ARE YOU READY?!
The achievements and failures of Season 4 are behind us, and the Preseason has come. Whether you placed #2 in Challenger League or Bronze 5 0 LP, we all strive to rise in Season 5.
Practice Champions You Lose To
There's always that "one" champion you can't seem to beat...but you never actually play them. Who is it? Zed? Lucian? Jinx? Lee Sin?
Now's the time to try them out! Focus on the following:
- Play Aggressive - It's preseason, now is the time to make mistakes, die a lot, and gain tons of experience. By dying and failing, this is how you learn each champion's weaknesses. Even if you never get good at that champion, at least you'll start to understand how to capitalize on their mistakes.
- Trade Early - Many lanes have been lost through early trades. Conversely, many lanes have been WON with early trades. Learn how strong your most hated champions are early, and snowball yourself to victory next time you face them.
Personally, I'll be practicing Zed on my smurf. So far, I'm 0-3 and average 10 kills, 10 deaths, and 10 assists a game. Apparently, his cooldowns are fairly high early on and his Q's hitbox is much smaller than you would think...
I'M OP!
Practice Your Mains:
While each Season brings forth new champions to the top of the tier list along with shuffling old ones around, certain champions have stayed perfect viable throughout the seasons. If you main one of these champions, it's also time to stop just "playing" your mains and really starting to master them.
Again, here are some suggestions on practicing your mains:
- Play Aggressive - While the same as playing new champions, this time I want you to play aggressively as someone who knows exactly what they're doing. When I play against lower division players, I find the biggest criticism is: They don't seem to be fighting back!
- Utilize all your cooldowns;
- Never to take free trades without hitting them back;
- Dish it as much or more than you're taking; and
- Don't be afraid to lose the trade or even die.
- Practice Last-Hitting- This mantra has been muttered time and again, but seriously, simply staying alive in lane and last hitting every creep will be enough to get you to gold or possibly even platinum. Even in Diamond there are people who have trouble last hitting (like me!)
- Look at the Mini-Map - You'd be surprised how many games are lost by not looking at the mini-map enough. In solo queue, MIA calls should be given, but not expected from other players. By simply looking at the mini-map, you can prevent a whole lot of otherwise free kills.
Play Other Roles
Are you the guy who jumps into ranked and says "Only XXX, can't XXX at all"?
Well if you aren't you SHOULD be. By specializing in one specific role, you can gain ranks much faster than if you're a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
However, trust me when I say there will be times when you don't get your role, and are forced to play into something that you don't usually do. Even as a support main, I get locked out of that role a surprising number of times a season...
This means, by learning other roles you can increase your chance to rise through the ranks.
Even if your crappy XXX only wins 30% of the time, that's still WAY better than your current ability that brings a 10% chance of winning. Just don't suddenly think you're Doublelift after one game and start "maining" your off role.
Learn the Jungle
If you're not a jungler, you'd probably love to steer clear of the jungle entirely. All those strange buffs, timers, and monsters, new and unusual...
It's preseason and almost everyone is on an even playing field, jump in there, make mistakes, be aggressive, and learn the **** out of that new and difficult map. Even if you're not a jungle main, at least you'll understand how strong ganks are and adjust accordingly while laning.
Agree/Disagree? Got more tips? Comment below!
GET IN THERE
It's preseason and almost everyone is on an even playing field, jump in there, make mistakes, be aggressive, and learn the **** out of that new and difficult map. Even if you're not a jungle main, at least you'll understand how strong ganks are and adjust accordingly while laning.
Agree/Disagree? Got more tips? Comment below!