Learn to farm in tough cases and learn when to push back and when to push in general
Learn to roam
Learn one or two champions well so you can always use them if you are unsure about your matchup
Watch your mana and be wary of the usage of it
Learn the abilities of the game and learn how they work so you can dodge skillshots or
Malzahar's E for example
Have map awarness. I usually have one ward placed down and Stealth Ward and a sight ward (Place a Vision Ward to the dragon side of the river to the bush in the middle of the river)
Learn how to play against different kind of junglers. Against someone like Evelynn try to be safe and have an escape always available. Against someone like Lee Sin or Xin Zhao always have a ward in your side bush.
Learn to roam
Learn one or two champions well so you can always use them if you are unsure about your matchup
Watch your mana and be wary of the usage of it
Learn the abilities of the game and learn how they work so you can dodge skillshots or
Malzahar's E for exampleHave map awarness. I usually have one ward placed down and
Stealth Ward and a sight ward (Place a Vision Ward to the dragon side of the river to the bush in the middle of the river)Learn how to play against different kind of junglers. Against someone like
Evelynn try to be safe and have an escape always available. Against someone like Lee Sin or Xin Zhao always have a ward in your side bush.
Janitsu wrote:
Learn to farm in tough cases and learn when to push back and when to push in general
Learn to roam
Learn one or two champions well so you can always use them if you are unsure about your matchup
Watch your mana and be wary of the usage of it
Learn the abilities of the game and learn how they work so you can dodge skillshots or
Malzahar's E for exampleHave map awarness. I usually have one ward placed down and
Stealth Ward and a sight ward (Place a Vision Ward to the dragon side of the river to the bush in the middle of the river)Learn how to play against different kind of junglers. Against someone like
Evelynn try to be safe and have an escape always available. Against someone like Lee Sin or Xin Zhao always have a ward in your side bush.couldn't say it better myself :P
and you don't need a diamond or a challenger to tell you how to mid. For extra help, look up videos of your most played champions and learn so new techniques and tactics.
Samboosa?
Firstly, you want to try understand what mid-lane is, and why it's the most important solo adventure in league of legends. So, lets begin: As expressed; (imo) mid lane is one of the most important roles in the entire game. This is because mid-lane has control over the entire map, and ultimately lanes depend on how well you perform in mid. Therefore in order to play this lane effectively, you must know your limitations of the champions you play, and the opponents - thus, you need to full understand the role.
So what do I mean by 'control of the...map and lanes depend on...you...'? - Well, lets for example assume you're mid, and you're losing. In a typical game, your opponent in mid may start to roam, or pressure. For the sake of this explanation, lets say he roams around your jungle -- your jungler may die or suffer loss of time and potential ganks because of your mid roaming in his jungle. Another example is, since mid is the centre of the game and map, roaming is so easy... therefore warding is very important.. but before we talk about warding, lets go through the basics:
1. Last Hitting - Last hitting minions is essentially the first tip most beginners learn. In mid-lane it can be seen important to last hit in order to not push the lane and thus not inherit ganks as much as you would if you pushed. Last hitting also enables gold income and efficient means of collecting it. For certain champions with great escape (Ziggs, Katarina, Zed), or overall solid farming capabilities like Mordekaiser you can pressure the lane and begin to roam, or take wraiths.
To get good at last hitting doesn't take a great deal of advise or guidance, you simply hit the minion when it has reached the health that enables you to simply 'last hit' it. Since most mid laners are ranged, this task isn't exactly hard.
2. Choosing the right Champion - Choosing the right champion, especially in ranked, is vital to controlling mid, and dominating the game. I've noticed you've stated Ziggs, Ahri, Morgana and Zed as some of your main mids. Firstly, I wouldn't advise Morgana as a whole, she's more support orientated and not as effective as she once was in Season 2 for example. The same applies for Annie, however Annie can be useful against certain champions that make it easy for her to harass. Anyway, lets take Ahri as an example... Ahri is a strong champ with great escape, damage and presence. However she is counted by burst champions such as Kassadin, Annie and Brand, so you want to try pick this particular champ is matchups which you can harass and take minimal damage, champions like Swain, Ziggs and Karthus for example. Essentially this tip focuses on making sure you understand who you're facing and how to counter it. Being counted at the start of the game makes it harder to win the lane, and can be detrimental to your team if the enemy opponent is pressuring your lane and roaming. Therefore, you want to try pick a champion that counters the enemies -- if you do not have a choice to counter theirs -- pick your strongest champion, or a champion that is balanced in mid such as Ziggs as you've listed. (Ziggs has decent poke, escape and damage, and essentially holds lanes pretty well vs most champions, he also has a great ultimate which enables him to help his team if the opponent in mid decides to roam.)
