A game that is so enveloping as League of Legends ought to change a few things about you. You learn from every game and grow to be a better player. I’ve compiled a list of the ten most important things I’ve learned from playing the game.
10. Stay away from All-chat
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Mordekaiser and Master Yi dueling
Communication is vital in a game that places such emphasis on team play as League of Legends does, but there is really never a reason why you should need to contact the enemy team. All chat is normally only used for salty players to make excuses, or bitter and angry players when they feel the need to put others down. This doesn’t need to be you and you don’t have to participate in poor habits like this.
It is rare, but it happens that all-chat is used for congratulating your lane opponent on a good play, or cracking a funny joke. These moments have happened to most of us, and they make the game more fun to play. In general though, stick with team chat and pings since it is much safer.
9. There are better players than me
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Odds are that anyone playing Zed is better than you
No matter how amazing you think you are at this game, you are where you are because it’s where you should be. Yes there are the very rare occasions where someone with exemplary skill gets dropped into a lower bronze tier due to an unfortunate run of bad team members. However, that is probably not you.
Unless you have skills like Doublelift or MadLife, you should not complain when it takes you a month to climb into Silver. It is how the system was intended and it is in fact fair.
8. The jungle is not safe!
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The jungle is full of big bad monsters
Don’t ever face check a brush! Just don’t. If you ever feel the urge to do so, remember these important words: Don’t face check the brush!
You might think that the jungle on your side of the map is safe or the brush on your end of the lane is ok to venture into, but you don’t know if top lane just teleported to a ward or if you are being counter jungled.
Always ward before checking the brush! If you don’t have a ward, send the support. No one likes them anyway.
7. Being a support main can be brutal
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Nidalee, Lulu, and Tristana in this beautiful wallpaper
Support mains really got the short end of the stuck. Often they get bullied in lane hard by their ADC that they are supposed to protect. They get ridiculed for going 2-6 even when they are a tank and have 5000 assists.
You hardly get any recognition when you play support, even when you make game breaking plays, which is the reason why many shy away from the role. Keep in mind though; no ADC can ever win in lane without your help as a support. Whether or not your team mates treat you well, you are important! Remember that,
6. Knowing when it’s alright to troll
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Get a premade group together and have a pool party in Baron's pit
Trolling can be immensely fun sometimes. Every now and then we want to pick some random champion and just go have a fun time. Don’t do this in ranked SoloQ though, please just don’t! If you want to goof off in a game, then either use Team Builder or a premade group for a normal game.
It sucks to que up for a game and do your best only to realize that you have an Alistar Mid that is trying to proxy inside the enemy base… Please be considerate.
5. Winning with grace
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Don't be like Draven, show some grace when you win
League of Legends is very well known for its salty players and bad losers, but not a lot of these people know how to win well either. If a player does well they’ll often proceed to ridicule their opposing laner for the rest of the game.
Just because you beat Garen in the top lane with your broken Riven doesn’t mean that you can assert your dominance over the other player all game long. They might have had a bad game you know. Just because your Ignite ticked one second more than his doesn’t mean that you outplayed him.
Often the difference between winning and losing a duel in a lower elo match is another tick of Ignite. After that it becomes easy for the winning party to snowball and the loser struggles to stay in the game. This has happened to all of us and does not mean that we are worse than the other player.
4. Never giving up
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CLG.eu, the champions of the greates comeback in League histpry
If watching CLG.eu vs MOSCOW 5 taught you anything, it is to never ever give up. In the pro match CLG.eu was down 27,000 gold at one point. You can bet that felt demoralizing, but they fought through it, capitalized on MOSCOW 5’s mistakes, and won the game.
So many players throw in the towel at 20 simply because they are down a few kills or lost the first dragon. You never know how the late game is going to pan out, and if you have a shot at winning or not. Don’t surrender, instead focus on team fighting and getting back in the game.
3. Teamwork is the dreamwork!
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There is no I in team
You will never ever win a game in League of Legends by yourself… Unless it is a bot game of course, but no one cares about bots. Even if you played as Master Yi and “carried” the team with a record of 35-0, you still didn’t win alone. Without your team members you would’ve not been able to take objectives and maintain pressure at all points on the map.
Get off your high horse and let other people have some credit as well. You had an awesome game, good for you! Don’t forget that teamwork is ultimately what led to victory though.
2. Dealing with Toxic team members
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Let go of the undying rage
One of the most frustrating parts of playing League of Legends is dealing with toxic players. Sometimes it comes from an understandable place, like a top laner who has been ignored all game and feels frustrated with his team mates and starts getting toxic. Other times it is completely random and someone starts blowing up before champion select is over. Don’t be that guy! Toxicity absolutely ruins the game for anyone who becomes a part of it.
When you have a toxic team member it is important that you mute them immediately, don’t let their negative attitude affect you enjoying the game. Don’t respond negatively though since that just makes it worse. Keep responding to pings and try to play as a team. You may still win the game.
1. How to not rage when losing
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Chill out man
Dealing with your personal frustration when losing can be even more difficult than dealing with other players being toxic. It can be extremely frustrating when you are on tilt, meaning that you keep losing over and over. It becomes easy to blame everyone and anything but yourself.
You have to face reality though and realize that the loss was partially your fault. You can learn from your mistakes and think about how you can play better next game. When feeling this frustrated, it can also be wise to take a break for a while. Go on a walk and get some fresh air, clear your head so that you can play better later.
In the end, even if you have dreams to go pro, you have to remember that you have food in your fridge, a roof over your head, clothes to wear, and League of Legends is in fact just a game.
These are all the most important things that I’ve learned from playing League of Legends. Let us know in the comments what you think is most important when playing League.
