I recently had a chat with one of my friends who asked me what my playstyle is when it comes to ranked games in League of Legends. I jokingly told him that I just play safe and let my team carry me. We had a good laugh but later in the day I began to really think about it. What is my playstyle? As of now I am about to hit Gold and while of course that is not an amazing feat in and of itself when you put it in perspective I feel I have a few tips that I can offer the 70% of players who will never get that far up the ladder.

Don’t Die

Of course this is obvious. Despite that however, people still seem to find a way to do it. I understand no one is perfect, least of all me. What I don’t understand is how when you are already 3 deaths down to your lane opponent and you give them yet another kill under their tower. Whether you are getting ganked, camped, outplayed, or whatever the case may be, you should always try to do everything in your power to not die. Even if that means losing some experience or a whole wave of creep score. Which would you rather run into come the first mid game team fight; The 4-0 Tryndamere who is already fed or perhaps the Tryndamere who is only up by a level and 50 cs. Yes, it can hurt your team if you become underleveled and underfarmed but forcing the issue and giving your laner kill after kill is even worse.

Stay Positive

One of the biggest ways to dismantle team cohesion and teamwork is toxicity. Trash talking your team mates will never have a positive impact. It leads to distrust and usually causes team communication to suffer. I’m not saying you need to be the Ezreal cheerleader but when things go wrong maybe not be the guy who starts blaming others. Try reminding your team about what is going right and what your strengths as a team are. When people are more invested in the game and their team they play better and play smarter.

Know your Job

This seems simple but so many times I get into these disagreements with others. It’s not just about knowing what your job on the team is it’s about actually doing it. Are you the ADC? Auto attack everything and never stop putting out the damage. The assassin? Blow up one or more of their carries. This all seems easy until all hell breaks loose and you just got Thresh hooked and the enemy Jinx is throwing rockets at you. One of the things I usually try and tell myself is no matter what role or champ I am always, always, always, use your ult before you die. Nothing is worse than hearing a Vi, Kayle, Malphite, Rumble or any of the other champs with game changing ults tell me after a lost teamfight: “Didn’t get to use my ult!”

Play Someone That Facilitates the Team

One of the biggest tidbits I can offer players who are trying to climb is to heavily consider their champion and what they bring to the team. I’ll go ahead and say it, you’re probably not going to carry every game but what you can do is be the guy who supports his team and gives them all the resources they need to succeed. The best way to do this is to play someone who is Tanky and brings team wide crowd control. In Gold and below matches often times revert back to both teams dancing in mid lane waiting for one or the other to make the mistake or to go for the big engage. Why not be that win condition for your team. Right now there are plenty of champions in every role that can do that. Whether it be a Rumble or Malphite ult from top lane. A Sejuani or Jarvan ult from jungle. A Cassiopea or Lissandra ult from mid. Even a Leona or Sona ult from support. All of these champions and roles have ways for you to be the person that wins the teamfights and the game - even if you are not the one who carries when it comes to scoreline and stats.

Now of course if you follow all of these tips you’re not going to instantly win all of your games but it can have a huge impact not just on your win loss but your stress levels and outlook in general when it comes to ranked. There is a common theory when it comes to ranked called the 40-20-40 rule. This means that 40% of the games you play will be lost no matter what you do, 40% will be won despite what you do, and 20% could go either way and will be determined by what you do. My goal with this article is to help turn all those 20% matches into victories, whether you carried them or not.