3. Reading the game (Awareness) - I can't stress enough that this is probably the most important skill to have in the game. Although it is hard to advise you on this specific point, it all comes down to understand the game as a whole, thus practising, and looking at the map and making assumptions. This particular tip can be split into [1] Warding and [2] Awareness.
[1] As a mid-laner you should really be warding their wraiths and your wraiths, This makes sure that top and bot can't be ganked by your mid-laner, or their jungler. You may also decide to ward the bushes around Drake and Baron to secure the fact you can't really be ganked without seeing the enemy jungler (depending on who their jungler is). Warding is key to success in enabling you to not be ganked and your team.
[2] Awareness is defined as knowledge or perception of a situation or fact. If your bot is pushing and your mid is missing, you should make the assumption that your opponent in mid may go bottom, so you may want to run down their after pushing the lane, so many people make the error of judgement of just sitting in mid and trying to kill the turret, but 99% of the time is it better to be safe than sorry and help your team. Another example of Awareness can be reading the game and making moves such as 'Roaming'. Now Roaming is very effective in stacking kills for you team and helping securing a victory. As mid lane it is your job to help overextended lanes as well as follow up on the enemy mid laner roaming. There are 2 vital tips for roaming; (1) Roam when you've pushed the lane, this grants you the gold income you would of otherwised missed if you roamed, and also it allows your lane to be pressured so their jungler or mid has to go defend the turret. Another way of looking at it is, if you pushed the lane and then roamed, and then the midlaner followed, your mid-laner has just lost a wave of minions to counter your roam. So even if you can't help or secure a kill, you're ahead in that aspect. (2) Only roam if you believe you can secure a kill, or save a team-mate, it is pointless making the risks of towerdiving top-lane for example without vision of their jungler, because it evidently can turn into a 3v2 and the risk wouldn't of been worth. Therefore the second tip is making assumptions and assuming that the risk is worth it. If you can get the tower whilst your mid has roamed, then secure the tower and then help. If not move and help.
4. Map awareness - Not to be confused with game awareness, but map awareness is similar to reading the game in the aspect of making assumptions, however you've got clear facts of situations to make them, thus minimising the risk. For example, if you're mid, and bot-laner just got a double kill, and drake is up, Force the drake, and tell your jungler to come and help. Always take advantage of the enemy deaths, even if top dies, you want to try pressure your lane so the jungler is more inclined to go to your lane, so your team-mate at top can continue pushing and get the turret. Another way is roaming top, because usually when top dies, the jungler follows 5-8 seconds later to clear waves at the turret or to chase down your top team-mate. Other tips include:
- Staying out of the enemy jungle if you are alone and without vision
- Not getting too cocky (Don't over estimate yourself)
Most of these tips come from experience and spamming games as a mid-laner, but it can be useful in understanding other roles so you have a wider knowledge of limitations and the game as a whole. I can't specifically give you tips on the champions you've listed, but hope this helps.
If you want more practical advise, add me in-game and i'll spectate you, or play with you :)
So what do I mean by 'control of the...map and lanes depend on...you...'? - Well, lets for example assume you're mid, and you're losing. In a typical game, your opponent in mid may start to roam, or pressure. For the sake of this explanation, lets say he roams around your jungle -- your jungler may die or suffer loss of time and potential ganks because of your mid roaming in his jungle. Another example is, since mid is the centre of the game and map, roaming is so easy... therefore warding is very important.. but before we talk about warding, lets go through the basics:
1. Last Hitting - Last hitting minions is essentially the first tip most beginners learn. In mid-lane it can be seen important to last hit in order to not push the lane and thus not inherit ganks as much as you would if you pushed. Last hitting also enables gold income and efficient means of collecting it. For certain champions with great escape (Ziggs, Katarina, Zed), or overall solid farming capabilities like Mordekaiser you can pressure the lane and begin to roam, or take wraiths.
