Reign of Gaming

      The community of League of Legends is often viewed as a place full of trolls, vile verbal excrement and hate.  That is probably putting it nicely too.  But there are some places in the LoL Community that are trying to have a positive influence on the game.  Elo Heaven was started by a gentleman named Ninjapanda and his goal was to help the massive amount of the player base that isn't even 1200 rating.  They do this by taking the "teach a man to fish" approach by tutoring, mentoring and helping those that want to improve.  I have been apart of their group for months now and I have seen how positive a group it has been.  I have participated in some of their own in-house games and have found the learning experience to brutal, but very helpful despite getting my rear kicked.  Learning has never been an easy thing but these guys have done a lot to try to help the community.  I want to show them off to everyone and maybe you too can find it worth your time!  

 What is Elo Heaven? 

      I think they can describe their own method pretty well:

http://eloheaven.enjin.com/forum/m/7679887/viewthread/5397492-what-eloheaven-all-about/post/last#last

But to summarize.  They want to create a fun and engaging place for everyone to learn to improve.  I have enjoyed my time with them and I want to highlight some of the biggest factors as to why they are such a positive addition to the community.

Mentor System

     One of the biggest ways that they try to improve individual players is through the use of mentoring.  Signing up for a mentor to help you improve your skills is one of the most effective methods for improving.  The targeted approach with a mentor makes it so you have to face your weaknesses.  Too often do we shrug off our weaknesses and failings onto others.  But when your mentor says that your map awareness needs work, your map awareness needs work.  There is no yelling "Why didn't you call MIA!?!" Your mentor will tell you what you already should know, you need to watch the map, other players cannot be relied on tell you when their lane opponent leaves.  Plus, why are you reading chat but not the map?  Those frank discussions will make you face yourself and help you get over your barriers to improvement. 

They are also looking for more mentors.  There is a division requirement of Gold 5 or higher.  Even if you want to improve yourself, teaching something is the best way to learn.

If any of you really want to improve, I highly suggest reaching out to them.  Their nice people, really!

In-House Games

     Making custom games with the people you chat with can be hilariously fun.  Watching rivalries play out, crushing that guy that has been arguing with you about builds or playing against people who are hundreds of ELO above you to learn.  Every time I log into League during peak hours, I take a second to see if they are playing an In-house.  I have thoroughly enjoyed these games and I think many of you would too.   

A fun and enjoyable place to play & learn

     Have you ever been apart of a guild in any MMO?  Or a clan?  That kind of social interaction is something that I miss when playing League sometimes.  Doing quests while having a conversation about topics ranging from farts to microbiology (My guild was full of people with/going for a graduate degree, fart conversations go from one to another pretty quickly!).  Those conversations endeared me even more to the game.  Sometimes being the only reason I would log on.  With league, there just isn't the same kind of drive to create those strong social communities in the game.  Most are made outside the game through places like Reign of Gaming or Reddit.  This is probably Leagues greatest weakness, the inability to create in-game communities.  Playing with these guys has made me enjoy the game more and I already like a lot about the game!  

     Even if you may not want to go to the community looking for a way to make your game better, it is great to hang out and have fun!  LoL is about playing and having fun, the goal is to win your game.  The point is to have fun.

Wrap-Up  

     I found these guys from a post on General Discussion one day and since then, I have been impressed.  I continue to enjoy playing with these guys and learning with them.  If you want to to learn or just have fun, I highly recommend checking them out here:

http://eloheaven.enjin.com/forum