LoL Ladder Climb: Day 3 Part 2

Game 5

Champions

Game Summary

The champ select started off rocky, with our 4th pick saying that our 5th pick didn't play support and that he didn't have any support champs. He went Nunu and the game started. No one set up for a counter invade so they stole my blue buff and I fell very far behind. I had no presence and they just steamrolled after that. Gragas started flaming and things fell apart by mid game.

Positives/Negatives

Nothing positive. I was positive in my attitude, but I didn't have a chance without that blue.

ELO

1274 (-19)

Other Notes

I should really start a wall of shame. CookieClone would be on it for his poor attitude and verbal abuse all game. I had to mute him. Let's hope the next one will be better!


Game 6

Champions

Game Summary

Got my Graves ADC, had a Voli go support. They stole our red buff but Ahri dove me bot level 1 and I was  able to take first blood. Wu Kong was winning against our Jax top but we had a good LB and Noc holdin' down everything mid to bot and then eventually helped out with top. We had control over all the objectives (buffs and dragon) after that, and continued our snowball to win the game.

Positives/Negatives

I got FB after a 4 man level 1 gank bot. I was outfarmed by Vayne at lower levels, I think mainly because their Sona/Vayne combo could harass us more than our melee Voli.

ELO

1290 (+16)

Other Notes

That's it for tonight for me. From trolls and ragers to positive teammates and super carries, today had it all. I'll resume my climb tomorrow!

LoL Ladder Climb: Day 3 Part 1

Back in action for a few games right now, then maybe some more after supper.


Game 1

Champions

Game Summary

I got my Amumu jungle in champion select. We got a Kat as well along with Taric and Rengar, so our team seemed strong (at least at this ELO). Rengar lost top early with a silly 1v1 fight vs. Jayce. However I camped top for a bit to catch him back up, and with some ganks bot and the first dragon taken, we gained a gold advantage early. Kat snowballed and the other team couldn't catch back up and surrendered at ~30 mins in.

Positives/Negatives

I had some successful ganks, and outplayed the enemy jungle Nocture. I landed my bandages and ults in key battles to give us an edge. Not sure if I have any critiques myself for that game.

ELO

1311 (+18)

Other Notes

Tip: Find a champion that you can carry with and stick with it!

Game 2

Champions

Game Summary

We had a strong team comp, again with me having the Amumu jungle. We did well early with kills in all lanes. Singed turns full derp and dies multiple times to Shen top (I was camping top since I knew Singed was performing poorly). At this point Shen has both TP and global ult, so he has presence everywhere on the map (although he doesn't use it much), so I hung around bot more waiting for the ults. We had decent team fights until some members got caught near dragon in river. From there it went downhill with Singed getting caught out more.

Positives/Negatives

I had strong ganks early, giving kills to both top and mid. After Cait got a quad-kill on us I built armour, but I think I had too much too early as I was getting destroyed by Zyra. I should have evened out my armour/MR in the mid game.

ELO

1294 (-17)

Other Notes

I tried to call our engages but the team wouldn't listen and would fight in the worst locations. Only so much I could do. Oh well. You can't win them all, even with your favourite 'carry' champs.


Game 3

Champions

Game Summary

Champ selection was normal other than a a teammate questioning the call of a Zilean mid (Alex Ich anyone?).  Anyway the game started. I told Sona to not walk through red since Eve may invade, but she did anyway and they picked up first blood on her. Top fed about 3 or 4 kills early. We traded bot, but Sona didn't pink ward so we fell to a gank from Eve once. Zil was very abusive and called everyone noobs all game so I muted him (and reported him after). Jayce wasn't very friendly either. Poor attitudes on both. I tried to keep it positive but the others ruined the game and a surrender vote went through 4 - 1 (me being the 1).

Positives/Negatives

I traded with Sivir and was matching her in lane even with the presence of Leona in our bush. I fell to Eve though so I shouldn't have pushed at the point I did (I tried to keep the lane at my tower for the most part because our Sona wasn't pink warding).


ELO

1275 (-19)


Other Notes

Classic example of poor attitudes losing us the game. AD Eve late game isn't really too much of a threat. However SothisCY, Sydney Shaw, and oO Kuroky Oo all tried to vote and surrender, and were being negative. Everyone should stay positive when playing as it helps win games. I can assure everyone that they won't be out of low silver elo for a long time :D.