To get good at last hitting doesn't take a great deal of advise or guidance, you simply hit the minion when it has reached the health that enables you to simply 'last hit' it. Since most mid laners are ranged, this task isn't exactly hard.
2. Choosing the right Champion - Choosing the right champion, especially in ranked, is vital to controlling mid, and dominating the game. I've noticed you've stated Ziggs, Ahri, Morgana and Zed as some of your main mids. Firstly, I wouldn't advise Morgana as a whole, she's more support orientated and not as effective as she once was in Season 2 for example. The same applies for Annie, however Annie can be useful against certain champions that make it easy for her to harass. Anyway, lets take Ahri as an example... Ahri is a strong champ with great escape, damage and presence. However she is counted by burst champions such as Kassadin, Annie and Brand, so you want to try pick this particular champ is matchups which you can harass and take minimal damage, champions like Swain, Ziggs and Karthus for example. Essentially this tip focuses on making sure you understand who you're facing and how to counter it. Being counted at the start of the game makes it harder to win the lane, and can be detrimental to your team if the enemy opponent is pressuring your lane and roaming. Therefore, you want to try pick a champion that counters the enemies -- if you do not have a choice to counter theirs -- pick your strongest champion, or a champion that is balanced in mid such as Ziggs as you've listed. (Ziggs has decent poke, escape and damage, and essentially holds lanes pretty well vs most champions, he also has a great ultimate which enables him to help his team if the opponent in mid decides to roam.)
3. Reading the game (Awareness) - I can't stress enough that this is probably the most important skill to have in the game. Although it is hard to advise you on this specific point, it all comes down to understand the game as a whole, thus practising, and looking at the map and making assumptions. This particular tip can be split into [1] Warding and [2] Awareness.
[1] As a mid-laner you should really be warding their wraiths and your wraiths, This makes sure that top and bot can't be ganked by your mid-laner, or their jungler. You may also decide to ward the bushes around Drake and Baron to secure the fact you can't really be ganked without seeing the enemy jungler (depending on who their jungler is). Warding is key to success in enabling you to not be ganked and your team.
[2] Awareness is defined as knowledge or perception of a situation or fact. If your bot is pushing and your mid is missing, you should make the assumption that your opponent in mid may go bottom, so you may want to run down their after pushing the lane, so many people make the error of judgement of just sitting in mid and trying to kill the turret, but 99% of the time is it better to be safe than sorry and help your team. Another example of Awareness can be reading the game and making moves such as 'Roaming'. Now Roaming is very effective in stacking kills for you team and helping securing a victory. As mid lane it is your job to help overextended lanes as well as follow up on the enemy mid laner roaming. There are 2 vital tips for roaming; (1) Roam when you've pushed the lane, this grants you the gold income you would of otherwised missed if you roamed, and also it allows your lane to be pressured so their jungler or mid has to go defend the turret. Another way of looking at it is, if you pushed the lane and then roamed, and then the midlaner followed, your mid-laner has just lost a wave of minions to counter your roam. So even if you can't help or secure a kill, you're ahead in that aspect. (2) Only roam if you believe you can secure a kill, or save a team-mate, it is pointless making the risks of towerdiving top-lane for example without vision of their jungler, because it evidently can turn into a 3v2 and the risk wouldn't of been worth. Therefore the second tip is making assumptions and assuming that the risk is worth it. If you can get the tower whilst your mid has roamed, then secure the tower and then help. If not move and help.
4. Map awareness - Not to be confused with game awareness, but map awareness is similar to reading the game in the aspect of making assumptions, however you've got clear facts of situations to make them, thus minimising the risk. For example, if you're mid, and bot-laner just got a double kill, and drake is up, Force the drake, and tell your jungler to come and help. Always take advantage of the enemy deaths, even if top dies, you want to try pressure your lane so the jungler is more inclined to go to your lane, so your team-mate at top can continue pushing and get the turret. Another way is roaming top, because usually when top dies, the jungler follows 5-8 seconds later to clear waves at the turret or to chase down your top team-mate. Other tips include:
- Staying out of the enemy jungle if you are alone and without vision
- Not getting too cocky (Don't over estimate yourself)
Most of these tips come from experience and spamming games as a mid-laner, but it can be useful in understanding other roles so you have a wider knowledge of limitations and the game as a whole. I can't specifically give you tips on the champions you've listed, but hope this helps.
