For those of you who are just starting out on League of Legends, and even those of you who have been playing it for some time now, there is always some room for improvement. League of Legends isn’t your average game that you can just sit down and play without putting any thought into it. If you’re interested in improving, you may begin to feel overwhelmed by the information you come across, but don’t panic.
As you move forward to improving at League of Legends, follow these tips for a better early game, and you will do just fine.
League of Legends is known for numerous things:
- Hard to master mechanics
- A difficult learning curve
- Champions that can take 100+ games before you fully understand them.
These tips, listed in no particular order, will help you win…
1. Use Those Wards
Okay, this tip right here seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how many times we see people not using their wards on Summoner’s Rift. My ever-so-friendly team decides (or forgets) not to use their ward trinkets, and that’s when I know the inevitable is going to happen…within five minutes of the lane phase, they’re blasted, and it’s all because they didn’t ward. Please don’t be one of them.
A big part of winning a match involves having good vision. This way, you can strategically plan those moves without being killed.
So there’s that, don’t forget to use those wards. Besides, there are cute little ward skins you can use, and who doesn’t want to pop out something cute?
Also read: Best Early Game ADCs in League of Legends
2. The Map is Your Friend
This is another tip that seems obvious, but again, many League of Legend players tend to forget to check their minimap. Do you know that tiny map that’s located at the bottom right of your screen? Well, it’s there for a reason – as long as you correctly do your warding, it will show you everything you need to know.
Professionals are constantly checking their minimap, and you should copy this action. So make it a habit of looking down at it from time to time. Again, this seems simple, but while in a team fight, we get it; the last thing you want to look at is that map. However, it is essential to keep track of it during the early game and later in the game. Warding and peaking at your map to see where the enemy team is is even more important.
Understand the different positions of the map. When you speak with your teammates, you need to know what you’re talking about. Make it a habit to look at the minimap every couple of seconds. I cannot stress enough just how important map awareness is. Obviously, it’s important that you know what’s taking place in your immediate vicinity, but you need to keep track of important events that are also taking place outside of your area.
If you fail to do this, an enemy champion can take you by surprise. You could also end up missing out on an opportunity to help your team win a difficult fight.
3. Build Your Champion Accordingly
That gear you see isn’t just there for the looks – it’s there for something more important. This is another one of those tips that seem to be easy, but it really isn’t. If you’re playing a new champion, there are many recommended builds that you can pull up on the Internet – this will allow you to understand how to play the character from beginning to end.
Also read: Best Early Game Mid Laners
4. Keep Trying New Champions
You need to have your main champion that you are comfortable with playing on, and in order to find that main, you will need to keep trying new champions. Try this – at least once a week, set out to use a champion you never played as before – like one that is on the free champion rotation. Trying out different champions that are on the free rotation comes in handy.
When you’re playing on your new champion, try to use their abilities in more than one way. You will discover that without enough practice, the champion abilities are useful in different ways depending on the situation you’re in. Let’s take Caitlin’s E move as an example – this shoots a net from her rifle, this net can be used to slow enemy targets. However, the shot also has a powerful kick, which allows her to escape. This makes it an effective tool to use during those times when you need to escape a situation you cannot handle.
As you’re messing around with the champion abilities, keep asking yourself if there’s something you’re missing. Is there a special attack you’re using that comes with a passive character buff that’s more valuable?
Also read: Best Keyboards for League of Legends
5. Memorize Some Hotkeys
There are some hotkeys that I feel would be a great idea for you to memorize – these are what I have stored in my muscle memory. Here are the main ones:
- CTRL+ Q, W, E, R – level up that ability without clicking the plus sign.
- Q, W, E, R – These are the four main abilities you’ll be using in League of Legends.
- Shift + Q, W, E, R – Casts spell/ability at your cursor.
- ALT + Q, W, E, R – Casts spell/ability on yourself.
- S – Stops whatever it is you were doing. This comes in handy to stop your champion from auto-attacking the minions.
- F, D – Those are your two summoner spells.
- 1-6 – These are your items. You should only press these keys if there is a specific item that has an active ability you would like to use.
- G – This is how you send pings to your teammates.
- Spacebar – Pressing the spacebar will center the camera on your champion. It comes in handy during team battles when things are hectic.
- Z – Locks/unlocks camera on the champion.
- P – Opens up shop window.
- B – Recall. This is how you teleport back to base.
- Tab – Opens up stats page for the current game you’re in.
6. Communication
I noticed all of you quiet, strong protagonist types out there, and it’s okay to be quiet, but I’m telling you, in League of Legends, communication is very important. Don’t be shy, it’s okay to communicate with your team – this could lead you to victory, whereas if you keep quiet, it could lead you in the opposite direction.
Reach out and tell your team where an enemy went, let them know when an enemy ultimate has been used, and so on.
Also read: Best Early Game Supports in LoL
7) Don’t Be Toxic
The last tip I have for you is – don’t be toxic. Toxicity kills the game and gets us nowhere. When you explode on your teammates with a negative attitude, it’s not going to help. Instead, you need to offer words of encouragement, and not in a rude way either. Please remember that you are playing with real people, and those people do have feelings. You should not disrespect them over a game. It’s important that you help out a friend when they’re having a rough game.
If there is a toxic player in your game, you can mute them. To mute a player, type /Mute followed by the player’s name. If they continue to find ways to bother you, then you need to report them after the game so that Riot Support can take care of the issue. If you find yourself stressed in the game, being toxic, or not having fun, then you need to take a step back. Take a break, and return when your mind is better. Players get banned for their toxic, vulgar, and unhelpful nature, so don’t be one of those.
Conclusion
Some of these steps are harder to follow than others, there’s no denying that. However, putting time and practice into League of Legends can almost guarantee your chances of winning a match in League of Legends will dramatically increase – just make sure you follow the seven steps we just went over.
Don’t forget, there’s no need to rush to master. Just have a strategy on hand and be conscious of what you’re doing in your matches, and this will help you do better in the Early Game.
