In this guide, you're going to learn the 10 biggest mistakes every low ELO players make that hold them back from climbing. My name's Saurabh, and Welcome back to another ModLegends guide. If there's one thing I've learned in that time, it's that being good at League doesn't require you to master every single detail of the game or have crazy good mechanics. You can see big gains in your rank just by understanding a few simple concepts and fixing a couple of key mistakes that you don't even know you're making. My promise to you is that if you just focus on fixing one or two of the mistakes in this guide, you will see significant rank gains.
10 WORST Mistakes that Every Low ELO Player Makes in LoL
Mistake 1: Weak Side Awareness
Mistake number one: Does this sound too familiar? You load up a game of League, realize the enemy laner is a complete bot, you start winning Lane, thinking to yourself why am I even stuck in this Rank, and 5 seconds later, the enemy jungler arrives for an easy kill, and now you're wondering why you never get junglers like that. Well, this is likely happening because you're on what's called the weak side in League. Wherever a jungler starts, they'll path towards the opposite side of the map. So, for example, let's say the enemy Kha'Zix starts at his blue and your Nocturne starts at his blue. This means each jungler is pathing in the opposite direction. Your jungler is pathing away from you while the enemy jungler is pathing towards you. When this occurs, it means you're on the weak side, while the side your jungler is pathing to is called the strong side. The enemy jungler gets to path towards you with no threat of your jungler ever coming to counter gank, and so it's incredibly common to be ganked towards the end of their route.
There's an easy solution to this, though. Every game, watch the mini-map once laning starts and pay attention to which side lane arrives to Lane the latest. This will tell you they gave their jungler a leash and that he started on that side. Most high elo players memorize 3:15 to 3:45 in-game. This is because 3:15 is when a jungler will be finished his full clear and can gank you prior to the 3:30 Scuttle spawn, while 3:45 is when they'll have finished taking the nearby Scuttle and either be recalling or moving to the other side of the map. However, let's be honest, we're not playing in high ELO, so for this reason, I just recommend playing safe from 3 to 4 minutes. It's easier to memorize and accounts for the randomness and inefficiency of low ELO junglers.
Mistake 2: Overextending without Safety(Abilities)
Still, that doesn't fully solve the issue around being ganked. I mean, how many times have you heard this before? You need to get the push lead early on. Pushing is amazing, pushing gets you Lane priority, it pins the opponent, getting push advantage translates to level spikes, all-ins, recall timings. So you're like, okay, I get it, I need to push. You load into the game, start pushing, and one of Riot's super balanced Champions just runs you down and kills you like you're nothing, or the jungler just swings on by to immediately punish you for overextending, probably on a weird timing you can't even predict.
Well, the cause of this is usually one simple mistake. Most low ELO players will be pushing, winning Lane, and so feel safe enough to throw out one of their key abilities to try and land more damage. This is a trap, don't do this. Instead, identify what the key ability your Champion has that helps you disengage and survive, and then just hold on to that while you poke the enemy with your other abilities. So, for example, with Hecarim, this could be holding on to your fear while you poke with your other spells. That way, if you get ganked or the enemy tries to engage on you, it's as simple as fearing them and running away.
Also, pro tip: time your crowd control when an enemy uses one of their engage spells. They'll be locked into the animation and be unable to dodge it. I see players make this mistake all the time, like you're playing Ahri and you think, "I have my ult, so I'll play super aggressive here looking to land a charm," then you just end up overextending and having to use that ult to escape. Instead, just look to poke with your Q and hold your charm and even your W for the enemy tries to fight back or if you get ganked. That charm into your W movement speed boost will save you from having to use your ult. Every Champion will max their one damage ability first, so in Lane, usually the other basic abilities are pretty weak. It's often better to just use your main damage ability for poke and pushing and then just hold on to the rest of them for disengaging, especially if you're pushed up or overextended.
Mistake 3: Limited Escape Routes
In general, low ELO players don't realize how many tools they have available to escape gangs. It's not just about Vision or map awareness. I see this one mistake all the time: here,
Aurelion Sol is getting ganked. So what should be done? It's simply running in the opposite direction of the enemy jungler, towards the river. Instead, the Aurelion Sol makes the all too common mistake of thinking his only escape route is towards the safety of his tower.
