League of Numbers

You would think that someone who has played a game for coming close to 6 years would've figured out how to get better, wouldn't you?

I guess I can't say I haven't gotten better as I've upped a division every season so far.

That being said, I'm going to be talking about the primary skill that has helped me climb the ladder over the years and it's that main reason the game ticks.

If you've never seen this show, I highly recommend that you watch it(if you like criminal dramas).

Numbers are everything in League of Legends. Stat values, damage calculations, even skillshot missile speed. So why do I say that understanding the numbers can make you a better player? Let me tell you this.

Assume your opponent has 250 health and 50 armour and magic resistance and you're going to be able to get one ability and attack in before they can turn around and kill you. Your ability deals 200 damage and your auto attack with deal 90 damage. Do you get the kill? You're about to deal 290 damage to someone with 250 health, aren't you? They take 174 damage since the 50 mark for MR and Armour reduces damage by a third. You died.

Now, let's factor armour penetration and magic penetration into this. We'll say you have 10 of each. Do you get the kill? Nope, still dead.

See, if you only look at your damage, you're not going to get anyway. You need to do the quick calculations for the end results.

Sometimes it's to figure out whether or not your Syndra or LeBlanc has enough damage to kill someone in a combo, sometimes it's figuring out whether or not a top-laner can turn on a 1v2.

If you're terrible at math, fear not, you're not the only one. It takes me a long, long time to figure out most equations but you can make a habit out of anything. For instance, it took a little bit of practice but I eventually memorized the damage reduction for certain defense stat marks. 25, 50, 75, 100. Damage reduced is 20%, 33%, 43%, and 50%.

Typically once people get past the 100 resistance mark, you have to work harder on kiting and focus fire but just in case you want to figure out how much damage people would take from things, you use 100/(100+resistance) and the results will be what % of the damage dealt they will receive, not the damage they'll mitigate.

If you're looking for a good way to practice this, I'd recommend playing a champion Annie or LeBlanc or someone that has assassinations as their primary role. I wouldn't recommend champions like Fizz or Talon or other champions that can be punished extremely hard if they mess up.

Whether your preference is AD or AP, carry, tank, or support, numbers are what drive the game so it is advised to learn as much about them as you can. Even if you aren't great with math, learning a few of the basics for game calculations can be the difference between giving or getting first blood.