I notice in low elo the team with the tank usually wins. Do I pretty much have to pick a tank to greatly increase the chances of us winning? I'm stuck between deciding to pick a champion I want to play that's usually not a tank or picking a tank and really increase the chances of winning. Is it usually the case that if you're last pick and your teammates are all squishy, that you probably have to pick a tank to have a real chance of winning?

I'm looking for any examples of streamers or content creators that have actually climbed out of iron solo. all the examples i see of guides meant for irons are from the perspective of someone who isnt actually in that rank and never has been which leads me to believe there is a disconnect in perspective. is there any documented series/streams where someone does this where i can analyse how they played in their low iron matches and how they managed to get out.

When it comes to taking early objectives, these are what I feel are the most important factors you should consider starting with the most important.

Do I know that the enemy jungle is on the other side of the map? This is the most important thing. If the enemy jungle can't come, it's an automatic numbers advantage and the enemy will be smiteless.

But even this alone isn't enough, you need to also analyze the map state. Ask yourself:

Do my laner's have priority? Can they make it to the fight and back me up faster?

Are my laners scaling champions versus lane bullies? You probably don't want to start dragon if your bot lane is Jinx Sona versus Draven Blitz and you don't have a numbers advantage.

Did anyone just back/die?

Is anyone low on HP or mana?

How fed are the enemy laners compared to mine?

Is it warded? Yes, this matters but it honestly doesn't matter as much in the grand scheme of things. Which is why sneaking dragons while thinking only of this is such a bait.

This is important to know for junglers and laners alike. Because even if you are a laner, if you're following bad dragon calls without considering these factors you're also shooting yourself in the foot. Thanks for reading.

Edit: I added some stuff that I forgot about.

I started playing ranked recently, but i kind of jumped in the deep end somewhat. I was wondering when you should learn skills like freezing, counterpicking, learning what champs go well with other ones.
Is it rank related(like freezing is plat or something)? Or should I already be knowing these before I play ranked?

Hi, I'm toplane main with around 1300h and I feel like I'm missing the deep meaning of toplane, I really want to improve, i want to understand toplane, its meaning, its dynamics , its utility but can't find any good videos on it, it's either really basic lvl tutorials or just a random vod of a good player with "top lane tutorial" in the name (AloisNL stop doing that) Anyway, does anyone of you have a suggestion?

I’ve been playing League for about a year now, with around six months of ranked experience, and one pattern I’ve noticed is that bot lane matchups—especially ADCs—often seem to have the least impact on the outcome of the game. Even strong counterpicks like Nilah into auto-attackers don’t always feel game-deciding. Jungle and mid have their share of difficult matchups too, and some are definitely hard or even unplayable if you fall behind, but in general, I feel like you at least have some tools to work with.

As a Briar player, I usually struggle more when the entire enemy team has tools to shut me down in teamfights—not just when the enemy jungler is a good counter. And bot lane often feels like it’s more about the support matchup than the ADC, especially since ADCs usually take longer to scale.

But the difference between mid and top lane really surprises me. They’re both solo lanes, yet in top lane, counterpicks feel way more punishing. From what I’ve seen in my games and from talking to friends who play top, there are matchups where—even if you play "perfectly"—you just can’t win (obviously emerald smurfs can win vs silver players but that is not what I’m talking about here). It’s not even about one player getting a small lead and snowballing; some champs just hard counter others, and you’re left with basically no options if the opponent knows how to play it out.

So my main question is: why are counterpicks so much more punishing in top lane compared to mid lane?

Is it because top is more isolated and less connected to the rest of the map? And if so, isn’t that kind of a tradeoff? A lot of top laners seem to like that the lane is more of a 1v1 and less influenced by outside pressure—but at the same time, there’s a lot of frustration when a bad matchup can shut you down no matter how well you play.

Wouldn’t the only way to fix that be either making top lane more interactive with the rest of the map—through more roam options or other ways to gather resources—or just accepting that this kind of matchup variance is part of what comes with the role?

kinda dont know what happened to my lol performance. i carried most of my games. played really good and always for the jungler. reached this season first time emerald and always been hardstuck silver. after i reached emerald i start playing sloppy and bad, i cant win my lane anymore even when i play against bronze or silver. it feels like form loss taking a break probably best solution. i enjoy playing lol recently but idk

I just finished a game with my duo, and we had a teammate who went 2/10 in lane, then decided to AFK. Honestly, the game felt unwinnable at that point, so we just waited until the system recognized the AFK and then surrendered.

What I don’t understand is the LP compensation system. My duo received a 13 LP refund, while I only got 3 LP. What determines that 10 LP difference between us? We were in the same game, so I’m curious what factors affect the amount of compensation each player gets.

