Mastering a champion can take months or even years of practice. Even then, there is probably still something to learn about the champion as the game is constantly evolving and changing. This guide will go over tips that will help players achieve champion proficiency.
Learning a new champion can be an extremely daunting task, especially if the champion is someone as hard to play as Azir or Nidalee. You try to pull off some crazy combo that you saw a pro player do, suddenly you start panicking and end up spamming your keys. Moments like these happen less often as champion mastery and proficiency increase.
This guide will go over tips and advice that will help you to increase your champion mastery, it will also give tips that will help make learning new champions easier.
In order to master a champion, you will require vast knowledge of a champion’s limits and capabilities. But before you get there, you need to get the basics right first. Understanding why a champion takes a certain rune or item, power spikes and proper ability usage like combos and basic trading patterns is extremely important. Nailing down the basics will allow you to have a strong foundation to continue building on.
Runes and items are often neglected when players are trying to learn and master a champion. It is common to see players using popular cookie cutter builds or copying builds from other people without understanding the purpose of the rune or item. Keeping the exact same rune page and building the same items every game is an extremely common mistake. Players end up taking armour runes every single game even though some matchups are against mages. Likewise, they end up building the exact same items even though the enemy team’s composition is completely different from previous games.
There is not an issue with using popular rune pages, but you should take the time to understand the reasoning for each rune and change it according to the matchup that you are in. Aftershock and Guardian are two of the most popular keystones for tank supports, but oftentimes you will see players exclusively use one or the other regardless of the matchup. For example, if you are playing Alistar, Aftershock would be better in easy matchups because the resistances and extra damage it provides allows you to have higher survivability and kill potential when looking to engage. On the other hand, Guardian would be better in hard matchups because you are unlikely to be constantly looking for opportunities to engage. The shield from Guardian will give you and your ADC more safety during the laning phase.
The same principle goes for itemisation, popular builds are a decent place to start, but understanding the reason for each item and itemising according to the match is extremely important. If you are a bruiser or tank and one person on the enemy team is incredibly fed, Anathema’s Chains is a good item that can make it easier for your team to lock down their carry while reducing the amount of damage you take from them. In situations where the enemy team has many champions that rely on attack speed, Frozen Heart gives you a lot of value by lowering the amount of attack speed they have. Looking at the state of the match and building your runes and items accordingly will allow you to unlock the full potential of your champion while making you a better player at the same time.
Understanding a champion and its power spikes is crucial because knowing when a champion is strongest will help aid you in your decision making. Power spikes can come through various different avenues such as items, levels and the stage of the game. Item spikes are fairly simple and most players understand the concept, but it is also important to know how it can unlock a champion’s potential. Items such as Galeforce provide champions with an active that can be extremely powerful if used correctly. Taking the time to learn and experiment with item actives can help to further increase your champion proficiency.
Power spikes happen through levels by unlocking and making abilities stronger. During the early stages of laning phase, hitting level two first is extremely important because it instantly gives you an advantage over your opponent and allows you to potentially take control of the lane. Basically, every champion hits a power spike at levels two, three and six; hitting level three unlocks your champion’s basic combos, and hitting level six unlocks your ultimate and your full combo. Beyond level six, champions start hitting power spikes at various different levels due to abilities getting maxed out as well as stats gained through level ups. Knowing when your level spikes happen will allow you to plan ahead of time; you can set up the minion wave in anticipation of your level up to maximise the chances of scoring a kill on your opponent.
Different champions are strong during different phases of the game. Knowing which phase your champion is strongest in will help increase champion proficiency because you will go into every game with an idea of what you need to do. Some champions are strong in different phases due to their kit. For example, Azir is extremely strong in the late game because of his ultimate and his ability to zone off opponents with his Sand Soldiers. Zed is strong in the mid game because of his mobility and ability to pick off side laners. Finding out when and why your champion is strong during different phases of the game will help to increase your champion proficiency and make you a better player.
Knowing how and when to use your abilities is one of the most important concepts required in order to master a champion. You should focus on learning basic combos and trading patterns before moving on to more advanced mechanics. The Practice Tool is a great place to warmup and practice combos before going into a match. Five to ten minutes of practicing combos before a game can make a big difference in helping you to improve your mechanics and muscle memory. During a match, you will have many things to do and focus on, therefore you would not be able to practice your combos all the time. The Practice Tool allows you to spend that time fully focused on practising combos. Going into a match warmed up will reduce the chances of you going blank and messing up in the middle of your combo.
Besides knowing combos, it is also important to understand the abilities. This may sound weird, but many players know how to do combos without understanding the ability. For example, Alistar’s Headbutt and Pulverize combo is primarily used as an engage tool, but it can also be used in other ways. Simply holding on to your abilities can turn them from engagement tools into zoning tools. Enemy players are less likely to walk up for farm or experience if they know that your combo is up. This can be applied to many other abilities across basically every champion. Sometimes when players gank other lanes, they tend to throw out their stun or crowd control abilities instantly. This gives the enemy player the opportunity to Flash or dash away; holding on to your stun and simply walking up to them will force them to either Flash or die, you can then throw out your crowd control ability after they have committed their Flash to increase the chances of you landing your ability.
Watching high elo games is a good way to study and learn a champion from the basics all the way to the advanced mechanics. It can also be especially helpful if you are struggling with a certain matchup. For example, if you are playing Yone and you always struggle into a Vladimir, you can look for high elo replays of the same matchup and see what things they do differently and how they play that matchup. You can then take what you learnt and implement it into your gameplay the next time you face the same matchup.
Reviewing high elo games can also help to increase your champion knowledge and proficiency by introducing new mechanics and play styles that might have been unknown to you. Trying out and perfecting different mechanics and play styles will help to improve your knowledge and understanding of a champion; it will also make you a better player overall by introducing new ways of experimenting and processing information.
Playing in blocks of two to three games at a time is much better than spamming eight games in a row. You will be able to fully focus and maximise your learning if you were to play a few games at a time. Spamming games will lead to lower quality games due to fatigue or tilt that has been accumulated over the course of many games. Instead, you could try playing a couple of games then reviewing and comparing them with replays of high elo players. Taking breaks allow you to reflect on a game and come back with a fresh and renewed mindset and perspective. It is also not necessary to be constantly and only playing the same champion every single game. Sometimes you need a break from the champion and playing something else can help to change things up to avoid burnout.
To conclude, mastering a champion takes time and dedication. You have to learn everything about a champion, from how their basic abilities and combos work all the way to the advanced mechanics and tricks. Taking the time to build a solid foundation of knowledge about a champion will make it easier for you to transition into learning more advanced mechanics.
