How to Get Back into LoL: Teamwork

As a writer, it is generally best to know what you are writing about. Though I have played League of Legends before, even competitively (or so I thought), that was years ago before I moved to Germany with the Army. You know, back in the days when you could mid Warwick and own face with your ulti? Ah, excellent times indeed! Back then, we had a strong group that could take just about anything thrown at us. However, the bane of all casual gamers (real life) interrupts and calls us away from the computer just when we’re getting good at what we’re doing.

After returning to the U.S. and having time set aside to work on what I love – writing, speaking, and e-sports, I found Team Dignitas and am now on a trial period as a content writer and interviewer! The first step for good material after a break is to always remember what it is that you cover. So, I downloaded the game once more a few days ago on my new supercomputer, and played it all day long to see how I match up once more. I decided to work as the ADC (who doesn’t love glory?), so I dusted off my old Ashe runes and masteries, and hit the button. I went two wins to four losses. How miserable, especially with sure knowledge that the two wins were carried! It is rather easy to find how things have changed over the years. No more ez-mode. But, atleast mobafire is still dedicated!

So, I did a little research. That’s what writers do… right? The LoL forums were abuzz with great ADC champs. Of course, Vayne, Caitlyn, Ashe, and Graves were at the top of the lists. After reading a few choice comments, it turns out that Caitlyn is the new “easiest to learn ADC with” champion. Checking through my champs, I was glad to see that I actually already had her and Vayne. So, I checked into mobafire, found a quick guide that was rated at 95%, printed off the cheat sheet, turned on some dubstep, and stepped up to the plate.

For my first at-bat, I luckily managed to draft Caitlyn. To my great joy, the opposing team’s Varus had the Team Solo Mid summoner icon, so it looked to be a real showdown as I was sporting my new Dignitas icon. However, my joy was short-lived as we got stomped on. Poor Dignitas, let down by an “oldie noob”. I just couldn’t seem to get my CS up, no matter what I tried. By this point, it was bed time for me, so I took a rest for the evening.

The next afternoon, I logged on to play with a strong group of old friends from WoW. Although we played LoL years ago, and were relatively good at it, they had kept with the game while I had gone on to deployments and such. For an hour or so before play, I did more research and settled on Vayne as my new ADC. Big switch? I suppose! Ah well. After a few games, much more fun!

Winning several in a row, I noticed my CS count go up, as well as my survivability, which are the most important stats to me, personally. Now, although Vayne seems easy to pick up, the more difficult portion, pointed out to me as my mistakes, are the basics of the ADC and LoL player in general. My three largest issues were keeping up with CS, correct positioning of Condemn, and over-extending myself. So, now that I have goals, sharpening my skills should come much more easily.

This brings me to the overall point of this blog: Teamwork. Although the game has changed much over the past few years, I have noticed that the sign of a winning team has not. Riot has added in several features to even encourage communication and teamwork. One example is how map pinging has been upgraded to encourage this (although, it is generally widely abused). As well, the honor system was initiated not only for a nifty ribbon on your profile, but to encourage helping others, and easily identifying those that help.

Only too often do I get into the draft screen to see people quibbling about position and ban Champs. This just sets the tone for failure once in-game. If you need help, ask for it! On the flip side, if you’re experienced, help the noob! Belittling someone in game does nothing but cause a loss the majority of the time and start the blame-game. One of my buddies, who plays extremely well, and is the command center of our team, has no problem with calling out shots when people are lacking (in a tactful way, of course!). This can work extremely well with someone who knows what they are doing.

However, many summoners have a problem with accepting criticism – no matter how it’s given! They will respond either by dismissing it entirely, or firing shots back. One thing you will never see in a pro game is this type of behavior. Is this the difference between bronze and silver? Not entirely, but ask yourself… what does it hurt? Play smart, play friendly, and play helpfully. It strengthens you as a player and your team as a whole.