These 3 Mistakes Are Costing You Games - League of Legends

It takes time and dedication to improve at League of Legends. Professional players have been playing League for years and none of them started out as Challenger worthy. It can take a lot of time to learn about the game, and nobody is perfect. With that said, any time spent trying to learn and improve at the game is highly admirable. Do not worry if your friends or fellow teammates are better than you. Everybody will learn and improve at their own pace.

The first step to improving is to actually go out and look for information and as you're reading this guide, I guess you are trying your best to improve! When I was a lower rank, the material around wasn't as visible and as good as it is today. I started playing League in 2013 and am currently sitting in the mix of Diamond. The first thing to improve on is your weaknesses and how these mistakes are costing you games. From the outside, these mistakes do not seem to matter all that much, but truthfully, they are costing you games and here's why.

1) Not using your wards, or using them incorrectly.

In Season 7, we received an update to the warding system and we will be looking at Sightstone changes in Season 8. There is plenty of ways you can ward, and unfortunately, it's all about experience and game knowledge. Knowing when to ward and where is needed to climb and the information that can be achieved from effective warding in incredibly useful. Warding will not only save your life but it will also allow you to make plays around the map with no threat of the enemy Jungler coming to counter your play.

Why is this costing me games?

Vision is important. If you are not warding at all, then you're missing out on information that can help you and your team win the game. If you never purchase or place wards, then you're missing opportunities to protect yourself. I cannot describe how truly important vision is, and from a Support main's prospective, we definitely need help in providing enough vision for the whole map. Yeah, I'm talking to you solo laners.

Picking up control wards, and placing your trinkets is a must. If you have two wards stacked in your inventory, then you're wasting resources that can help your team. Warding is crucial, so place it in high traffic areas. However, if you never ward, you will not know if this risky-game-winning fight will turn out well for you because you do not know where the Jungler is. Knowing where the Jungler is on the map is important and will allow you to play more aggressively knowing that he is not around.

If you are not warding, then you're not only putting yourself behind, but you are also giving the enemy Jungler knowledge. Make sure to purchase and place control wards and vision trinkets.

How to Improve:

• Watch and search for warding videos for each side of the map.
• Always use your trinket and never let it stack.
• Make sure your map is constantly warded and that are you watching it.
• Purchase Control Wards.

Video by Sky Williams

2) Trading at the wrong time.

Trading is one of the fundamentals of League of Legends. It's important to know when to trade and when to not. If you are trading at the wrong time, then you are probably going to regret doing so. It is important to only trade when it will work out in your favour. For example, if you see that the enemy Jungler is on the other side of the map, then you can force a play in your own lane and try to get ahead.

Why is this costing me games?

If you are going in for trades at the wrong time, then you will most likely come off worse in the lane. When trading at the wrong time, you will have to sacrifice experience and gold because you will not be able to sustain and survive in lane. Trading at the wrong time can be deadly for you, especially if you are a weak champion. If you go for a trade, and subsequently die from it, then you've put the enemy ahead at least 300 gold and you will be missing out on farm, experience, and you will be far behind the enemy champion. Because of your misplay from trading at the wrong time, you've given the enemy the advantage for no reason.

Vision plays a big role in knowing when to trade, so keep the map warded and watch the minimap. If you can see the enemy Jungler on the other side of the map, then you might be able to go for a trade.

How to Improve:

• Watch the map before you go in.
• Do not overextend - especially early.
• Search for your champion's power spikes.
• Avoid fighting if behind, focus on farming and surviving.

Lucky for you; I have another guide on Trading here.

3) Playing on tilt or not focusing.

Losing is part of the game. It is important to know that you cannot win every single game, so do not be discouraged if you lose a few games in a row. However, it's not normal to feed and lose consistently. Like everything in life, it's important to take breaks in between playing and allow your mind to rest and reset.

Why is this costing me games?

Becoming unfocused is something that everybody does daily. It can be hard to concentrate on the game and play at your peak consistently. We all know the feeling after a loss where we want to play just one more and regain the precious LP we have just lost. Never continue playing if you're upset after a victory or defeat. Emotions run high in any competitive game, so try to stay compelled and not flame your teammates. You should also only play if you can do so without being interrupted. It is important to stay 100% focused on each game. Do not tab out or change music, this will make concentration on the game drift and subsequently make you play worse.

You should only play when you can completely focus on the game, otherwise, you will be playing worse. Try your hardest to focus on the game as this will give you the best possible winning outcome. If you are sad, upset, tilted, or tired then you should not play ranked. 

How to Improve:

• Stop playing if you're constantly losing
• Do not flame your team. Focus on yourself.
• Stop tabbing out from your game. Focus on it.
• The first sign of tilt is denying that you're tilted. If you find yourself making stupid mistakes, then stop playing.

Keep an eye on the game and make sure that you're being proactive. Making these small mistakes will make you lose games and in turn, make you tilt. Try your best to avoid and improve on these issues that have been listed. While they seem to be no big worry, they are indeed very important. If you can avoid making these mistakes, then you will see yourself improving at the game and gaining ELO and ranks.

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