Getting better at League of Legends – the Mental Game

Some background info: I've been playing League of Legends since Season 1. I started playing ranked in Season 2 and ended the season with 3 accounts in the top 100 ladder (all ~2400 elo). Ended season 3 with all my accounts in Diamond 1. Played season 4 on one account and ended in Masters. I've helped friends improve in the past and wanted to put this out there to help others. This guide should be relevant to ALL skill levels as it doesn't talk about mechanics.

So you wanna get better at League of Legends, huh? You know you're better than the pubs you're matched with, but you keep losing. The problem may not lie in your mechanics, but rather your attitude. League of Legends isn't a 1v1 game, so the way you interact with your team and even your opponents can have a profound impact on the outcome of the match. So much so that following these simple steps could dramatically increase your win ratio and help you climb the ladder. These tips should apply to DotA 2, Heroes of the Storm, and other MOBAs as well.

Basics:

Stay Positive – Just because your team lost the early game doesn't mean the game's over. There's no reason to give up just because the early game was a disaster. I've had countless games where EVERY lane lost individually, but as a team, we were stronger. League of Legends is designed to allow comebacks; this means that losing 2 team fights just to win 1 can actually bring you closer to parity with your opponents on gold and experience. Remember, the game is DESIGNED to allow comebacks. Don't give up and don't start complaining in team chat.

Never rage at your team – This one may seem obvious, but almost everyone does this every once in a while. There's literally NOTHING to be gained by insulting your own team mates. Did your bot lane do something stupid? Saying “gg bot lane is retarded” only decreases your odds of winning. Saying anything to belittle your team mates only makes them play worse. There is literally NO situation where insulting your own team can increase your odds of winning, so don't do it.

Positive Reinforcement – After a successful gank or a minor victory, type “GJ” in team chat. Positive reinforcement builds a bond between teammates and increases morale. People are less likely to give up and start throwing/raging if their teammates provide positive reinforcement. Typing “GJ” in team chat literally takes half a second, so there's no reason not to do it. If you want to take if further, make your compliments / positive reinforcement more detailed

Advanced Tactics:

Reverse Mental Gank – This is a surprisingly effective tactic to put the enemy team on tilt by encouraging in-fighting. Did your team just win a 4v5 fight because the enemy Amumu wasn't there? Go ahead and type in all chat “Good thing Amumu wasn't with you guys, lol.” Odds are after losing a team fight, the enemy team is on edge and are looking for someone to blame. They'll likely agree with your statement and start belittling their own team mate. It doesn't matter if Amumu had a valid excuse for not being there. What matters is that his team is going to rage at him and the entire enemy team will play worse because of it. The trick here isn't to overdo it; you don't want to come off as bad mannered or rude. “OMG. If Amumu was with you guys we woulda gotten destroyed” works well too. You don't want to belittle their Amumu, you want the enemy team to do that for you.

The Anti-Rage Quit – Did your team mate just give up and say he's going to AFK? There's hope. Tell him that you're actually smurfing and will guarantee a victory in the late game if he doesn't give up. Tell him you'll uninstall if you can't carry (provided he doesn't give up). You won't follow through if you lose, but Believe it or not, most people play to win, so odds are they'll stick around and continue to play. If not, you didn't lose anything. This is better than begging them to stay, because it they believe you, they'll want to keep playing to get that win.

Got any mental strategies for winning more games in League? Share them in the comments below!