LoL- Should i ranked?

I dont play ranked myself these days anymore, but Ive been playing moba/lol/dota-esque game for a long time so I guess I could give some pointers.

The key of "being ready" for ranked compasses many thing, but I guess I can boil down to some pointers:



1)Mindset : The reason people play ranked are mostly for serious, competitive game. A lot of my friends play ranked themselves. I personally avoid ranked because I prefer laidback games generally. Of course, every one wants to win. However, most people make mistake about this important point.

You can't win every game. But one thing you can really make sure is make every game count. Do your best in each. Most of my ranked friends has this habit of finding fault/playing the blame game(they solo queue a lot). You cant play like this if you ever want to actually improvise(as a gamer yourself, not just in terms of rank/elo/divisions).

I have two groups of friends myself, those who actively play ranked and those who don't. Skill-level aside, they both have very different mindset altogether.

For a safe bet, avoid solo queue ranked at the beginning, which is I believe almost all LoL players can agree to. Try finding a team for a ranked, it is a more comfortable way of "breaking" your way into the more competitive mode of LoL. The reason is trying to have a leverage in team flexibility/communication, which brings into my 2nd point :



2)Preparations, Before and During Game:

One thing that I wish I could teach new LoL players is to identify roles and champions who are associated with that role. I' m not just trying to force the current meta/lane composition either for them (I hate current LoL for having such a rigid role system).

Having roots from DotA in-house clan matches, I grew up playing support for my clan mates in the old days. This transitions well into LoL itself, especially in current laning system. Different mindset that I had in those days was I am playing a role, rather than specific champions.

I see most new players have the habit of "maining" specific champions, even going as far as having different champions in various roles. This isnt really a problem when you're playing the game for the sake of playing the game itself, but when we're talking about competitive level/ranked, this means your mechanic/skill/knowledge about that role is rather shallow since you spend yourself averaging/switching roles too often.

Riot is kind enough to let 10 Free Weekly champs have all roles for a team, so I really recommend you try finding your main role which suit your playstyle, not which specific champion suits your playstyle. For example, I main support and sub as a jungler. I primarily play offensive based support(I have Leona/Taric/Thresh for this purpose), or a tank/supportish Junglers(Maokai/Hecarim/Nautilus). Both of these playstyle share some certain degree of agressiveness and initiation mechanics, so even if I swap around roles between Jungler/Support, I still retain the same playstyle/mentality.

This is the reason why I advise to get a team for ranked, this way you can plan your way around your team(adjusting playstyles between mates). Playing solo ranked is a gamble, you may get teamed with those who wont fit your plastyle(my agressiveness had sometime resulted in frustation for both me and my random teammates, because we didnt really synchro well. On the other hand, when Im playing with my regular/premades, its not a problem. They know Im agressive and know how to react/engage).



Looking at your pool, you seems to have good start to try playing as a solo top(If you enjoy playing the island lane).



However, if you really insist on trying to get into solo queue, then make sure you have quite some preparations to do:

a) Generic runepage for at least 3 roles(most probably you end up playing support)

b)At least have 2-3 champions for said role if you get forced to do it. Also, having these champions who arent easily hardcountered.

c)A very thick skin, solo queue community is very harsh

 

There is only so much preparation you can do before stepping into ranked. At the very least, you will only end up in silver 5. Play 2 games and see where you're at. Did you do good? did you do really bad? What was the overall outcome? Then go train some more and come back when you feel like you're more ready if you were losing. Sometimes ranked really is the luck of the draw, even if you start off better than the average ranked players, you can lose due to your team.

 

What you are experiencing and will likely experience later as well is ladder anxiety. It's most common in LoL and SC2. It's just a state of mind. Fact is, I just won 14 straight. Now have lost 10 Straight. Does it affect me? No. My score is generally good, I assist other lanes by roaming and typically top CS. That also doesn't stop the trolls and opponents from telling me how much I suck.

At my level of play, my friends in Platinum and Diamond tell me I am better than them, yet I am Silver I and on a massive lose streak. My point? Just play, you will hit a wall - look at it as a way to improve, I can't get much better CS atm, but I sure as hell can work on my efficiency involving carrying. Ladder Anxiety is really just mental, play ladder and lose my friend. Take a break after 2 or 3 and go to normals. The next day, go back to ranked and lose some more. Eventually, you WILL get good enough to climb but still be held back by team mates. The important thing is... never let them know how you feel, keep positive and become a positive community member.

You seem like a good person, though it may just be the jack talking. PM me for friends if you want.

 

I'm kind of late to this thread, but what you are talking about is something lots of people experience. But should you play ranked? ABSOLUTELY.

Ranked is the best way to improve at the game. It helps you to learn better team communication, it helps you to learn how to adjust your champion pick to counter what the enemy has chosen, and it can help develop the all important internet skill of rolling with the punches (not getting upset when people call you names or insult you). Playing ranked, while at times discouraging, can give you goals that can, in turn, help you improve as a player.



I find that when I play ranked, I am much more focused on important things like securing objectives and asking my team to push when we have the advantage instead of letting the game drag out. I also find that the people on my team in ranked games tend to talk more and, as a result, the game feels more team oriented and not so much like the game is me fighting in my lane alongside people playing separate games in their lanes.

 

You should try unranked draft to help you get a feel for what ranked games are like. Don't go in ranked until you have a real solid hold on the game. You need to know what every champ is capable of or you will end up tossing a lot of the games and it will be your fault. For example when you tower dive aniva without knowing she will turn into an egg it could result in your death instead of hers. It is true you will learn a few things as you play ranked but you want to learn 90% of everything before you step foot in a ranked game. I wrote a whole list of do's and don'ts for ranked players on LOL's forums. You need at least 3 good champs in every role that you are very capable of playing. Learn what the top banned champs are so you don't waste your time learning something you will never play. I can't tell you how many times in ranked games I had someone say "Well this is my first time playing Vayne lets see how it goes" Also ranked games will surrender way faster then a normal game. If your team has 5 kills and they have 0 it is likely they will surrender. It's kind of sad but that's how it normally works.

 

I play rank. It's pretty bad sometimes because there are tons of trolls out there. From Bronze to Diamond, you'll be facing tons of trolls regardless. But if you're nice maybe they will soften up.

 

I play ranks only in duo. LoL depends of your team, so if there is 2 good players your team you can wib. If there is only one - chances are very low.

 

Don't be shy to play ranked, man. It's not as bad as everyone is labeling it to be, and you will have lots of fun. Sure, there are always bad players who will sometimes tread your way, but who cares? Break the ice, you will see that I'm right.
Cheers!

 

Just incase you're still having second thoughts about it..

 

Every division has its "rotten" parts, even challenger. Don't be scared to jump into ranked, you got nothing to lose. Good luck on your adventure and may the LoL God watch over you!

 

Playing ranked means you already mastered all the roles from jungle to ADC and you have the runes and masteries to boot. Bronzers just want to try what ranked is liked to trolls happen a lot. Ranked is the next level to this game bro, you can't play 1000 games and not get ranked that would be such a waste. Playing ranked means you are willing to adjust and you are nearer to becoming a professional esport athlete if that's your thing. Cheers.

 

Lmao man every division is full of feeders noobs and trolls, its called League of legends. Only due ranked if you dont get to stressed out or don't tilt, it can really add pressure to your life and change how you see League.

 

Don't be afraid of trolls and noobs. They're inevitable. Just hope that you'll be assigned with pro players and it will eventually happen the way you wish. Don't be afraid. Like Shia Laboeuf says, JUST. DO. IT!!! XD

 

Just go for it and go for ranked!