Game 4

Champions

Game Summary


Man, this game was rough. All the way through my team constantly QQed, flamed and verbally abused each other (mostly me). They were negative and wanted to surrender, but we kept going. I tried my best to keep the mood light but these guys weren't having any of it. Alistar AFKed at a few points, Cait thought he was a one man show and constantly harassed others. We managed to win as I turned Cait getting caught into a nice engage catching 5 of them (later game). Diana cleaned up and we took their nexus. I didn't think we deserved to win that one.

Positives/Negatives

I tried my best to be in all the lanes. Nasus didn't want me top and would intentionally let me 1v1 a 1/3 health Lee sitting a few steps away, instead farming. Bot was arrogant and called me a trash jungler, and mid joined in the fun. I missed a few Qs in the game. The negative reinforcement didn't help.


ELO

1293 (+18)


Other Notes

A win is a win, even if it isn't pretty. INeverWinOrLose (Cait) has been one of the most abusive players I've seen in recent history. Not far behind was gernzmomo (Ali) who was a constant negative presence on our team. I reported both, and hoping for the Tribunal to take a look soon.

Tip: The mute button is there for a reason. If someone is looking to be abusive and you can't handle their attitude, just mute them. It's worth it and saves you a lot of stress if you don't want to listen to their toxic nature.

I'll be back after supper with more!

LoL Ladder Climb: Day 2 Part 2

I got fed up with the numerous pieces of work that I needed to complete, so what better than procrastinating by playing League!


Game 5

Champions

Game Summary

We had a a team comp with lots of CC in selection. Top, mid and jungle all seemed to trade kills early game in laning phase. Leona and I zoned Corki hard and had the early lead. Mid game we traded more kills, and the team started to get cocky and be caught out at times. After we sorted it all out, we rolled in 5v5 team fights with all the CC we had.

Positives/Negatives

Out CSed and harassed Corki in lane with good zoning from Leona. However I got caught out once as Taric pinked tribush and river.

ELO

1274 (+18)

Other Notes

None!

Game 6

Champions

Game Summary

Some of the players on our team were already negative in champion select, saying we had "too much AP" and "no initiator". This continues into the early game with a few of them saying GG SUR 20 etc. I tell everyone to relax and focus on their own lane. We dominate every lane with the presence of Shaco and continue on to a 30 minute victory.

Positives/Negatives

We zoned Kog well and I outfarmed him like a boss. I did everything I should have during this game. I just need to continue to work on trading while csing in lane.

ELO

1293 (+19)

Other Notes

Time for bed! Day Two complete!

LoL Ladder Climb: Day 2 Part 1

Hello everyone! I'm back for Day 2 of my ladder climb. I don't have a lot of time today so there will be only a few ranked matches being played. Here we go!


Game 1

Champions

Game Summary

The team was cooperative in champion select. Someone really wanted me to ban or take Darius top, but I chose Singed instead. We did a level 1 invade into Lee Sin's jungle and got FB off of WW. I matched WW top, even with his mid game sustain. We had some decent ganks and got an early lead, but poor decisions mid game caught them back up. I decided to take command at this point and coached our team through the mid/later game struggle, convincing Panth not to AFK b/c he thought he was behind (poor decisions in a few spots set him back a few deaths, for example diving a 1 v 2 top lane inner turret with no back up). We focused Vayne and eventually won a hard fought battle at ~ 50 mins (even after losing 2nd baron).

Positives/Negatives

I matched Warwick top even through his mid game sustain which was tough to lane against. I focused Vayne in team fights and called the shots so we would have proper engages. I got top once though with 2 wards in my inventory. I was pushing top lane hard and forgot to through them down so I would see them coming. I will be sure to ward more properly in the future.

ELO

1274 (+17)

Other Notes

I can see my elo gains/losses are lessening with each game. I'm sure that I'll soon be back down to 11 - 14 per game.


Game 2

Champions

Game Summary

Our fifth pick decided to run an Naut support so I went up as Graves against their Ez/Nunu lane. Long story short, TF fed 0/5 mid lane vs. Lux, so Jayce and Mao flame him for the rest of the game, and then convince everyone else to surrender at 20 mins (I voted no as there was still easily a chance of winning). Poor attitudes and verbal abuse caused the loss, not personal play from each player. Reports were issued to the problematic players.

