Views: 1612 Think All The Time
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I win more when I'm able to focus on what is important.
Watch the mini-map at all stages of the game.
For finer detail, get in the habit of using the F keys to watch your laners while they lane. (It takes some practice if you are not used to doing so). Watch for summoner usage and ward placement. This is easier if you use a jungler you are very familiar with so you have more attention for paying attention to what is going on in the map or to put it another way, you are going to miss out on a lot if you try to first time
Nidalee jungle and all your attention is taken up trying to clear the jungle without dying.
Where did the enemy jungler start?
Think about where the enemy jungle started. See which laners come to lane late. Check their mana and health bars.
If their Top and Bot laners come to lane at the same time with no obvious mana loss, then their jungler probably started Raptors.
Keep in mind you can be tricked. Their laners can purposely come to lane late and use some abilities to make sure they show as having used some mana. I've started doing this I am playing Bot lane and I don't have to leash for my jungle. Though to be fair it is probably lost on most Gold level players.
If you miss this information you need to click on the enemy jungler as soon as you seen them to see what buffs they have and to update their CS numbers when you hit Tab. This should be enough information to deduce where they started and what their jungle path will be during laning phase (after towers start falling their path will likely change).
As the jungler:
You are the jungler. You decide where to gank. If someone is pinging you or begging for a gank, mute them. You will go there if that is where you need to be.
Do what you can to prevent your laners from getting dove. If that means getting vision to keep them safe, then do that. If that means being there to counter the dive, the do that. If that means telling your laner to leave their tower, then do that. I often find pings aren't enough to get them to do this so I have to save "leave it" in chat.
When invading consider your laners position, their laners ability to wave clear, and their laners mobility. Kassadin doesn't have the greatest of wave clear unless he has Force Pulse up, but he sure can get some place in a hurry with Riftwalk. And Alistar coming in from Bot lane can close a long gap with a Flash + Headbutt. Sometimes even shallow warding can get your picked.
Watch the mini-map and think. Constantly think about where the enemy laners are.
Think about what you want to be doing next. Pick the lane you want to gank at the start of the game (preferably one with CC and high damage or at least high damage if you bringing the CC). Path accordingly. Be prepared to alter your plan on the fly based on the information that gain moving around the map, watching the map, and thinking.
Objectives are key:
You want to crack towers. Bot, Mid, Top. Mid is the most important (though it can be one of the hardest to crack). Get vision into the enemy jungle. Then start working on the inner ring of turrets. Mid is still the most important (though again it can be a hard one to crack).
If Baron is up and you have a choice of inhibitors to get, then get the one furthest from Baron as that will force one of their main damage dealers off to deal with super minions which will give you a man advantage when trying to take Baron.
Ways to evaluate the current state of the game:
Look at the Tab menu from time to time. Look at levels, items, and CS count. If you notice as jungler than you are two levels behind your or their laners then you need to farm. Only look for ganks that can be done in conjunction with farming. Mute laners that complain about you farming. You know what you need to be doing and level 4 vs level 6 is not a winning combination.
If you notice your team is down in levels compared to the enemy team and you have comparable scaling then and you have some ability to wave clear and our disengage then you need to slow the game down and let your team farm it out. Even if you nab a kill here or there, don't rush right out and try to turn the game around. You need to kill two or even there team before you can get back into objective taking mode. Clear waves. Get farm. Get items. Get levels. Scale.
Surrender?:
Until you are freaking Diamond or higher do not surrender.* You need to practice playing from behind. What cheap items can you afford that will get the job done? What trinkets should you get to keep at least some vision on the map? How do you safely wave clear under a turret when under siege? How to peel and which targets to prioritize when you are weaker than the other team? How and when to attempt a Baron steal.
*if you have two AFKs or your team is raging at each other in chat, then get out if you can.
But if you team is quiet in chat and trying to make it work. Do not give up.
Rest and Refuel:
Some games are more taxing in others. I had one of those play from behind games last night and that wore me out. Take breaks after ever game. Get out of your chair and stretch. Get some water and go to the bathroom. Take a longer break if you need it. Recharge your mental and physical batteries before getting back onto the rift.
Pay Attention to the heading of the enemy jungler:
If the enemy jungler ganks a lane watch where they go after the gank. I have literally watched junglers gank Top > Mid > Bot often walking through wards to get there and have my laners end up being surprised that the enemy jungler showed up in their lane to gank them despite me pinging or saying something in chat about the fact that enemy jungler is headed in their direction. Just because the enemy jungler disappeared for X number of seconds does not mean that they ceased to exist! If they gank Mid they may stop off in your own jungle to see if your Raptors any maybe your Krugs are up for a bit of easy farm before walking down to your lane (possibly from behind) to knock your head off.
Keep up a running dialogue in your head:
Say it out loud if you need to.
I may add a link to it later, but Wickd (former pro) has posted a bunch of interesting videos where he does a stream of consciousness of what he or the player he is reviewing is thinking about during game. His mind is going a mile a minute. What runes do they have? How much armor? No armor? Oooo, I am going to skill this ability first and go ham on them in an early trade. Where is the enemy jungler? Can't go ham until I know their position? Safe to proxy because the enemy jungler is Bot. Create pressure on the jungler and the laner. Oh, enemy Mid is missing, time to stop proxying and bug out. Oh, there is the Mid and I can still see their jungler so I am going to proxy another wave so I can back and get a juicy item buy, which is going to let me dominate my lane even more.