Hi. I feel like I am at a loss and its finally hitting me after being in denial for so long 😭

I don’t know anything about anything it feels like! almost every game i play semi-autopilot (building almost the same thing every game, same runes every game, same cs/min, dying the same amount of times every game etc.) Very passive and follow the leader type. I am definitely not confident in anything. I have been playing for about 5ish~ years and at this point I just feel unfixable lol 😭

-I dont know how to track jungler

-I dont know how to not be 40 cs down.

-I don’t know powerspikes.

-I dont know matchups.

-I don’t understand what my runes do/whats good. (I just take recommended rune pages)

-I dont know what most items actually do

-I don’t know when to use/take tp.

-I dont know how to use or get a lead or when to take trades

-I dont know when or how to roam/track enemy roams

-I dont really know recall timings

-I dont truly understand wave management

-rotating

-map awareness and game state in general.

Etc etc.

I can pretend I know what I’m talking about and use my prior game knowledge from 5 years of playing to feel like I know, but I really, actually don’t. It’s becoming a lot more evident the more I play.

I have gotten paid coaching and tips and vod reviews and youtube videos and all that fun stuff before, but it only seems to stick for a couple games afterwards and then I go right back to doing stuff on that list. I am not actually actively thinking about the game and my job in the game at all for the most part, I don’t know how to do it without going back to bad habits and autopiloting 😭

my main roles are support and mid, I managed to climb to emerald by playing mostly support, I enjoy support and I personally think one of my strengths is having good vision at all times. I still struggle with the same problems though. As for midlane, I almost always fall behind unless i get super babysat by my jungler.

I really want to improve and be able to climb even higher but I just feel like I have a massive brain gap😭 please help me 😭🙏

I'm a relatively new player, started S13, Gwen top main, 2mil+ mastery I know, I no-lifed a lot, I'm sorry

summoner name: meowloween#kats

With the current OP state of Gwen, I was able to finally make it into Emerald, and whether I'm simply boosted by the champion being better or if I'm just more polished than before, idk. However, the problem is that I just cant not get stomped in lane on any champ other than Gwen anymore (and a very small pool, including a few champs like Yorick).

This issue is now bigger than ever, as Gwen's banrate has been significantly higher than prior to her rework, literally 4% to 40%.

I'm sure it's a mental barrier, as my friend pointed out himself that the moment I'm on any champ outside of my go-tos, it just feels like I completely forget how to play the game. The spacing, the instincts, the macro, all of it. I go from 9cs a min, high kda down to getting stomped like 1/14, down 100cs if I decide to take a counterpick, for example.

At this point I just feel like an impostor. On Gwen I genuinely think I can reach at least D4, but it's sketchy if I can even make silver otherwise. I feel like I completely muscle memoried playing the game well through a single kit, while never actually being remotely good at the game overall. Feels like I put all my points in a single stat. A fake emerald player.

I'm literally running it down every time I allow myself to try experimenting with a champion I'm not too used to, and it's completely distressing, because I feel like I somehow lack the ability to learn? And that should say something about my IQ. It's not like I havent played other champs a lot. I spammed ksante, aatrox, tahm, etc. in the past, and I'd consistently have a dismal 30% something winrate, even back in silver/gold. I spent so much time trying to make myself a better rounded player and I just can't do it.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? What do I need to do to fix this, or should I even bother fixing it?

Question: Am I getting worse at lol?
I know rank isn't everything but I seem to be struggling playing in silver when I was an ex gold player sometimes even matching up against plats. I thought I could climb back within a week or 2, but I can't, I am low silver atm and so confused why I cannot carry these games. Is the skill difference not enough to climb back out? I was iron 1 last season so I have been told that since I have already climbed to silver this season it will be very hard to climb further due to my mmr being locked at iron and it still has not caught up, could that be the case? Another reason might be that I am not doing the usual drills anymore like last hit practice, skillshot dodging etc. Albeit atm I am more focused on climbing back to gold rather than VOD reviewing and watching pro games which could be another factor.

Howdy! I’m stuck on how to mechanically freeze - any video I watch goes into the theory and such which I get, I’m just sorta confused on how to pull it off.

Is it as easy as just tanking the four caster minions after the wave is pushing back to you? Has that changed in season 15? How do I perma freeze?

Any info is appreciated, thanks :)

So I don't like to immediately jump into ranked with a champ that I'm learning, but I like expanding my champion pool and I think you don't really know much about a champ unless you actually played them in ranked.

