League of Legends S12: 10 tips for climbing ranked mode

Defeat your opponents and carry your team in League of Legends competitive ranked queues with our top 10 tips for climbing in ranked. With brand new nerfs, buffs and adjustments, as well as EDG world championship and brand new High Noon skins, we have you covered with making the most out of the newest update to League of Legends.


Patch 12.10 for League of Legends is out, and changes are coming to ranked and other game modes. We have compiled our top 10 tips for climbing in LOL’s ranked mode, ahead of the upcoming changes. Bugs, such as one affecting Sion’s faulty damage to towers, and Rengar’s issue gaining attack speed from his Q have also been patched in. However, the major changes are seen in the champion nerfs and buffs, with Ahri, Master Yi and Renekton all receiving adjustments. Dominate your games and rank up in League of Legends now, with our in-depth guide.

Nerfs were issued to Ahri, Master Yi, Nidalee, Renata Glasc, Rengar and Sion in the last patch. Buffs were granted to Braun, Hecarim, Renekton, Thresh and Varus. Olaf, Pyke and Taliyah all received kit adjustments. Hullbreaker has been tweaked too. What is going to make climbing even more fun in LOL 12.10 are the new cosmetics that hit the in-game store. Zoe, Graves, Viego, Yuumi and Aphelios all received their EDG Worlds skins. Katarina, Mordekaiser, Talon, Leona and Varus all donned their wild west attires in the High Noon series continuation. Now, Viktor, Sion, Samira, Twitch and Tham Kench all have their High Noon skins available for purchase too.

STAY UPDATED WITH THE META

Applying our tips for climbing in League of Legends‘ ranked mode is pointless without staying updated with the meta. Without paying attention to what changes are made, you may be going into a match thinking how your opponents used to think one year ago. With counter picks playing such a huge role in who wins and who loses, the victory could be secured as early as the champion select stage. It is vital to check how the update is going to affect your main champion. Maybe pay your second main if they have been hit too harshly by nerfs, or even buffs to their counter. 

Essentially, how this looks in the game is Jayce, who was once the single over-powered top layer, now being one of the weakest picks. You may also want to think carefully about taking recently nerfed Ryze and Lee Sin to the top. Kayle, Quinn and Shen have been consistently dominating their lane, and are formidable opponents to the weaker Jayce now. 

Champions in League of Legends suit up for High Noon

Champions in League of Legends suit up for High Noon

WHICH CHAMPIONS CLIMB IN LEAGUE OF LEGENDS RANKED?

Jinx was the single most overpowered ADC for climbing ranked mode throughout the first part of patch 12 of LOL. The Loose Cannon is no longer the queen of the bot lane, however. Picks such as Lucian and Vayne are in a much better position, statistically. It is important to take notice of whom you typically see secure the win for their teams and climb in ranked. Vladimir has consistently held up an impressive win rate. Diana has been a consistently powerful jungle champion throughout patch 12. Paying attention to who is a reliable pick and who fell off is a sure way to stay afloat in 12.9. 

Read on to get tips for climbing ranked mode

Read on to get tips for climbing ranked mode

THE SIMPLEST CLIMBING TIP: BE COMFORTABLE

One of the simplest tips for climbing ranked mode in LOL is to be comfortable. While Wu Kong may be an OP pick for the jungle of League right now, you may just not like his kit. Certain champions are easier than others. One of the simplest champions is Garen. Yuumi has even been the centre of controversy for her supposedly allowing players to passively bag wins. Pulling off in a finger breaking Akali combo may be satisfying. Nonetheless, it may be easier to start with a much simpler champion, before risking a more difficult pick. 

TRY SOMETHING NEW

We all have mains. I’m Sona main. While I can confirm we do a lot more than sweeping our noses between the QWE keys, I simply use her because she is fun. I can have a great time assisting my team in stand off’s for the drake and helping knock down towers. However, I recently tried my hand at the top lane. Initially, I was apprehensive about going one v one against Sett. However, I found Gwen’s tremendous attack speed and life-stealing abilities to be a simpler than expected tool for securing kills. There is no harm in trying something new in an unranked or Aram game. You might even find your new main. 

