There is more to a game of League of Legends than your own lane. There is all of Summoner’s Rift to be keeping track of and many people do not pay close enough attention to everything they could be. By focusing more on the map or increasing your map awareness you will be able to see more things coming and predict the moves of the enemy teams you face before they make them!

There are a few methods that I have found work really well to increase your map awareness. I will be listing these methods throughout the guide and feel free to try which methods you think might work best for you!

TIP #1: /MUTE ALL

The first tip I will always recommend is muting all other players in the game if they are constantly talking in the chat. Now you might be thinking, “How does muting the chat increase one’s map awareness?”, and at first, I thought the same thing until I tried it out.

By pretty much eliminating the chat box from the game, you are reducing the number of things that you will have to focus on in the game. Muting people does not necessarily mean removing all ability to communicate with your team. Keep in mind that you still have pings! Thinking more about this idea, it makes sense!

Your eyes can really only focus on one thing at a time, and for all the time you spend reading, “LMAO YoU dIeD! XD”, in chat, you could have been looking at the map figuring out a way to play around your enemies’ positions. The ultimate goal is to try and look at your mini-map once every 3 to 4 seconds or when you are not fighting.

There are of course exceptions to this rule like when you are in a fight for example, but when you are farming minions, walking back to lane, or roaming, there really is ample time there you could use to look at the map! This brings us to our next tip, how to remind yourself to look at the map frequently.

TIP #2: MUSIC METHOD

First off, take the time to make the mini-map as large as possible for yourself! Next, remember to use it! Keeping in mind when to look at the map can be hard when you are already balancing so many other things, so do not be afraid to use a little bit of auditory assistance!

Some people use what is essentially a metronome that will “ding” every 3 seconds and when they hear the ding they glance at the map if they can. This method can be very effective but can also get very annoying very quickly. A way around this is to queue up some music with a beat every 3 or 4 seconds that reminds you to look at the map.

For example, I like to listen to lo-fi jazz music when I play Solo Queue, it helps me focus, furthermore the tempo of the songs is always a bit slower so as to get close to the 3 second metronome. This might sound like a weird idea but give it a try before you judge it! It really can help you out to look at your map much more!

You can also make a point to glance at the map after every minion you last hit when you are in the laning phase! Doing so will make it so you are making the point to not miss any minions as well as frequently glancing at the map.

TIP #3: REMEMBER TO WARD

The next tip is to try to use your wards as often as you can and buy Vision Wards! There is not much of a point to looking at a map that will not show you anything. Getting deep wards into our opponents Jungle will allow you to play around the enemy Jungler much more effectively.

If you find that you are pretty far ahead, do not be afraid to go into the enemy Jungle and shut them down! This is much easier to do when you increase your map awareness and effectively use your wards. Keep an eye on how many wards you have and try to use them pretty much right when they are off of Cooldown.

You want to get the most out of your wards so effectively placing them is the key! Do not just place your wards at the side of your lane to give you a little extra vision to dodge a gank. That is not to say these are bad spots to ward, especially if you are being forced to play defensively, but you can get more from them.

Aiming to ward areas along the enemy’s Jungle path will not only help you to avoid being caught out by ganks but will also help you offensively counter Jungle the enemy. These wards can also help you make the decision of when and where to roam! Good areas to ward include in front of Raptors or Red Buff, as well in front of Blue Buff!

When you see the Jungler on the map on one of your wards you will be able to move accordingly. This will also help you out a lot later in the game as well. Using the map as a means of looking for picks is extremely helpful for you and the rest of your team.

If you are able to make a pick and then start a fight as a 5v4 you are pretty much setting yourself up for victory in that fight and neglecting to use the map or not looking at it frequently can make this task much more difficult.

TIP #4: NO DISTRACTIONS

The final tip I have is to try to play when you have no distractions in the real world. This might seem like an obvious one, but it really helps. If you are really interested in playing better, you want to dedicate 100% of your attention to the game you are in and to do so you want to have no distractions that could happen while you are playing!

Putting all of your focus into your game allows you to focus on all the seemingly small things, like keeping track of the map. Take this into account the next time you queue up into a game! Try some of these methods or all of these methods in your next few games and get a feel of which methods work best for you!

Again, some of these methods might seem a bit strange at first but once you get used to them or you see how effective constantly looking at the mini-map can really be you will start to see an increase in how effectively you can play the map. Keep in mind that vision and warding is important, but actually using the vision and looking at the map is even more important!

Hopefully some of these methods work for you and you are able to play the map better as a result! Good Luck in your coming games Summoners and remember to always keep an eye on the map to get the most out of your vision!

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