I have been playing League of Legends since 2010 and it would be fair to say that I have had some pretty crazy games over the years. I still remember those simpler times when there were only a few champions and you could get wins without having to struggle hard for it.
Having said that, times have changed now. Now, the game has become complex and even the individual games have a rating system which is a symbol of your talent and showcases your top-notch abilities in the game. For some pro players, achieving an S rank is easy. However, we the common players will have some difficulty in achieving it.
In this article, I’ll try to explain how you can get an S rank in League of Legends. Remember folks, saying this is much easier than actually achieving it. You will have to perform your utmost and also carry your entire team on your shoulders for the S tag.
Here are some points that you should remember while aiming for the prestigious S rank in League of Legends:
Select your champion wisely
League of Legends has now more than 150 champions and it is fairly difficult for you to master every one of them. However, to become a better player than the rest, you need to master at least 20-25 champions. Also, try to master all fields of the game — top lane, jungle, mid lane, AD carry, and support. You don’t know when and where your services might be required.
Having said that, I must also mention that mastering some champions is easy while others will take a lot of patience and effort on your part. I will suggest you start with easy champions and work your way up to the difficult ones. I still remember those days when I used to play with Master Yi all day long. I tried Yi in all lanes, including mid. Those times were different.
Here are some champions that you can try to boost your performance in the game:
- Top lane: Jax, Garen, Irelia, Fiora, Riven, Volibear, Darius
- Jungle: Warwick, Lee Sin, Elise, Kha’Zix, Rengar, Kayn
- Mid lane: Lux, Kayle, Katarina, Akali, Morgana
- ADC: Graves, Draven, Jinx, Ezreal, Miss Fortune
- Support: Thresh, Bard, Pyke, Nautilus, Alistar
These champions are all good at carrying games because they have a lot of damage, mobility and durability. That said, some champions are better than others. If you are not sure which champion to pick and learn, visit the League of Legends forums or watch videos of any professional player on YouTube. This will give you an idea of which champion to play for a better advantage.
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Play your role well
League of Legends is a team game and even if you think you can carry the game alone, it will not work for long. Each role in League of Legends has its own set of responsibilities. Make sure you understand the role and what is expected of you.
I would advise you to try to select only those roles in which you are comfortable with. For instance, I am not adept at juggling. So, I used to avoid juggling at all costs. However, sometimes you are forced to opt for a role in which you are not comfortable with. This is why, you should have a working knowledge of the responsibilities that each role carries. Mastering a champion comes after that.
To understand how the top-tier games proceed, you can watch live tournaments or there are recorded videos on YouTube. Watch several of these videos to understand the nuances of the game.
However, for now, here are some general tips for each role:
Top lane
Usually, as a top laner, you are expected to play aggressively and get kills. You are also responsible for providing a strong frontline for your team.
Remember, to gank in the middle lane when you get time or when the enemy champion is at the base. Warding is also an essential component of every top lane player. To keep the enemy jungler at bay, always ward the river.
Jungler
As a jungle player, you will need to earn coins by farming jungle creeps and ganking if the enemy comes forward in the lane. You will also be responsible for taking dragons and Baron Nashor for your team. Make sure to steal their jungle once in a while for added advantage.
Pick up only those champions that specialise in this role. Lee Sin is one of the best junglers in the game. However, jungling is difficult to master as you need to focus on many variables all at once. And, the teams will often blame you if they are losing their lanes.
Mid lane
Mid laners start at the worst possible position. Open terrain on both sides and a perfect target for the enemy jungler make this lane so difficult. Usually, only the ability power champions are used in this lane, although there are some exceptions such as Zed.
As a mid-lane player, you are expected to gank both the top and the bottom lane and also to ward the mid areas. The ability power champions are some of the best in dealing burst damage in team fights and you should consider this. For the damage to take maximum effect, you will have to position yourself correctly. Mid laners also act as assassins in the game. With amazing burst damage, mid-laners can target enemy champions especially mid lane or AD carry.