Positives/Negatives

I traded well with Ez and Nunu in lane, and matched their farm for the entire thing. Our lane was fine, and since the surrender was so quick, I didn't even have a chance to team fight.

ELO

1256 (-18)

Other Notes

I can't stress enough how important it is to keep a level head in the game. Just because you are down by 10 kills at 20 minutes doesn't mean you should give up. I've had games where we were down 15+ kills by 15 mins in, and have come back to win. I've won and lost 4v5s and 5v4s based on attitude. It's just not worth it to flame others and throw in the towel early. At times in the past I had a different mindset. I wasn't always the best player to play with. However reflecting upon myself I realized it wasn't conducive to gaining ELO, so I changed my ways for the better, and it has helped me to become a better player.

In games like these, all you can do is review your own personal play, and try to at least make yourself better while trying to calm your team down.

Game 3

Champions

Game Summary

Champion select was fine. I went for a Nunu/Kog comp. bot. Darius was AFK for the first 1 of the game top, then went back. At the same time, Skarner tried an invade on red and picked up FB on Dr. Mundo. If Darius was there, it would have been the other way around. From there everything fell apart. Nunu wanted to engage on Vayne every second and he went down a few kills to Vayne. I wasn't able to keep up after that, and with all other lanes feeding hard, a 20 minute surrender again was called :/

Positives/Negatives

Nothing much positive to say. Every lane was outplayed, and I couldn't do a whole lot with that Nunu support setting up bad engagements :/

ELO

1239 (-17)

Other Notes

Just have to ride out the rough patches. If you believe that you are better than the ELO bracket you are in, are are always positive and try your best to win, the math is in your favour to climb ELO. If you are pissed off at losing, take a break. You don't want to play with tilt.

Game 4

Champions

Game Summary

This game was pretty easy. GP was AFK for the first minute or two, and Zed got a kill on Dr. Mundo early and snowballed his lead. I dominated mid with my Anivia vs. Morde, and snowballed as well. We should have ended at 20 minutes by my team liked to farm and not group lol. Oh well we still took it handily.

Positives/Negatives

I won mid easily and outfarmed Morde. I got caught at one point even when bot pinged that someone was coming mid. I need to be more aware of map in the future.

ELO

1256 (+17)

Other Notes

Well that is it for me until maybe later. So far I'm even (-1 ELO) today. That's alright, I'll pick up soon.

LoL Ladder Climb: Day 1 Part 2

Game 4

Champions

Game Summary

The champion select went normally. I chose Graves this time over Vayne as I thought Nunu would be support (I was incorrect). Early game went well after a slight hiccup for a 2v2 trade (FB their team) bot. I dominated with Taric, Riven and TF traded with Karth and Jax. Mid game we were grabbing all objectives, but lost a stupid baron after the team got caught and didn't back in time to heal. Once we started fighting 5v5 again we won easily, catching Karthus out and ending the game.

Positives/Negatives

Out CSed and destroyed Ez and Sona bot (starting at Lvl 6).

Still need to hit that 75 CS / 10 minute mark.

ELO

1220 (+20)

Other Notes

FIRST PENTAKILL EVER AFTER 2000+ GAMES PLAYED YAY!

Maybe I'll play Graves more now lol. Anyway, onward!


Game 5

Champions

Game Summary

Champion select was normal, with a guy (Ez) proclaiming that it's his smurf and that he's beaten Crs Nyjacky in lane before as Kass. I get my favourite, Amumu jungle. We start off with some great kills in early lane, after a failed invade (Poppy flashed away almost dead). We continue to steamroll and win a 20 minute game.

Positives/Negatives

I had some decent ganks and saves, and hit most of my Qs. However I missed a kill I may have been able to get on Cho. Oh well.

ELO

1240 (+20)

Other Notes

Climbin' that ladder!


Game 6

Champions

Game Summary

I was last pick in queue, so I went for my trusty support Janna (Blitz was banned). I was able to zone both Vayne and Sona, allowing Ez for some easy CS. Irelia stomped top hard and carried for the rest of the game.

