How to Climb Ranks in League of Legends

My, how things have changed! League of Legends Season 6 shook things up quite a bit, so head over here for our up-to-date climbing guide.

Climbing in League of Legends is difficult, but not impossible. The first step is recognizing that every league/tier in the League of Legends’ ranking system has people of different skill levels. Of course, there are exceptions, but we’ll leave them out of this.

Each league is split up into two groups of ability: game sense and mechanics. Game sense is knowledge of the game and ability to strategize well. While  this knowledge comes with experience, one can improve game sense by watching pro streams and the LCS (League of Legends Championship Series). People argue that game sense is also “skill”, but let’s more specifically define it as understanding of game progression. “Mechanics” refers to one’s ability to physically play the game, from farming well to skill chaining. One can improve mechanical skill through practice.

By understanding the mechanics and game sense associated with each rank, you can learn how to more efficiently climb.

Bronze Tier

Bronze is the lowest of the tiers in League of Legends. People in bronze tend to have lower-than-average game sense and mechanical skill, so the best way to climb out of this rank is to have better game sense and mechanical skill (obvious… I know). It’s a given that an effective way to climb out of almost every tier is to be “better at the game,” but that isn’t the only factor involved in each league.

In Bronze, champion choice plays a large part in climbing. From my experiences in Bronze Tier (yes, I also inhabited that elo many years ago), many of the players there tend to play champions that aren’t part of the meta, or the current standard of strong champions for each role. While playing a champion out of the meta is generally fine, in Bronze, many people pick champions that happen to be underpowered, poor for their lane of choice, or overall weaker picks.

An easy way to climb out is to embrace your inner “OP” (overpowered) champion. Because teams in Bronze tend to have underpowered or poorly picked champions, it’s productive to climb this league using smarter picks and stronger champions that allow you to carry your team.

Also, DO NOT pick a champion you are unfamiliar with just to counter the enemy laner. You will almost always be too uncomfortable or unknowledgeable to play well, and most often, you’ll end up losing. Skill > Counters.

Some champions that you may want to think about playing, due to their ease and kit strength are Amumu (Jungle), Riven (Top), Caitlyn (ADC), Blitzcrank (Support), Ziggs (Mid).

Silver Tier

Silver is widely considered the “average” tier of League of Legends. It isn’t shameful to be in this tier, but if you are looking to climb out, here is where you must build up your game sense. Mechanics are important in Silver, but game sense is really what carries you through. Being able to outplay someone is not as ultimately effective as knowing how to take advantage of an enemy team getting Baron while they have an open inhibitor.

Heightening your map awareness is one of the most crucial steps in improving your game sense. Always have one eye on the game and the other on the mini map, and you’ll always be aware of who is where and which laner is present.

Another important attribute of someone who climbs through Silver is knowing when to play aggressively and when to play passively. This is part of game sense as well. You have to understand the flow of the game from the perspective of your team composition. What strategy do you do follow if your team is ahead, but the enemy team gets Baron? Depending on your team composition, you can apply map pressure in other lanes while avoiding fights. Improving your decision making in these types of difficult scenarios is crucial to overcoming Silver.

In Silver Tier, players start to adhere to the meta. There are still troll or anti-meta picks, but they are less prevalent in this tier, so you can’t rely on using the current “OP” champions. They just wont get the job done like they used to in Bronze.

Of course, I’ll mention some effective picks to carry though: Ziggs (Mid again), Jarvan (Jungle), Renekton (Top), Draven (ADC), Thresh (Support).

Gold Tier

Gold is a nice tier to be in if you are improving, because you are surrounded by others who want to get better and climb. Many people in Silver and lower are stagnant, but in Gold, a larger number of players are motivated to get better. This league, however, is a bit different than Silver in that everyone’s game sense is on par with yours, so you can’t rely solely on this skill to carry you out.

What will really help you through this league is enhancing your mechanical skills. Being able to last-hit creeps and properly play your best champions is imperative here. Creep score is your best friend in this elo. While you and your opponent may be equal in dueling skill, you have a higher chance of winning if you have more gold from your 30 or 40 creep score lead.

A way to accelerate your growth in Gold is to start maining one or two roles, and have only a few champions for each of those positions that you are very comfortable with. Of course, you should be proficient in all roles, but have a few champions that are more likely to win you lane, or that you are great at jungling with. This narrows your champion pool, but allows for more practice on these champion and of course, practice makes perfe- er… better.

Some champions that are great to utilize in Gold are Ziggs (Mid AGAIN!!!), Pantheon (Top, good for map and lane dominance), Vi (Jungle), Jinx (ADC), Thresh (Support Again).

Platinum Tier

Platinum is what I like to call the “Elo Hell” of League of Legends. A lot of people say that “Elo Hell” doesn’t exist, but Platinum is as close as you can get to it. You can feel proud to be in Platinum, because you are in the top 10% of League of Legends now. But, after playing about 40 ranked games here, you’ll probably feel more frustration than pride.

Climbing Platinum requires a large amount of skill, but it also requires an almost equally large amount of luck. Teammates in Platinum can range from smurfs that will get to Diamond in 2 days to trolls that are happy to just stay where they are tier-wise. The luck part is that sometimes these people are teammates, and sometimes they’re enemies. Climbing in this league is incredibly hard, but if you do manage to get through it, you will have a ridiculous sense of satisfaction.

Of course, you still need to be improving your mechanics and game sense at this time, but here is where you can start to break the meta even more. People in Platinum tend to have a much higher knowledge of the game and the meta, so they can take an unorthodox champion and make them work.

Some of the stronger champion picks, with higher mechanical demands, of this elo are Yasuo (Mid), Kha’Zix (Jungle), Pantheon (Top), Tristana (ADC), Nami (Support).

Diamond Tier

Diamond… Diamond is where you are officially great at the game. You are in the top 2% of League of Legends and you most likely deserve to be there. You know how to climb and you have done it through the hellhole that is Platinum. Congratulations.

Okay, now that you’ve had your ego stroked, we’re going to learn how to get out of Diamond. Your game sense and mechanical skill are great now, but they could still get better. You have a few champions for each role and you think you’ve mastered them, but there is always more you can learn. Additionally, Diamond is where buying wards goes from being a strong suggestion to a necessity.

Everyone else here is just as good as you and deserves to climb as well, so I’m not going to tell you how to get better than them. There are no more tips or tricks that I can teach you. Mechanical skill is always important, but team coordination takes the cake here. You are no longer a single person trying to climb; you are 1 of your 5 teammates, and you need to act as such. The biggest skill that’s going to get you through Diamond is teamwork. Good luck!

Challenger Tier

Why are you even reading this?