Wingsofdeath, a former pro, is a popular streamer who is currently Diamond 1. He has been playing since season 1 and is a Top main. I spoke with Wingsofdeath about what it's like to be a streamer, the current state of the game, and how to improve as a player.

What's it like being a famous streamer? Has it helped your game?

Wingsofdeath: To be honest, I wouldn't call myself famous right now, but back when I was, I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand it was nice to see so many people enjoying the stream and getting some help from it, but on the other hand, it was really irritating having to constantly swat away the hordes of internet children trying to troll and get attention. I would prefer to separate my online persona from my real life but fans always try to peek over the curtain. It can get exhausting at times as I am an introvert and I'm not necessarily looking for social interaction with strangers on the internet.

As for my gameplay, well, it hasn't done anything, but admittedly, and any interactive streamer will tell you this, interacting with your stream while trying to play at a high level can be quite distracting and can hamper your gameplay especially in the awareness and timing departments. There are many times I don't notice a teammate ganking for me or fail to rotate properly because I'm reading chat or talking to my viewers.


What are your thoughts on the current meta as of patch 7.18?

Wingsofdeath: I think the current meta is awful. The short version is shield Supports that itemize Ardent Censer and are teamed up with hyper Carries. In the top lane, you have CC tanks like Shen and Cho'Gath. In the mid lane, you have the usual suspects that can wave clear, CC, and burst.

I think split pushing is viable, but the most effective thing to do is get the bot lane fed. In the past, the ADC needed three to four items to come online. A lot of this itemization was spent on Lifesteal and Attack Speed to help keep the ADC alive. Because Ardent Censer provides Lifesteal and Attack speed, the ADC can now directly go for Crit and a Zeal item and come online in two items. Once the ADC is ready, just group up and have them do work.


What changes would you like to see to the game?

Wingsofdeath: The number one change I would like to see is more emphasis put on individual players who perform well. Back in the day, I liked how the game rewarded strong individual play. If you had someone underperforming on your team, you FELT like you could carry them if you played well enough. Currently, it feels sort of like the opposite, where if your teammates play sub-par, you're just going to lose if the enemy is any competent. I'm not sayinig the game needs to snowball as hard as it used to, but I think there are too many comeback mechanics such as the Jungle comeback exp and increased passive gold generation. These reward players for basically doing nothing after being outplayed. There are not many strategy focused games that allow you to make a big series of blunders and just come back by doing nothing. Chess is a pretty big example of this. This is why I'm still okay with shutdown gold/exp because you have to actively interact with your opponent and outplay them on some level to get back into the game. It's sort of the same idea behind the newer gold items vs the old passive ones. For example, as a Support, you have to do something to gain the extra gold whether it's last hitting for your ADC or harassing the enemy. I think these sorts of things are more healthy for the game since at it's core, the game is PvP and not an MMO.

Another change would be to reduce the amount of passive strength in the game. With the new season 8 changes, I feel they are going a bit too overboard with how much advantage you can gain outside of the actual game. While a lot of the effects of Runes/Masteries seem cool, I think it would be better put them on items and not given to players for playing the Mastery tree game in the client. That sort of power should come from in game decisions and sacrifices. For example, if you want to improve your ult in Dota 2, you buy a specific item for it. However, there the tradeoff is for a different item that maybe has more stats or a stronger on use effect. Right now itemization is very stale in LoL and I feel like if they wanted to spice it up, they could look into adding items that give players more decisions rather than just the standard cookie cutter builds or counterbuying every single game. I miss when different Champions had multiple builds because honestly right now it feels pretty stale.

How do you improve and become a better player in League of Legends?

Wingsofdeath: The first step is to actually realize that you need work. If you think that everything you are doing is fine, then there are no areas of improvement to look for. The second thing to realize is that there is no one top tip to get higher ELO. You have to realize that there is no shortcut and you have to put in the work. With that being said, a good start is to copy the pros in regards to their builds, runes, and masteries. Download their replays, watch the gameplay, and try to come up with your own conclusions as to why the pros play the way they do. The most important thing is to realize that is that you don't have to win to get better. Losing is not necessarily a failure. You can learn and be a better play AND lose. Improving can be as easy as working on your CS and beating your opponent in CS. It's all about baby steps. Try new things. Experiment. Have fun.

What tools do you use to help assist improve your gameplay?

Wingsofdeath: Riot recently released the Practice Tool which can be found under the Training tab in game. You can practice combos and learn new champions in the Practice Tool mode. In addition, Riot has built-in replays now. Download and watch your own replays and then compare them to pro players. Streams are also a good way to learn. Some streamers will play and help analyze gameplay. Finally, I use OP.gg to help look at popular builds, Runes, and Masteries.

What separates the good players from the best players?

Wingsofdeath: Mindset and decision making. You can meet two different people in the same ELO and one person will be better than the other. The idea that your as good as someone because of your ELO or someone is better than you because of their ELO is completely wrong. The mindset to keep improving is the difference. For the most part, everybody can get good at the game.

Where do you find motivation to become a better player?

Wingsofdeath: If your goal is to improve, the first thing you need to work on is your mindset as I mentioned earlier. You need to get yourself ready. It's the same as if you were to go to the gym. You have to know its a commitment. You're going to have to put in the work, and you can't shy away from it. You have to realize that it's on you and no one will do it for you.

It has to be something you really want and not just because you want this shiny border to impress your friends at the end of the season. You need to want to get better at the game for yourself and because you really enjoy playing the game. You have to want to challenge yourself, improve, and to climb to new heights. It's not about the border or the ELO. Once you get past those things, it actually becomes easier to stick with your goal. I know it's not what a lot of people want to hear. They want to hear "what are top 3 tricks to get better".

On that note, what are your "top 3 random tips to get better in game"?

Wingsofdeath: Well I don't rank tips but 3 things I think are important are:

1.Try to be receptive about learning outside of the scope of your role. For example, as a Jungler, knowing how Mid lane matchups work can assist your ability to path and gank if you know how to play around your Midlaner. Understanding bot lane matchups can help you make more successful teleport plays as a Top laner etc.

2. Focus on yourself but do not ignore others. You can learn from other's mistakes and I always hear people say ignore other players and focus on yourself. This is wrong. You should focus on improving yourself but learn from others as well. Just make sure you don't attribute blame to other players for your own screw ups. I've learned quite a bit about jungling and what works/doesn't work just by watching other people do it in my games while hardly playing the role in season 7.

3. Don't be afraid to try new things. If you see someone tearing it up with a particular strategy that looks weird at first (i.e. when Doran's Ring Jhin became a thing) you could try it out for yourself in some Normals and see how it feels. Also looking up guides/copying pro players or high ELO players and watching their games will really help accelerate how much you will improve because it will help guide what you are practicing. Also practice practice practice and play at least a few meta Champions at any given time to have something to fall back on.


Any last shoutouts?

Wingsofdeath: If you haven't already, please follow me at Twitch.tv/Wingsofdeath and Twitter.com/Wingsofdeathx.