Top 5 Tips Diamond Players Use That You Don’t
Ever wonder what it takes to break Diamond? Here’s the difference between you and Diamond+ Players.
Sometimes it feels like getting to Diamond is all about grinding out the games and being a one-trick-pony. Well, that may have some truth to it, but there are certainly some tips and tricks that some players below Diamond just don't know about that could really help improve their gameplay. These tips work for all positions (some more than others) and work for all levels of play. Without further ado, let's start with tip number one.
1. Summoner Timers
Over the years, Riot has implemented changes to make the game easier for its players by adding timers to jungle camps in the tab menu, indicators of their return on the minimap, and even smart pings. One of the few things that they cannot add because of how impactful it is, is summoner timers. Sure, you may be thinking, well, I can ping when the enemy used flash, and you're absolutely correct. The problem with this feature, is all it does is simply allow you to ping the enemy's summoner. That doesn't even indicate whether it has been used or not. So, the first game breaking change you need to make is to stay on top of enemy summoner spell timers.
By hovering over the summoner when you would normally ping it, you can see the cooldown. When used, type the champion, time the summoner will be available again, and what summoner it is. This way there is a log in the chat that gives all the important details. This also brings more attention to your teammates to understand that these key cooldowns have been used and will be more willing to set up plays around it. The better you keep track of these summoner's as they are used, and let your team know, the easier it is to punish enemies for their mistakes.
Some cooldowns are harder to keep track of than others, like Teleport, or Smite, but get into the habit of keeping track of it anyway. It can really make the difference, especially in the early game when the jungler is looking to gank.
Keeping Track of Summoner’s in Chat
2. Best Warding Places
There are countless places where you can ward in any game and situation within the game. These warding places specifically, however, are great for avoiding ganks and jungle invades. Done properly, these wards can even keep track of jungle camp respawn timers to help track the enemy jungle. Importantly, these wards should be placed by laners when possible, but junglers can just as easily do this as well.
When on blue side, as a top laner, look to ward the red side Krug camp. On Red side, top laners should look to ward between the blue side Gromp and blue buff camp. Given the opportunity, either top, or mid laners on blue side should look for a control ward in the bush below the red side tier two tower by the red buff. Control wards are very high value because they can prevent enemy vision, but also because they will last until an enemy destroys it or you place another control ward elsewhere. Because of the way most junglers path, they often never even walk into this bush the entire early game so this place will get the blue side team A LOT of valuable information!
As for the Red side top or mid laner, your best option for a similar ward on the blue side jungle would be in the bush next to the wolf camp as it's not often walked into either so it can also provide a lot of value. For mid laners specifically, the best wards are covering the raptor pit and the blue side wall before the entrance to the river.
This is for two reasons, first, the raptor pit is an important option for mid laners that need to make use of their time between waves, or when shoving enemies into turret. This provides more gold and experience to snowball and prevents the enemy jungler from getting it. At the very least, it allows you to keep an eye on another camp and entrance into the red side jungle.
Second, warding the path between the bush next to the wolf camp connecting the blue side jungle to mid lane will allow you to see if junglers are using it as a way to sneak around vision to maneuver the map, while also being able to see if the enemy mid laner is resetting on that side of the map. In general, most mid laners will move off to the side of the lane when looking to reset or roam, and this warding position covers that whole side of the map from being a possible place that the enemy mid laner is lying in wait or resetting without you knowing. As for the bot side of the map, the same warding positions are the best, but for the opposite side of the map. Consider this map for visual aid:
Best Warding Positions
3. When to Trade
Many players, regardless of skill, know that trading is an important aspect to the laning phase and will often net you leads if done correctly. Unfortunately, many players still have difficulty knowing when and how to go for trades in the lane. The first thing to consider is the type of trade that is most valuable given the current situation. Whether it's just an auto attack or a full rotation of abilities is completely dependent on the champion and the matchup. But players generally know what trade will result in them dealing the most damage.
With that calculated, the next step is to determine what the enemy would do in return if you attempted to pursue this trade. Will they out damage you? Will they be able to sustain the damage back up? Or will they just lose the trade? If they will be able to out damage you, the next step is to determine what part of their kit will be the key difference maker in the trade.
For example, Diana's Q. If Diana uses her Q she will deal damage and get a reset on her E to apply even more damage. Without it, Diana can E and W (assuming she is not level six yet). Although her W does give a shield that can help her win trades, not having access to a second E and her Q will really lower the amount of damage she can deal in a short trade. So, if Diana's Q was used, you have your window to trade (assuming you can still win a trade). Simple forethought like this can make the world of a difference in lane matchups and can easily result in small wins that snowball. To one up the difference in lane, try figuring out what that key ability's cooldown is once you have identified it. Using the Diana Q example, the cooldown at level 1 is 8 seconds. Therefore, once used, you have an 8 second window to trade. When Diana levels up her Q, the cooldown is reduced by 0.5 seconds per rank, so when fully levelled, the cooldown is 6 seconds.
