In League of Legends, there are 150+ champions with varying abilities, damage styles and difficulties. In a previous article, we discussed 5 of the easiest champions to play in League of Legends, but this time around we are going to discuss 5 of the hardest champions to play and master in LoL.

The champions on our list are in no particular order, and you may find some of these champions really easy to play. The champions on our list have lots of different combos, and take a lot of time to master.

You may find other champions much harder than the ones we list, and that’s totally okay.

Here are 5 of the hardest champions to play in League of Legends

1. Zed
2. Zoe
3. Riven
4. Camille
5. Irelia

If you’re looking to up your game, or want to improve at League of Legends, sign up to Mobalytics for more tips to improve your climb!

1. Zed

Zed is one of the most popular champions in the game. He sees lots of action in every rank: from Iron to Challenger- Zed has a very large player base. One of the reasons for this huge player base is because of his kit, oh and the fact that he is a ninja.

Anyway, Zed is a hard to master champion for a number of reasons. Firstly, the player has to play around his energy levels to trade with the enemy. He must also rely heavily on skill shots to poke the enemy down and kill someone

Unfortunately, if Zed falls behind in the early game, it can be really difficult for him to get back into the game as he relies on an early lead to quickly snowball. If you’re behind, or if you can’t land your skill shots, you’re going to find it really hard to master Zed.

Learn how to play Zed by checking out Zed’s champion page.

2. Zoe

Zoe is a very mechanically difficult champion to play. Her Ultimate is one of a kind and takes a lot of time getting used to when used in conjunction with the rest of her abilities. A good Zoe is very scary as they’ve mastered using their E on terrain to increase its distance and pick off enemies.

Zoe is also very easy to counter as her gameplay is quite scripted: she always ends up where her Ultimate left off. To master Zoe, you will need to practice her a lot. Even then, it’s very easy to go wrong on her.

Learn how to master Zoe by checking out Zoe’s champion page.

3. Riven

Riven is notoriously one of the most complicated champions in the game. Her kit is actually somewhat simple, but there are so many variations and combos to perfect on Riven which puts her on our list. Even players with hundreds of thousands of mastery points on Riven still mess up the most “basic” of combos. Making one mistake on Riven can be the difference between life and death.

While Riven is probably one of the better champions on our list when behind, getting an early lead on Riven can be incredibly difficult to play against. She can constantly 1v1 and all-in the enemy laner whenever they walk up to farm.

Master the battle bunny by checking out Riven’s champion page.

4. Camille

Camille is a very hard champion to play. Her kit is also pretty simple, but the player master kiting with her Q and W. They will also need to be precise with her E as misusing it can cause you to overextend and get yourself killed. Camille’s Ultimate is quite cool though. If you time it right, you can dodge incoming damage which could save your life.

Camille also relies heavily on wave management in the very early game to get ahead. A lot of players like to constantly push, which is something you cannot do on Camille. Constantly pushing will cause you due harm and potentially result in you getting sat by the enemy Jungler.

Learn how to play Camille in the top, mid and jungle roles with Camille’s champion page.

5. Irelia

Playing around Irelia’s Passive and her Q is very hard. For maximum damage in a trade, you’ll want to stack your Passive and then commit to a trade. Good Irelia’s will play around the minion wave to make trading easier and to save their lives. For instance, many Irelia’s will Q to a minion and then onto the enemy (which is fine), however playing around the minion wave and having an escape route with your Q is what makes an Irelia main a pro.

She has a skill shot with her E, which is one of her main defensive tools. If you miss this ability and look for a trade, you may find it really hard to kill the enemy as your E is very versatile.

Become an Irelia main by checking out Irelia’s champion page.

Conclusion

And that about sums up Mobalytics Top 5 Hardest Champions to Play in League of Legends. Do you agree with our list? Do you think there are harder champions around or are the champions we’ve listed really easy to play? Let us know!

For more tips and tricks, head to Mobalytics!

If you have any questions or want to learn more, check out PicklePants’s stream.

Watch live video from PicklePantsLOL on www.twitch.tv

The post Top 5 Hardest Champions to Play in League of Legends appeared first on Mobalytics.

Welcome to our absolute beginner’s guide for League of Legends, in this guide we’ll cover the fundamental basics of how LoL is played.

Whether you’re thinking about playing the game, just downloaded it, or still learning the ropes, this guide is for you!

We thought it was a good time to release this guide since a lot of people are downloading League for the first time to play TFT and may eventually want to try it out.

Chapters

1. What is League of Legends?
2. LoL Champion Basics
3. The Five LoL Roles
4. What is a Team Comp?
5. Fog of War and Vision Control
6. The River, Jungle, and Camps
7. The Three Phases and Scaling
8. How to Get Better at LoL
9. Additional Beginner Resources

1. What is League of Legends?

League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena, also known as a MOBA. It’s been one of the most popular games of all time and currently one of the biggest esports.

In a standard game of League, ten players are split into two teams of five and battle it out on a map called Summoner’s Rift.

Each of these players controls a single character, known as a champion.

What is a champion?

All ten players in a League of Legends match controls a single champion.

There are currently over 140 champions with new ones being continuously added over time.

Every champion has special abilities and powers with unique playstyles.

Before a game begins at champ select, each team takes turns selecting champions.

There’s a lot of strategies involved as you work with your team to create teams with champions that work well together (more on this later).

Every game you play can be vastly different since every champion has their own feel and gameplan.

How do you win?

The ultimate goal of LoL is to destroy the other team’s base, but it’s not easy.

Your enemies will do everything they can to kill you and destroy your base.

Each base has a series of turrets and waves of minions that constantly spawn.

If you started a game and tried to run straight to the enemy base, you’d certainly die, not just because the enemy team would be trying to stop you at all costs, but also because you may be too weak and die.

League is sort of like a role-playing game (RPG) that takes place in a very short amount of time.

You begin at level 1 and gradually get stronger throughout the game by gaining experience and earning gold to buy items.

The two teams continually grow in power and collide. Eventually, one team is able to get the upper hand and make a final push for a victory.

What is Summoner’s Rift?

This is the standard map that the professionals play on and it’s where you’d be if you were trying to climb the ranked ladder.

There are other maps in League, but for now, we’ll focus on Summoner’s Rift since it’s where you’ll likely be spending most of your time.

