Climbing in League is grueling, and if you’ve lost motivation to step into the depths of ranked, we don’t blame you. However, if you’re serious about gaining LP, you’ll need to get back on that ladder sooner rather than later (especially since we’ve just entered split 3!). That’s why today, we’ll be sharing 6 effective tips to help you regain your motivation and overcome those “ranked nerves.”
You come into champ select in a game of League of Legends. You instalock Zed and tell yourself this is it; this is going to be the match you finally win after your five game loss streak. This is the game you’ll escape the swamp of “elo-hell.” The game that’ll bring you a step closer to meeting those fabled players who say GL HF in champ select instead of FF15; you’ll conquer your lane, get the first turret, carry your team to victory and – ENEMY TEAM, DOUBLE KILL.
And just like that, your back sinking into the swamp, demoting further and further down the ladder.
And your motivation? That’s demoted a whole tier.
Let’s be real: the ranked ladder in League isn’t truly a ladder. Well, that is unless your idea of a ladder is something that’s missing steps, covered in sharp splinters, and leading seemingly nowhere and everywhere.
Climbing in League is grueling, and if you’ve lost motivation to step into the depths of the ranked queue, we don’t blame you.However, if you’re serious about gaining LP, you’ll need to get back on that ladder sooner rather than later (especially since we’ve just entered split 3!).
That’s why today, we’ll be sharing 6 effective tips to help you regain your motivation and overcome those “ranked nerves.”
Focusing on the big picture – aka your desired rank – might seem like the surefire way to kickstart your motivation into gear. But if you’re solely focusing on it? You’re just setting yourself up for failure. It’ll feel daunting, impossible to reach and utterly overwhelming.
Instead, focus on the individual steps you need to achieve your end goal. Doing so will help it feel more manageable, since you’ve broken it down and given yourself something more tangible to work toward.
Every week, set yourself an attainable goal that’ll bring you one step closer to the finish line. For example, if your ultimate goal is to go from Silver to Gold by the end of the season, you could break this down into short-term goals such as:
It’s important to make sure any small goal you set yourself is totally attainable within the desired time frame. In other words, you wouldn’t set yourself a task like “master a new champion by the end of the week.” That’s virtually impossible, unless you have limitless time to spare and Master Yi’s smarts.
When playing ranked, it can be tempting to overly-fixate on your LP. After all, it acts as a visual reminder of how close (or far away) you are from your goal.However, doing so will only make you anxious, stressed and prone to tilt (especially if you end up going on loss streak after loss streak!).
Remind yourself that your main goal isn’t to gain LP – it’s to improve as a player. Accept you’ll have days where the losses pile up, and remember that these losses don’t define what you’re capable of; as long as you’re continuously working to improve yourself, you’ll never get “hardstuck” and can always climb back up.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that surrounding yourself with highly motivated players is going to help you regain your own motivation, as well as reignite your passion for climbing up the ladder.
If you don’t have any friends that fit the bill – aka non-toxic and striving to improve – you can always reach out to communities like Summoner School. Summoner School is a subreddit dedicated to helping players improve, so you’ll easily be able to find people here who are motivated to climb.
Sure, some comparison can be healthy. It can ignite the competitive spirit in you and encourages you to push yourself further. However, if you’re constantly comparing yourself with those around you, it will gradually eat away at your motivation and self-confidence.
It’s important to remember that your focus should solely be on your achievements and how you can improve. Everyone improves at different rates, and as long as you’re actively trying to improve, you’ll get there even if it takes a little longer than those around you. In fact, you may even overtake them someday and have to teach them how to up their gameplay.
A great way to regain your ranked motivation is to remind yourself of how far you’ve come since you first began your journey to the top. Of course, this is easier said than done. We are our own worst judge, and it can be hard to identify your progress if you’ve been making slow but gradual improvement.
That’s why we recommend creating an achievement log, where you briefly record all your in-game achievements; if you manage to get a penta through mechanical outplay? Note it down. If you’ve noticed your CS score has become better in your recent games? Write that down too.
Next time you’re feeling unmotivated and at a loss, simply open up your log and have a read through. It’ll show you in tangible form how much progress you’ve made, ultimately helping to boost your self-confidence and motivation.
If you’ve been grinding for days on end, you’re going to become burned out. Too much of anything is never a good thing, and that’s especially true for League, a game which is incredibly mentally taxing.
Taking breaks, even short ones, can help to reset your mental. It gives you the time to recharge, refresh and get over any tilt. It can even help you overcome your ranked nerves – research has shown that breaks can relieve stress and anxiety.
Once you’ve had some time away, we guarantee you’ll load up the client and dive back into ranked feeling more motivated and focused than ever before.
Motivation can often feel like something that’s impossible to harness. However, the tips above will definitely help spark your ranked motivation again, no matter if you’ve lost your drive because of a loss streak or simply feel burned out.
That said, remember that the climb should ultimately be about having fun. If you’re no longer getting any sort of enjoyment out of it, it’s best to “let go” of the ladder, and explore other game modes. Forcing yourself to climb for the sake of climbing will only ruin your gaming experience (and mental).
