So you’ve been playing solo queue non-stop for weeks, your wrists are cramped and your back is hunched. You’ve refilled that Red Solo Cup with Mountain Dew so many times, you are starting to go blind from the sugar. After spending all night winning and losing, gaining and losing LP with reckless abandon, all you want to do is go to bed. But there’s a voice in your head that says: “just one more game and I’m in my Silver III promos, don’t give up.” So you queue for just one more game until it’s light out and you realize you have class in an hour.
Being stuck in low ELO in League of Legends isn’t easy. Trust me: I’ve been there, struggling through the hell that is Silver for weeks at a time. I’ve been told to uninstall, leave the game or just simply kill myself, all in one day of playing. Yesterday after trying since the season started, I finally did it, and I got into Gold. It wasn’t easy, and I know there’s a much longer road ahead of me, but now is not a time to dwell on things to come.
Right now, as I stare at my Gold V 0 LP symbol, I know I accomplished something. It wasn’t a lot; one of my friends hit Masters yesterday and I know I’ll never be a quarter as good as he is. But still, I set out to accomplish a goal and I did. Being in Silver and Bronze doesn’t necessarily mean you are bad at the game. League is a team game and sometimes your teammates are just morons. For every fed Fizz on your team, you’ll have an ADC Lulu to counter the karma balance.
If you are stuck where I was just a few days ago, let me give you a few tips I used to climb out of this hell hole. When your Vayne starts tilting because she overextended and got destroyed by four players and a Leblanc, just mute her. Let her have a temper tantrum by herself, there’s no need to fuel her fire by telling her to calm down. This ELO is full of small children and angry people, it’s a systemic problem that you’re not going to fix in one game.
When queueing, I’ve had success with going “Fill.” Nine times out of ten, you’ll be going support, but a good support can carry a game. I find that a level five or six roam on an unsuspecting mid laner will usually tilt them into oblivion, causing them to continue to mess up. If you want to try this, go Sona or Blitzcrank. Sona can’t miss and one good Blitzcrank hook can win you the game. Try to avoid supports that require aim and skill, like Nami, you’ll only end up feeding in lane. The most important rule of support is don’t leave your ADC alone: they are like dogs and will run into oncoming traffic if given the chance.
With the new Dynamic Queue, players shouldn’t flame about not getting their intended pick, but they will. Dodging only loses you 3 LP instead of 18 LP, so just dodge when you see a Teemo with Cleanse/ Ghost. If you want a full comprehensive guide of things you can do to improve, here’s a guide to get you out of Silver or Bronze .
