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League of Legends (LoL) Question: Should I play ranked yet?

Posted in General 16,269

  • DrKandatto

    Should I play ranked yet?

    Hello, I'm DrKandatto (IGN: CallMeBigSlothy).

    I started playing league around Vi's release and had become level 30 in March/April time. When I became level 30 I started playing ranked and has since then played 23 ranked solo/duo games. I've only won three. For the longest time I was at the very bottom position of my sub-division in Bronze V, which was very discouraging.

    I'm not the kind to blame my own teammates. I am trying to improve as a player, and I recognize my mistakes. My question is should I be playing ranked anymore? Should I just wait till season 4 and see if I'm better or should I continue in season 3 and just take the losses? Any help and advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance :)
  • Answers (12)

    4
    GhostZon3 (2) | June 19, 2013 1:16pm
    You're 5-44 in ranked..what. First thing I checked was your rune pages. Sorry, but they're really really bad man. (http://www.lolking.net/summoner/na/39042472#runes)

    Tier two Quint of mana..really?

    Tier one and Two marks of ASPd for "AP", and you're missing marks...

    And missing glyphs.

    That's just your first page..uhh..

    First thing you should do is fix your rune pages. Marks of mpen, seals of armor, glyphs of mr are a good start, for an ap page, etc. If you think those are good runes, then that's prob why you're bronze 5.

    And my god, you have glyphs of AD for ur ad page WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY. Quints of mana and cdr are useless as **** too...um..

    You don't seem to be a troll, but just not a good player, which is fine. Fix your rune pages, look up some builds on mobafire if you have to, and fix your masteries. They're pretty scary too. Fix that first, then work on your IG mechanics, I guess..
    0
    Absolute.0 (30) | June 19, 2013 7:49pm
    like wise... ~_~ I'm now 21 champs away from completing all of them yet I still use the same runes... the bad part is... it doesn't work well with some of my champs.. ahahaha
    0
    raiant (1) | June 19, 2013 7:27pm
    @ KrKandatto... same here... i used to spend my ip for champions... hahahaha... i thought that its better to buy champions rather than runes but thats wrong... you need to buy champions with respect to your runes... if your runes were for ad champions, buy ad champions... you will just waste your ip for buying tanky and ap champs if your runes are for ad...
    0
    DrKandatto (1) | June 19, 2013 6:29pm
    When I wasn't level 30, I put a lot of my IP into new champions instead of runes so I am behind on my rune pages. As for the 5 - 44, only about 22 of those are solo queue. Me and some friends have been in multiple ranked teams together and didn't do very well. I will take another look into my masteries and runes soon. Thanks.
    3
    PsiGuard (1495) | June 19, 2013 3:13pm
    Play whatever helps you improve the most. For some people, that's soloqueue since it's competitive and your progress is measurable. If you find soloqueue too stressful, then you should queue for normals instead while you practice. You could also play tons of premade normals if you don't like playing with randoms (like me :P), just make sure you're focusing on improving your own mechanics.

    Pick a couple champions per role and play them a lot, learn them in and out. It'll help you a lot more than just playing whatever you feel like.

    And like GhostZon3 said, clean up your rune pages. A lot of your success in soloqueue depends on how well you can produce an advantage for your team in the early game. Runes are a big part of that, so having a suboptimal or incomplete runeset is going to impact your win/loss ratio.
    0
    DrKandatto (1) | June 19, 2013 7:12pm
    Thanks :) I never really thought of runes as that big of an impact, but I do notice a trend in my early game and that could very well be it. I have a few main champions (Wukong being my number one favorite). I have also been trying to improve stuff like warding, last hitting, ect.

    Nice to know I'm at least on the right track.
    3
    Meiyjhe (538) | June 19, 2013 1:23pm
    To answer the question quite simply:
    Just keep playing, since you cant get much lower than bronze 5 anyway :P

    Anyway if you wish to improve:
    1. Read some guides of the champion you play.
    2. Search answers on questions you have about the game.
    3. Analyse games by watching streams or watching your own games with LoLreplay, you can learn from peoples mistakes, including yours.
    4. Search for a mentor
    5. Those were the main things I can think of :P

    Anyway, try to understand the game, the tactics, the builds, the champions and yourself. Understanding these things will allow you to use them optimally and maybe even think of some new things aswell :P
    0
    sirell (400) | June 20, 2013 12:55am
    Play in the inhouses and get feedback.
    0
    DrKandatto (1) | June 19, 2013 8:45pm
    I had a very good mentor who taught me how to play and still gives me lots of info I need. He may not be that far in ranked, but he has been playing since Season 1 and knows his way around the game :) It helps a lot.
    0
    PsiGuard (1495) | June 19, 2013 8:36pm
    It's not. Trust me.
    0
    raiant (1) | June 19, 2013 7:29pm
    maybe its better if you just discover things on your own and not from mentors... =heheheh
    1
    Hestaron | June 25, 2013 9:15am
    I've got the same problem as you. Played a few matches and on normal games i won slightly more than half. But in ranked i got punished hard with 5wins out of 18games.

