Players tend to think that they need to “carry” every game in order to move up the ladder of Ranked Play. This is not the case, no matter what these “Carry out of Elo Hell” streams say. The truth is that you can’t win all of your games. In fact, if the system is working properly you will win exactly 50 percent of your games.  The first step in climbing the ladder is to ignore the trolls / feeders, and focus on yourself.  The second, third, and fourth steps are to be patient, learn from your own mistakes, and have fun.

Being able to positively impact your games will increase your entire team’s chance of winning to above the 50% standard. Assuming that the game matches you with people of even skill the best way to improve is to learn more from each game than your opponent does.  If they truly are equally skilled before the game, you want to leave the game more skilled than them.

 For example, let’s say that you are a top main.  The Team Builder system is in place, and everyone is playing their main role.  If you are at your correct Elo, the enemy top laner will be of equal skill as you.  This means that either of you can win the lane based on skill level.  If you lose the lane, think about why you lost the lane.  Did you all in at a bad time?  Did you not know how long the cooldowns were on the enemy’s abilities?  If you can leave a game recognizing your mistakes and learning from them, you will be a better player because of it.  Sooner or later you will have gained more knowledge than all of the other top lane players in your Elo, and you will begin to win your matchups and help increase your teams’ likelihood of victory.  Winning your lane is a way to help your team’s chances of winning the game, but looking at the good and bad things that occurred in your lane is a way to help your future teams’ chances of winning the game and raising your own Elo.

Having fun is an important part of League of Legends and learning.  If you play the game without having any fun, why do you play it at all?  Having fun also puts you in a better mood, which will make it easier to think and recognize the good plays and the mistakes that take place throughout a game.  It will also aid in the allocation of blame, as one who is in a good mood is much more likely to blame himself than someone who is in a bad mood.  Seeing your own faults through this lens can improve your skills.

So, how do you climb the elo ladder?  Patience, responsibility, and fun.  It’s not a race to get to the next division, it’s a goal.  Don’t rush it; make sure that you learn from every game you play, whether it be a /ff at 20 for the enemy team, or a 60 minute heartbreaking loss.  Take responsibility for your own mistakes, and learn from them.  Finally, have fun while you do it.  After all, video games were created for entertainment and fun, and let’s not forget that.