As any businessman/woman knows, first impressions are instantaneous from the moment you first set eyes on an individual. While we are obviously limited by the interactions available within the LoL client, the same still holds true. We judge people by the very first thing they type into the chat, whether it be a joke, a greeting, or a simple "Good luck". More often than not, the first interaction players get with their teammates is in the character select screen. Here, the first pitfalls can be found. I consider myself an open minded individual, but when the character select screen pops up, it's very common (in blind pick) to see people insta-lock their favorite champions before looking at their team configuration to see what others have chosen. While this tendency lessens in the higher player levels, it remains a problem. More than half of the time, I find myself playing a support character, because the make-up of my team lacks any defensive capabilities at all.

Be polite. Ask for the lane you want, don't claim it. When someone makes a decision you don't agree with, feel free to state your disagreement, but don't berate them and question their intelligence. I have seen very strange things in LoL. I've seen an AD Soraka carry a game. I've seen carries become tanks and tanks become bruisers. While most people play a certain champion in one way, it is not alright to force them to play it your way. Feel free to question them on it if you doubt the use of their decisions, but do so politely, without insult. If they take offense, simply apologize. The worst that can happen is that you lose 1 game. Odds are you'll never have to play with them again, and you can simply forget that that chapter in your game playing history ever happened.

In draft pick, listen to your teammate's suggestions for who you should pick. If picking before them, it's often a good idea to grab their character for them, so you can switch, but make sure that you inform them of this beforehand. Remember that you're about to spend the better part of an hour with these people, so get off to a good start while you can.

Okay, you've made it in game, your're on relatively friendly terms with your teammates, and all of your champions are standing on the summoning circle. You've discussed where you're going, you know where your teammates will be, if your jungler requires a leash.Do not, at this point, feel the inclination to make some glib, sarcastic comment towards the other team. More often than not, this leads to a flame war that can last the entire game and ruin other people's experience. My favorite thing to do as my team's champions are taking their lanes is to simply offer a friendly 'Good Luck All' in gamewide chat. It's a polite thing to do, and it actually makes the first few seconds of a game a little bit less tense when the enemy team responds favorably. Of course, there will be people out there, a little immature, with a nasty, twisted sense of their own self-importance and humor, who will respond with a 'stfu', or some other nasty comment that might make you regret your friendliness. Fear not, it happens to the best of people. Don't succumb to that fiery urge to respond.

As the laning phase begins, it never hurts to offer support and constructive criticism to your teammates. If they do well, get first blood, or settle into a safe position near their side of the lane, congratulate them. Don't feel obligated to make it a long, heartfelt speech, obviously. You'll be doing your own things, and likely not have the time for a long message. Simply tell them 'gj' (Good Job), or 'nj'(Nice Job), and resume playing.

The friendliest of players will offer the same courtesy to their enemies, congratulating them on a well co-ordinated gank or first kill, no matter how annoying it might be. Never, and I do mean never, start calling insults the first time that an enemy kills you, or the second, or the third. At this point, you might want to start re-thinking your play-style, but not blaming your teammates or enemies.

As mentioned above, I often play support, and I find that many people don't have much idea what that means. People throw insults my way, the overstated 'noob' and other such comments. Most supports will never get a kill. They will spend the entire game with a negative k/d ratio, but that's not what the games about. It's not a first person shooter, and the number of kills vs deaths only really matters to the carries on your team.

As ganks start happening more frequently, as teamfights start breaking out, the entire route and shape of a game can change. I've seen teams come back from absolutely terrible laning phases to slaughter the enemy team during a teamfight or two, and end up winning by a landslide. It's important to note this, but never start blaming people for a sudden shift in the game. If the enemy team starts grouping up and targeting your stronger lanes, re-coordinate to stop them from doing this, and don't simply yell at your teammates for dying. Most of the time, people called 'feeders' in game aren't doing such a thing intentionally. Take a look at your character, and see if you can help them. If you're a strong carry, start sticking close to them. If you're a support, start protecting them. Never blame them, no matter how much you might think it is, in fact, their fault.

At the same time, if you feel that the enemy team is doing a good job, feel free to congratulate them on a well timed baron grab or well executed team fight. They're trying just as hard as you, so it's important to acknowledge that effort, especially if it pays off. There is nothing more rewarding in game than having your enemies tell you that you did a good job.

After the game is over, whether because of a surrender, or because one team successfully destroyed the enemy nexus, congratulate them on a well played game. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT THEIR SCORE IS! Politeness knows no boundaries, especially in a computer game.

Remember the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Please, please, please, don't turn the chat into an endless war of tossing insults across sides. It ruins the experience for those looking to enjoy the game.