If you want more practical advise, add me in-game and i'll spectate you, or play with you :)
never ward
blame your jungler when you die
be an ******* in champion select, you're mid lane, let everyone know that
call out your teammates in all chat
play unconventional mids like Sion, but afk farm for 40 minutes.
EDIT: Sidenote: could you come up with a gayer name than BlissfulMatt?
blame your jungler when you die
be an ******* in champion select, you're mid lane, let everyone know that
call out your teammates in all chat
play unconventional mids like
Sion, but afk farm for 40 minutes.EDIT: Sidenote: could you come up with a gayer name than BlissfulMatt?
Thanks for the Signature MissMaw!
^ everything above.
Make sure to roam around the map to help your teammates, especially when you are far ahead. It is not a one mans game, you gotta help your team to get in front too. Zed, Fizz, Ahri; such mobile champions are easy to move around the map for ganking.
Also @Janitsu its Stealth Ward now, not Sight Ward anymore.
Make sure to roam around the map to help your teammates, especially when you are far ahead. It is not a one mans game, you gotta help your team to get in front too.
Zed, Fizz, Ahri; such mobile champions are easy to move around the map for ganking.Also @Janitsu its
Stealth Ward now, not Sight Ward anymore.
BlueArtist wrote:
^ everything above.
Make sure to roam around the map to help your teammates, especially when you are far ahead. It is not a one mans game, you gotta help your team to get in front too.
Zed, Fizz, Ahri; such mobile champions are easy to move around the map for ganking.Also @Janitsu its
Stealth Ward now, not Sight Ward anymore.
Mooninites wrote:
EDIT: Sidenote: could you come up with a gayer name than BlissfulMatt?
I think BigGayMatt woulda been gayer.
Hey Blissfullmatt,
I have been in the same situation as you a about 2 years ago and I will try to share some of my experiences with you. I will try to avoid things that were already being said, but I will stress if I feel something is very important. Well, let's start!
1. Ask yourself if you want to be a good midlaner that plays team oriented or if you want to climb the ranks in SoloQ. it seems the same thing but really there are some fine differences. The First is needed in 5v5 premades, the latter obviously in SoloQ. I will assume you want to focus on SoloQ and just go from there.
2. There is one vital question that you need to ask yourself at all times:
"How can I carry the most!?"
Until you reach high Plat/Low Dia tiers, this means that most of the time, you have to carry a team full of ragers, trolls, noobs, flamers and people that want to Surrender 20 when they are 0/1 behind. And even beyond those tiers you occasionally meet people like that. This sounds obvious, but always remind yourself of this mindset, it will help to optimize your decisions.
3. "So tell me, what do i have to do to CARRY AS HARD AS A ROCK!?"
There are a couple of points here. Let's start with Champions:
In general you never want to play underpowered champions. Always try to find and learn the OP champions and focus on hypercarries. Those are champions that often have a high ramp up time but very high damage in mid- to lategame and they can carry a whole team on their back if played well. They are champions that can make PLAYS happen. Currently I would suggest Veigar, Syndra, Orianna, Yasuo, Katharina and Fizz(to some extent). But that is only my personal experience and oppinion.
4. "OK, now I bought all the champs, but how do I get good at them!?"
I will not go into detail about particular gameplay, as the posters before me already did, so I will keep a little more distance and stay general. First of all I can advise to watch good players!!. Watch streams, replays, VoD's, LCS or observe games from good players. But do it actively. Try to learn from them wherever you can! Furthermore, always use your own brain. Think about stuff, ask why things are done the way they are and ask if that is the optimum. If you have questions or doubts, ask around. Post in Forums, ask good players, dont stop unless you have the answers! And, the most important thing, that I will make an Extra point for it:
5. ALWAYS be critical with yourself and ONLY yourself
I cannot stress this enough! In my oppinion this is the most important thing to be successfull. After losses, do NEVER make your bad team responsible, it does not help in any way. Instead ask yourself in what way you could have carried HARDER! If you do not know, ask other people until you know. Furthermore you should never put away won games as "perfect". Try to point out to yourself, what you could have done even better, although you just won that last game. All this contributes to another thing that will be my last point:
6. Have the right mindset!
Try to always stay calm, positive, neutral and focussed. If your team starts raging, try to calm them down, make them feel that you have everything under control. When you are behind most teams just want to surrender and play the next game. But NEVER SURRENDER!! Every game can be won. I have seen so many astronomical throws already. Tell your team to stay calm and try their best and that you still have a chance. I'd guess, that half of the SoloQ games are surrendered prematurely. Furthermore, if you have toxic players and/or trolls in your team that only want to make you and the others of your team to feel bad, do not hesitate to put them on ignore. Tell the rest of your team to do the same, so wyou cannot get pulled down by them.
