LoL Academy 105: Advanced Strategy & Tips

League of Legends Academy: 105

League of Legends is a complex game that requires teamwork with your teammates to be able to successfully move up the map towards the other team’s base. The game has hundreds of champions that are unique in their own right, and you must learn how each of them works to be able to win fights in the game.

The best way to learn about League of Legends is to play the game and practice as much as possible. Every pro player has dedicated thousands of hours to the game, and you must practice and dedicate time to the game to have success in the game.

Once you have a basic understanding of how the game works, you can jump into some of the advanced strategies of League of Legends to continue your growth as a player. There are lots of intricate detail that must be learned, and most importantly how Champions work together and against each other.

Improving Mechanics

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To practice using a new Champion, jumping into an offline match with bots can be a great way to learn the Champion’s abilities and unique movement so you don’t get smoked in an online match while trying to learn. The practice against the bots may seem trivial, but the muscle memory that is developed is crucial in getting better as a player.

Mechanical based aspects of the game such as last-hitting creeps are important, so you need to practice by sitting in a custom game and simply last-hitting creeps. Pick a champion that you usually play – ideally, you should be aiming for around 90 CS at 10 minutes. This method also applies to champion-specific mechanics such as Lee Sin’s ability to ward jump and ‘InSec’. Don’t be afraid to experiment on bots, practicing tricks and techniques you often see performed at the highest levels of play.

Game Knowledge

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There are countless scenarios and factors that contribute to the outcome of a game. The more you play, the greater experience you will have, and the more likely you are to recognize a scenario in which you can make the correct play. However, to improve upon your own game knowledge you need to be able to recognize when a mistake has occurred and what should have been done instead.

There are plenty of resources available that you can watch replays of your games such as Plays.tv. Try to make a mental note every time you make a significant and noticeable mistake, and don’t be afraid to take the time to look back at it on a replay to see what went wrong and what you could have done better.

How to reach a higher rank

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You will regularly find yourself in scenarios where you are put behind, and many players will become frustrated and repeatedly attempt to force unfavorable plays and trades in the hope of getting back into the game. Remember that League of Legends is a team game, and sometimes you need to put faith in your teammates to carry the game for you.

If you are put into an uncomfortable role, pick champions with high crowd control and utility, so that if you do fall behind in gold you can still remain useful to your team. Be confident in your ability to carry the game and take control, but also realize that sometimes the best thing you can do is sit back and play a more supportive role to give your teammates the help they need.

Act Quickly & Decisively

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Always commit to the call – in a team environment, trust and decisiveness are key elements to success; you need to be able to make a decisive call and have your teammates respond at a moment’s notice. The same applies to solo queue; if your teammate wants to take a fight that you are unsure of, don’t hover on the edge – commit fully or just back off.

Try to perform every action with decisiveness. If your team goes in, you need to be there to back them up. Uncertainty could result in losing a winnable fight. The same applies to communication within the team itself – if you truly believe a call to be wrong, don’t be afraid to say so – the more your team doubts the call the more likely they are to make a mistake and not commit fully.

Control Your Emotions

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When playing alone in a solo queue, it is easy to grow frustrated with your teammates because of their decisions within key moments in the game. However, you must keep your emotions under control because if you let anger control your decision-making process during the game, things will deteriorate quickly. Your judgment becomes clouded quickly, and the whole team suffers as a result.
You must communicate to your team so they can improve, but they will not listen if you are toxic while telling them what to do. Be calm, and communicate effectively to your teammates and focus on your individual performance.

Map Knowledge

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You must be able to see what is happening around the map and be able to react quickly and move to where you need to be. Being in the right spot on Summoner’s Rift in all moments is the difference between life and death. You must be able to assist your teammates in crucial team fights and be able to realize when you need to win a 1v1 in your own lane.

Lots of fights between teammates start when you do not communicate effectively when you need help or when to attack as a team. Knowing the map so you can move and assist your teammates quickly is very important to having success as a team.

Champion vs Champion Knowledge

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There is a counter for any Champion in the game, and it is important to know how each Champion works against each other in fights. For example, Corki can get really strong as the game goes on, but could be a liability if you feed the other team kills early on, allowing the other team’s Champion in your lane to become over-leveled.

You must recognize what the other team is drafting during the pre-match process, and try to choose a Champion that can be a good counter to what the other team is running. The draft process can make or break your team before the game even begins, so make sure you choose a Champion that works with what your team is running and something that can counter what the other team plans to do.

Best Champions

Top Lane: Sett

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Sett is a Champion with a quick movement and the ability to win lots of 1 versus 1 engagement due to his strong melee combat ability. Sett’s base attack is a 1-2 punch that grows in strength on the second punch. Also, Sett is gains speed as you are pursuing a target, making it easy to trap opponents and finish them off before they are able to escape. As the match wears on, Sett only grows stronger and is able to deal devastating melee attacks, which can be crucial during team fights. The speed and strength of Sett are the reasons why it is the premier Champ of the top lane.

Mid Lane: Ekko

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Ekko is a unique character that is extremely good in both individual and team fights, making it one of the best Champions in the game overall. While attacking, Ekko deals extra damage on every 3rd strike, making it a good attacker as battles wear on. Also, Ekko gains speed when hit by an enemy, so it can be easy to get away and regroup with teammates. Ekko has lots of AOE abilities that help him and teammates such as the Jungler. For example, Ekko can deploy a bubble that shields her but disorients enemies. Also, he can teleport small distances, which can be crucial during large team fights.

Jungle: Warwick

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Warwick is a great jungle Champion because it has a large amount of base health and is strong as an opening character, which is crucial as the early game role of the Jungler can be crucial. Warwick can deal more damage when attacking with low health, meaning it can be strong in fights, especially as the sacrificial lamb playing with others. Also, Warwick’s special abilities allow him to tank considerable amounts of damage at a time, making him an effective tank in battle, allowing his teammates to get easy kills during team fights.

ADC: Jinx

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Jinx is Champion that can win games single-handedly because of its ability to multi-kill during key engagements with multiple enemies. Jinx uses a machine gun that allows her to attack from range, and gains speed after every kill, making it harder to trade the kill for opposing players. Also, Jinx can switch a rocket launcher that deals splash damage and mines that can be devastating to unaware enemies. Jinx is best with a strong support player, but is capable of winning games on her own because of her damage.

Support: Soraka

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Soraka is the best support Champion in League of Legends as of right now because of her combination of quickness and healing ability. Soraka gains speed when moving towards teammates with low health, and has the ability to tank some damage while healing others. Soraka can also heal people from across the map with some of her stronger abilities, making her one of the few Champions with the ability to heal everyone that is not an Ultimate Ability. With her Ultimate ability, Soraka heals everyone on her own team, including herself, at any range, which is the strongest support ability in the game.

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