Greetings Summoner!
The sole reason I decided to create this blog is to try and help gamers new to League of Legends to play well and never be branded as a 'NOOB' (Another word for 'Useless, Unskilled Retard') by his/her team mates. To ensure that they prove to be an asset to the team and guide it to Victory!
My guide here targets players who are new to League of Legends. Those who aspire to be better.
Speaking of my LOL pedigree, I'm now a Gold division player (Season 5) who once used to be in Bronze Division 5 (Season 3) on the 'EU - Nordic East' Server.
Not bad for a full time Business Analyst who just plays for an hour or two every day (If I say so myself !)
LOL is a complex game and I strongly believe that one needs proper direction and guidance to get better at it!
My goal is to reach Platinum in S6!
So lets get Started!
1) Learn the difference between 'AD' & 'AP'
AD refers to Attack Damage. This damage is physical in nature.
AP refers to Ability Power. This damage is pure magic damage in nature.
In-game items are classified into these categories.
There are some champions which scale well with AD (e.g. Darius, Ashe) and some which scale well with AP (Brand, Veigar) and there are also a few which scale well with both. Such champions are called 'Hybrids' (eg. Jax, Poppy etc..)
2) Find a role that fits you Best!
There are different roles in a LOL Team. They are as follows:
Melee Fighter/Bruiser - For gamers who like to get close and personal and take the fight directly to their foes. e.g. Chamions like Xin Zhao, Darius, Vi etc.
These champions generally go Top lane or Jungle.
Assassin - For gamers who love to lurk behind shadows and attack at the precise moment dealing huge bursts of damage but cannot engage in a prolonged battle.. At least at early levels.
These champions can go Top lane or Jungle and sometimes even Mid lane (like Katarina, Master Yi)
Mage - For gamers who like ranged burst damage magic wielding dangerous but very squishy champions.
These champions generally go Mid lane.
AD Carry - For gamers who like to do their best work from afar. Deal constant physical damage with bows/bolts. These champions generally go Bot lane.
Support - For gamers who like to aid their allies in battle. Heal teammates, Stun/snare/slow their opponents and ensure that their AD Carry wins the lane for the team.
These champions generally go Bot lane.
3) Find your 'best' Champion/s
At least at lower summoner levels (i.e. prior to reaching level 30), Learn to play at least one champion properly
What I mean by that is, Once you have played over 50 games with one champion, tried out various builds on it and have laned against different champions, You learn how to handle yourself.
LOL has given gamers a lot to choose from. Try out champions when they are free to play each week
(In BOT Games 1st !!) and after a couple of games try them out in PvP. DO NOT.. And I repeat DO NOT ruin other people's game by taking a new champion directly into PvP matches directly.
e.g. If you like to play as an AD Carry (or ADC as it is commonly referred as), try out champs like Ashe, Caitlyn, Vayne, Varus.. There are a plethora of champions to pick from.
4) Learn to FARM
LOL relies heavily on your ability to farm minions consistently. It can be the vital difference between you winning or losing your lane. Learn to last hit creeps (lane & neutral minions) with YOUR Champion so that you earn gold as well as experience. It doesn't matter if you have given 'First Blood' or are marginally behind in kills as long as you are farming well and keeping a steady in-flow of gold. You will definitely rise from the ashes with better items from the gold you farmed.
NOTE: Some champions like Fiddlesticks are marginally tougher to learn 'Last hitting'with .. So practice.
5) Learn to Defend and Back Off in Time
Remember this saying of Mine -
"If You can't win your lane, Don't Lose it !! "
If you're facing a tough time, Just make sure you farm adequately and defend your tower. DO NOT try and Fight until help arrives from your team. Call for help. If you stick your butt to your tower and farm, Trust me.. You still have a good chance to win your lane.
Learn to last hit minions under your tower. It is difficult to master but with practice, You will get the hang of it.
Do not over stay in your lane alone when enemies are missing as you are mostly going to be ganked by the enemy team. Push a tower and back off in time.
6) Look at the Minimap and ping your team accordingly
Always, Keep track of your enemy movements via your minimap. If the enemies in your lane are missing, Ping the '?' Sign AND type in 'SS (Refers to 'Missing') 1/2 (No. of opponents) TOP/MID/BOT (Lane)'
e.g. 'SS 2 TOP'
If you know that enemies are camping/waiting in a bush, Display the Danger '!' Ping so that your team mates dont get caught in the trap.
Use the 'On my way' Ping to let know your team mates that you are on your way.
Display the yellow "!" ping to tell your team to back off if you are unsure about enemy movements.
7) Ward !!!
With Wards/ Trinkets in Season 4 free of cost early on and a limit to ward at 3 places per player, Ward the bushes in your lane as well as the ones which link to the jungle to ensure you are not ganked. Similarly ward and keep track of your Red/Blue buffs as well as Baron Nashor and Dragon buffs.
