibitor). Awareness wins games. [color=#ffff00][b]6. You Make Poor Trades[/b][/color] Decision-making is a huge part of League of Legends. I'd say 90% huge. If you do everything else right, but falter when it's time to make big decisions, you can throw games in the blink of an eye. Here are a few things I see time and again that can really kill your team momentum: [color=#0080ff][b]Scenario #1[/b][/color] A team fight is happening in mid, but you're doing Blue. [b]Result:[/b] Team fight is lost. [color=#0080ff][b]Scenario #2[/b][/color] Your team is pushing for an inhibitor, but you're doing Blue. [b]Result:[/b] Your team doesn't get inhib because you weren't there. [color=#0080ff][b]Scenario #3[/b][/color] Your team is grouping for dragon, but you're in lane CSing. [b]Result:[/b] Team members die or worse, you lose dragon because you didn't group or came too late. [color=#0080ff][b]Scenario #4[/b][/color] You trade a kill for no objectives. [b]Result:[/b] You lose CS in lane and give up gold. Some of this falls under the Awareness category, but you get the picture. Trading a buff for not getting a tower or inhib is not worth. Doing baron instead of getting an easy inhibitor on an Ace is not worth. Trading a kill 1-1 is never worth unless your team can get an objective out of it. [color=#ffff00][b]7. You Don't Have a Main Role[/b][/color] You should know how to play all roles, but maining a role can be really beneficial and help you carry. If you get good at a certain role, you'll know the ins and outs of it and how to gain advantages in your lane or in the jungle. At the same token, if that role gets taken in champ select, you should have a backup role that you feel comfortable with and be able to fill. If you implement all of these strategies, you should have no difficulties with getting out of bronze or silver.[/quote]

[quote=Cooper112]Disagree with number 4. You can get elo with any champion even if not in meta. Udyr was the one none meta pick that got me to plat. Where i would just feed on meta champs.[/quote]

[quote=Savlonic]Yeah, number 4 is not a reason to not be able to climb. If you belong in a rank you can reach it with any champ.[/quote]

[quote=sirell][quote=Cooper112]Disagree with number 4. You can get elo with any champion even if not in meta. Udyr was the one none meta pick that got me to plat. Where i would just feed on meta champs.[/quote] I kind of agree. I think people can win because of a prescriptive meta, but I wouldn't put it as a reason you consistently lose because of picking against it. There are a lot of non-meta picks that can work. The terminology is also wrong. 'Anti-meta' means that it works WELL against meta picks; anti-meta are counterpicks to metapicks. The correct term is 'non-meta'. I would phrase it more like: [b]Poor champion select[/b] - you pick a champion that's not suitable. Either the champion does not work well with your team composition, you pick it into an extremely unfavourable lane, or is just such a trash pick that you shouldn't pick the champion unless you're some next level expert. Meta picks are safe picks - most people know the capability of the champion and knows how it fits into the team. #8 You just suck at the game <-- you missed this one out. Sometimes people are just crap at the game and consistently lose and feed, etc etc.[/quote]

[quote=MyBloodisBlack]Am I allowed to put in my two cents on this thread? Yes? excellent :D I Agree with alot of what you are saying on this @Gatekept especially the one about raging since I have on many occasions seen good solid matches disintegrate before my eyes because suddenly one player wanted to bad mouth everyone since we didn't do what he wanted to do. The Warding is always a big problem in the game especially in Bronze because everyone still assume this is the solo job of the Support which I am sure everyone will agree it is NOT - Yes the Support does place the most wards in the game but warding is a team effort. I will jump on the bandwagon though and Say number 4 is wrong as well, yes each patch makes certain champions stronger and some items better but I have always believe that it is better to be the best with the worst than to be the worst with the best. I find that I do better playing the champions I am good with than trying to "stick to the meta" all the time and playing with champions I am not comfortable with as a player.[/quote]

[quote=Stylistical]I kinda suck at this game. I'm not going to lie. I have HUGE connection issues (like constant 100-130 ping on a good day. Fucking east coast.), but also I have awareness issues and decision making issues. I get mad, but I swallow my anger and don't flame teammates, and if they start annoying me, I just mute them. I do greatly disagree with #4 though. Udyr, before he was meta, carried people to plat and diamond. Zed was the same way. Riven dropped from meta, but now is back. Aatrox was meta at one point (Or so I've heard), but he's WAY out now. He doesn't fit into many team comps, and he's not that useful, but he can carry teams very easily. He's the type of champion, you give him a finger, he takes you and the person next to you. I really need to practice my CSing.[/quote]

[quote=Jimmydoggga 2.0]I just pick anyone that counters the team comp the enemy team has and it seems to work. Having said that Udyr is like INSANELY easy to counterpick against. The only other thing I've seen is with making trades. If you see a trade you can win easily just go for it.[/quote]

[quote=gatekept]Thanks for the comments, guys. Picking meta champions is just a way to give yourself an advantage, it doesn't mean you HAVE to. These are just tips. Many champions get boosted with patches and it's good to use those champs while they're strong. It's not to say you can't carry with other champions, but it's normally EASIER to carry with meta champs that are there for a reason. I think everyone misunderstood my point.[/quote]

[quote=The_Nameless_Bard][quote=Stylistical]I have HUGE connection issues (like constant 100-130 ping on a good day. Fucking east coast.)[/quote]I live in western South Dakota (aka closer to the west coast than the east coast) and my ping is 100-120 on a good day and regularly higher than that, goml. Try playing with constant 200-500 ping in a game and then we can talk. 8D[/quote]

[quote=TheKut]Hypohetically, if I play ranked, get last pick mid, and the enemy team consists of [[Ryze]] top, [[Orianna]] mid, [[Elise]] jungle, [[Corki]] adc and [[Nami]] support there is absolutely no reason to not pick [[Galio]] even though he isn't meta.[/quote]