An Explanation

- This is going to be a little more in depth about the roles each type of character plays, and how best to play them alongside your team. Of course, this topic has already been touched on extensively, in guides much more thought out and thorough than mine. In essence, if you want to read this chapter... read some of those other guides, I'll try to compile a list ~

Junglers

Actually... Read this guide.
Who is your jungler and what does he do? - Hehano
He puts it far better than I ever could, and looks at every possible jungler in great detail. I highly recommend reading this guide for anyone attempting to jungle.

Tanks

Tanks fulfill an extremely important role in all MOBA games. That particular role is to be the damage sponge, the immortal being who can soak up countless hits while their team slaughters the enemy around them. One of the purest examples of this character class is Rammus, who's ability Puncturing Taunt, combined with Defensive Ball Curl is incredibly powerful in a team fight, and will likely allow his team to dominate. As a tank, your most important job is knowing when and where to initiate a teamfight. Many tanks can survive for a time before their team arrives, during which time, their health will drop enticingly. Many enemies unconsciously focus on the lowest percentage health bar, which might just be the tank. This, however, is an excellent trap, as even a half health tank can have more HP than a full health squishy AD or AP Carry like Ashe or Teemo Take your responsibility with a grain of salt, however. Your primary job is to stand your ground and make sure that your enemies hit you, rather than the carry ravaging their HP. Do this well enough, and your teammates will love you.

The Carry

Now, if the tank is the backbone of the team, the carry has to be something like the fangs... or the claws... or something. Either way, your carries are your main damage dealers, your DPS masters. They are the ones your enemies fear, just because of the sheer amount of damage they can deal. Do not be fooled by the speed at which you can kill! Even a fed carry can be focused down by a well coordinated team, or even a single bruiser. Once team fights break out, a carry should never be the first one in. Let the tank initiate, and then focus your damage on the nearest threat. Kill well, my friend, kill many, and kill fast. That is the team's ideal carry. That is what they will honor you for, if you're nice to them.

The Support

Now, more often than not, the support is the role I find myself filling. Not because I particularly enjoy it, though I don't dislike it, but because so few people do. There are many newer players who fail to recognize the merits of playing a support character. One pure example of a straight support is Soraka. Not only does she heal with Divine Blessing, but her Infuse also restores mana, lending an enormous amount of sustainability to any carries laning phase. In team fights, her Wish is perfect for keeping her team alive long enough to win the battle. Never doubt the usefulness of a support. Never. Whether it's Janna with her extraordinary ability to manipulate the positioning of enemies, or Sona, or even Karma, who most don't understand, but can be a very powerful force in any game. The support is the most team-friendly role on any team. They rely on the team, and the team relies upon them. Don't forget that.

Hybrid Roles

The Metagaming aspect of LoL has given rise to several hybrid roles, champions that can fulfill more than one role in a team's roster. A good example of this is the Bruiser, a character like Dr. Mundo or Olaf, one with signicant amounts of health, but also a very serious damage threat when in sustained combat. Fiora or Irelia Are also well suited to this role, though they can do well as Glass Cannon, heavy damage dealers as well. Hybrid characters are well suited to a shifting playstyle, a summoner that can change his game on the fly depending on the enemy team. Karma, mentioned in the previous section, also plays a hybrid role, as her passive, Inner Flame is extremely powerful under the right circumstances when combined with her abilities.

Of course, there's always more details to go into on these very simplified overviews of champion archetypes. Carries fall into numerous categories, from assassin, to roamer, to dps, or burst. These categories will depend on their skill kit, and how it is used in each individual game. Take, for example, my all-time favorite champion, Twisted Fate. In the current meta, almost 9 times out of ten, you'll see him take the mid lane as the team's AP carry. As an AP carry, his early laning phase is rather lackluster, compared to some. His Wild Cards lacks the damage to be an effective poke at levels one and two, and its mana cost requires his Pick A Card to come up blue so that he can restore his mana. Once he hits level six, however, his utility as a roaming mid is almost unmatched with the combination of his ultimate, Destiny, and his yellow card. If done correctly, he can disappear for a few moments and reappear behind a pushed lane for a very effective gank. This, along with the zoning aspect of his Pick A Card, makes him into a quite dangerous champion mid to late game, where his damage really starts to pick up. On the flip-side of the AP carry, take someone like Morgana. Her skill kit has the ability to do a great deal of sustained damage, as well as make her naturally tanky at higher levels. While she is not an effective roamer, her skills are extremely dangerous in a conflict.

(alright, alright, added another paragraph. Life's been busy.)