I have been in the same situation as you a about 2 years ago and I will try to share some of my experiences with you. I will try to avoid things that were already being said, but I will stress if I feel something is very important. Well, let's start!
1. Ask yourself if you want to be a good midlaner that plays team oriented or if you want to climb the ranks in SoloQ. it seems the same thing but really there are some fine differences. The First is needed in 5v5 premades, the latter obviously in SoloQ. I will assume you want to focus on SoloQ and just go from there.
2. There is one vital question that you need to ask yourself at all times:
"How can I carry the most!?"
Until you reach high Plat/Low Dia tiers, this means that most of the time, you have to carry a team full of ragers, trolls, noobs, flamers and people that want to Surrender 20 when they are 0/1 behind. And even beyond those tiers you occasionally meet people like that. This sounds obvious, but always remind yourself of this mindset, it will help to optimize your decisions.
3. "So tell me, what do i have to do to CARRY AS HARD AS A ROCK!?"
There are a couple of points here. Let's start with Champions:
In general you never want to play underpowered champions. Always try to find and learn the OP champions and focus on hypercarries. Those are champions that often have a high ramp up time but very high damage in mid- to lategame and they can carry a whole team on their back if played well. They are champions that can make PLAYS happen. Currently I would suggest Veigar, Syndra, Orianna, Yasuo, Katharina and Fizz(to some extent). But that is only my personal experience and oppinion.
4. "OK, now I bought all the champs, but how do I get good at them!?"
I will not go into detail about particular gameplay, as the posters before me already did, so I will keep a little more distance and stay general. First of all I can advise to watch good players!!. Watch streams, replays, VoD's, LCS or observe games from good players. But do it actively. Try to learn from them wherever you can! Furthermore, always use your own brain. Think about stuff, ask why things are done the way they are and ask if that is the optimum. If you have questions or doubts, ask around. Post in Forums, ask good players, dont stop unless you have the answers! And, the most important thing, that I will make an Extra point for it:
5. ALWAYS be critical with yourself and ONLY yourself
I cannot stress this enough! In my oppinion this is the most important thing to be successfull. After losses, do NEVER make your bad team responsible, it does not help in any way. Instead ask yourself in what way you could have carried HARDER! If you do not know, ask other people until you know. Furthermore you should never put away won games as "perfect". Try to point out to yourself, what you could have done even better, although you just won that last game. All this contributes to another thing that will be my last point:
6. Have the right mindset!
Try to always stay calm, positive, neutral and focussed. If your team starts raging, try to calm them down, make them feel that you have everything under control. When you are behind most teams just want to surrender and play the next game. But NEVER SURRENDER!! Every game can be won. I have seen so many astronomical throws already. Tell your team to stay calm and try their best and that you still have a chance. I'd guess, that half of the SoloQ games are surrendered prematurely. Furthermore, if you have toxic players and/or trolls in your team that only want to make you and the others of your team to feel bad, do not hesitate to put them on ignore. Tell the rest of your team to do the same, so wyou cannot get pulled down by them.
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So, i'm not exactly new to LoL, but I feel like if you aren't even 30 yet, you are still new. I play mainly solo queue. My main is mid lane using a mixture of mid laners. Ziggs, Diana, Morgana, Zed, Fizz, Ahri, Lulu... And sometimes I will support or go top. But I like to stick with Mid. ADC and Jungle are almost a no go with me. I'm not pushy enough for ADC, and don't have the clear times down for jungle. Pretty much what i'm asking is some advice on what I can do to be a damn good mid laner. Out of those I mentioned I use them all, well not Lulu and Fizz as much. Lulu lacks burst damage, and I just can't seem to get Fizz down. I was hoping someone else who mains Mid could give me some detailed pointers on what they do to be a good mid laners. Hopefully some Diamond or Challenger tier lovelies will post something in depth for little ol' me. ;D
Much love, BlissfulMatt