Here are the basics of the Summoner’s Rift map:

There are two teams of five players: the blue team (base at bottom left corner) and the red team (base at the top right corner).

To achieve victory, one team has to destroy the opposing team’s Nexus (basically the core of their base).

During a match, minions will continually spawn from each base’s Nexus and proceed through the three lanes (the paths are shown in the graphic above).

The three lanes are known as top lane, mid lane, and bot lane. In all three lanes, there are turrets which will attack enemy champions and minions.Summoners must destroy all turrets in at least one lane and then destroy the last two towers that protect a Nexus before being able to attack and destroy it.

Turrets and Inhibitors

Destroying turrets and other structures called inhibitors rewards players with gold and allows the minion waves to push through the lane (since there aren’t any turrets to stop them).

Inhibitors are structures that are behind the initial turrets inside a base. If an inhibitor is destroyed, upgraded minions, called Super Minions, will spawn until an inhibitor respawns after a few minutes. A team can often use the Super Minions to successfully siege a base that was previously difficult to attack and create an opportunity to push to victory.

The Fountain and Shop

At the beginning of each game, you’ll begin at your fountain. You’ll revisit your fountain because it’s where you’ll respawn when you die and it’s where your shop is located. You can return to your fountain at any time during a game to heal or purchase items. All you have to do is use the Recall ability which every summoner has access to – just be careful and use it safely because you can be interrupted while casting it.

Income and Items

As we mentioned earlier, killing a minion, structure, or enemy champion grants players gold which can be used to purchase items at the fountain’s shop.

The ultimate purpose of gold is to give players to have flexibility in their stat growth and play styles. Whether you want more damage, survivability, or utility, there are a wide variety of items to fit your needs.

We recommend checking out our LoL item guides series if you want to learn more about what different items do and when to build them.

2. LoL Champion Basics

Now that we understand the basics of the map, let’s get back to talking about champions. Champions are the heart and soul of League of Legends as they’re often what players resonate with most.

While Summoner’s Rift stays constant, the different combinations of champions that are chosen by the ten players in game can create vastly different rhythms and feels.

Right now there are currently over 140 champions, each of them representing a different playstyle and experience. Some are simple and easy to play while others may take a hundred games to master. Whether you like dealing damage from afar, brawling at close quarters, or helping your team with utility, there’s a champion for you.

In the next few sections, we’ll discuss different aspects of champions, such as their abilities, stats, and scaling.

Auto-attacks and Abilities

Every champion has auto-attacks and abilities at their disposal. Auto-attacks, also known as “basic attacks” occur when a player right clicks on a target. Doing so will cause a champion to continually attack a target until it dies.

Abilities are cast using Q, W, E, and R. Every champion has abilities that are unique to them for each of these buttons. Here’s Ashe’s W, Volley, in action below:

All champions also have access to two abilities, using D and F, called Summoner Spells. These are up to a player’s personal preference, we’ll discuss these later on.

Lastly, champions can also cast abilities from items such as Redemption and Tiamat, using the number keys, 1-7.

Champion Stats

A major aspect that sets champions apart is the distribution of their stats. Stats represent a champion’s make up as far as how hard they are to kill, how much damage they do, and how fast they move or attack.

From left to right: attack damage, ability power, armor, magic resist, attack speed, ability haste, critical strike chance, movement speed.

For the purpose’s of this beginner guide, we won’t be getting too technical about stats. Here are the basics:

Health (indicated by a green bar)

• Health represents the amount of damage you can take before dying and being sent to your fountain.

Ability Resources: Mana, Energy, and others

• Abilities cost resources in order to cast them, most champions use mana, energy, or fury.
• The majority of champions, such as Lux and Vel’Koz, use mana.
• Mana is indicated by a blue bar below the health bar and regenerates over time.
• Champions such as Akali and Kennen use energy.
• Energy is indicated by a yellow bar and also regenerates over time but at a much faster rate. These champions often have ways to get energy back as well, such as by auto-attacking.
• The tradeoff is that unlike mana, you cannot increase the amount of energy you have through buying items.
• Other champions use other sources, such as their health, fury, rage, or courage.
• Using health is straightforward, your champion basically takes damage in order to cast their spell.
• Fury, rage, and courage, are dependent on their champions. Be sure to check them out for more details.

Attack Damage (AD)

• Attack damage, also known as physical damage, represents the damage dealt by basic auto-attacks.
• Depending on a champion, AD can also empower abilities.
• Numbers from abilities and items that refer to attack damage are displayed as orange.

Ability Power (AP)

• Ability power primarily makes your abilities (QWER) more powerful, however, AP can also strengthen some items and runes.
• Numbers from abilities and items that refer to ability power are displayed as green.

Armor

• Armor is a defensive stat that mitigates physical damage. Building it will help you survive against champions with a lot of attack damage.

Magic Resist (MR)

• You probably guessed it, but magic resist is the counterpart to armor that mitigates damage from ability power.

Attack Speed (AS)

• Attack speed represents how fast your champion auto-attacks. In general, this is a good combination with attack damage if you’re looking to increase your physical damage output.

Ability Haste

• Abilities have “cooldowns” representing how long it will be before you can cast it again. Items that give you ability haste allow you to cast abilities more often.

Critical Strike Chance

• This stat represents your chance of landing a critical strike – critical strikes cause your auto-attacks to deal double its damage.
• For example, if you have 50% crit chance, your attacks will likely crit 50% of the time. If you have 100% crit chance, they will crit every time.

Movement Speed (MS)

• Movement speed represents how fast your champion moves around the map. This can be increased with abilities and items such as boots.

Experience and Leveling up a Champion

In League of Legends, every champion starts at level 1 and continues to level up until the max of level 18.

Champions gain experience by farming minions and jungle camps or killing (or assisting in killing) champions.

Note that killing jungle camps or monsters will only provide experience for the player who landed the killing blow.

Destroying turrets and inhibitors grants experience to a whole team globally.

Even at this range, Aurelion Sol will get experience when the minion dies.

You can also gain experience by being within range of enemy minions or enemy champions dying. This radius is about equal to around 3x a champion’s auto-attack (exactly 1600 range).

Gaining levels and experiences allows champions to grow in power. While buying items allow champions to have freedom in choosing which stats to gain, gaining levels activates predetermined increases to a champion’s stats.

