How to Prepare for a LAN and make the best of it!

LAN stands for Local Area Network and with League of Legends there is no LAN server if you are not apart of Riot's official tournaments. However, the term LAN is becoming more synonymous with a group of players in the same room playing together. Although they may be a lot of fun, LANs are also emotionally draining, physically draining, and sometimes frustrating but you have to make the best of it.

Your pre-LAN preparations are just as important as the LAN itself although some of the things you will do are not even related to the game!

1) Be well rested! This may seem obvious, but staying up late to practice for your tournament may not be the best for your playing. Being fully rested and ready to go is more important than practicing so much that you're exausted.

2) Wake up a little early and leave early! Being late to a LAN may make it harder to get in, find parking, or anger your team! Some venues may also have a check-in time so if you're late you may disqualify your team. Somev enues may even allow you to warm up before you go, so getting their early may give you the time to play agame and get an advantage with getting comfortable at the venue.

3) Make sure you know how to get there! This may seem silly, but knowing the routes and going there once before the event will be beneficial to you; knowing how traffic is, where parking is, and local places to find food will make your LAN experience easier and better!

4) HYGIENE! When a room is full of people for multiple hours non-stop it will start tos mell, taking a shower and using deoderant before you leave your house will not only make your own sxperience more pleasant but everyone elses'. And you may think I'm over exaggerating but I've been to LANs where people may have not showered when they woke up in the morning and eventually it becomes distracting while playing.

5) Before you arrive at the venue, make sure you have eaten food or packed snacks and water. Staying hydrated and nourished will help to prevent you from getting sick while there from hunger or dehydration.

6) Practice before, extensively! You don't want to be the team that goes in and has very little practice or synergy against a team that has devoted time daily to practicing. It will show and you may find yourself leaving first round.

7) Pack your equipment! You are most comfortable using the keyboard, mouse, headset, and mousepad that you play with at home therefore it is important to bring what you are most secure on as well as there is a possibility that the place you are going does not have these things for you to use.

8) Bring a phone charger, you do not know how long you will be there and if you're like me and rely on navigation to get to places you're not familiar with then the long hours that you're at the LAN will wreck havoc on your battery life.

Now that you're ready for the LAN, here are some tips to improve your experience and the experience of everyone around you while there!

1) Be respectful to the people who set up the LAN, their equipment, other players, and their equipment. Everyone is here for the same reason as you: to play or watch people play and have fun. Letting your emotions get the best of you, negatively, could cause the venue to decide that your team is disqualified ort hat no further LANs will be held there! Don't ruin it for everyone else.

2) Stay hydrated and eat, and not just junk food! Drink water and have actual meals while there, so that you don't start to feel sick. And nothing feels better than having a victory-meal with your team after winning the LAN.

3) Be prepared to be there for long hours. Most LANs I've been to start at 12P.M. and go past 10P.M., which may not just be tiring but stressful. Take a nap in your downtime or make friends, LANs are not just competitive events but social ones where you can meet new people who like what you like!

4) DO. NOT. BE. INTIDMIATED. BY. ANYONE. You may be an all silver team up against the Diamond 1 or Challenger players, but don't give up immediately. Play your heart out, have fun, and do your best. I've seenp lenty of upsets of Gold/Platinum ranked teams taking first place over a Diamond team with Challenger players.

5) Never surrender. Many teams have the problem of closing the game out and as long as your team can stall longer you could put up a great fight or possibly win the game.

6) Win or lose, get up and go shake their hands and say good game. Typing it in the in-game chat is not enough .Even when losing Best of 3's well past midnight, I go and shake their hands and look them in the eyes when I say good game. I've had games where we had a game-ending pentakill in their base and we shook everyone's hand but one person, and you can tell he was angry and not enjoying himself and he refused to acknowledge us.

7)The most important one is HAVE FUN. If you're not enjoying yourself in the games, why are you playing?For money? Money doesn't mean much if the entire time you're yelling at your teammates and making everyone dislike you.

Lans can be tons of fun but also very stressful, so try to make the best of your situation. Do not be afraid of making friends with strangers, because everyone is there to play and watch League of Legends! 

Photos courtesy of Robert Paul and www.rmpaul.com