When you push up a lane, you have to realize that running towards your tower is rarely going to be a safe path. You often just run towards the jungler making the gank easier. Here's a great example of Faker using this concept: he's pushed up, and what do you know, a jungler looks to punish him by flashing on him.
Again, most players would flash towards their tower, but that would just end up being a mistake as they'd get run down their lane. Instead, try to think of the direction that's most opposite of the enemy jungler. That's not the river in this case, but actually flashing into the enemy's jungle. This creates maximum separation, causes the enemy to lose vision, and stops any more damage.
Now, don't get me wrong, this ends up working out in the end because Faker was aware his jungler was on the opposite side and his bot lane had lane priority so they could get to him first. However, still, the point is when Vi first showed up, how many of you thought flashing into the enemy's jungle was even an option? This one concept is key to pushing successfully. You have to be aware you don't just have one escape path to your tower. Treat the entire opposite side of where the enemy jungler is ganking from as a viable escape route. You'll start to realize why you've been dying so much.
Mistake 4: Ignoring Rebounding Waves
Understanding rebounding waves can be a powerful tool in dealing with champions roaming the rift. When you push a big wave under a tower, like Syndra, the incoming wave will get stuck on it, causing what's known as a rebound. This means the waves will meet much closer to the enemy's tower, causing the next enemy minion wave to start damaging the wave sooner, pushing it towards you.
For example, when Syndra is crushing Zed and got him low in health, she doesn't actually have to keep putting on pressure. If you lack vision or don't know where the jungler is, you can use this moment to create a rebound. The wave will push towards you, allowing you to create a nice freeze in front of your tower. This forces the enemy to move further up the lane to last hit, setting up kills for you since they're low.
Rebounds can create checkmate positions that low ELO players aren't even aware of as an option. Instead of constantly putting pressure, consider the option to turn your push into a rebound, which then lets you freeze on the enemy. If you lack vision or don't know where the enemy jungler is, just ask yourself if the jungler ganks you here, can you turn on them and win the fight? If the answer is no, then try rebounding into a freeze in your next game and you'll start to realize just how powerful this can be.
Mistake 5: Misjudging Gank Opportunities
When considering whether to gank or roam on a lane, remember that simply being overextended is not enough to justify a gank. Instead, ask yourself: "Can I beat them 1v1?" If the answer is no, it's usually not worth it because you'd be relying on your teammates to help you win the fight, which can be risky in low ELO solo queue.
However, there's a trick you can use if you still want to gank a lane that you can't fully beat by yourself. Wait for your teammates to commit to the fight first, so they're being focused and absorbing cooldowns, guaranteeing you the man advantage in the fight.
For example, when the Udyr turns the corner, his teammate, Kai'Sa, isn't close enough to help with the gank. He should wait to see if Kai'Sa can catch up before going in. By not using this trick, he effectively gets forced into a 1v1 situation, which isn't ideal.
So, only gank or roam on a lane you can take down by yourself, or if the enemy is already committed to a fight with your teammate. This reduces the risk and increases the chances of a successful gank.
Mistake 6: Neglecting Mid Lane Pressure
One of the biggest macro mistakes low ELO players make is seen in almost every single low ELO game: leaving an untouched wave mid while one team goes to take dragon and the other decides to contest it, only to die and get nothing. It's unnecessary to fight over every Dragon, but the key issue is that low ELO players tend to overcommit the number of players they need to take dragon, leaving mid lane wide open. Simply pushing mid can result in taking free towers, as most low ELO players don't realize the value of mid towers, which are actually the most valuable towers in the game. Destroying them opens up the map, providing access to rotations everywhere.
This strategy can be employed whenever enemies try to take dragon or even Baron. If you're outnumbered or can't win the fight for whatever reason, pushing mid can either result in taking towers or force the enemies to defend, pulling off the objective. It's one of the simplest and most effective macro tactics that is often overlooked by low ELO players.
In general, players overestimate how difficult good macro is in low ELO. Understanding a few core concepts, such as number advantages, can make a significant difference and lead to dominating games.