For example, at level 1, Ashe will have around 539 base hp. At level 18, she’ll have 1984. This growth applies to health, health regen, mana, mana regen, attack damage, attack speed, armor, and magic resist.

Leveling up also grants skill points which are used to increase the power of a champion’s QWER abilities.

The effect of skill points can be dependent on the champion and the ability itself. In the example above for Ashe’s W, Volley, increasing from ability level 1 to 2 will yield an increase of damage from 20 to 35 and a reduction in CDR from 15 to 12.5 seconds.

Summoner Spells

Beyond their QWER abilities, every summoner also must choose two summoner spells for their champion. Summoner spells act as two additional abilities with their own purposes and cooldowns.

They offer flexibility in helping you adapt at champ select and allow you to play toward your preferred playstyle. When you first start playing, you’ll gradually unlock them over time (check out the section at the bottom for more info). In this section, we’ll be going over what each one does and why you’d want to take it.

Heal (240 second cooldown)

• Heal instantly replenishes some of your health (based on your level) and increases your movement speed by 1%.
• It also heals one other ally. You can choose which one it targets by hovering them when you cast Heal. If you don’t specifically with your cursor it will automatically heal the ally closet to dying.
• This is most commonly seen at a bot lane by the ADC role or sometimes, the Support role. This is because it heals two allies at once, giving it more value there than compared to other roles.

Ghost (180 second cooldown)

• This summoner spell grants a large amount of increased movement speed (based on level) for 10 seconds and allows you to run through units (champions, monsters, minions).
• Ghost makes a great choice for champions that rely on chasing down their opponents or want to stay at a safe distance.
• It’s a lot less flexible than its counterpart, Flash, so you’ll often see it paired with Flash rather than replacing it.

Barrier (180 second cooldown)

• Barrier instantly grants you a shield (based on your level) that is great for mitigating burst damage.
• You’ll often see Barrier for the Mid lane role but it’s also taken by ADCs and Supports.

Exhaust (210 second cooldown)

• Exhaust slows a champion and reduces their damage output by 40% over 2.5 seconds.
• This is primarily used defensively but can be used as a crowd control option for chasing opponents.

Flash (300 second cooldown)

• Flash is by far the most popular summoner spell. It allows you to blink a short distance in any direction.
• This may sound very simple at first but the flexibility Flash offers let’s it be equally viable in offensive and defensive situations.
• You can use it to engage and surprise an enemy, or use it to escape over a wall or out of harm’s way.

Teleport (360 second cooldown)

• This summoner spell allows you to instantly teleport to an allied ward, minion, or tower.
• Be aware that this takes 4-seconds to channel and it can be interrupted by a stun or other forms of crowd control.

Smite (210 second cooldown)

• Smite allows you to instantly cast a high burst damage spell upon a minion, monster, or pet (a minion controlled by a champion’s abilities).
• This is a jungler’s core summoner spell and is required in order to play the role.
• Smiting objectives (see the objectives section) allows you to secure them more reliably to get the last-hit before your foes.
• It also helps clear jungle camps and offers increased damage or a slow based on the jungle item upgrade you purchase.

Cleanse (210 second cooldown)

• This summoner spell is sort of like a get out of jail free card as it removes all disables (except for being airborne from knockouts or being suppressed).
• It allows you to get out of an otherwise tight situation and also increases your tenacity, which means that it makes you temporarily resistant to additional incoming crowd control effects.

Ignite (180 second cooldown)

• Ignite is a spell that lasts over 5 seconds and inflicts burning damage.
• It can often help you secure a kill as an enemy is trying to escape if you’re able to land it in time.
• It also decreases the amount of healing a champion can receive so it’s useful against champions with healing effects.
• This also implies that it counters the Heal spell, just make sure to cast Ignite before the Heal goes off.

Runes

League of Legends is all about discovering the best way for you to play based on your personal preferences. On top of summoner spells, runes provide another way for you to tune your champion to either maximize their strengths or to help keep their weaknesses in check.

In this section, we’ll be covering the overarching themes of each of the five main rune trees and explaining how to equip rune pages.

The five rune trees are Precision, Domination, Sorcery, Resolve, and Inspiration.

Precision

• Focuses on empowering auto-attacks making it ideal for ranged carries like Ashe or a melee fighter like Tryndamere.
• Example: Press the Attack rewards you for continuously attacking the same target by increasing your overall damage output.

Domination

• Improves your ability to instantly burst or kill a target, it’s no surprise that you’ll often see assassins like Katarina or Talon take Domination.
• Example: Predator grants you a huge burst of movement speed to allow you to quickly chase down your prey.

Sorcery

• Sorcery augments your abilities but also provides a good amount of utility. It’s most commonly taken by mages and casters like Karma or Lux.
• Example: Summon Aery improves the punch of your spells and also increases the potency of supportive spells by shielding an ally you cast on.

Resolve

• If you’re looking to bolster your defensive capabilities, this is your rune. Beefy tanks and engagers like Nautilus and Leona love the Resolve tree.
• Example: Aftershock provides a burst of bonus armor and magic resist if you immobilize an enemy.

Inspiration

• Inspiration is all about breaking the rules with wacky powers and capabilities. It can be used by many different champions but is very situational.
• Example: Unsealed Spellbook allows you to switch your summoner spells to other ones, rewarding your ability to adapt and think ahead.

At summoner level 10, you’ll receive full access to customize your rune page. You can create a rune page in your client outside of game or during champ select. Either way, your created rune page will stay saved until you delete it for another one or change it.

When creating a rune page there are three main components:

• Primary tree
• Secondary tree
• Shards

Note that choosing runes can be tricky because you can only choose one rune per row, so make sure to keep that in mind.

The primary tree grants you access to a rune tree’s most powerful choices, known as a keystone. In total, you’ll get four rune choices from your primary tree so make sure they’re in line with what your champion excels at.

The secondary tree only provides you with two choices, you’ll want to use this to compliment your primary tree.

Lastly, you get three choices of shards. Shards provide a little bit of flexibility independent of the five trees. For example, you can choose between having additional raw damage, more attack speed, or shorter cooldowns.

Shards aren’t as powerful as your primary and secondary tree but can allow you to have more flexibility to cater to your playstyle or help prepare you against a bad matchup.

A suggested rune build from Ashe’s champion page.

Understanding optimal rune builds can be difficult, especially as a beginner. Be sure to try them all out and check out our champion pages where we curate and constantly update the best rune pages for every role.

