How to Get Better at League of Legends

Last Updated: July 1, 2021

League of Legends is a popular MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) that has been dominating the gaming scene for nearly eight years. Although it's a widely popular game, there are many players who seem to play with competitive intentions, but still aren't improving. Introducing a few simple mechanics into your gameplay is all it takes to improve at the game.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Learning Basic Mechanics

1
Choose a role. Study what type of role you want to play, and how to interact in that role. Some roles interact with things differently. For example, a Jungler is going to perform much better killing jungle monsters than a support.
2
Choose your mains. You're going to want to choose no more than three champions to master. This will ensure that you're spending your time learning about the macro-play instead of worrying about the not so important micro-play.

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3
Hit some creeps. CSing, or creep scoring is an integral part of improving at League of Legends. Learning to last hit the creeps is what gives you most of the gold that you need to buy items. Getting used to farming these creeps anywhere from under a turret, to a standoff in lane, is a deciding factor in a match-up against players with a skill level of at least average.
4
Earn champion kills. Earning champion kills rewards you with usually around 300 gold per kill. This is huge considering a single castor creep kill only gives 14 gold. A bounty kill can sometimes even earn you up to 1050 gold, making it a huge turn around in most games. Learning to manage your bounty and earn as many kills as you can without giving up too much seems like a basic principle of the game, but it's mostly overlooked. Stay safe, but not at the cost of a team fight.
5
Take objectives. Objectives may be the single most important part of winning the game. You can't win the game without taking objectives after all. Taking out towers, inhibitors, dragons, and/or Baron Nashor are all key factors to winning in the team aspect of the game. The main focus of improving macro play is improving on taking objectives.
6
Become aware of the map. Map awareness is something that every player needs when playing the game. Knowing where enemy champions are is important to avoid potential danger. For example, if the enemy mid laner is missing, and you're farming minions in the top lane next to the enemy top laner, you're going to be at a severe disadvantage if the enemy top laner engages on you with the aid of the enemy mid laner. Knowing where enemies are, or when they're missing is helpful in deciding where you should or can be without being in danger.
7
Customize your item loadout. Although sometimes it's okay to buy the recommended items in the shop, most times it's best to plan out your item choices by what you're playing against. If you're versing a team full of assassins, it's probably a better idea to buy some items that let you survive burst damage. Itemization is used in virtually every game and is necessary to bring your game level up to at least above average.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Mastering Team Play

1
Don't be afraid to rely on your team. Throughout the years, the game has shifted towards a more team-based version of the game. This means that it's nearly impossible to win a game by yourself.
- For this reason, a team with one player who is far ahead of the rest of the players still can easily lose the game if the average skill level of the enemy team is higher than the average level of his team. It's much easier to take out objectives as a team of five instead of a team of one.
2
Understand lane priority. While you're playing the game, you'll notice that sometimes a laner is incapable of leaving their lane. This is extremely important when picking fights or securing objectives. Understanding when your teammates can help you, or vice versa, can seriously determine the outcome of single fights which may, in turn, decide the game.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Getting the Right Mindset

1
Watch experienced people. League of Legends is one of the world's biggest MOBAs, and there are even championships every year to compete for millions. There are some amazing players all around the world. Just watching someone experienced playing for 20 minutes could make a big difference. Watch good players and learn from them. Look up some strategies and tips or just make up your own. Who knows? You could become a great player yourself!
2
Learn when to play aggressively. Waiting for your opponent to do something all game is going to get boring really quick. It's also an easy way to let them come back from a deficit. When you're ahead, and you make sure that the circumstances allow it, it's better to play aggressively to capitalize on a lead.
3
Learn when to play it safe. Typically, when you're behind you're going to want to play a bit safer. This also has some wiggle room due to things like team play and matchups.
- For example, if you're behind, you're likely to still win a fight that's 2 vs 1. Additionally, some lane matchups are able to dominate the other easily due to some champions being natural counters to others.
4
Keep calm when playing a game like League of Legends. Learning to manage your anger, or frustration, when playing the game is going to be a deciding factor of whether you even continue to play the game. It's common to see players get so angry at the game that they give up just to get out of the game.

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Community Q&A

Question

Is it hard to get good at League of Legends?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

It depends a bit on your personal strengths and weaknesses, and how much time you’re willing to put into it. To get better at it, you do need to spend some time actively practicing and developing your skills, strategy, and playing style, rather than simply playing it on autopilot.
Question

Is League of Legends harder than chess?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

The two games are very different, so it’s difficult to draw a clear comparison. Many players argue that the strategy involved in chess is more complex, but League of Legends has more unpredictable factors to deal with because it is a team game with a more complex storyline.
Question

How long does it take to get better at League of Legends?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

This varies depending on how much time and practice you put in. Many players say that it took them several months to begin feeling confident in their skills.