Here's what I've learned about "Elo Hell" from playing this game since beta:
1) It exists at some level for every person.
2) It's different at every level.
3) The Elo Hell you're stuck in might not be reflective of how well you can play, but you are missing something if you're stuck on the ladder at any point.
If you compare the top players in this game to literally anyone else, they will have stronger fundamentals, mechanics, timing, strategy and tactics. Every one of the top 1000 players or so can, over a long session of games, outplay NEARLY anyone under the top 1000. That's why they're in the top 1000. They consistently play better.
What does that mean?
It means they last hit better. It means they build champs better. It means they teamcomp better. It means they estimate burst better. It means they juke bushes better. It means they ward better. It means they react better. It means they get caught less. It means they catch people more. It means that in marginal situations, they will push their edges to the very limit and come out on top, because they know the game better. It means that they're in position. It means they know what position to be in. It means they focus fire better. It means that they can guess the position of the enemy team on the map better. It means they don't chase, dive, or risk unless it's calculated. It means they adapt better. It means they know what the enemy is thinking better.
It means they understand the game better. The list goes on and on.
So, here's what I've learned about passing through Elo Hell. I'm Virgil, you're Dante, this is the Inferno and I'm your guide through Hell.
I'm working on the next level for myself now.
0-1200: Play anyone well. Don't worry about team comp, don't worry about jungling, don't worry about any of that. All you have to do is cs harder than your opponents and show up to a fight with the correct build and better items.
1200-1400: Learn to abuse holes in their defense. Everyone chases everyone around the map the whole game trying to get kills. Don't. Just win. Get some wards, put them down, tell your team (who's getting wrecked) to get the other team to chase them for as long as possible. Pink ward and take a dragon. Kill a few towers. Backdoor an inhibitor. Repeat. Baron and win.
1400-1600: Pick a champ that can 1v5 and 1v5 them when you know you can win it. Use teammates as meat shields that run around in circles doing nothing. Yes, they're bad. No, you can't help it. Decide when and where the fights happen. Walk up to someone when you're ready, punch them hard, and win the fight. This is called "carrying a team". Your KDA doesn't matter, but it will look good if you do it right. Control the fights and win the games.
(Hint: M-O-R-D-E-K-A-I-S-E-R. 1v5 -> 2v4.)
1600-1800: Learn every champ. Be comfortable picking every champ. Farm the champs you don't own that you know are good picks--Soraka, Taric, Alistar, Annie, Ashe, Caitlyn, Malzahar, Jarmander, Amumu, Warwick, Udyr, Nocturne, etc., etc., etc.. You need to have almost all the champs to pass this stage, because if you're last pick and they took your only support, you just lost the game at champ select. Know the strong lane combos--Taric/Caitlyn is currently the strongest bot lane. Play the OPs.
This is where "understanding the metagame" comes into play. This level of Elo Hell is frustrating because you get a lot of people who can play their 1v5 champ really well (Irelia, Mordekaiser, Annie, Jax, Lee Sin, etc.) but have absolutely no experience doing anything but that. There's a lot of "I can't jungle" and "no support champs" or "can't dps" here. Learn to support, learn to jungle, learn to dps, play some AP carries and tanks, know what the lane comp should be from just looking at the champs picked, play a couple of champs for each lane and have at least 3 good junglers.
1800-2000: I'm here right now. It's rough, but I'm starting to understand it. Get your mechanics into shape. Last hit perfectly. Creepwave control. Ward the hell out of the map. Counterjungle. Adapt to counterjungling. Know when everything is going to happen without asking. Know how to be fluid with your gameplan. Above all, don't slip up and don't give anything for free. They have to earn it.
2000+: Roll dice. Avoid trolls. Push your small advantages to the very limit because you understand the game well enough to know exactly what's going to happen. Be a legitimately skilled player. This is the level where basics won't cut it. Be able to take a tiny edge and turn it into a crushing advantage. Everyone here can play well enough to be considered a good player for the first time. You have to be great at the game if you want to win here.
So if you think you're stuck in Elo Hell, you're right. You're not good enough to get past that level of Elo Hell. It's a fact. You can't carry yourself into the next bracket. It's not your team's fault, it's yours. Your team and the enemy team both have terrible players. Literally everyone auto-loses games to dcs and trolls. If you're blaming that as the reason why you're stuck somewhere, you're wrong, because all of us deal with the exact same BS you do.
If you think that you understand all of this and you're still stuck, you're either A) wrong or B) bad. Take your pick.
And yes, I know my name is ****combo.
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