How many ranked games did you play before you started to progress?

I mean, seriously progress.

My friend and I did placement matches recently and got put in Silver 4 (also did only placement matches at the tail end of season 3 and got Silver 2 and 3). However, we just keep losing games and are on the verge of getting dropped to Silver 5. It's always the same kind of crap. Either someone rage quits before 10 minutes in, someone trolls and picks a stupid character (Garen support...), plays a character for the first time (FIRST TIME VEIGAR!!!), or no one seems to know what to do in games.

My friend and I typically carry games in normals easily, because we've learned from Diamond level streamers how to play the game - how to focus objectives, push lanes when optimal in choice - but it doesn't matter when 3/5 of your team mates either constantly feed or are pretty much dead weight. We're really wanting to get better at the game and push toward higher ranks, but it seems difficult to do so.

How long did you guys take to either get used to the ranked scene (or whatever the hell is going on with us) until you guys started to improve and progress through ranked play and climb the ladder when you started playing ranked for the first time?

I definitely felt similar to you at the end of Season 3 when I was struggling to reach gold.

For Season 4, I decided to not just improve my play, but change it. If your teammates are playing badly, you need to play champs and positions that are capable of carrying their sorry asses. I started playing things like Olaf jungle (back when he was good), pantheon, jax top, thresh or leo support etc. What works with players at your elo is not what works when you're effectively smurfing. Split pushing as Jax, Yi, Udyr, etc is probably the easiest way to carry bad teams.

You also may need to change your attitude. Keep chat strictly about what you are trying to do and phrase grouping requests as requests. Say things like nj or thanks when appropriate.

I finished as only S1 last season. I placed in Bronze 2 this season but made it to Gold 4 very quickly and slowly worked my way to Gold 2/3 which is probably close to my current skill level. With the LP gains/loss changes after placements it's very easy to rise quickly as long as you're winning more games than losing.

It took me 400 ranked games because I got my pomegranate down and made a huge, HUGE push from Silver 5 to Platinum 5.

Took me like 100-120 games to get my pomegranate together and actually start climbing. Honestly, I think what helped be climb the most was muting people. I know I can get aggravated by people pretty easily, so if people act like complete idiots I generally just mute them and play the best I can. In general though, always try to improve your mechanics and all that jazz, and don't let people get to you as that'll often skew your judgement. Good luck!

Took me 200 ranked games to get through from Silver V to Gold V. I am playing in LAN.

My question to anyone here would be, when are you supposed to stop being matched with "bad players" (trolls, noobs, ragers, etc). It was supposed to get better in gold but I still see seem.

For example I played adc one time and got support Nidalee, however she kept overextending and walking way to close to the enemy turret despite them having a tresh, and of course would die. It all got worse when she got cougar form because she'd keep freaking diving into the turret and dying more. Her only excuse would then be "I'm sorry guys I know I'm bad please excuse me". Another time I was second in the picking order so I informed I'd go ADC, yet when the last 2 guys had to pick this pineappleer locks in Lucian and started talking crap to me about he only plays adc and how much better than me he was because he coudl see my lolking profile. WHO THE pineapple PLAYS RANKED AND ONLY KNOWS 1 ROLE? Garbage like that makes me want to take an axe and chop my monitor in half.

I trolled (goofed, not actual trolling) around in season 3 for like 150 games before taking it seriously near the end. About 3 weeks before season 3 ended I played like 20 games to get from silver 2 to gold and then a week or two of nonstop progression from there to hit plat 2 before ending a little more than a week before S3's close. I just found myself playing simple utility champs like tank jungle udyr, Ashe, janna, and taric to win. It wasn't about carrying it was just being a helpful part of the team.

Then for season 4 I got in gold 2 and spent another week to hit Diamond 5 and another for Diamond 4.

Nowhere @byakugan. Plat was the worst for trolls by far and diamond's still pretty bad. Even challenger's riddled with trolls.

Then for season 4 I got in gold 2 and spent another week to hit Diamond 5 and another for Diamond 4.

Nowhere @byakugan. Plat was the worst for trolls by far and diamond's still pretty bad. Even challenger's riddled with trolls.

2 weeks for Diamond IV? the hell teach me your ways sempai... no seriously, do you duo queue or something? how many matchs during those 2 weeks?

Averaging 4~6 matches a day maybe? Usually on the lower side. I skipped a few divisions though, and the only promos I failed were 2 for D4. Plat 5 -> Plat 3, Plat 3 -> Plat 1. And it was all solo queue.
I came out of promos 6-4 and I think I got into Diamond at like 40-15 or 35-10 or something stupid like that.
I duo queued a lot with friends in silver (Blaine and a few others) but didn't really get anywhere with it.

I don't really know, something just sort of clicked for me I guess? I don't really carry or anything like that, I'm not that mechanically skillful, I'm just decent at reading situations I suppose, and that's all that I've really needed.

Find what you're good at and stick to it. And I find a lot of people get stuck on the idea that they should be carrying their team or that they can carry better than other people - probably because of what the "pros" teach them - but I don't really like that mentality. I usually go into a game assuming that everyone else is better than me, even if they're doing worse than me in game. I don't pay as much attention to their mistakes, and I learn from them better while focusing on my own gameplay.
It's easy to get mad at someone else for doing something wrong, I do it all the time (*stares at sega ;P*). But it's certainly easier to just focus on my own mistakes and what I might have been able to do to improve and prevent their or my own mistakes from happening.

I'll let you know when i start climbing.

8months

Tip from everyone I know that's in Diamond: Play op champs, and never look back.

[MENTION=7683]Foxino[/MENTION];

Nice avatar m8

Foxino;

Nice avatar m8

Oh why thank you.

Tip from everyone I know that's in Diamond: Play op champs, and never look back.

Me getting to diamond: "I'M ONLY GONNA PLAY THE CHAMPS I LIKE LIKE ASHE AND CHO"
Me in diamond: "welp time to play another freelo champion because I can't do anything else"
It's pretty much why I stopped playing ranked. :|

You don't need the op champs to get to diamond, but I'm sure it could help, for as much as I hate it. It's stupid and boring and static.

Still climbing in LAN

Started at Gold V, I'm up to Platinum III. Slowly climbing, wanting to reach Diamond, but holy hell is Platinum hard. Everyone thinks they're bad asses that jump 1v4.

I usually play ADC or support, most of the time I win my lane, apparently I have awesome laning. However... when team fights start happening, nobody peels for me and jumps on the 1/5 Vayne that does no damage because I destroyed her in lane, meanwhile their Jax, Leona, Udyr and Ahri are breathing on top me and still manage to get a double kill. Then my team dies, blames me because I did no damage and Vayne is back in the game.

They AFK, start trolling, insulting, doing stupid pomegranate. GG easy.

I prefer to duo, either with my brother or another friend of mine. My brother (AP Sion mid) only needs bot to not feed and all I need is for another solo lane to go, at least, even. With my other friend, he has great team-fighting and all I have to do is peel and protect him.