Greetings, Summoner! Librarian Husky here — your trusted guide in the world of League of Legends. Today, we’re diving into one of the biggest traps that keeps players stuck in low ELO — blindly following advice from high ELO players. Have you ever wondered why copying the strategies of Challengers and pro players doesn’t work for you? It’s because the game plays out very differently in low ELO. In this guide, I’ll show you how to adapt your strategy to match the chaotic nature of low ELO solo queue. By the end, you’ll have the tools you need to break free from the ranks of the lost and start climbing the ladder with confidence. Let’s get started!

The Trap of High ELO Advice

You are probably guilty of falling into the same trap that almost everyone has at some point: spending hours studying VODs and watching streams of Challenger and pro-level players. Yet, every time you try to implement what they do into your own gameplay, it just doesn’t seem to work out for you as it did for them.

Common Misunderstandings

A great example of this is the generic advice that high ELO players give: aim for 10 CS per minute. Perhaps you’ve tried this before, only to press Tab and see that the entire enemy team has many kills, making it impossible for you to carry because you missed all the early fights in an effort to farm more.

The Disconnect Between Ranks

We understand that higher ELO players mean well when they give advice, but the game does not operate the same way across different ranks. Thus, the way we teach the game should not be uniform either. Simple strategies that seem logical and may be the objectively best plays in high ELO games might not be correct due to the chaotic nature of your games.

Key Trends in Low to Mid-Rank Solo Queue

In this discussion, we will highlight two key trends that low to mid-rank solo queue games follow. We will then show you how to exploit these trends to distinguish between what is the right thing to do and what is appropriate for your own games.

Trends in ELO and Gameplay

Now, the first of these trends that you have almost definitely noticed in your own games is that games played at a lower ELO average a much higher kill count than those played at higher ranks. Yes, this is because people in low and mid-rank tiers fight for no reason all the time; but as you’ll soon see, this knowledge is going to be your secret weapon to alter your gameplay according to these trends.

Case Study: Urgot in Bronze 3

We have a replay from one of my own students in Bronze 3, showcasing an ELO player who makes a mistake that almost every single solo queue player up until Diamond ends up making; but usually, they end up blaming their teammates for it. To set the stage, our main character, Urgot, is fed—and I mean really fed. He capped off his laning phase with another solo kill before running down top and taking a tier one tower, then suiciding to finish off the tier two tower for a massive influx of gold in just one minute.

Urgot’s Strengths and Decision Making

Urgot has made 2,000 gold and is incredibly strong in terms of items; he’s only just one or two minions away from level 13, which would make him the highest-level champion in the entire game. Now, upon respawning after his death, Urgot is presented with a choice: he can go back to top lane to get more farm and solo XP from minions in a side lane, threatening an unstoppable split push with his now complete Holebreaker. Dragon is even coming up in two minutes; and the enemy team would have to send at least two to three members to try and stop this Urgot.

Understanding Low ELO Dynamics

This plan sounds amazing—and it honestly would be if Urgot were playing at a higher rank. Now look at the positioning of Urgot’s teammates: all four of them are positioned far up on the map, past the safety of their team’s towers—in a position where there is a chance they might try to start a fight; and this is the key difference between high and low ELO. We already know that in lower ELO, fights happen constantly and for no reason; so it’s not a question of if there will be a fight anymore—we already know that there will be one.

The Nature of Fights in Low ELO

With no objective up and no reason to fight, a fight starts anyway, as is the nature of playing in this rank. Ariana checked a bush with two people in it despite seeing no one on the bot wave she just pushed in; and then the enemy killed her. Sylas just randomly engaged up mid for literally no reason. It’s moments like this where low ELO players sabotage their own ability to climb by saying things like: “My Ariana shouldn’t have face-checked here; my team should have waited for my split push top.”

Recognizing Inevitable Fights

But someone who understands the trends of low ELO knows that this fight will always take place—with the clue to this being how far up the map Urgot’s teammates are. With how strong our Urgot player is, he would have benefited immensely from picking up multiple kills in this mid-fight had he played to his ELO and walked mid lane to join the inevitable fight instead of going to top lane to fight some minions.

Mindset Issues in Low ELO

Our Urgot player has a mindset that is completely wrong for his rank—that almost every player who’s stuck in his ELO has—that is made most obvious in games where you’re ahead.

Understanding the Importance of Being Ahead

When you are ahead, you possess more damage and more tools, which makes it easier for you to kill opponents when you look for a play. This also increases your likelihood of picking up kills and receiving a bigger reward during potential fights. A key piece of information that almost everyone misses in low ranks is that when you are fed, you benefit more from the chaos of high-kill games. In lower ranks, it is not a question of if there will be a fight—it is a certainty. You should be playing to be involved in as many fights as possible when you and your teammates are strong.

Adapting Your Mindset in Low Ranks

To see how quickly you can adjust your mindset to this new way of thinking, we will analyze the next sequence of the game and see if you can arrive at the correct decision, considering this game takes place in Bronze 3. In the aftermath of the recent fight, Urgot‘s teammates are either dead or calling, while his jungler is safely farming some camps on his team’s side of the map. With Dragon spawning in one minute, what should Urgot do in this situation?

Utilizing Calm Moments for Strategic Advantage

Given the positioning of his teammates, the chance of a fight occurring right now is very low. Therefore, Urgot should use this relative calm to push out the side wave, allowing him some time to group for fights later on—which is exactly what he does. It is essential to look for these windows where your teammates aren’t far up on the map and where aggressive actions are less likely. These brief moments allow you to push out side waves effectively while maintaining your farm without risking your teammates’ lives.

Understanding Urgot’s Decision-Making

Now, after recalling, we run into a scene that looks a bit like déjà vu from earlier: Urgot is about to walk out of base, and he has a choice to make. Pay attention to the positioning of Urgot’s teammates and remember that the dragon is spawning in just 20 seconds. Unfortunately, Urgot makes the same mistake as before; he follows that generic advice high ELO players often give: focus on 10 CS per minute—so he returns to top lane to farm. Urgot has failed to consider all the factors and assess the likelihood of a fight occurring: the dragon is spawning soon, his teammates are far up on the map, and he is playing in a lower ELO where fights are more frequent. In this game, Urgot lacks the mentality that he can benefit more from fighting when he’s extremely strong; thus, he has passed up the opportunity to use his gold lead to generate an even bigger advantage by engaging his opponent, who would likely have initiated a losing fight for no reason.

Trends in Low ELO Gameplay

Now that we’ve identified our first low ELO trend, we can change our mentality around these fights. We can combine what we’ve learned so far with insights from our second low ELO trend: games played in a low ELO are long—significantly longer than those in high ELO—and this is for a very simple reason: low ELO players struggle to figure out how to end a game. Doesn’t it seem absurd that these high-kill games do not translate into anything meaningful that allows the game to conclude sooner? Often, an early lead becomes irrelevant because the game drags on for 35 or 40 minutes before one team learns how to finish it. This is extremely valuable knowledge if utilized correctly! What I am about to teach you may sound strange—but rather than fixing this issue and ending the game more quickly, we will instead reshape your perception of how to view the mid-to-late game.

Understanding Game Duration in League

Games have a limit in League as to how long they can last because death timers scale with your champion’s level. More items allow you to push faster, and an Elder Dragon exists. As the game progresses, it becomes easier to close it out. However, for the first 25 to 30 minutes, most low ELO players struggle to understand the correct macro strategy to end the game. Knowing this, you can mentally separate the initial 25 minutes as a phase where closing out the game is unlikely. Instead, your main objective should be to maximize your power by focusing on decisions that yield the most gold and experience points.