Climbing ranked mode never looked more stylish, with Samira's new look

Climbing ranked mode never looked more stylish, with Samira’s new look

SUPPORT TIP: VISION IS KEY

In my early days of playing League of Legends, I found my team begging for vision. While the majority of items passively buff us, vision items require you to actively place wards. We received new wards each time we recall. Therefore, an essential tip is to plant all of your wards before recalling. While this tip mostly applies to support players, we should all aim to ward more. Ward your lane, ward the drake and stock up on control wards!

SUIT UP!

Climbing in ranked mode is more fun when you look the part. Using a new skin can give you the edge in a game. Hitting the bottom lane as K/DA Superstar, Seraphine puts me in the headspace that I am a star. Charming the enemy Warrior Princess Sivir with my knee-length bright blue ponytail and glittering diamonds just feels great. That feeling makes me want to play over and over and lifts my mood while playing. Seraphine, in your area! 

TAKE A BREAK FROM CLIMBING IN RANKED

It can be a real challenge trying to achieve your desired rank in LOL. Consecutive losses can be disheartening. A demotion from silver to bronze may feel like a punch to the gut, especially when you tried your best, only for the Yasuo on your team to die 15 times. However, there is nothing people love more than a fantastic comeback story. Rather than a tip, it’s a necessity to take care of yourself while partaking in competitive gaming. Regular breaks, fresh air and some toe touches can be the difference between losing eight games in a row and making a gallant comeback.

Riot gave Viktor a new skin after his appearance in Netflix's Arcane

Riot gave Viktor a new skin after his appearance in Netflix’s Arcane

LEARN GOOD MATCHUPS

The next tip for climbing in League is to learn how to play a good matchup. Support champions mostly fall into two of the following categories: melee engage supports and ranged supports. For example, Leona uses her E, Q combo to engage in a close combat brawl. Lux, on the other hand, is a range support, using her snare and slowing abilities to secure gold for her team. The key to ensuring a good match up is to know how to optimise the kit of the champions on your team. For melee engage supports, it is essential to only engage in combat when their ADC has a considerable amount of HP. Starting a fight when your ADC is at 20% health, is a sure way to feed your enemies. 

Meanwhile, an ADC should be focusing on themselves and their support hitting level three, while conserving health and mana, before engaging in a two v two. For example, an Alistar using abilities before level three will only cause him to lose health and mana, with no payoff. For Alistar to secure early wins, he and his ADC must conserve health to stand a fighting chance at an early standoff. 

COMPLIMENT YOUR TEAMMATES

An enchanter of any skill level is only as good as their ADC. While an enchanter can make a good ADC great, they can never make a bad ADC good. It is better to support an adequate Vayne player with an enchanter such as Lulu or Nami, rather than a mage like Brand or Seraphine. The reason for this is that the buffs from an enchanter can push Vayne’s attack speed so high that she turns into a ravenous, bloodthirsty monster. Whereas losing out on gold to a Brand support taking kills is going to leave Vayne in her early game state, while the enemy ADC prepares to carry. 

A trick for securing low elo wins is to pair a classic Morgana Q, with a Miss Fortune R. This will tilt your enemies, and is tired and tested. You’re also going to try to keep the minion wave in the centre of the lane. This allows engage supports to properly pull off their abilities, leaving the enemy ADC open to be killed.

SOLO CARRY

Our final tip for climbing in LOL’s ranked mode is to solo carry. In the dive heavy meta, Poppy’s ultimate is more valuable than ever. Poppy’s W received a recent buff, lowered by 4 seconds at all ranks. She is also a hard counter to popular tops such as Jax, Riven, and Aatrox. Poppy is a solo carry champ who can deny popular 12.9 jungles such as Volibear and Diana kills. A Reddit vote on the best solo carries for S12 saw Master Yi, Kayn, Viego and Ekko with the most votes. All jungle picks, the consensus was to pick a champion with the power to influence an entire team.

 

[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”a88q7qoux5″ question=”What changes do you wish to see in League?” opened=”1″]What changes do you wish to see in League?[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

×