Ok, so I'm having a few issues with the concept of ELO in Normal Dominion games. I know why it's there (believe me, sometimes I'm grateful for it), but I DON'T think it should hold as much weight amongst the player base as it does. Don't get me wrong, I know WHY it is a priority with other players, as we STILL have no Ranked for Dominion, and we want to separate the serious Dominion players from the rest of our extremely large (and constantly growing) community.

Here in lies my problem. When I first hopped onto League of Legends, I had never played DotA, so the concept was fresh and new to me. I was a noob in every way: A new player with little to no understanding of the game, its mechanics, or its players. Needless to say, I had trouble adapting. Then Dominion came along and I grasped the concept far quicker than I could have with Classic. And thus my love for the game was rekindled! And the best part of the whole deal? I didn't suck NEARLY as hard at Dominion as I did in Classic. BUT! I was still a fairly new player, and had a LOT to learn, even about Dominion.

I began to play Dominion exclusively. I couldn't get enough of the fast-paced, extremely competitive gameplay! Since then, I have played almost nothing but Dominion and I must say, I've gotten TONS better, and my grasp of the game, INCLUDING Classic has grown by leaps and bounds. But alas! I cannot be taken seriously as a Dominion player!

Why is this you ask? Because, like I have stated, at one point I, much like the rest of you was new to this. Meaning? I lost more than I won. This is no longer the case, but my ELO is STILL suffering due to my slow start.

So I'm here to make it clear that I'm a Dominion player. A decent one at that. But I am a Dominion player with a terrible ELO in Normal, and I feel crippled by this. Isn't the Normal ELO hidden for a reason? Because they are just random pugs, should my ELO really limit my ability to meet other hardcore Dominion players and enjoy the more competitive side of the game? I think not. But hey, I don't get paid to think. I realize that when Ranked Dominion DOES drop, that it will be my responsibility to keep my ELO reflecting my skill level. Until then, however, I don't think it does. Nor should it. What do you think my fellow Summoners? Is there something that I'm just not grasping here? Or should I quit my worrying, and worry about ELO when Ranked drops? Any advice that you can give me to help raise my ELO in the meantime? Thanks for your time guys, and I hope you have the answers I'm looking for. I didn't know where else to turn but here. =]

Uhhhhhh...

You're kinda all over the place there. Just take it easy, take pride in having a single account. I'm proud to have made all the mistakes and successes I've had just with this one account, it's ultimately how I got what I have today. The strong don't necessarily make themselves known by having flawless records, they just gain notoriety by performing exceptionally well in each game they play, win or lose.

Win games. Not to be cynical but if your skill level is higher than you ELO reflects it is only a lag in the system that will correct itself with more games played and hopefully won. And its normal ELO. No matter how high you get it it will never be ranked ELO.

Win more. If you've improved, your elo should adjust to accommodate that. In the lower elo brackets, you can basically get away with playing anything as long as you do it well.

while i feel it probably takes a while to get to ur true elo i can understand ur frustration im a good player not the best but better than what i think my elo is i have a decent record 354W/282L but im constantly getting stuck playing with people who only have a couple wins and mainly playing bottom lane its hard to carry ur team every time a tank bottom can only do so much lol

If it makes you feel better, my current elo (2100+) is way higher than it should be.

Yes, your matchmaking elo will limit your ability to meet people of vastly different elo. That's its purpose: matchmaking.

The only difference between normal and ranked is that in mid-range elo players aren't taking normal as seriously. If you think once you get to an above average level of play you aren't going to be playing against tryhards all day, you're high.

Elo isn't skill. That's true.