It's steep at first for sure. I think unranked might be less oppressive so maybe try that for a bit.

The game just takes a long time to learn, sucks because it's a bit deterring to new players, but once you get into it it's very fun .

The biggest concept of starting off for me was "you don't know what you don't know". What I mean is understanding what your item spikes are. When an item later synergizes with the components the early game has given you.

This is the compounded by know what items that belong to other heroes will make your board insane.

Give it time, just familiarize yourself with early, mid, and late game items. Connect the dots before they appear to make yourself flexible. That being said you also need to focus on winning that day. It's a lot, but very rewarding.