Although timers like these are hard to actively stay on top of when considering the leveling of abilities and adding ability haste on top, it's definitely difficult, but it's manageable, and easy with practice. Even better, is the fact that for most people, once they go through an entire game playing against Diana keeping track of her Q cooldown, they likely won't forget the cooldown for the next time they play against her. Worst case scenario, they can always do a quick search online to remind them of the answer.
Knowing Key Cooldowns for Trading
4. Having a Base Checklist
Having a base checklist while playing League of Legends, is like having a bag for your stuff at school, without it, you're just making your life difficult for yourself. What is a base checklist? A base checklist is a checklist of things to look at when you recall determining what needs to be done next. A base checklist is important for all positions and can really make the difference in streamlining your gameplay to be focused and on-point at all times of the game.
The checklist can be different for each player, but in general they should have similar ideas.
The first thing to check is your lane wave-state (or jungle camp timers if you’re a jungler). Checking your wave will give you an idea of the urgency you need to give to your lane. If you have the lane pushed into the enemy tower, you know it will be pushing back towards you where you can then freeze it. If you already have it frozen, then you're free to move onto the next point of the list.
The next point to check is asking where your jungler is. The jungler has a very difficult role requiring them to be as efficient and proactive as possible, so if you have your wave in a good state, consider what your jungler is doing and how you can help them. An example is to invade with them if they are looking to do so. This doesn't mean to just leave them to clear camps and head back to your lane if the enemy jungler isn't there, instead use that opportunity to place one of the key wards as mentioned in tip #2. If your jungler is looking to gank a lane, help them gank the lane. In the event your jungler is in a position where they aren't doing much or are in base/dead, then move on to the next point.
Next is to check the state of the nearest lane to you, mid lane (or top/bot if you're the mid laner). Is there wave frozen? If so, the enemy will likely try to break the freeze. If that's the case, they will be overextending to do so and by roaming you can punish that. Is there wave frozen on them? Roam to help them break the freeze! Are they slow pushing toward the enemy? Set up a dive (if you have the right tools to dive effectively). Otherwise, consider warding for them or clearing enemy control wards, etc.
Finally, the last thing on the checklist is to check the lane furthest from you. The reason you check this lane last, is that you're going to need to commit more time to impact that lane and therefore the impact you apply to that lane must be really significant for it to be worth doing over anything else mentioned prior. An example, if you're the top laner, roam bot when you see the enemy slow pushing the wave towards the tower with a jungler positioned between the tower preventing your bot lane from retreating. Having a player advantage in skirmishes and fights like these are important and will create big advantages in the game!
Base Checklist: Go Bot, Bad Wave State
5. Understanding Wave State
Finally, wave management is crucial to creating plays and opportunities around the map. It's vital to understand wave management if you want to be a good player. Without a proper understanding of wave management, supports look to roam when their bot laner is being frozen on and left with nothing to do and no way of gathering the resources needed to scale. Another example is a support roaming to mid lane looking to dive when the ally mid laner is freezing the wave.
The most important thing about wave management and understanding wave states, is that it helps the team communicate with one another on the best course of action. In the first example, leaving the bot laner unable to farm will only hurt the bot laner, and will only be a chance at having something valuable happen in the mid lane from the roam. In the second example, the mid laner doesn't want to dive the enemy mid because they are suffocating them by preventing them from breaking the freeze, and breaking the freeze to set up a wave for a dive just breaks your own freeze and the dive may not even work out.
Properly managing waves will allow you to not only maximize your income, but also minimize theirs. For junglers, understanding wave states helps you determine the right lane to gank, and what to do with the wave after you gank. Many junglers that don't understand wave states will end up taxing minions after a gank and sometimes leave the wave in a position where it actually hurts their laner more than the gank even helped them. By understanding wave states and what your laner needs, you can make the right decision in how to manipulate the wave (if needed).
Minions Needed to Freeze Waves - image courtesy of Mobalytics
Conclusion
Overall, there are a lot of facets of League of Legends that players can excel at in order to make that push for Diamond. Using these five tips in your games, you'll be able to take control over games much easier, and much more decisively. So stay focused and keep track of summoner's and key cooldowns, and remember the important places to ward and the points on your base checklist, and finally, make sure you study up on wave states to make sure you are making the right decisions with your waves to maximize the leads you generate by following the tips before.
Do your best and keep asking questions.
Good luck, Summoners!