3. The Five LoL Roles

In a standard game of League of Legends, each of the five players on a team is assigned to one of the five specific roles. The five roles are Top, Jungle, Mid, ADC, and Support.

Before a match, you have the opportunity to select a primary role which indicates the role you’d prefer to play, as well as a secondary role which represents a backup choice.

Since roles vary in popularity, keep in mind that you are not guaranteed to get either of your primary or secondary choices. You can also choose an option to “Fill” which means that you don’t mind playing any of the roles.

From left to right: Top, Jungle, Mid, ADC, Support, and at the bottom, Fill.

If you’re a brand new player, we suggest that you spend time playing a few games of each role to get a feel for where each one operates and what each one does. Eventually, you do want to settle on a “main” role because it can really help you improve faster and learn to specialize a particular skill set.

For more reasons on why you should pick a main role and some guidelines for understanding the expectations of the five roles, check out our infographic below:

Keep in mind that these were just guidelines regarding the five roles. The champions that are played within each role and the expectations for each often change over time as players experiment and optimize.

For example, in Season 8, many champions that would be normally found in mid lane became temporarily commonplace at the ADC role (this is a story for another time).

Use these guidelines to get a solid foundation for what each role in the game’s current state (circa Season 9) to get you off your feet, but as you get better, don’t be afraid to try things out in a Normal match. If you find a new way to play a role that works well, put it to the test in a ranked match!

4. What is a team comp?

Since League of Legends is a 5 vs 5 team game, the combinations of champions that your team assembles at champ select can be incredibly important. Often times, you can greatly increase your chances of winning by synergizing the abilities and strengths of your choices.

An easy example to understand is an area-of-effect team (AoE) composition. This team combines five champions who have spells and abilities that can either deal damage to multiple champions or hold multiple champions in place with crowd control.

Every team comp tends to have a goal in mind, known as a win condition. The win condition of an AoE comp is to catch and kill multiple team members at once. If the AoE comp is able to do so, they will likely win a fight.

Another example of a team comp would be the skirmish comp. Skirmish team comps utilize champions that have high mobility and like to fight in messy fights from multiple angles.

A skirmish team comp would likely beat an AoE team comp because an AoE team comp would struggle to lock down multiple skirmishers at once if they play their cards right.

Since the AoE team comp relies on powerful spells that have long cooldowns, while skirmishers have attacks and abilities that are weaker but can be cast more often, the skirmish team comp can play around the abilities of the AoE team comp.

In the infographic below, we cover the strengths and weaknesses of the most common team compositions:

If you’re learning about the game as a new player, don’t worry too much about creating the perfect team comp at champ select. You’ll want to focus more on just playing your comfort champions and mastering them.

We just wanted to introduce you since it is something that will be mentioned often in game and in other places such as if you watch pro-play or streamers.

5. Fog of War and Vision Control

In League of Legends, you must make decisions with incomplete information. This is because you cannot see everything that is happening on the map due to something called the “fog of war”

The fog of war is shown on the minimap as a darkened area, as shown to the left. It conceals enemy movement and you want to be careful not to wander through it unless you have company or if you have a good understanding of where your opponents are.

Likewise, your team can use the fog of war to hide your movements and strike your enemies from the shadows.

You and all of your allied champions and structures provide vision for your whole team. If you can see it, so can your teammates.

Outside of these sources of vision, you also have the ability to create more vision using items called “wards”.

At the beginning of the match, every player in the game has access to a free item, called the Warding Totem, which is also known as the “yellow ward”.

Use the yellow ward to protect yourself by alerting your team of enemy movement. In the image below, the ward placed in the bush spots an enemy Vi that is moving around top lane.

If the ward was not there, you or your teammates who were near the top side of the map may have been blindsided and killed.

The vision control here allows your team the opportunity to retreat or set up a counter trap to kill the Vi.

These wards will last a limited amount of time and will eventually expire, so be sure to keep an eye on its time remaining.

You’ll know how much time is left on a ward by clicking on it or seeing the white bar (seen in the image above), which ticks down as time passed. If the time runs out, it’ll disappear.

Take note that the ward also has a green health bar comprised of three blocks. This is a good time to let you know that wards can be destroyed by the enemy team. Each block on the green bar represents an auto-attack hit, so it would take three hits to kill the Warding Totem.

There are different types of wards in League of Legends (we’ll cover them in this article). This type of ward stays invisible unless it is revealed by the enemy team by a Control Ward or Red Trinket.

Control wards take four hits to be destroyed but are visible to everyone. Within a certain radius, control wards block the vision of enemy wards and reveal where they are.

You can strategically use control wards to deny enemy vision from an important area on the map or to clear a ward that you know had been placed.

The other major method of clearing wards is the Oracle Lens, also known as the red trinket. The red trinket allows a player to walk around and expose enemy wards around them (shown in the image below).

Clearing enemy wards throughout a match is incredibly important as it denies their ability to track your teams movements and also allows you to find gaps in their defenses to attack.

It’s important that everyone contributes to this cause and it’s normal for every team to eventually have 1-2 red trinkets dedicated to seeking and destroying enemy wards.

The last type of ward is the Farsight Alteration, also known as the blue trinket. Blue trinket allows a player to place a ward at a much further distance, and it will remain there until it is destroyed.

The downside is that it is visible to the enemy team and dies in one hit – because of this, this is the most situational ward and is mostly only used by the most vulnerable member of your team or a champion that relies on very long range attacks.

It’s a common mistake for newer players to forget about fighting for vision control (even experienced players forget to prioritize it). Remember that the more information you have, the better decisions you’ll make. Make a conscious effort to do your part in placing wards and denying your enemies of vision and eventually it’ll be second nature.

6. The River, Jungle, and Camps

In between the lanes, you may notice the river that runs across the map as well as large sections of forest areas.

These areas are crucial because a lot of action occurs here as players move about to fight and contest monster camps and objectives.

Unlike minions which belong to a particular team, these monster camps are neutral and can be slain by any player.

Some camps are weak enough for one champion to clear on their own. This gives your team an additional source of income outside of the constant stream of minions.

Since these camps respawn over time, there’s a role in League of Legends completely dedicated to collecting these camps and moving throughout the jungle (check out jungler in the role section).

Several of these camps also provide additional utility and temporary upgrades called “buffs” It’s important for your team to secure these buffs to give you the edge over your opponents.