Mistake 7: Disregarding Number Advantages
You simply need to count how many of your teammates are near you compared to how many enemies are near and missing. We have Kane, Thresh, and Sion near us on this push, while Aali is mid, and three are missing. That's four enemies, which is more than three, indicating that pushing here is a bad idea. As expected, the enemy flanks us.
It might seem easy to cherry-pick a clip to prove a point, but notice how this technically is a 3v3, and it's challenging to predict the outcome. Despite looking like the red team is winning, it becomes even again until chaos ensues. This is a common mistake in low ELO—ignoring number advantages.
Another example shows five enemies missing compared to three teammates present. Despite this, the blue team pushes, leading to chaos and a loss. You can't predict how fights will go due to constant misplays, making number advantages crucial for winning fights in low ELO.
To consistently win fights, focus on number advantages. It's easy to get them in solo queue—just check your minimap and back off if you're outnumbered. Wait for the enemy to overextend, giving you free advantages. Conversely, if you have the higher numbers, keep pressuring, as enemies often force fights down in numbers while defending.
Mistake 8: Mismanagement of Pressure
Now, once you get a hang of number advantages, the only other macro concept you need to know to climb out of low ELO is the concept of pressure. In this clip, Volibear teleports Top Lane. Let's assess our number advantages for both top and mid. We have two teammates mid, and two enemies mid, while two other enemies are missing. With four greater than two, mid should be playing safe based on number advantages. If we look at top, we have one teammate, while again, two enemies are missing. Two is greater than one, so top should also be playing safe. However, pressure can be the exception to the rule.
When two places are pressured at once, it often results in the enemy team sending multiple players to one area to punish them, while you still get value on the other side of the map. Another important aspect is that once your other teammates die, you're on a timer where you have to back off as you're the only one pressuring, and number advantages kick back in as the dominant macro concept to follow.
The same concept of pressure applies elsewhere. Teammates pressuring at Dragon while Volibear pressures top with five enemies missing would be bad macro choices individually. But when done together, the enemy can only defend one. This is a common mistake players make when using the pressure concept. Notice again how Volibear's teammates got Dragon for free, yet Volibear didn't adjust and ended up making a mistake.
Similarly, another example shows Bard going off to farm Top Lane while teammates pressure mid. This is fine, but when teammates back off, Bard doesn't adjust and keeps pressuring without multiple points of pressure on the map. Number advantages will take over, indicating a bad macro play.
With the concept of pressure in mind, let's revisit the earlier clips. Notice how Garen and Jinx weren't pressuring anything, leading to a wrong push decision. Similarly, Aelian Soul and Kayn weren't pressuring anything, indicating the need to default to number advantages.
Following the simple rule of only pressuring the map when you have number advantages or multiple points of pressure at the same time is all you really need to start dominating your games.
Mistake 9: Fighting with Unspent Gold
Well, almost. There's one more mistake players make when applying these concepts.
Here we have a team with around 2K gold, and you can see them using the concept of pressure. Four are grouped mid while one is pressuring top, they get the tower, and then after, they have two pressuring top while two pressure mid, and Rammus hovers nearby mid. You can even see how Rammus was able to get to mid before the enemy jungler to turn it into a 3v2.
The blue team is going to end up losing the fight both in mid lane as well as in Top Lane. If you're applying these macro concepts of number advantages and pressure and still losing fights, it's likely due to one single reason: you're fighting with lots of unspent gold. I can't begin to tell you how common this is.
If we look at the gold before this fight starts, blue is ahead around 2,000 gold. However, when you add together all of their unspent gold, they're currently sitting on around 6,000. Meanwhile, if you add together all of the red team's unspent gold, they're sitting on around 2,500.
What this means is that the blue team currently only has around 20,000 gold in items, meanwhile, the red team has around 21,000 gold in items. So despite the blue team being ahead in overall gold, the red team is actually the stronger one at this time of the fight.
Just remember that number advantages and pressure will only work if you make sure to spend your gold. If your team is sitting on a lot of unspent gold, it's unlikely any macro concept will work in your favor as it's such a big disadvantage.
