Does MOBA Trainer work? Early results from 27,000 ranked games

ADCs who never trained stayed where they were. ADCs who trained 15 days or more went from 51% to 58%, about 10 more wins in every 100 games than similar ADCs at the same level. Even 3 days of training added about 5 points.

The edge held for ADCs who came in on a winning streak and for ADCs who came in on a losing one: on a losing streak, trainers climbed from 40% to 54%, while ADCs who did not train only reached 47%. ADCs who trained also farmed more, about 7 more minions in a 30-minute game.

• How to play ADC

Every point of win rate counts twice in ranked: one more win and one less loss. A win is worth about 20 LP.

• At 50% you stay where you are.
• At 54% you win about 8 more games than you lose in every 100. That is about 160 LP, a division and a half.
• At 58% you win about 16 more than you lose. That is about 320 LP, around three divisions every 100 games.

Mid players who trained 15 days or more went from 5.4 to 5.2 deaths per game, while mid players who never trained went the other way, from 6.4 to 6.5. Measured against players at the same level, that is almost one death less in every game. Even 3 days of training cut about half a death per game.

In mid, one death is the wave, the lane, and often the next dragon or Herald. Playing a whole game with one death less means one more fight you are still alive for.

• How to play mid lane
• How to stop dying

Supports who came into training on a losing streak went from a 46% win rate to 55%. Supports on the same kind of streak who did not train went only from 44% to 46%. That is about 10 more wins in every 100 games at the moment it matters most.

A losing streak is where the mental side of League decides everything. Supports who trained came back from it above 50%.

• How to play support

Junglers who trained farmed more, while junglers who never trained farmed less over the same months. For junglers who trained 15 days or more, the gap was about 7 more minions and camps in a 30-minute game, roughly a full camp clear of extra gold. They also died about half a time less per game.

Junglers on a losing streak who trained climbed from 35% to 52% wins. Junglers on the same kind of streak who did not train reached 47%.

• How to jungle

Top laners who trained farmed about 5 more minions in a 30-minute game than top laners at the same level who never trained. Across all roles, the farming gain stayed even after players stopped training: the habit sticks.

• How to play top lane

The mental side of League shows up in streaks. Across all roles, players who were losing before they started training climbed back to winning more than half their games, while similar players who never trained stayed below half. Players on a winning run who trained 15 days or more kept winning 55% of their games, while similar players who did not train fell back to 50%.

• How to stop losing

We compared every player who trained with players of the same role who linked a Riot account but never trained, and who stood at the same level in the months right before training started. That matters, because players often download a trainer when they are already on the way up. Matching on the months just before training makes sure we count only what changed after training began. Every number on this page passed that check.

We also split the results by role. An ADC and a jungler play very different games, so averaging them together hides what each role gets.

• 27,136 ranked solo games of 719 players, read through Riot's official API.
• Nearly 3 million graded decisions from 229,291 MOBA Trainer players.
• Trainers compared with never-trained players of the same role, at the same level in the months right before training, using games after their first training day.
• Each player counted in their main role only, games of 15 minutes or more.
• Players are anonymous in every step; no names or Riot IDs are published.
• The full technical report is available on request.

Every puzzle trains one of 51 decision patterns written by Vlad "Saviour" Dvoretskiy, the founder of MOBA Trainer, from ten seasons at the top. The map starts with the decisions you make alone, every wave: when to push or freeze, when to recall, which camp to take next, who reaches the next level first. Then it builds up to map movement, vision, objectives and teamfights.

That is exactly where the early gains show up: farming improves in every role, and ADCs, whose whole game is waves and trades, turn it into the most wins.

• What is MOBA Trainer?

This week we started recording the ranked standing of more than 19,000 linked players every day, those who train and those who do not. In a few weeks we will measure climbs directly, with real dates, and publish them here. Until then, the climb board will show players who trained and climbed, with their permission.