For example, killing the Blue Sentinel grants the Crest of Insight (also known as “blue buff”) which grants increased mana regeneration and ability haste (more on these champion stats later).

Slaying the Red Brambleback gives Crest of Cinders (also known as “red buff”) which grants increased health regen and causes your auto-attacks to slow your enemy and deal additional damage.

Jungle Plants

As you travel around the map through the river and jungle, you’ll notice interactive plants popping up. They don’t provide gold, experience, or buffs, but if you use them correctly, they can often save your life or help you facilitate a good fight.

The Blast Cone

The red plant you see in the jungle is the blast cone. Blast cones cause any champion within its radius to fly and land at a set distance.

In the picture below, you can see Rammus next to a cone and a red circle outline on the other side of the wall to his right.

If Rammus or any other champion would auto-attack the blast cone, Rammus would trampoline and land on the red circled outline. Spells and abilities will not affect the blast cone.

The blast cone allows champions that could not otherwise jump over or through walls to do so, allowing for more efficient movement and creative angles for ambushing opponents.

A well-timed blast cone jump can often give you enough distance to escape from a pack of enemies chasing you.

However, do be careful of your auto-attack timing as you may accidentally blast yourself towards your pursuers or launch an ally into danger.

Scryer’s Bloom

Scryer’s Bloom grants you a short glimpse into darkness as it reveals enemy champions or enemy wards (items that grant vision).

In the image below, if Rammus auto-attacks Scryer’s Bloom, it will create a cone of cleared vision in the direction that Rammus is facing.

Although it may not seem like much at first, don’t underestimate this plant’s ability to help you track down an enemy that would have otherwise escaped or allow you to reveal an assassin stalking you from the shadows.

Honeyfruit

The last type of plant you’ll see around the map is the Honeyfruit. These spawn along the river and grant health and mana if you pop the plant with an auto-attack and walk over its fruits.

In the picture below, Sona has auto-attacked the Honeyfruit and is replenishing her resources.

This grants an opportunity for her to return back to battle when she may have otherwise needed to return back to base.

Now, it probably seems like a no-brainer to try to get Honeyfruits whenever they’re available but you’ll actually have to be careful when you do so.

As you walk over the fruits, each one will actually slow down your movespeed. If you’re being chased, you may want to consider skipping the fruit to maximize your chances of survival.

This also means that if a foe you’re hunting down runs close enough by the plant, you may be able to slow them down by hitting the Honeyfruit.

The Scuttle Crab

Along the rivers, you’ll see a neutral monster, called the Scuttle Crab that walks back and forth near the Dragon pit and Baron pit. Slaying the crab will grant vision in the river near the openings of each respective pit.

The Scuttle Crab is incredibly easy to kill because it doesn’t fight back but it can be hard to consistently take because it will be highly prioritized due to the free vision it provides. If you’re a jungler, be sure to prioritize this camp as a stop as you travel the map, and if you’re another role, be ready to help your jungler if the enemy team is looking to stop them.

Elemental Dragons

All League of Legends dragons spawn at the bot side dragon pit. The 6 elemental dragons, also known as elemental drakes, grant team-wide buffs to ALL players on the side that kills them.

Here are their names and their effect:

• Cloud Drake = increased movement speed when you aren’t fighting
• Infernal Drake= grants ability power and attack damage
• Mountain Drake = increases damage against objectives (turrets, Dragon, Baron)
• Ocean Drake= grants missing health and mana regen when you aren’t fighting
• Hextech Drake= empowers auto-attacks
• Chemtech Drake= extra attack speed

The drakes spawn at random and you can get the same element multiple times. Each effect stacks up to three times and becomes more powerful. For example, slaying one Cloud Drake will grant your team +15 bonus movement speed out of combat – if you’re able to get three, you’ll have a total of +45 bonus movement speed.

Getting an elemental dragon won’t help you win instantly but can make the game easier for you and your teammates overtime. They’re quite powerful in the early to mid game so they will often require multiple team members to slay, especially if the other team is looking to contest it.

The Elder Dragon

The Elder Dragon, also known as Elder Drake, spawns in the late game and is the most powerful dragon in the game. Slaying an Elder Drake grants a buff that multiplies the effects of all the elemental dragon buffs that your team currently has by 50%.

If you’re able to kill two Elder Dragons, all of your elemental buffs will be multiplied by 100%. It also grants additional damage to non-turret targets (such as champions and monsters).

This makes Elder Dragon one of the best late game monsters to help your team secure a victory in a close match, especially if you were successful in taking elemental dragons earlier in the game.

Rift Herald

The Rift Herald is a monster that resides in the Baron pit before Baron is slain or spawns near 20 minutes.

The Herald is quite tanky so you may need multiple members of your team to kill it. A crucial tip to remember is that it has a weak spot on it’s back that will inflict additional damage if you hit it.

After a team kills the Herald, a purple item, called Eye of the Herald, will drop that one allied team member can pick up (it cannot be touched by the team that did not kill it). When picked up, the item will replace the player’s trinket slot and will remain there until it is used.

The effect of the Eye of the Herald is one of the most devastating in the game, so it’s not surprising that it only has one use. Activating the Eye will summon the Herald to fight for your team by attacking enemy structures until it dies. Here it is below:

As you can see, the Rift Herald inflicts a massive amount of damage. It can often help you take the first turret in the game which can help swing an even game into your favor.

One last tip is that activating the Eye requires a short amount of channeling time – if the player using it is interrupted by a hard crowd control effect such as a stun, silence, or knockup., they will fail to summon the Rift.

So if you’re using it, be sure to do so safely away from combat. If you know the other team is looking to use it, try to keep vision on them and look to CC them while they’re channeling.

Baron Nashor

The last monster you’ll need to know about is the Baron Nashor, also known as just “Baron”. Baron is the most powerful monster in Summoner’s Rift so you’ll need multiple team members to slay it unless a match goes on for a very long time (eventually few or even one champion may be able to slay it on their own).

Since Baron is so strong, teams can often win by killing a team that’s low on health because they tried to take it at a bad time. It can often be the site of a “final battle” at the end of a close game as the winning team can use it to get a big enough lead to secure a victory.

So what does slaying Baron do exactly? It grants a buff, called Hand of Baron, that is given to all living members of the team that slayed the Baron. This means that if you died while fighting Baron or for Baron, you will not receive the buff if you are still dead when the final blow is made.

