As I have said before, low elo solo queue can be the scariest place to be in League of Legends. So many unpredictable situations exist which have the potential to ruin a game. One way players try to take away some of this unpredictability is to duo queue, thus taking away the potential burden of a random. However, having a duo queue partner can be just as, if not more, detrimental than a random solo queue player.

As a result, one must take many factors into careful consideration when choosing a duo queue partner, and take measured steps in game to ensure success. Ultimately, it is up to you to determine who will be a “good” duo queue partner, and judging another’s character cannot be boiled down to any amount of steps, but hopefully this guide will help narrow down your choices, and perform better once you have chosen a partner.

15p on DeviantArt

Choosing a Partner
There are two types of partners you can choose to duo queue: friends, and “randoms” which you met while ranking. In my personal opinion, playing with friends has the potential to be far more effective than playing with randoms because of the familiarity you have with your friend, but queuing up with a random you know to be a consistent player works as well. Assuming you have a wealth of friends and randoms to choose from, picking a favorite can be challenging. The first step is to break the groups up, perhaps create groups in your friends list for “real life friends” and “randoms”, and decide which group you are going to choose.

If you pick “randoms”, it’s just a matter of playing a game with each and deciding who you like best, simple as that. However, duo queuing with friends can be much, much more complicated. My best suggestion is to get on a VoIP client (e.g. Skype, Teamspeak, Curse Voice) with your chosen friend and determine if you cooperate well with this person. In low elo, it’s pretty much every man for himself, but it can be helpful to talk to someone else about what’s going on in the game and what to do. Once you have found a friend you feel you work well with, it’s time to take more steps to make the best out of your duo queue experience.

Communicating

Like I said before, the best thing you can do is to get on a VoIP client and talk with your friend/well-acquainted random. This way, you can utilize the clout you have with two people instead of the one. For instance, if you have read my Low Elo Guide to Baron, and you determine it’s a good idea to take Baron, you can say it in the game chat, and tell your friend to agree with you. Nine times out of ten your team will follow you to Baron, so this makes for a cheeky way to make calls in solo queue, which brings me to my next point. The biggest advantage of talking to your duo queue partner is the ability to consult on calls. For instance, if I think we can siege mid lane to try and take an inhib, I might mention it to my duo queue partner, this way, if he/she disagrees we can talk it over and determine the best course of action, which might be baiting Baron if we lack the strength as a team to siege.

All this seems fantastic, and objectively better than solo queuing, but in reality, you are going to have to deal with a partner who is “on tilt”. I almost exclusively duo queue with one person, and he is very close to my skill level, but can start tilting very easily. One thing I’ve had to learn is, it’s okay to tell your partner “you’re tilting”, or “stop doing that”, even if you think it will strain your relationship. In fact, it will do quite the opposite if you refrain from bickering, it will force your partner to think about what they’re doing, as you are the one person in the game who has any bearing over their decision making, and if you criticize them (lightly), it will make a big difference.

Furthermore, if you find yourself tilting, the best thing you can do is blow off steam over the VoIP client you’re using. I often find myself rambling on Teamspeak about what I could be doing better in the game, or the reason I died or made a mistake. Even if my partner ignores me, I still feel better about getting whatever I have to say off my chest. In the past, I have advocated against blaming anything on your teammates, but if you really must blame a death or whatever on someone else, do it over your VoIP client, not in game, it keeps everybody happy.

Roles

For the most part, in low elo, the role you play doesn’t make much of a difference, but I find some combinations are particularly effective/ineffective when duo queuing. The most effective in my opinion is mid and jungle. This way, it’s very hard to fall behind because the mid laner can have his lane camped by the jungler, and the two of you can gank other lanes together. Also, with one of you as the jungler, your objective control is much better. The next best is top and mid, controlling the two solo lanes is a very good way to carry the game. Any other combination is fine, but I would advise not trying to go bot lane together, it puts too much pressure on you to win your lane, and is highly risky. Unless adc and support are really your best positions, avoid putting all your eggs in one basket so to speak.

A lot of what I said is intuitive, but a reminder is always helpful, and maybe you learned something new. As always, this guide comes from my low elo experience and will work best when applied at this skill level. Duo queuing is not for everyone, so do not feel pressured to duo queue after you read this guide, I solo queue when I want to depend on myself alone to win games, or if I just need time away from my duo queue partners, so use your discretion when playing ranked. Regardless of how you choose to rank, good luck and I’ll see you on the next installment of Guide to Low Elo!