5 League of Legends Tips for a Strong Early Game

5 tips strong early game league of legends
Image credit: Riot Games

League of Legends isn’t THAT hard, just follow these simple tips!

League of Legends is notorious for several things:

  • a difficult learning curve
  • hard to master mechanics
  • champions that can take hundreds of games to fully understand.

This season, we here at Early Game want to make sure you still understand some of the bare basics of League of Legends. This way, you can scrape and climb out of the pits of ranked hell. Season 10 is no exception and make sure to consider our advice into every single game.

These five tips are in no particular order and some are much more obvious at first, but don’t be fooled! They can be hard to put into practice in the heat of the moment within your ranked, normal or ARAM games. Let’s win that Early Game!... No? Alright, let’s begin.

For All That is Good on This Earth, Please Use Your Wards!

Seems incredibly basic, right? Well, I cannot begin to tell you the number of games I’ve played on Summoner’s Rift that all follow the same pattern. First, my friendly team does not use their ward trinkets. Then, I see the inevitable coming: they get killed within 5 minutes of the lane phase because they didn’t ward. Please don’t be this person.

In case you need a lesson in vision for League of Legends, using your ward allows you to keep an eye on a particular part of the map for incoming enemy champions. I cannot stress enough that a huge part of winning League of Legends is having good vision. That way, you can make your moves correctly without getting killed. If anyone is still confused, I have created a very serious, five-step, handy-dandy guide to ensure you ward properly in your games.

Lo L Ward infographic
Easy, right?

As you can tell from my incredibly serious infographic, warding wins games. Jokes aside, It’s so important to make sure your team knows where the enemy is, so make sure both you and your team ward!

Check That Map!

5 tips strong early game league of legends minimap
LoL's minimap.

This is another tip that seems simple but actually takes a lot longer to memorize – checking the minimap! Yes, that tiny map on the bottom right of your game will show you everything you need to know if warding has been done correctly.

Higher-ranked League of Legends players use this constantly, so get into a good habit of looking at the map from time to time. Again, it seems simple, but during a huge teamfight, the last thing you want to look at is the map. It’s essential, however, to keep track of it in the Early Game (see what I did there again?). And in the later stages of the game, warding and looking at your map to see where the enemy becomes even more important.

Build Your Champion Accordingly!

5 tips strong early game league of legends champion items
Gear isn't just for bling.

Another one that seems simple but actually isn’t. League of Legends is a game where it isn’t guaranteed you’ll have the perfect build for everything, but you should make every effort to adapt when needed. Playing a new champion? Don't worry! You can find plenty of recommended builds so you can at least have a basic understanding of how to advance them in the Early Ga- beginning, middle, and towards the end of the game.

As you can see with Thresh, for example, the recommended build option is listed for each stage of the game. You also have some alternatives should the enemy be heavy magic or heavy damage dealing. Of course, these are guidelines and not rules. While it’s important to have a decent build, you may need to adapt it from game to game depending on how it progresses.

Communicate!

5 tips strong early game league of legends friendly warning
It's not just for flamers.

I see you strong silent protagonist types out there, I really do, but communication is so incredibly important in and outside of League of Legends. A free life lesson for you all there – communicating well along with good warding and properly building your champion can lead to a dramatic increase in your victories!

Tell your friendly team where an enemy went, let them know when a flash or enemy ultimate has been used! All of this is essential to winning games and winning them well.

Don’t Be Toxic!

Last and most important of all, do not, under any circumstances, explode onto your teammates with vulgar language in any shape or form. You are playing with real people who have feelings. Theirs should be respected just as yours should be. It’s important to help out a friend if they are having a rough game and you see it in the chat, with the pings, that they aren’t being the most... pleasant of players during your game.

Of course, should this be affecting you, you are able to mute the player by typing /Mute followed by the player’s name. If they continue to bother you, it’s highly recommended to report the player after the game so that Riot Support can look into the issue. If you yourself are not having fun, stressed during the game, or being toxic, please consider taking a step back. Take a break and return to LoL when in a better mindset. Many players have been banned due to their consistent vulgar, toxic or unhelpful nature so please do not become one of those!

In Conclusion

Some of these steps are harder to follow than others, that’s for sure. But with time and practice, I can almost guarantee your chances of winning in League of Legends will rise dramatically if you follow these five steps.

Don’t forget, there’s no rush to master them all! Just be conscious of what you’re doing within your games and you’re certain to do better in the Early Game (last one, I promise).

For more League of Legends tips, tricks and news, keep checking out EarlyGame!