League of Legends Season 3 has only just begun and if you're anything like me you're already staring at some depressing stats. Late in a season games only move you 8-15 Elo a match, but a new season means early games move you 40 points or more in a single shot. Poor placement matches could mean a drop of several hundred Elo below what you're comfortable with and every game played makes climbing back up that much harder.

While mastering the meta and mechanics of the game are critical in winning games there are other factors to consider that can be easily overlooked. Here are three short but important tips to follow when preparing and playing for these all-important early ranked games.

1. Play at your peak.

Ever heard of the phrase "an artist is only as good as his tools?" While some consider it to mean that an artist's ability is limited to the physical equipment around him or her I take "tools" to mean the physical and mental faculties of a person while they work.

Staring at a computer screen strains the eyes. Being angry limits your ability to make collected decisions. Being tired affects your abilities (A 2011 study from Utrecht University in the Netherlands﻿ equated tired driving to intoxicated driving). All this means that you have to be at your best to play your best.

Play a game when you have enough time to really engross yourself into the match. Worrying about getting to work on time if the match carries past 60 minutes is not the way to play and it harms your teammates as well. Make sure that you are alert and well-rested and try some light exercise before beginning to warm up. Some may find physical exercise before gaming odd but if you've seen StarCraft players at tournaments in parkas to ensure they're warm you know that performance trumps appearance every day of the week.

Keep a beverage handy to hydrate during respawn timers and try to keep away from caffeine and other energy-laden drinks as they often cause crashes, headaches or irritability as they wear off.

2. Take a break.



I played my placement matches over the course of a weekend despite losing the majority of them. I told myself that I wasn't going to stop until I won and I only kept losing as a result.

Don't let the gambler's fallacy take you over during a bad streak of games. If you just had a frustrating loss step back for a moment and look at the game as a whole. Even if you had 3 disconnects on your team you can still judge your gameplay - How was your creep score? Did you keep track of enemy positions? What items did you build and why?

Having a frustrating game means carrying that frustration into the next lobby more often than not. Ever have a string of being forced into a role a few times and losing each one only to demand a new role in the next lobby because you're fed up? That's when it's time to lay it down for a while.

You have the whole year to get a good rank so work to ensure that bad days are as short as possible and good days keep on going. In either case always review your play and make notes where you can improve.

3. Stay positive.

It's been said again and again but it still bears saying - morale wins games. When you depend on a team of strangers for 45 minutes you have to put the egos aside and work together; even if that means biting your tongue at a primadonna that thinks they know more about the game than anyone else around. If someone starts an argument cut it down immediately and keep the team looking forward. Nothing worse than losing a teamfight and then losing the next one because you're still arguing about who was out of position for the last one.

While leading some of the teams you end up with could charitably be described as herding cats sometimes it's best to be in a less advantageous position if it means keeping the team together. Most times when someone won't communicate and goes on their own I simply follow them around and try to work around the communication handicap.

Whatever happens remember that as soon as the all-chat insults start flying you might as well type "gg." Every person arguing is 20 percent of the team actively not playing and massaging their ego instead.

Be humble, win games, feel good.

League can be unforgiving at times but skill is about capitalizing on advantages and mitigating disadvantages. Don't sweat the unwinnable games and don't be overly proud of the unloseable games either. Play your best and you just might be sporting a fancy diamond border yourself this time next year.