Always ward Baron Nashor. Ensure your team has one ward at the place always. You do not want the enemy team to steal Baron and finish you off.
If you have a ward at baron and the enemies are about to take it, Try to steal it if you have 'Smite' on any player on your team. Learn to calculate the damage on Smite with that left on the neutral monster.
Make sure you ward your own Red / Blue Buffs and your team has them as soon as they are back.
8) Learn to Smart Cast
Certain champions with skill shot based abilities like Brand, Ahri, Ezreal can be played uch better if you learn how to 'smart cast'.
It is basically an option under your key bindings where you can tag any of your q/w/e/r skills as a smartcast and upon clicking the
button cast it instantly at the place where your cursor is on the screen. This saves you crucial time during your gameplay and will
certainly make you better once you learn to use it well.
9) Practice those Skill shots !!
There are champions which rely heavily on their skill shot abilities. i.e. aim and shoot kind of abilities.
e.g. Blitzcrank's/Nautilus Grab, Ahri's Orb, Brand's Pillar of Flame etc. which you cannot afford to miss. What good
is a Blitzcrank if he never lands his pulls ? You will be utterly useless to your team. Hence, If you play a skill shot based
champion, Make sure you land 90% or more of your skill shots. Learn to anticipate enemy movements and think ahead!
Practice makes perfect.
10) Do NOT Die for Free !
Make this a goal. You should never die for Nothing! If you are sure of death, Hit the enemies as hard as you can before you Die. Your team may have a chance to finish them off.
DO NOT use your summoner spells like Flash, Ghost if you are certain of death even after using them. i.e. if you have a very slim chance to escape.
And If you know you are about to die and have a chance to take one of the enemy team;s player or their tower, DO IT. Ensure that you don't die for nothing.
11) Learn to flash/skill-jump over walls
This trick is a must to escape sticky situations.
Check the range on the 'Flash' summoner spell. You can approach a wall at the very edge and flash over it if
'Flash' range is bigger than the other side of the wall.
This is why 'Flash' is much more useful than 'Ghost'.
Same can be done with certain skills of certain champions like Tryndamere's 'E', Riven's 3rd strike of 'Q', Corki's 'W',
Fizz's 'Trickster', Atrox's 'Jump' and many more.
The bottom line is to manage these skills so that you can use them at the appropriate time to escape certain death or traverse through the map faster.
12) Set Goals in game
There is no point in doing raandom things. Have a plan to beat the enemies. Device stratetegies on the fly.
e.g. Make sure you gank other lanes after you have successfully pushed that enemy tower and the coast is clear. Set a goal, That you will take Dragon at level 6-7, Steal enemy Red/ Blue Buffs when their jungler is elsewhere, Take baron at a designated time.
LOL is all about Goal Setting and executing the plan to reach those goals !!
13) Help your Team. As Teamwork Wins !
Do not be a solitary soldier!
League of Legends (Referred as 'LOL' henceforth) is all about TEAMWORK !
It's highly unlikely that You, alone can get a team to Victory. Especially in Ranked matches.
Ensure you help the lanes which are behind once in a while. Gank other lanes to scare off your enemies.
Focus the high priority targets like the high damage ADC or Mage first.
DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT, focus the TANK on the enemy team first, Kill the enemies with most damage first.
DO NOT engage in a handicap team fight (Your whole team should be present in a team fight!)
14) Miscellaneous & Conduct
- DO NOT fall for the same traps again and again.
- Every game lost is a lesson learnt. Learn from your mistakes.
- Remember that 'YOU ARE NOT FLAWLESS'. You always have stuff to learn.
- Learn about All the In-Game champions. Play when they are free. Learn their skills so you know what skill of theirs to avoid when you are facing them.
- DO NOT stick with your Static 'every-game' build. Build Counter Items (At least 1-2)
- For e.g. Build Magic Resist items if you are facing a mostly AP damage based team or build Armor if you are facing a mostly AD damage based team. Build Warden's Mail if the enemy's attack speed is a problem.
- Check out what different items do
- DO NOT think that the builds given on websites are the final deal. Try out Items and make your very own item build. Which fits your own play style.
- Same goes for Masteries and Runes. Do your research but at the end of the day, Pick the ones which You think are best for you!
- Play with your friends. Use VOIP apps like Skype (Which is free!) to co-ordinate with your team.
Lastly..
- Flaming, Abusive language and Negative comments DO NOT help you or your team. Everyone has bad days. (I have and still face many such days. So I know.)
- Stay Calm, Paly the best you can. Guide your team with Tips if they need it. Motivate them if they are failing.
- Lastly, Enjoy the time spent in game. Remember, At the end of the day, It is just a game!
I wish you all find success on the Fields of Justice!
Even if this post helps any one of you in a small way, My purpose here is served.
Good Luck !
- "Galford" (EU Nordic East)
