ChaiPod's CHAIPOD Tips for Arranged 5s

Communication

Habits

Arguments

Itinerary

Patience

Ordinance

Discussion

These are ChaiPod's CHAIPOD Tips for Arranged 5s. 

This is an article aimed to help amateur teams, and maybe their jungling leaders, to successfully build a team to play with. While most of my posts are aimed at jungling, this one focuses more on the team orientation of arranged 5s play. I have been playing in League of Legends arranged 5s teams for two years and I previously played in many top Guild Wars teams. While the games are different, many of the tips for playing in a team are the same and can be applied to many team games. Playing in arranged 5s is a completely different setting than from what most players are used to and brings a new experience to the table that is both rewarding and challenging. While many of us do not aim to be the next LCS team, we still want to play on a semi-competitive level in amateur tournaments. Similar to popular U18 or beer leagues of sports, amateur teams form the serious fan base of any competitive game. 

Check out the tips by clicking below! 

Communication

Upon entering any arranged 5s game, the biggest thing any player will notice is the communication possibilities available to a team in comparison to solo queue or normals. Communication is vital for any team, even in professional teams. Many professional players in interviews after big losses will cite communication issues in the game as the biggest reason for their loss; it's not a scape goat that players use. Most issues in game can be resolved by communication. Communicate everything with your team, and get your team to communicate everything with you. From how lanes are going, to summoner cooldowns, to what to do during team fights, to when you are going in and when you are leaving, every aspect of communication is important. Never assume that your team is going to know what you are going to do or what is happening, always communicate it. Even professional Korean teams communicate to their team that they are in trouble or getting ganked. The voice system available to arranged 5 teams is there for a reason, if a player did not communicate to their team they are at as much fault for the team not doing anything.

Habits

Set up habits within the team. Always follow a norm and don't leave anything unsaid. For example, if your team wants to get timers down, always make it known that its one persons job to get the timers down, another persons job to remind the team of the timer, and everyone else's job to remind the team to get the timer. Outside of the game, make sure there are habits on who saves replays, etc. The most important part is to make sure it is consistent so that it becomes a habit so that jobs get done; responsibilities should always be shared around the team, don't make one person do everything.

Arguments

As a team, arguments are bound to happen. Every team from the bronze amateur team to the LCS powerhouse TSM gets into arguments. It is a part of a team's problems and is part of the experience to get better as a team. However, remember to not get into heated arguments. Instead focus on the argument and attack it, not the person. If there is a serious disagreement, call it a day and wait till tomorrow to discuss it again when people have cooled off. Never, ever get into an argument mid-game. Always save discussion for after the game. However, always get a consensus and a resolution to the issue. If there no mutual resolution can be achieved, put it to a team vote for the resolution. After the resolution has been achieved, stick with the resolution until another argument arises. For example, if there is an argument between two players that a dragon attempt should have been done or not, discuss the reasons for and against, then come to a resolution within the team. Apply the resolution to every other similar situations.

Itinerary

Arranged 5s is different from solo queue when it comes to timing. Players should always be able to play at around the same times and a schedule should be set up with exact times. Similar to other team leagues, playing in an arranged 5s is a commitment. There are four other players waiting for you to play  at the exact time who trust that you will be there on time. Don't be the guy who comes as he pleases, or you may find that your team will just replace you. Of course, playing League of Legends is not a major priority for many of us; that being said, exchange numbers and tell your teammates when something important arises. Moreover, try to set up an itinerary for your team with goals. No one likes playing randomly and not reaching any milestones, especially if they're putting in their hard earned time. Set goals within the team for team strategies, tournament results, or solo queue improvements. If everyone has a similar goal in mind, they will work equally hard towards it.

Patience

Following with the setting goals, being patient is one of the most important aspect of any team. Make sure your team sets realistic goals. If you're a majority bronze team, don't set an LCS goal within a month; instead, aim for something more realistic like Gold Ranked 5s with a top 32 in Go4LoL. Team, like trees, don't grow over night. It take a lot of time and dedication to see it grow into something as magnificent and when it does you will be glad you put in the effort. In a more player oriented application, make sure you are patient with people on your team. Don't expect players to be challenger tier just because you're in an arranged 5s game. Players will grow over time and working with the same person is much better than constantly replacing players for minor improvements. The best teams (i.e., M5, TSM) make very few roster changes and when they do it's for a big reason. Player synergy and learning from mistakes comes with time and experience, where patience is an obvious virtue.

Ordinance

Teams need leaders, every team needs one. Whether you're Reginald of TSM, SaintVicious of Curse, or Scarra of Digintas, being a leader is an important role. What's even more important is actually having a leader. Many teams try to go into arranged 5s where everyone gets a chance to make calls and respond; however, that is the wrong approach. Sometimes it's better to have five people commit to a bad call than it is to have five people not commit to any call at all. A leader has to be able to assertively dictate the pace of the game with the confidence that his teammates will listen and follow through. A lack of confidence in a leader and with the team is bound to have a game go sour. Make sure the leader makes calls with information input from the team, and the team listens to the call. That being said, leaders are only human and are bound to make mistakes; make sure they learn from the mistake, accept input by the team, and change future calls in similar situations. Of course, this is not a dictatorship. Everyone on the team is an equal and has equal say in terms of the teams actions; however, make sure you save it for after the game. Never blame a call or situation on one person. It is a team game and while calls are said by one person, they are the calls of the team as a whole. For example, if your team wants to do dragon, your leader would say call dragon, your teammates will immediately respond to the call and input information (i.e., I am low on mana, I have a lot of money saved up, I need to buy if we are going to fight, I don't think it's a good idea, I think we can fight after), then have the leader revise the call if needed. If the call is poor, after the game discuss it (i.e., maybe we shouldn't have fought after the dragon because I was low on mana) and make sure future decisions reflect the mistake previously made.

Discussion

Communication, arguments all have discussion in mind. However, true discussion of an issue should be done after the game with replays. It's important to remain calm, be on the point, and let everyone have a say. If you have a shy player on the team, make sure you proactively give them a chance to speak. Do not discuss what-ifs; get to the point and come to a consensus on what happened, what went wrong, and what should have happened. Make sure there is always a consensus, whether it be mutual or not. For example, if an invade happened that made a game snowball out of control discuss if it could have been prevented, did it really snowball the game, and how you won't let it happen again or how you could have made the best of a bad situation (i.e., not flashing after an obvious death).

Conclusion

At the end of the day, most people aren't looking to get into the LCS and make a living off League of Legends. Most people are just looking for an experience, a good time, and to make some friends. Playing an online game together brings people together similarly to playing in sport teams. Make sure you, and everyone on your team, is having a good time and enjoying yourselves. It won't always be fun and games, but make sure it's a rewarding and challenging experience for everyone. You'll enjoy the game and your team a lot more if you work with, not against, your teammates. So form a team with friends, family, or people you've just met online and good luck on the fields of justice! Maybe one day you can also own the prestigious Triumphant Ryze Skin that many amateur teams aim for if you follow ChaiPod's CHAIPOD tips for Arranged 5s.