Four Tips to Improve your Game

Four Tips to Improve your Game

 

League is a game with a lot going on, and it can take a while to master every aspect of it. For both new and old players, there is always room to improve. Here are a few ways to do that for new players who may not know, and for old players who might want a refresher.

Wards and Map Awareness

 

One of the most important ways to improve is simple: buy wards, use them correctly, and watch the minimap. Remember, warding is not just for the support. Wards save lives and win games. Too many deaths could have been prevented by using wards. The more you know about the enemy’s positioning and what they’re doing, the better you can react. You can challenge objectives, keep an eye on enemy buffs, and keep track of the enemy jungler.

For laning, wards are vital. To protect yourself from ganks from the enemy jungler and other lanes, ward common entry points in the river or nearby brushes and be sure to place them with enough distance for you to react. Also be sure to ward the objectives closest to you (for bottom lane Dragon, top lane Baron) to guard these against the other team trying to sneak one in.
The more you ward, the more you help yourself and help your team.

Map awareness goes hand-in-hand with warding. You’ll naturally have more map vision with more wards, but unless you look at the map and are aware of what’s going on, it won’t help one bit. A player should check the minimap every few seconds to check on the locations of allied and enemy champions. This protects you from ganks, for example if mid is missing and “mia” was not called, top and bottom should be wary of a gank.

Pay attention to where the enemy jungler is, and where he is not. If you’re playing bot and the enemy jungler is top lane, you know you can be more aggressive because there is no immediate threat of a gank. Little things like that can give you advantages which can help win you games.

Know yourself and know your champion

 

An important part to laning is knowing your champion’s strengths and weaknesses and coupling that with your own play style. This also ties into how to pick what champion you want to master. If you’re a top lane player and like to play aggressively, then pick a champion like Lee Sin that benefits from aggression. Choosing a champion that works better with your natural tendencies will lend itself to you playing better. Play a champion that suits your style, and you’ll get the most success and the most enjoyment out of League.

To be successful, it’s also important to master your champion. This means knowing when to go in for trades, when to play it safe, and knowing your limits when it comes to going in for a kill. Many pro players, like Marcus ‘Dyrus’ Hill, have repeatedly said that it’s better to play one champion over and over until you can win your lane every time and be able to play well verse most lane opponents. That’s not to say there isn’t merit to learning other champions and other roles, but mastering one completely will certainly help your game.

Know your enemy

Along with knowing your own champion inside and out is knowing the enemy, and this doesn’t just mean countering. It’s about knowing how to play verse specific matchups. For example a Rumble top is weak for the first few levels, and you should take advantage of that. Tristana in bottom lane tends to be strong and aggressive in the first few levels, so play safe until she is weaker in the mid-game. Know what junglers start with what buffs, and what levels they tend to gank at.

A Riven jungle tends to start red, and if they are on purple side they will usually look top for a quick level two gank – same with a Shyvana. In lane, know your enemy’s rotation of abilities and that will help you know when to go in for a trade – one that you can win.

A good way to do learn about enemies is to play them. Sure it’s beneficial to focus on one champs, but a test run with others certainly won’t hurt. Even if it’s just a bot game to learn how their skills work would give you invaluable insight in how to play against them. The more you know the better you know how to deal with them and win your lane.

Practice

League, like all things, is something that you can get better at with practice. The benefit of League being a game is that it’s easy to measure how much better you’re doing. You can easily chart your stats and see them go up. The amount of CS you have and your kill/death/assist ratios are two easy stats to look at. Combine that with the in game clock and you have an easy way to see improvement.

For example set a CS goal that you want to have by a certain time and work at it until you get it. The saying goes that practice makes perfect, but only perfect practice makes perfect. Practice last hitting in bot games to get a feel for the champion. Practice the early levels in custom games over and over until you master them. Play bot games or normal to practice trading and laning. The more time you dedicate to practicing, and practicing well, the better player you will be.

Hopefully these basic strategies can help you dominate on Summoner’s Rift. Thanks for reading and feel free to ask questions or comment below.