Attack Damage Carry (ADC)
These champions are the most squishy ones in the entire game. You cannot remain behind your opponent in farming and it is the most crucial responsibility of an ADC. As ADCs rely more on automatic shots, buy those items which are most suitable for the job.
As ADCs deal the maximum damage, they are also the most likely target in a team fight. Make sure that you position yourself correctly in a team fight as the likelihood of your survival will ultimately decide the outcome. Keep an eye on the traps that the enemy will set up for you and avoid being caught out of position.
Another essential responsibility of an ADC is to push lanes and quickly clear the minion waves. This puts pressure on the enemy team and allows your team to control a much larger portion of the map.
Support
As a support, you are expected to sacrifice yourself for the team. You are one of those guys who keeps the team above the individual. Supports provide utility, crowd control, and healing abilities to their allies while simultaneously keeping them protected against enemy attacks.
As a support, one of your most critical responsibilities is protecting the ADCs. You will go to the bottom lane along with the ADCs and provide support to them. You will place wards in the river, bush and jungle to monitor enemy movements.
Along with that, you will roam the map and gank other lanes along with the ADC. Supports also initiate fights and sometimes disengage if the fight is not going your way.
Farming
Farming is the most essential element of the game. Except for the support, all roles require farming for gold and experience. Simply speaking, the more you farm, the more you gain experience and gold and the more quickly you can buy weapons or level up.
Farming is an art and the sooner you master it, the faster you will rank up. Usually, the newbie players keep on hitting the minions until they die. That’s not the right way. You should wait until the minion is at a very low health and then you must hit it. That is, you should always farm by the last hit. If you last hit minions consistently, you will be able to get more gold than your opponent.
Control the minion wave
Minion waves in League of Legends are continuous and the team which controls the minion wave ultimately wins the game. You might be wondering what controlling the minion wave means.
Controlling the minion wave involves manipulating the minions to push towards the enemy inhibitor. While it may sound easy, there are various concepts that you need to understand to gain a significant advantage over your enemies:
- Freezing: When you don’t want the minion wave to flow in the enemy’s direction, you try to freeze it near your turret. You do so by last-hitting the minions and preventing the wave from pushing forward.
- Slow pushing: This involves killing enemy minions at a slower pace than usual, allowing the player’s minions to accumulate in number and push towards the enemy turret. This creates pressure on the enemy laner and can result in the turret taking damage.
- Fast pushing: This involves killing minions as quickly as possible to push the wave towards the enemy turret. This can be useful for quickly taking down enemy turrets and creating map pressure.
- Resetting: This involves manipulating the wave to push towards the player’s own turret by either killing enemy minions quickly or allowing the enemy to kill the player’s own minions. This can be used to regain control of the lane and set up a freeze or slow push.
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Get kills or assists while avoiding dying
Killing enemy champions gives you much more gold and experience than killing minions. Getting kills and assists will help you increase your kill-to-death ratio (KDA). When you kill an enemy champion, it takes several seconds for that champion to respawn. That provides your team with a window of opportunity to take down the other enemy champions or take the Baron Nashor or even steal their jungle.
While going for the kill, make sure to avoid casualties on your side as the same goes for your team as well. Dying gives the enemy team gold and experience. But more importantly, it gives them time to regroup and attack your team. Dying also sets you behind levels and items.
Thus, for achieving an S rank in League of Legends, play safely and avoid risks. For instance, if you’re low on health, head back to the base and heal up.
Communicate with your team
As I have explained earlier, League of Legends is a team game and communicating with your team will not only make you a team player but will also ensure victory. Use pings and chat to communicate with your team about the objectives, ganks and strategy.
Watch any of the high-level LoL games and you will understand the importance of communicating with your team.
If you will follow all the steps that I have mentioned above and work on improving your gameplay, you will surely get an S rank in League of Legends.
Also read: What is Tenacity in LOL?