Positives/Negatives

I saved teammates on multiple occasions while not dying myself. Not sure anything else I could have done that game, I warded everywhere I should have and did my job well.

ELO

1257 (+17)

Other Notes

Tip: Stay positive in your games. Don't rage at others; it helps everyone win (Riot has some stat on this, you win like 17% more or something if you cooperate and are friendly). I know at times I start feeling down, but I usually am able to maintain that positive attitude and spirit needed for that extra edge. I've been really working on it and it helped me reach Gold S2 for sure.

Anyway that's all for tonight folks! I'll continue hopefully this weekend. Good start for sure.

LoL Ladder Climb: Day 1 Part 1

Game 1

Champions

Game Summary

This game got off to a rocky start. Urgot trolled the champ select by randoming a champion and saying he was mid. Nonetheless no one backed out and the game started. I found out that we had 2 silvers, 2 golds, 1 unranked in our team based on Season 2 stats.

There was a level 1 team fight in our jungle after Ezreal got caught out. We lost FB but managed to trade 2 for 2 kills. Bot, mid and top all traded kills in lane. When team fighting started we won every fight we were grouped in 5, however both teams got caught out at multiple times.

We managed to take the win, even with verbaul abuse among Ezreal and Urgot on our team, and the enemy team as well. Reports were handed out.

 Positives/Negatives

I traded with Teemo well in lane, even though he is a Singed counter. I outcsed him by 20 at the 15 minute mark. However I got caught a few times by his mushrooms and by going back at stupid places. I will smarten up for next game.

ELO

1199 (+21)

Game 2

Champions

Game Summary

Champ selection was fine, until the end everyone calling roles and making sure all spots were filled. I lined up as a counter to Singed (as Darius), however support decided he would be going as a Wu Kong carry. He at least took exhaust after some recommendation by myself.

Early game we were losing a 4v4 due to Rammus on their team DCing and our Wu Kong DCing as well. We caught up and surpassed them mid game, but Jax on our team threw the game by continuing to split push alone, ending up in 1v5s and dying. It was an easy win, but a throw unfortunately.



Positives/Negatives

I dominated top, destroying Kayle's CS by doubling it in 10 minutes. I got caught a few times again though, and got angry with myself and how my team was throwing. I will try to improve on that for next game.

ELO

1177 (-22)

Other Notes

I don't think I'll be able to get Amumu much due to his constant banning at this lower elo. As well, I reported 2 of their players for attempted honour trading after the game.

Game 3

Champions

Game Summary

Everyone filled a role in champ selection with no trouble. Blitz was banned and I was last pick so I went as Janna. The team worked well. Singed destroyed top against Olaf and constantly pressured the lane. I supported my Ez well, other than taking 3 kills accidentally. Oops. We just dominated for a 20 surrender vote.

Positives/Negatives

I warded well for the most part, and kept my Ez alive when he went Rambo. However we overextended at one point and got destroyed by 4. I need to place a ward higher in the river/their wraiths to combat this.

ELO

1200 (+23)

Other Notes

That's all the games I'm going to play for now! I may be on later to continue the struggle lol.

League of Legends - Climbing That Ladder

Hello hello! It's been awhile since I've used this blog. I figure now is a good time to bring it back.

I'm not sure many know, but I love playing League of Legends. I've played for about 2 years now, and enjoy my time spent in ranked. Now in Season 2, I ended up climbing the ladder from 1200 to 1547 to capture that gold rating (top 7% of the entire League from what I've read; I'm still waiting for confirmation on Season 2 stats from Riot though).

 The soft elo reset was a few days ago, and I've fell into a slump. I lost a lot of placement matches, and am currently sitting at 1178 elo. So I figured, let's make part of this blog a progress update of me climbing the ladder! I'm not too worried about getting back into Gold, it will just take a little time (most likely once more people have their placement matches done).

 My plan which got me to Gold rating last season was to focus on 1 role and a few champs. I carried myself with Amumu and Corki for the most part, and I plan on using a similar setup this time around.

Here are the champs I will be playing at this current time in the meta (in order of preference).

 Jungle: Amumu
ADC: Vayne
Top: Singed
Mid: Anivia
Support: Blitzcrank

 Let's do this! I'll be making updates after each game I played, and information on what happened and what I can improve on.

Starting Elo (OUCH!):