Watch the mini-map at all stages of the game.
For finer detail, get in the habit of using the F keys to watch your laners while they lane. (It takes some practice if you are not used to doing so). Watch for summoner usage and ward placement. This is easier if you use a jungler you are very familiar with so you have more attention for paying attention to what is going on in the map or to put it another way, you are going to miss out on a lot if you try to first time
Nidalee jungle and all your attention is taken up trying to clear the jungle without dying.Where did the enemy jungler start?
Think about where the enemy jungle started. See which laners come to lane late. Check their mana and health bars.
If their Top and Bot laners come to lane at the same time with no obvious mana loss, then their jungler probably started Raptors.
Keep in mind you can be tricked. Their laners can purposely come to lane late and use some abilities to make sure they show as having used some mana. I've started doing this I am playing Bot lane and I don't have to leash for my jungle. Though to be fair it is probably lost on most Gold level players.
If you miss this information you need to click on the enemy jungler as soon as you seen them to see what buffs they have and to update their CS numbers when you hit Tab. This should be enough information to deduce where they started and what their jungle path will be during laning phase (after towers start falling their path will likely change).
As the jungler:
You are the jungler. You decide where to gank. If someone is pinging you or begging for a gank, mute them. You will go there if that is where you need to be.
Do what you can to prevent your laners from getting dove. If that means getting vision to keep them safe, then do that. If that means being there to counter the dive, the do that. If that means telling your laner to leave their tower, then do that. I often find pings aren't enough to get them to do this so I have to save "leave it" in chat.
When invading consider your laners position, their laners ability to wave clear, and their laners mobility.
Kassadin doesn't have the greatest of wave clear unless he has Force Pulse up, but he sure can get some place in a hurry with Riftwalk. And Alistar coming in from Bot lane can close a long gap with a Flash + Headbutt. Sometimes even shallow warding can get your picked.Watch the mini-map and think. Constantly think about where the enemy laners are.
Think about what you want to be doing next. Pick the lane you want to gank at the start of the game (preferably one with CC and high damage or at least high damage if you bringing the CC). Path accordingly. Be prepared to alter your plan on the fly based on the information that gain moving around the map, watching the map, and thinking.
Objectives are key:
You want to crack towers. Bot, Mid, Top. Mid is the most important (though it can be one of the hardest to crack). Get vision into the enemy jungle. Then start working on the inner ring of turrets. Mid is still the most important (though again it can be a hard one to crack).
If Baron is up and you have a choice of inhibitors to get, then get the one furthest from Baron as that will force one of their main damage dealers off to deal with super minions which will give you a man advantage when trying to take Baron.
Ways to evaluate the current state of the game:
Look at the Tab menu from time to time. Look at levels, items, and CS count. If you notice as jungler than you are two levels behind your or their laners then you need to farm. Only look for ganks that can be done in conjunction with farming. Mute laners that complain about you farming. You know what you need to be doing and level 4 vs level 6 is not a winning combination.
If you notice your team is down in levels compared to the enemy team and you have comparable scaling then and you have some ability to wave clear and our disengage then you need to slow the game down and let your team farm it out. Even if you nab a kill here or there, don't rush right out and try to turn the game around. You need to kill two or even there team before you can get back into objective taking mode. Clear waves. Get farm. Get items. Get levels. Scale.
Surrender?:
Until you are freaking Diamond or higher do not surrender.* You need to practice playing from behind. What cheap items can you afford that will get the job done? What trinkets should you get to keep at least some vision on the map? How do you safely wave clear under a turret when under siege? How to peel and which targets to prioritize when you are weaker than the other team? How and when to attempt a Baron steal.
*if you have two AFKs or your team is raging at each other in chat, then get out if you can.
But if you team is quiet in chat and trying to make it work. Do not give up.
Rest and Refuel:
Some games are more taxing in others. I had one of those play from behind games last night and that wore me out. Take breaks after ever game. Get out of your chair and stretch. Get some water and go to the bathroom. Take a longer break if you need it. Recharge your mental and physical batteries before getting back onto the rift.
Pay Attention to the heading of the enemy jungler:
If the enemy jungler ganks a lane watch where they go after the gank. I have literally watched junglers gank Top > Mid > Bot often walking through wards to get there and have my laners end up being surprised that the enemy jungler showed up in their lane to gank them despite me pinging or saying something in chat about the fact that enemy jungler is headed in their direction. Just because the enemy jungler disappeared for X number of seconds does not mean that they ceased to exist! If they gank Mid they may stop off in your own jungle to see if your Raptors any maybe your Krugs are up for a bit of easy farm before walking down to your lane (possibly from behind) to knock your head off.
Keep up a running dialogue in your head:
Say it out loud if you need to.
I may add a link to it later, but Wickd (former pro) has posted a bunch of interesting videos where he does a stream of consciousness of what he or the player he is reviewing is thinking about during game. His mind is going a mile a minute. What runes do they have? How much armor? No armor? Oooo, I am going to skill this ability first and go ham on them in an early trade. Where is the enemy jungler? Can't go ham until I know their position? Safe to proxy because the enemy jungler is Bot. Create pressure on the jungler and the laner. Oh, enemy Mid is missing, time to stop proxying and bug out. Oh, there is the Mid and I can still see their jungler so I am going to proxy another wave so I can back and get a juicy item buy, which is going to let me dominate my lane even more.
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