Hand of Baron temporarily grants AD and AP and strengthens minions that you are close to. This makes it much easier to push toward the enemy Nexus since it’s harder for the enemy team to kill the empowered minions and easier for your team to defend them.

If you do not outright win by pushing with Baron minions, the enemy base will likely be destroyed enough to make your future attempts much easier. So don’t be too greedy and overextend. If you can only get a few turrets and inhibitors, that’s still a good gain.

7. The Three Phases and Scaling

These concepts are leaning more towards being intermediate than beginner, but we want to quickly go over them since you’ll likely hear the terminology of the three phases: early game, mid game, and late game.

The phases aren’t set in stone and act more as guidelines as every game is different in its own way, but they tend to hold true to regarding how the majority of games turn out:

Early game (the first 15 minutes)

• This is when all the turrets are up and everyone is in their lane except for the junglers.
• Until the jungler arrives, top and mid will mostly be 1v1 and bot lane will mostly be 2v2.

Mid game (15 to 30 minutes)

• At around 15 minutes, or when the first turrets begin to be destroyed, the mid game begins.
• During the mid game, a match becomes messier than lane phase as some players will remain in lane while others will begin to roam around the map to help destroy other turrets or contest dragons or Rift Herald.

Late game (after 30 minutes)

• The mid game usually ends and around the 30 minute mark when all of the first turrets in the lanes are destroyed (sometimes even more are gone by then). This is the late game.
• At this point, champions have acquired many of their major items and teams begin to group for large teamfights around Baron and Elder Dragons.

So why are the three phases important? In League of Legends, every champion is designed to be good during a certain time period. Some champions are designed to be strong in the early game but fall off the longer the game goes while others are designed to be weak early but get continuously stronger as the game goes on.

When a champion is at their strongest, it is known as a “power spike”. The process of getting gradually stronger and achieving your power spike is known as “scaling”. We won’t get too into detail here but know that scaling is usually influenced by a champion’s ability kit and their stat ratios as they buy more items. Let’s cover a few examples.

Blitzcrank: Early game power spike

Blitzcrank is one of the scariest early game supports because of his signature move, Rocket Grab, which pulls an enemy toward him. One well-timed grab can pull a vulnerable target and turn a 2v2 into a very quick 1v2 death.

His whole kit revolves around making picks and gaining an early advantage for his team. As the game goes on, however, Blitzcrank’s grab loses power because it becomes harder for him to grab his ideal target.

Instead of worrying about weaving his grab through a minion wave, he has to worry about getting it through a frontline of tanks during teamfights. His ability is also outclassed by better engage options that can target multiple champions instead of just one.

Ahri: Mid game power spike

The mid game is all about quick rotations with messy skirmishers and unpredictable team fights. Ahri hits her power spike during this time because she is a mage that utilizes a high amount of mobility and lower cooldown abilities that can be cast often.

Mid game fights are often fought from different angles and uneven numbers (3v2’s, 2v4’s, etc) so being mobile and flexible has more value. She can use hit and run tactics and move around the map quickly to help her laners that are still trying to take their turret or her jungler who is contesting objectives.

She isn’t necessarily bad in the early game but will be outdamaged by champions that have less mobility and more punch, and she tends to fall off in the late game since she doesn’t have strong late game scaling compared to other champions.

Kog’Maw: Late game power spike

When the late game arrives, you’ll start to see large scale teamfights with high stakes. One false move can mean all five of your allies dying and a charge by the enemy team to destroy your base.

Kog’Maw is a champion who’s easy to kill when alone but able to deal an insane amount of damage when he’s protected (some team comps are even built around him). In the organized situations during the late game where you have multiple frontliners and a backline of damage dealers, Kog’Maw is at his best.

He hits his spike during the late game because he also has access to most or all of his items. During the early game he’s focused on farming and won’t do that much damage and in the mid game, he’s vulnerable during skirmishes since they often happen from multiple angles.

How to learn power spikes

You can learn power spikes over time by just playing but you can study them at any time by checking out our champion pages:

The bottom line is to look to fight when your champion is at their most powerful state and to be wary of enemies when they are about to hit their power
spike. Also, be aware of factors like farm and experience level – if it’s the late game but a Kog’Maw hasn’t farmed very well, they’re likely to be more at a yellow state than a green state.

8. How to get better at League of Legends

If you made it this far through the article, respect! You’re genuinely interested in learning LoL and becoming a better player. As you can tell, League is an incredibly deep game with a lot of information to take in and understand. To really improve, you’ll need to commit time to reach your goals.

To save you a lot of time, we have a ton of tools designed to make getting better and climbing more efficient and easier. Just click here to sign up for a Mobalytics account, it’s free!

In this section, we’ll go over some of our features and how they can help you improve as a League player.

The Gamer Performance Index (GPI)

In order to develop at a consistent rate, it’s crucial to understand your identity as a player. This includes being able to evaluate your strengths, weaknesses, and overall playstyle. After all, if you don’t have a clear picture of what you’re good at or bad at, you may be working on things that you don’t need to and ignoring gaps in your gameplay that you may not have perceived.

The GPI is designed for this specific function, illustrating your unique fingerprint as a player as a graph. We run all of your games and the stats from those games through our GPI system to define this graph.

Above, you can that the GPI is comprised of 8 main skills:

• Aggression
• Consistency
• Farming
• Fighting
• Objectives
• Survivability
• Versatility
• Vision

These 8 skills comprehensively cover all the essential performance areas that are critical to succeed in League of Legends. Based on your scores, the GPI will provide you with specific advice to help you improve your areas of weakness. Here’s an example:

You’ll see all types of advice: tips and tricks, infographics, videos, article links, the list goes on! Once you’ve mastered an area, you’ll be guided to another skill to focus. So what are you waiting for? let’s check out that GPI!

Live Companion

We created the GPI to help you understand who you are as a player and help you improve your individual skills. The GPI however, requires multiple games (usually around 5-10) to see trends in your performance. If you’re looking to prepare for your very next game, you’ll want to use our Live Companion tool.

On the left side, it has info on all the players in your match, such as their ranks, win rates, and information about their playstyle. On the right, you’ll get everything you need to know to about how to play your champion, such as runes, skill order, and items. You’ll also be able to see advice for playing against your lane matchup and advice for playing against all enemy champions.