    After some talk with a friend i noticed i don't have any runes and started buying them. People say that slight advantage helps. I can't say nothing more cause im in the same boat. But im learning from the reactions of other people here.

    Thanks for that guys.
    1
    Fousek (4) | June 21, 2013 5:22pm
    Top lane is hard for new players without Runes, you can try to learn basic strategy and tactics by playing Ranked as support and observe your team... But you´ll need IP for Runes, Find high rated build on your favourite role and start building Rune Page
    1
    Keltayy (6) | June 21, 2013 9:58am
    I see you really like to play Top-Lane, but do you know how to play toplane? Like the warding, positioning, all that stuff?
    I'll also need to say that you NEED to buy all your runes, and read guides for those champions you are playing ( Wukong, Elise and Singed. There are many good guides to read. So go on ^^
    But you need to play even more Normals before really playing Ranked.. Thats the only thing I can say..

    1) Learn Top-Lane for now.
    2) Fill out your Rune Page
    3) Practice ALOT in normals (forget Customs)
    4) Give yourself goals for every game and try to reach them
    5) If you have LOLRecorder, try watch the game and see what you did wrong, and try to do x better :)
    0
    Keltayy (6) | June 23, 2013 2:56am
    Thats nice to hear that you are doing better in your games. Good luck in the future, and kick some a** in Ranked ;)
    0
    DrKandatto (1) | June 22, 2013 10:44am
    Although top lane is my native lane, I wouldn't even dare say I'm close to mastering it. I still have much to learn. Still, it is the lane I know best. I know my limits, I know my counters, and I know my picks.
    On the topic of #4, I have noticed that since I made this question thread, I have been doing better than usual in my games :)
    1
    TheBadKorea | June 20, 2013 8:08pm
    We've all been there, I got to gold at like 900 wins on normals
    1
    Teh Grazzh0pper (38) | June 19, 2013 10:41pm
    Bronze 5. 5-44. These are all signs that you should NOT even be thinking about playing ranked. This shows that your standard is not there yet, and you should be playing a lot of normal games (get 250 wins at least) BEFORE going ranked. Don't worry, I was just like you last time, dropped to ~850 elo first time in season 2, climbed out and now I'm at 1400+, with my normal elo around 2k+. Normal games helped me to become a much better player now than I was.
    1
    raiant (1) | June 19, 2013 7:20pm
    Upon reaching level 30, dont just play ranked game. You have to complete your runes first and master a champion in order to have more winning games than loses...
    0
    DrKandatto (1) | June 19, 2013 8:49pm
    You don't seem to be showing up. Are you NA?
    0
    raiant (1) | June 19, 2013 7:21pm
    anyway... add me in LoL mansanas93... thank you.. ^_^
    0
    remek4x4 | June 28, 2013 2:07pm
    Nearly everything was mentioned here, but i would add one thing - try to find your matchup (for ex. elise vs. garen) on lolcounter.com and read comments under it. In more popular matchups you will find tons of advices how to play in this case.
    0
    Trenditon (22) | June 23, 2013 11:37am
    As has already been said (I'll sum up briefly and give reason), there are at least 6 things you must do before you even think about playing ranked, even after you reach level 30. DO NOT THINK OF LEVEL 30 AS THE STANDARD TO MEET FOR PLAYING RANKED. Riot simply did this for convenience and practicality, and SOME people that are really dedicated and already good at these types of games ARE fairly ready once they reach level 30 to start playing ranked games. However, most people are SERIOUSLY unprepared (as it seems you are, and I was when I reached level 30) to play in such a serious and skill-intensive atmosphere, even though they don't know it yet. I was one of the lucky people who realized ranked games were a bit out of my league even upon reaching level 30, and thus I didn't destroy my ELO and self-esteem in the game by diving in before I was ready. So on to the six points I think EVERYONE needs to have completed before entering the world of ranked

    #ONE



    You MUST have at least standard runes to use before you start ranked.

    If you look on this page you will find a section midway through entitled "Must Have Runes" and "Other Good Rune Choices". I would have ALL of those (or at least the must haves and a few of the good to have ones) already setup properly in rune pages, and have at least one rune page for each position, because many times in ranked or even normal games you'll be put into a position that you didn't intend on playing and it is always good to be prepared for every eventuality.

    NOTE: Some champions require (or at least work much better with) very specialized rune pages. These should be postponed until you have your five or so standard pages setup. Wukong does not need a specialized setup, however Singed and Elise probably should have their own. For Singed you're going to want to invest in movespeed quints (probably, unless you're doing jungle Singed which can be good), and Elise has her own setup (though I really don't play elise, what I've seen of her is that it depends on your playstyle what you should use).

    IMPORTANT: DO NOT WASTE ANY MORE MONEY ON TIER TWO RUNES. You're just going to have to re-buy them later if you want to maximize your rune pages (which you need to if you're seriously doing ranked games), and is thus simply a waste of your IP. Just save up and spend your IP on tier 3 runes ONLY, and you'll be happy later that you did.

    #TWO



    You need to be able to play every champion in the game.

    This is a daunting task, considering the variability between skills, positions, goals you should have in the game as a result of your champion pick, lane you'll be in, etc. etc. etc. It is, nontheless, something you should be able to do BEFORE you play ranked. I'm not saying you need to LIKE playing every champion, or that you need to be great with them, but you should give each champion at LEAST two games, though more would be good.

