According to statistics, approximately 97% of the League of Legends player base are ranked below Diamond and as someone who was part of this 97% up until recently, I am going to tell you how to climb out of low elo as a mid laner.
According to statistics, approximately 97% of the League of Legends player base are ranked below Diamond and as someone who was part of this 97% up until recently, I am going to tell you how to climb out of low elo as a mid laner.
Mid lane is easily one of the most contested roles in the game because of the amount of impact the role can have and because of this, it is a good role to learn the game and also climb but that is easier said than done. So I am going to be giving you some tips as a Mid Laner to climb to that 3% that every player wants, so without further ado, let's get started!
Every role in the game has subclasses that fall into that role, Top Lane has its tanks/bruisers, Bot Lane has Marksmans, Enchanters and Engage supports however Mid Lane has the widest variety and is probably the most versatile as it has Mages, Assassins, Marksmans and even recently some bruisers/fighters like Lee Sin and Sett coming to light. With this, there is a huge champion pool a mid laner can choose from but players tend to lean towards certain subclasses just because it suits their playstyle better. If you like flashy mechanics and high burst damage, assassins may be your route, if you like a more controlled playstyle then mages might be for you. The only way to find out is to just play the game! Find what champion you enjoy playing, and build a small champion pool with champions similar to that playstyle. If you like mages, stick to mages as an assassin’s playstyle may not be suited for you and vice versa. This allows you to master these champions easier and more efficiently while focusing more on learning the game’s macro play rather than 10’s of different champions who have completely different playstyles. Another option is one tricking, a very popular option in solo queue. If you find a champion you love, just play that champion and nothing else. This will allow you to master your champions mechanics, however this does mean if your champion gets picked or banned it could put you in a tough spot which is why I recommend keeping a small champion pool.
TIP 2: Do not ARAM! Stay Proactive!
Mid Lane naturally just has a huge impact on the game because of the snowballing type of champions the role has but also because of where it is located on the map. The Mid Lane is located dead center of the map which means you are able to roam Top or Bot without wasting any sufficient amount of time and also allows you to help your jungler out significantly therefore you should not waste this advantage. Do not ARAM and always be proactive! What does this mean exactly? This means that you should always be on the move and not standing still waiting for the next wave of minions to come, instead you should be proactive around the map. This includes: clearing vision in nearby bushes or in the river for future roams, warding in the enemy jungle to get information for your time, roam to other lanes and even just walking to the river to wait for the next wave has an impact since the enemy laners will think you are going for a roam and might play more passive which could ease up pressure for your team. There is always something to do for a Mid Laner so assess the situation and stay proactive!
Wave Management is one of the most vital skills a player needs to learn to climb no matter what role you play, however it is more important for Mid Lane because you have access to both the Top side and Bottom side of the jungle which in a dragon focused meta is quite important and I’ll touch upon later but first let’s get into the 2 most basic things you need to know about wave management to climb
Freezing is a wave management technique that can get you miles ahead of your enemy while simultaneously putting them behind. What is Freezing? Freezing is when you have the wave in a state where they are zoned off from experience and farm as they risk being overextended which can lead to them being susceptible to ganks. Refer to the image below. Ahri has frozen the wave. This forces the enemy Zoe to have to walk up and overextend in order to be in EXP range and to farm the minions. However in doing so she is at risk of getting ganked and as you can see the Ahri’s jungler is waiting for her to walk forward so he and Ahri can grab an easy kill. This puts Zoe in a predicament, she either gives up the creeps thus giving Ahri a gold lead or risking her life for a couple of minions. For Zoe to break this freeze, she would need to ask her jungler for help to hard shove the wave into the tower and let the wave reset as she cannot do this safely by herself. Being a Mid Laner, freezing is especially important as you don’t need to only rely on the jungler as you can get roams from your support or top laner which creates more opportunities to kill your lane opponent.
As a Mid Laner, you have access to both the Top and Bottom side of the jungle. This not only allows you to efficiently roam Top or Bot but also allows you to assist your jungler effectively as well, whether that be helping your jungler invade the enemy or even contesting scuttle crab. You can also hard shove to place deep wards in the enemy jungle which can provide valuable information for the team and can help avoid enemy ganks. Hard shoving also puts your enemy in a predicament because EXP is extremely valuable in the early game and to follow you on roams or jungle skirmishes, they would need to sacrifice a wave or two which would in turn deny them gold and a decent amount of EXP as a result. You can take advantage of this as a Mid Laner just by understanding your matchups and communicating with your jungler whether they want to invade, coordinate a dive somewhere else on the map or even help with dragon, the possibilities are endless.
Ward placement is vital in the early game and is essential to avoid any ganks. There are 2 basic things any Mid Laner needs to know about wards and ward placement.
Wards give vital information for you so you and your team are able to avoid roams and ganks in the early game. Most players in low elo tend to just place wards in bushes however they aren’t the most effective in the early game. Refer to the image below, this is a good ward placement in the early game. This gives you vision and information on the enemy jungler so you know what side of the map they will end up on. With this you can tell your teammates (top or bottom) to ease up and play a bit more safely to avoid giving an unnecessary advantage to the enemy team. There are a number of good ward spots, a good rule of thumb to remember is the more aggressive you play in lane, the deeper your wards and the more passive you play in lane, the closer your wards. Lane wards are very impactful too. This allows you to see what the enemy laner is doing when they are out of your vision e.g. whether they are recalling or whether they walked towards the bot side or top side of the map. These lane wards are hardly ever used in lower elo’s which you should be getting into the habit of doing as they make a significant impact in the early game.
Hugging is a pretty simple concept. This is when you “hug” the same side of the map where you placed a ward. Since Mid Lane has 2 entrances, 1 from Top River and the other from Bot side River, this means you are more susceptible to ganks than any other lane. To counter this, you should ward one side of the map and hug that side. This allows you to avoid ganks even if technically the jungler is closer to you, the ward gives you enough time and information to just walk away once the jungler shows on the map. If you was to hug the side without a ward or stand in the middle of the lane, you would most likely burn summoners or could even die since the enemy came from the fog of war so the first time you would see them would be when they are already in your lane.
Climbing can be difficult especially if you may not be the mechanically best player. However with these tips, you don’t have to be! Bring these into your game and you will realise how much impact small things can have, a ward could get you a kill or two, a simple freeze can put the enemy laner extremely behind and simply just lowering your champion pool will increase your win rate and help you climb on the rift!