Mistake 10: Ineffective Endgame Strategies
And for our final mistake, low Elo players make is that they don't understand how to end games when they're ahead. Time and time again, I'll see one team get a big lead, it's well past 20 minutes, and they keep pushing lanes only for the enemy team to easily defend at their towers. They can't just straight-up tower dive or they end up throwing, so they end up kind of just doing nothing. And to be honest, usually, all this pushing actually causes people to make that simple number advantage macro mistake we covered earlier, and so they end up throwing their lead.
As a general rule, it's safe to assume you're not going to be able to end a game by pushing if you don't have a Baron buff. Here's the thing though, most players do eventually realize the pushing isn't working and at some point actually go to take Baron. The problem is, the enemy team just collapses on them while they're low in health, clean up the fight, steal Baron, causing a huge throw.
So here's the trick: once you have a good lead and it's later into the game, usually minimum past around 25 minutes, instead of wasting your time trying to throw your lead pushing, you want to force Baron. However, don't do this with the intent of actually finishing the Baron. It's actually completely fine to just start Baron even if it's warded. Your main goal should be to bait the enemy into reacting and trying to contest it. You then turn on them once they're in range.
The reason this works is that you have a big lead, right? And so any kind of even-numbered fight is very likely to go in your favor at this point in the game. Baiting Baron like this will lure the enemy team away from the safety of their towers and usually forces them to fight right out in the open. It's only once you've then won the fight you can turn back, finish the Baron, which then makes pushing a viable way of ending the game.
There are two key ways to making this work: first, have a tank at Baron that won't get too low from starting it, and second, don't spend too much time tanking Baron if the enemy is trying to contest. Only attack the Baron for like 5 to 10 seconds, then reset before either your team or the Baron itself gets too low in health since it could be stolen.
Most low Elo players don't realize that baiting Baron is actually one of the most common macro tactics players use to win games. If the enemy team doesn't react, it's a free Baron for you, and if the enemy does react, well, you just turn on them for a winning fight. All right, and now you know the 10 biggest mistakes low Elo players make that hold them back from climbing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, low ELO players often make critical mistakes that hold them back from climbing the ranks in League of Legends. By addressing these 10 common errors and implementing strategies to overcome them, players can improve their gameplay, increase their win rates, and ultimately achieve success on the Summoner's Rift. Alright, now we'll wrap things up. We here at ModLegends want to thank you for reading, and we'll catch you in the next one.
FAQs
How can I improve my map awareness in League of Legends?
Improving map awareness requires consistent practice and attention to detail. Start by regularly checking the minimap every few seconds to track enemy movements and potential gank threats. Additionally, utilize wards to provide vision in key areas of the map and communicate with your team to gather information about enemy positions.
What are some effective strategies for avoiding ganks in the laning phase?
To avoid being ganked in the laning phase, prioritize warding key areas of the map such as river entrances and jungle pathways. Pay attention to enemy laners' behavior, such as sudden aggression or changes in movement patterns, which may indicate an incoming gank. Additionally, maintain awareness of your positioning in lane and avoid overextending without vision or backup from your team.
How can I prioritize objectives more effectively in low ELO games?
Prioritizing objectives in low ELO games requires clear communication and strategic decision-making. Focus on objectives that provide tangible benefits to your team, such as towers, dragons, and Baron Nashor. Coordinate with your team to secure vision around objectives and capitalize on opportunities to take them when opponents are out of position or engaged elsewhere on the map.
What are some common mistakes to avoid when pushing lanes in League of Legends?
When pushing lanes, it's important to avoid overextending without vision or proper safety measures in place. Additionally, be mindful of your positioning relative to potential gank paths and enemy threat levels. Avoid using key defensive abilities aggressively and instead hold onto them for disengagement or self-peel when necessary.
How can I improve my decision-making in team fights and skirmishes?
Improving decision-making in team fights and skirmishes requires careful analysis of the situation and effective communication with your team. Focus on targeting priority threats and coordinating with your teammates to secure kills and objectives. Additionally, be mindful of your positioning and avoid overcommitting to fights that may not be winnable. Regularly review replays of your games to identify areas for improvement and learn from mistakes.