It can seem like a lot of information but the truth is, we wanted to equip players with all the information they could ask for. In most cases, you’ll only need to brush up on a few things, such as advice for your lane matchup and scouting power spikes. Since every player is different and prepares in different ways, we decided to give you pretty much everything you need and then some.

Challenges

Another awesome feature for beginners is Challenges! This tool is designed to improve your skills by giving you in-game goals.

The in-game goals are based on your role, rank, and GPI scores. For example, if you’re need help with Farming, you’ll automatically be given Challenges to help you improve those scores.

Here’s a quick look at how they work. To complete a Challenge, you must succeed in completing the objectives in three of your next five games.

Once you succeed, you’ll be able to progress to the next stage of that skill’s Challenge difficulty. Overtime, you’ll be able to see your GPI graph grow and become more full!

9. Additional Beginner Resources

Recommended reading list:

• Terms That Every League of Legends Player Should Know
• LoL Item Guides
• 5 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Better in League of Legends
• Mobalytics User Stories
• How to Recognize your Win Conditions
• How to Start Playing Ranked
• How to Peel

Level Progression (as of Season 11)

If you’re starting from level 1, here are the big things you’ll unlock on the way to level 30 (which is when you can play ranked).

Levels:

1. Reward – Summoner Icon Border (Profile)

• Unlocks
  • Co-op vs AI (5v5)
  • Heal and Ghost (Summoner Spells)
  • New Player Free Rotation

2. Reward – 450 Blue Essence

• Unlocks
  • Practice Tool
  • Pick a champion
    • Ahri
    • Darius
    • Lux
    • Master
    • Miss Fortune

3. Reward – 450 Blue Essence

• Unlocks
  • Blind Pick 5v5
  • ARAM (all random all mid) game mode

4. Reward – 450 Blue Essence

• Unlocks
  • Exhaust and Barrier (Summoner Spells)

5. Reward – Poro Pal Emote and 450 Blue Essence

• Unlocks
  • Hextech Crafting

6. Reward – 900 Blue Essence

• Unlocks
  • Mark and Clarity (Summoner Spells specifically for ARAM)

7. Reward – 900 Blue Essence

• Unlocks
  • Flash and Teleport (Summoner Spells)

8. Reward – Random Ward Skin Permanent and 900 Blue Essence

• Unlocks
  • Default rune pages, excluding Keystone.

9. Reward – 900 Blue Essence

• Unlocks
  • Smite, Ignite, and Cleanse (Summoner Spells)

10. Reward – New rune pages and 900 Blue Essence

• Unlocks
  • 90% XP given for Co-op vs AI
  • Custom rune pages
  • 5v5 Normal Draft (if you have at least 20 playable champs, including free to play)
  • Feature Game Modes

11. Reward – Random 1350 champion shard and 130 Blue Essence

• Unlocks
  • Free Champion Rotation

12. Reward – 450 Blue Essence

13. Reward – 450 Blue Essence

14. Reward – 500 Blue Essence

15. Reward – Random 4800 champion shard

• Unlocks
  • First Win of the Day Mission

16. Reward – 500 Blue Essence

17. Reward – 500 Blue Essence

18. Reward – Two random 1350 champion shards

19. Reward – 600 Blue Essence

20. Reward – Random Summoner icon permanent and random 4800 champion shard

• Unlocks
  • 80% XO given for Co-op vs AI Bots, reduced further to 65% after 180 minutes of game time that day

21. Reward – Blue Essence

22. Reward – Random 3150 champion shard and 20 Blue Essence

23. Reward – 725 Blue Essence

24. Reward – 725 Blue Essence

25. Reward – Random Ward Skin permanent and Random 4800 champion shard

26. Reward – 725 Blue Essence

27. Reward – Random 3150 champion shard and random 450 champion shard

28. Reward – 725 Blue Essence

29. Reward – Random 3150 champion shard and random 450 champion shard

30. Reward – Glorious Champion Capsule and Summoner Icon Border

• Unlocks
  • 75% XP given for Co-Op vs AI Bots reduced to 55% after 180 minutes of game time that day
  • Ranked queues (5v5)

Thanks for reading and welcome to your journey as a growing League of Legends player! Join our Discord community to find other new players and mentors to learn from. See you on the Rift!

The post Absolute Beginner’s Guide to League of Legends appeared first on Mobalytics.

Warding in League of Legends is incredibly important for every role and every game you play. It is a necessity for everyone to know when to ward, where to ward and how to become better at warding.

Without adequate vision control, you will find it difficult to survive the early game, win the mid game and close out the late game. When you understand the fundamentals of warding and how you can use it to your advantage it can really help you win more.

In this Mobalytics guide by PicklePants, we will go in depth about the subject of warding and give you everything you need to know when it comes to providing your team with vision. From High ELO to Low ELO, from pros to regulars, everyone can learn something from this guide. This guide is aimed at anybody and everybody who wants to improve their vision and warding strategy.

Do note that this guide is going to be very in-depth and we will go into great detail about the things listed. Similar to our wave management everything guide, we’ve added chapters to help you skip around the guide and help you digest the information that is presented.

Chapters

1. Introduction to Warding
2. How to Ward During Laning Phase
3. How to Ward After Laning Phase
4. Where to Ward While Sieging
5. Jungle Control Warding
6. Warding Objectives
7. Warding Tips and Tricks
8. Clearing Enemy Vision
9. Real Game Scenarios
10. Conclusion

Disclaimer
Before we begin, I would like to make a strong disclaimer and provide a little clarity to this guide. We’re going to put this right at the beginning before we show any images or warding locations so we do not have to repeat ourselves throughout this guide.

Everything you see in this guide is highly situational and you should use your own discretion and view when it comes to placing a ward. This guide should be used as guidance for you to make your own judgment of ‘worthwhile wards’ and this may mean that you disagree with some of our warding suggestions.

Our images all follow the same principle and key structure with 3 separate wards on each image. The images with an icon of a Control Ward means that this area may be good to place a Control Ward. The images with an icon of a Green Trinket or Warding Totem are for areas that are good to place Warding Totems but not necessarily Control Wards.

The final image icon is a split of a Control Ward and a Warding Totem. These icons suggest that either a Control Ward or a Warding Totem can be placed here.