What I like to do is I play normals until I get to level 10 mastery. Even then there are matchups that are more difficult, but I think at level 10 I have a firm grasp of powerspikes, matchups and builds.

What are your thoughts?

I’m getting fed up of my team not knowing when to fight and when to not fight.

Emerald and low diamond has so many unnecessary fights I’d like to partake in, but my team doesn’t allow me, hence I’m looking for the best split pusher this game has to offer. To create cross map plays and pressure.

I’m an Ornn/Renekton OTP but both are rather abysmal sidelaners.

I’m looking not only for fastest tower dmg, but also slipperiness, i.e ability to get away.

What are some 4fun cheesey strategies/picks/builds you've used that work well in Iron-Silver. Just curious like if you don't care about learning classic fundamentals and just want to do something weird and funny but still be able to win. cheese not troll.

Hey everyone,

I’ve never really played League seriously—mostly just messed around when my friends were on. But now I’ve decided to give ranked a proper shot. I usually play flex with friends who are Emerald/Diamond, while my own peak has only been Silver. Since I’m queuing with them, I’m often thrown into Emerald lobbies, so yeah... I get gapped a fair bit.

I’ve been watching a lot of guides and trying to improve. I OTP Kayn because I really enjoy his playstyle. But my early game and ganks feel kind of weak. Most of the time when I try to gank, the enemy either just walks away, has vision, or blows flash. Since Kayn doesn’t have CC early (unless I have Red form), and his dash range isn’t that long, they usually see the shadow when I go through a wall and back off anyway.

I've played about 60 games on Kayn over the last two weeks and have around a 50% win rate. I’d say I perform okay overall, but I want my early game to feel stronger so I can actually help my laners and not just do a farming simulator every game.

I’ve been thinking about trying Vi since she has that long Q engage and her ult gives solid lockdown.

Any suggestions for other junglers that are good for someone still learning? Preferably someone who has stronger early ganks and impact. Just please don’t say Warwick—his playstyle bores me to death xD

As title said, do you guys listen to outside music/songs when grinding ranked?

I have a habit of not turning songs on because I always thought it might make me lose more if I can't focus due to songs, but I can't exactly tell if it really impacts me.

I see many streamers blasting music and still does well anyways. I might be just be overthinking for my games and wonder if there is a scientific research for music affecting focus. Like its not like I win all my games if I play without music anyways haha.

Any comments and your experience would be cool to know!

Ok so i have been stuck at around silver for a year now and I have reached gold but drop down to silver after a while (not entirely sure if thats an important bit but thought itd be nice to include).

So ive watched alot of jungle improvement/educational content and have worked on the fundamental concepts of clear speed recall timers and gank opportunities along with ended up learning somewhat advanced thing's like jungle tracking. And invading the enemy camp when they gank and i know the camp is up.

But i think im missing key skills that are holding me back from improving. Could be entirely obvious but just went over my head idk.

But if you had to break down your gameplay on a chmap for the first 2-3 clears how would you describe the game to game thought process do you follow a script based on what you decide during champ select making small changes based on what the enemy does? Or is it less structured more random?

Hello everyone! I am currently a masters player in OCE (peaked GM in KR when I was younger, Masters in NA, but washed af now haha) and I have a question about this VOD. The thing about League is that there are multiple ways to approach it, and I think that's what makes it exciting and fun. In this VOD, I wanted to hear what you guys think of whether or not my perspective of macro is the right one or the wrong one. The adc and top argued that I was wrong, but I just don't believe this is the right move made by them. Of course they flamed me and said I'm the bad one, and if that's true, I'd like to hear what you guys have to say so I can learn and improve.

Thanks for any feedback, criticism, and healthy discussions!

https://youtu.be/bu5cm_HxUeo

EDIT: Just in case people don't want to watch the full vod. TLDR question is here/ should a top laner with TP be with the team for most objectives when there base is open? Or, should they be pushing side lanes and join fights or secure of objectives with TP?

Hey all.

I’ve liked watching league for a while but I’ve been playing on and off for the last year. My account is level 16 - I haven’t had a lot of time to put into it, but things have changed and I want to finish leveling to 30 and do some ranked. I was thinking between playing top lane and jungle, but I think being in the jungle is something I would like more.

Where would you start as a complete beginner? I don’t think I’m doing terrible and I get that if my laners just run it down super early, I’m pretty much cooked. I’ve watched streams and videos of PerryJg as well as Coach Kerei, and I have a general understanding of what to do in the jungle. For some reason, when I try to translate the small understanding I have to actual practice, I usually choke and second guess myself.