    Back when I started playing, this wasn't as difficult because there weren't nearly as many champions as there are now, but trust me, even in normal games, knowing every champions weaknesses, strengths, limits, and potential FIRSTHAND (not just because you read their skills and watched the spotlight or played against them) can be invaluable in a match-up against them. At least a few games played as every champion is an essential if you want to be serious about ranked, because eventually you're going to see EVERY champion in ranked, and the people playing them will most likely be good with them (once you get to a high silver/low gold and above).

    #THREE



    Master at least one champion for at least three positions.

    What this means is, you need to have one champion that you're really confident playing in one lane, at least one champion you're really good with in another lane, and another champion you're really good with in, say, the jungle. You need to be able to play at least three roles confidently and well so that when you don't get the lane you want to play (it sounds like you're preferred lane is top or maybe jungle?), you can still contribute strongly to your team, and be valuable in your roll. Yes, you should KNOW how to play every role, and you should know how to play every champion, but you need to be really good at playing at least three roles with three different champions. Which leads somewhat into my next point.

    #FOUR



    You need to master at least three champions in your preferred lane.

    Seriously, at least three. It sounds like you're off to a good start, but when I say master, I mean you can run into that lane, regardeless if the other person counters you or is the easiest champion to lane/jungle/whatever against, and still be confident that you'll come out ahead or at least pull even with them. That's not to say you WILL every time, sometimes you DO get hard-countered, but you need to be confident (not cocky) with those champions. If you play one champion, you risk that champion getting banned out, or the other team picking a counter to you before you get to pick, and if that happens you're sunk. You need to have breadth (know how every champion works and how to play/play against them) but depth is just as important.

    #FIVE



    Find a good duo partner (or a few partners).

    This is more a recommendation than anything, but it helps a lot to find someone good to duo-que with. From what it sounds like you already found someone, but if both of you are sinking into bronze tiers at all, than it's time to practice up and either find someone better or help that other person get better. Yes, it's good to play with friends even if their worse than you, but ranked is different. That whole "nice guys finish last" quote applies heavily to the ranked winning mentality (I'm not supporting ragers or cussing people out here though), and if the person just isn't at a good enough level, you simply can't play ranked with them. That may also apply to them choosing to play with YOU, if you don't get better. Also, your preferred positions should compliment one another. Say if you're top, it would be good to have your duo-que partner in the jungle or in mid-lane, so you can have more coordinated ganks and assistance and general communication. If you play support, for all that's good and holy in this world, find a good ranged ADC player to play with. Bot lane improves drastically if you play with someone you're comfortable and in constant communication with. That's another thing! Communication! Headsets are great, and if you know a person in real-life who you want to duo with, play in the same room! That's the best possible scenario, and probably won't happen often if at all, but Skype or Ventrillo are a must if you're duo-queing.

    #SIX



    Stay positive, but stay serious.

    Do not go into a ranked game if you're upset. Do not go into a ranked game if you're really down about something. Don't go into it while watching The Matrix Reloaded or enjoying a bag of Tostitos and salsa dip. Going into a game you need to mentally prepared, hopefully excited, and completely focused. If you know you need to leave the house in 45 minutes, don't start playing a game that takes at least ten minutes to get into and can last for well over 50 minutes. You can get away with an ARAM or maybe even a 3v3 if you're lucky, but please don't start a ranked match if you have an upcoming commitment or think you'll be interrupted. Equally bad is going into a game mad because you just lost a bunch of other ranked games or even a host of normal ones, or for any reason really. Getting upset at your teammates and starting a blood feud at level 3 with your jungler isn't going to show him whose boss, it'll just help you lose faster. Remember, each ranked game doesn't just impact YOUR rank, it impacts nine other people's ranks as well. So unless you want to unfairly impact everyone you're playing with and against, play your best, when you're at your best.


    Well this about sums it up. There's obviously more that you need before playing ranked, like good map awareness, item sense, the ability to know what to build when, tactical and strategic awareness and preparation, and on and on the list goes, but those are things that simply take practice and time, and by the time this list is complete, those should already be pretty well along. It helps if you actively make it your "job" for a game to watch your map 24/7, or put down at least 10 wards, or something similar. If you set goals to help you grow, you'll be surprised by how fast you'll get better. Anyhow, hope this helped some, and best of luck to you my friend!
    0
    Trenditon (22) | June 23, 2013 12:01pm
    OH! Before I forget! For some extra help with your rune setup, I would also suggest checking here as well, it's another great resource that explains/suggests a number of helpful things.
    0
    Trenditon (22) | June 23, 2013 11:49am
    Please excuse the typos and awkwardly phrased sentences. I already picked up a few your/you're mistakes and a whose who's switch in there. If I could edit those out I would, but sadly you can't in comments.
    0
    rulesilol | June 19, 2013 11:44pm
    Who is ur main?
    0
    DrKandatto (1) | June 20, 2013 8:30am
    My main is Wukong. I have been playing a lot of Elise and Singed lately, though :)
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