How you should think
Reaching Diamond is not about volume, it's about discipline. One of our best boosters who's currently playing in North America TOP 100 - Troublelift, has written this great guide for anyone who's looking to get their rank fast before the League of Legends Season 15 ends on January 9th 2026.
1. Choose High Impact Champions
Not all champions can carry equally. Your goal is to maximize personal agency.
Support Janna has very low solo carry potential. Right now, Brand mid represents the opposite end of the spectrum with kill pressure, roaming power, and snowball potential.
Mid and jungle offer the highest ability to decide games, followed by top lane. ADC and support rely more heavily on team execution.
Pick champions that can create leads alone and threaten the map without permission.
2. One Trick Until Mastery
One tricking removes uncertainty.
By playing one champion repeatedly, mechanics become automatic. This frees mental space to focus on wave control, jungle tracking, recall timing, and map pressure.
Play the same champion into bad matchups. Comfort under pressure creates rank stability.
3. Control Communication and Mental State
If chat causes distraction, turn it off permanently.
Use pings only. They are faster, clearer, and prevent emotional feedback loops.
Mental stability wins more games than mechanical outplays.
4. Learn When to Stop Playing
Lose streaks destroy decision quality.
If you lose multiple games in a row, do something different. Stop for the day, play on a smurf, or get a duo boost to stabilize gameplay.
Playing while tilted converts small mistakes into guaranteed losses.
5. Prioritize Champion Damage
Abilities exist to pressure opponents.
Hit enemy champions with your skills whenever possible. Only use abilities on minions when securing last hits or preparing a wave crash.
Champion damage creates health leads, recall advantages, and lane control.
6. Create Trading Windows
Punish last hits.
When the enemy goes for a minion, they are locked in an attack animation. That is your window to trade.
Small health advantages stack into forced recalls and kill pressure.
7. Control the Map Through Wave Management
Crashing waves is intentional, not accidental.
When you crash a wave into the enemy tower, you earn a free turn. Use that time to roam, ward, recall, or reset vision.
Wave control equals map control.
8. Play With Patience
Do not force trades under enemy tower.
Wait for cooldown advantages, wave position, or jungle information before committing.
Most deaths come from impatience, not lack of skill.
9. Use Vision With Purpose
Wards provide reaction time.
Layered vision such as a raptor ward combined with a pixel brush control ward makes you extremely difficult to punish.
Good vision enables aggression without guessing.
10. Punish Enemy Recalls
Every recall creates a timing window.
If the enemy recalls poorly, act immediately. Push the wave, take plates, roam, or secure vision.
Unpunished recalls are lost LP over hundreds of games.
Diamond rank is built through consistency, not highlight plays. High impact champions, disciplined mental control, and wave based decisions convert skill into results.