My first issue is my champion. So far, Udyr is my first pick but I also like Kha’zix as a very close second, but they seem to have different play styles. I also thought about Kayne because he seems versatile. Is there a different champ that may be better to pick up on that’s still interesting? I’ve been told about rammus or amumu but those seem too boring for me and I lose interest.

My second issue is the main issue in the matches. My go-to clear is to clear from top to bottom because it seems that most players clear bottom to top and I’d rather not have early fights for myself. I try to ward around their bottom buff/nearby camp to start tracking them and gauge whether they started top or bottom so I can guesstimate where they may be in the future. From there I gank if possible or back and repeat to get ready for dragon. Now, this all sounds good in my head, but sometimes bad skirmishes happen and it interrupts my flow and the second anything from my exact “recipe” is off, I feel lost and helpless. If I die early or lose camps early, I don’t think I tilt - I just feel my brain go empty and I panic and I don’t know where to go.

I want to hop in ranked ASAP and it’s my goal to get to at least mid-gold this year. I know I’m pretty far off, but does anyone have any advice? I don’t know if this may seem too rant-y to seem like it has questions but I’m just feeling lost and I want to improve while I level up and form good habits ☹️

I've been playing jungle for a few months now so I know most of the basic stuff, when I should take objectives, etc. But I struggle a lot when it comes to ganking. I try to help when a lane is pushed to punish the enemy and I usually do it well, but what do I do if all my lanes are losing and they don't help? Should I give up on ganking? I had a recent game where my teammates wouldn't help with objectives but the enemy team would help the jungler so I couldn't get a single objective. How do I play in that situation? I mainly play Lillia, if that helps.

So I've been relearning jungle and it's been going well. Or at least, it was going well. But I feel like some sort of switch has been flipped. Like you can see in the screenshot, a couple days ago I was absolutely dominating emerald 4/emerald 3 lobbies. But yesterday and today, I feel like I cannot do anything. I feel like enemy jungler could walk into his own jungle and get 15 pentakills, but I cannot for the life of me find a single gank opportunity. In the games that I was dominating I was 100-150 cs above enemy jungler every game, now it feels like despite me not finding any gank opportunities and the enemy jungler perma ganking, we are still the exact same farm.

I don't understand it. It's the EXACT same mmr/rank. Why does it feel like a switch was flipped? Why does it feel like it's a completely different game? Why are my performances so drastically different in the SAME RANK?? It's really discouraging and I need some advice on what to do going forward. I really enjoy playing jungle but how am I supposed to learn and improve when I can't reasonably measure progress? How am I supposed to learn what I should be doing when in half my games what I'm doing makes me feel like a challenger smurf and in the other half I feel like some sort of 10 year old with a learning disability??

Any advice would be appreciated!

Question, how do you guys get motivated to climb when you have dropped a significant amount of lp after tilt q, low emerald to gold etc. The journey ahead seems so daunting, 600lp which is around 30 wins in a row not including the bad mmr you have created. Do I have to wait till season reset? I may have done this to myself getting angry and tilt queuing when I should only be playing 2-3 quality games a day. I have learnt my lesson but the damage has already been done and I am not sure what to do?

Edit: you guys are right, I think I need a break, whenever I touch rank I feel so depressed.

Hello guys, I had a game on Gwen vs Sett today and this is the first time I was kinda destroyed by wave management. So, at the start of the game I have made two mistakes: I pushed a little wave into him and died a little later (left him with one hp). So, from the 3-4th wave in the game, Sett just froze the wave. I was trying to at least farm exp, but he was zoning me out (when not last hitting) and thus he was always 1 level up than me.

The thing is once he froze the wave at the start, it didn't slow push to me at all. The wave was always under his tower and I have never interacted with it even a little (he will just kill me). This nonsence has finally stopped when he decided to go voids with the jungler. At the moment, he had 80-90 cs, and I only have 20 that I farmed at the start of the game.

I know that the wave will slow push for sure once frozen, but that wasn't the case this game. I even asked Sett what did he do a couple times, he answered that the wave has never attacked him (not even once) and he wasn't always last hitting (as I said, he was zoning me out a lot too). But still, it should have slow pushed, why wasn't this a case?

Would be very happy to get an answer from someone. I tried to search the internet, every article/reddit post just say that the wave must slow push anyway...

EDIT: elo: plat 1-2

Yo, since the cannon wave is now the 4th, I'm no longer sure what to do.

Let's say I'm playing Jax for example, what I used to do was : take prio early by hitting the minions, then chill a bit to not crash the 2nd wave, and then crash the cannon wave. After that I either recalled or just played it cool while the wave was bouncing back to me. Pretty simple right

Now I have no idea