How to gain LP. Top 5 tips from a Top 50 Challenger player cover image

How to gain LP. Top 5 tips from a Top 50 Challenger player

Want to know how to gain LP In League of Legends? We got you. Top 50 Challenger player Eric Lay shares his top 5 tips to glory based on 10,000 hours of LoL.

I've spent easily over 10,000 hours coaching League of Legends and playing it competitively, and I'm here to share my top 5 tips that I learned on my climb to Challenger. These simple tricks will hopefully drastically change how and when you Queue up for your ranked games. Hopefully it will help you win more games and hone your skills. Plus gain LP in the process.

1. Pick a Role and Have a limited amount of Champions

The first thing you want to do is to choose your favorite role. When you have picked your favorite roles I recommend then pick between two to four champions. They are hopefully within the meta of the role. I don't want you to constantly change your picks, try your best to only stick to the champions you chose. I see a lot of people trying to climb to gain LP, having too large of a pool and swapping roles. There is so much to learn already in one role alone.

"It's good to have a good champ pool but too many can limit you from climbing. Focusing on learning just a few champs in one role really helps you hone your skill because you know your limits."

ERIC LAY, TOP 50 CHALLENGER PLAYER

The reason for limiting you to one role and one or two champions is, to attempt to master your champion and your role. You don't have to actively think about certain things that can distract you from the important information the game is giving you. It's good to have a good champ pool but too many can limit you from climbing. Focusing on learning just a few champs in one role really helps you hone your skill because you know your limits. If you want some suggestions check out our High Elo ADC Tier List.

2. Watch Pro Players Play (not just live!)

You want to look for high elo players that are either onetricks or play your specific champion a lot. If you go to op.gg and click on the champion tab. You can find the highest ranked players of the champions you play. With this information you can find what build they are doing and runes they are running in certain matchups. You can also download the games from op.gg games. 

You should also watch their replays. While watching their replays you want to focus on the decisions they are making and ask yourself what you would've done instead or if you would've done the same thing.

Compare your own playstyle to theirs and see what differences you can spot and try to implement these into your own gameplay. Now I know this might not be as easy to spot and many players that are somewhat lower in rank might have difficulties analyzing replays and seeing their own mistakes. It definitely takes some time to get used to analyzing replays but once you get the hang of it, you will improve by a lot.

3. Play to Improve, Not to gain LP

Of course winning games is the thing that lets you climb in elo. You have to be better than your opponent in order to have control over winning the game. You get better by improving.

So your number one priority should be to get better at the game. It might sound simple but that's actually the way it works. If you play to win you will get frustrated if you lose and start playing worse.

But if you focus on one specific thing you want to be doing better in a specific game you will slowly get better at the game over time and will see results in climbing up the ranks. Climbing in elo is a long process that takes time which leads me to my next point. So try your best to focus on how you can improve as a player rather than worrying about losing lp.

4. Be Persistent and Don't get Discouraged

When climbing Solo Q in League, being persistent is a good way to climb but making sure not to play too many is also a factor to worry about. Here are a few things you should do to help you climb . You should try to play at least 1-3 Solo Q games a day but not more than 5.

The reason we really don't want more than 5 is that we want quality games over quantity. I want you going into the games trying your best and not autopiloting. When I say autopilot, I mean when you are not putting your full effort, what is your next decision. You should be actively trying to find your win condition and what is the next best play you can make on the map to help you win.

"Take a break from the game after losing 2 games in a row. Losing 2 games takes a mental toll even when it's not your fault, it affects the best of us."

ERIC LAY, TOP 50 CHALLENGER PLAYER

Take a break from the game after losing 2 games in a row. Losing 2 games takes a mental toll even when it's not your fault, it affects the best of us. Take the 30 min or however long you need to help you mentally reset before you requeue. I want you to play quality games, not quantity. Don't play when you feel sick, hungry, tired, angry or sad as this will also negatively affect your level of concentration. If you want to gain LP or improve you need to be mindful of this.

5. Knowing when to DODGE games

Knowing when to dodge is a great skill to learn. The very first thing you're going to need to do is to either look up everyone in your lobby or Utilizing apps that look up the lobby. You can use app like Porofessor or the op.gg app. There are a couple of things I like to look for in champ select to know if I should dodge or not. 

Checking how many games a player is on a loss streak and how long ago it was. I think it's fine to play with teammates if they are on a big losing streak if you can see they took a break. If you look on the op.gg and see that they are on a 5 losing streak and they are just spamming games there more than likely going to be insanely tilted and not perform well.

"If you look on the op.gg and see that they are on a 5 losing streak and they are just spamming games there more than likely going to be insanely tilted and not perform well."

ERIC LAY, TOP 50 CHALLENGER PLAYER

Check to see if they are auto filled and how hard of a champion they are playing. When you're checking on your teammate and see they're an ADC player and they're autofilled. You see that they are hovering Riven or Akali. It is probably a good idea to dodge. Remember if you dodge you will lose LP but not lose MMR, and MMR is your "true elo".

Thanks for your time in reading my top 5 tips to help you climb. I hope these tips help you gain LP and climb to where you deserve to be!