If we break this rule, we will state it. In some images, we have Riot’s question mark (Missing Ping) icon. This is where you could place wards, but they’re not always going to be worth it and it’s only recommended that you ward there if you have to.

Furthermore, some icons may look slightly misplaced in some images. This is for clarity reasons and to make it is obvious where the intended ward location is. Again, this is just to make things visually clear and there is no other reason behind it.

1. Introduction to Warding

If you already have an understanding of the different types of vision that are in the game and already know about basic vision control, you can skip this the introduction.

Before we get into the subject at hand, we have to go back to the beginning of where it all started. Back in the day, there were no free wards and Riot made you pay for every single ward that you wanted to place. Thankfully, they introduced the trinket system back in Season 4 and provided trinkets for everyone. Wards were in the game prior to this historic event, but they were not always utilized like they are today.

There are a few different types of wards in League of Legends and in this section, we will talk about what grants vision and what destroys vision. We will also touch upon what champion can do to provide vision around the map without purchasing wards.

A ward is a deployable unit that removes the fog of war in a certain area of the map. Vision is not just buying and placing wards. It is not always a unit and it can be granted through champions as well as items that they purchase.

At the start of the game, the player can choose between two different types of trinkets. It is important that the champion picks the correct one to assist them in the laning phase. For the majority of champions, you would want to take the Warding Totem because it grants you vision that will allow you to ward your lane. The other option (which is not as favored because of its limitations) is the Oracle Lens. This is an item that can deny vision around the map.

This item is generally not purchased in the early game because it doesn’t benefit yourself nor your team. Instead, it is picked up during the mid game by the Jungler and purchased after the Support has completed their warding quest. Some pros however take this item at level 1 to secure their Jungle or deny strategic areas early on.

Warding TotemWards (also known as Yellow Trinket, Green Wards, Stealth Wards)*

The most common source of vision in League of Legends is from Warding Trinkets. Warding Trinkets, also known as Stealth Wards or Totem Wards, are wards that are invisible to the eye and can only be destroyed by Control Wards, Oracle Lenses, before they go invisible or by running out of time. Each ward has a lifespan which grows per level with their base life being 90 seconds long. The ward duration grows as the game goes along with its growth based on your teams average level. Each one of your warding totems has 3 health points and can also be Teleported on by allied champions.

*In this guide, we will give these types of wards multiple different names but they all mean the same thing.

Warding Totem (Yellow) chart from Lol Wiki

You are limited to 2 stacks or charges on your Trinket for this specific ward, but generally, you should never have two stacks on your Trinket. It is important that you use your trinket in the early game because it will allow you to have a much safer and better laning phase. There are a few other reasons why you should never have two stacks on your Trinket, but the main reason is that you will not be providing as much vision for your team as you could.

The maximum amount of trinket wards that any player can place is 3 on the map at any one time. The fourth trinket ward will destroy the first and oldest ward that had been placed. Keep this in mind if you are placing multiple wards around the map. It’s important to keep this limitation in mind when you are thinking of placing your wards.

The limit that is put upon us can be quite devastating for Supports compared to any of the other roles because nobody else will place 3 of wards at any given time. If you do not purchase a Trinket before leaving the base, this ward will be given to you automatically.

Control Wards

The second most common ward is the Control Ward. These are wards that stay on the map and are visible to the enemy, unlike the Warding Totem. They do not adhere to a time limit, and instead, only die if they are destroyed by an enemy or another one is placed (only one Control Ward can be placed per character). After Patch 8.23, Riot nerfed the number of Control Wards one can hold from 3 to 2. This was quite a big nerf to the Support role specifically, which puts more emphasis on other roles picking up the slack.

Control Wards, unlike Warding Trinkets, have an additional interaction. They can reveal and disable enemy wards and reveal stealthed traps such as Jhin’s E, Teemo’s Shrooms, Nidalee’s W and Shaco’s Boxes’. They also can spot camouflaged enemies like Evelynn or Twitch, but not champions with true stealth, like Akali or Shaco. This makes them a necessity when you’re against champions such as Evelynn who use their camouflage to gank lanes.

These wards have 4 hit points compared to the Warding Trinkets with 3. This means that it takes longer to clear them. This can be used to your advantage by deploying an alternative ward and wasting the enemies time clearing the ward and refusing them gold.

Control Wards are incredibly important for everybody to buy and you should always try to purchase them whenever you have inventory space. As a Support, you should be picking up a lot of these wards and frequently replacing them as the game develops. As a solo laner, you should purchase a Control Ward in the early game and keep placing them when you can as the game continues. Placing your Control Wards in high traffic areas is very useful in spotting the enemy as well as allowing your team to take objectives safely.

I hear a lot of people asking the same questions over and over again and I’m going to clear up this misconception. You do not need to aim for a vision score by a certain period of time. You just need to continue buying Control Wards and placing them throughout the game. Do not buy too many of course as you will fall behind in items and gold. You will need to find a healthy balance between getting items and buying wards in relation to the game’s context

If you look at the pros and study them, they do not aim for a score. They just place them when they need them. Pros frequently purchase more than one at a time, and in pro play they always return to lane with at least 1 Control ward. Also, and they always place more than one a game! If you do not place any Control Ward or place so little, how do you expect to become good at vision control?

Oracle Lens (Red Trinket)

The Oracle Lens is a trinket that activates around your champion for 10 seconds. This trinket reveals and disables wards and reveals stealth traps quite like a Control Ward. Wards that are temporarily disabled only see a localized area such as the champion auto attacking the ward to clear it. The Oracle Lens can be used to spot enemy champions that are nearby or over the terrain as well as champions who are hiding in bushes. Champions, as well as any visible traps or wards, are displayed as a silhouette inside of the radius which can help you identify where they are before running into them.

Oracle Lens (Red trinket) chart from Lol Wiki 

I do not recommend that you take this trinket at level one because it doesn’t necessarily benefit you as much compared to the Warding Totem. However, like every other trinket and ward we are going to talk about, the cooldown of this item is reduced every time you level up. This trinket is fantastic when it comes to invading or roaming as it will allow you to spot invisible wards such as the Yellow Trinket wards which are normally invisible. There is also an added bonus to the drone: as it has a big spotting radius, it can help you find wards and disable them which will allow you to walk through them without being completely spotted.

If you are a Jungler, you definitely want to pick up this trinket as soon as you can to help you ganking lanes. Clearing wards will give you a higher success rate when it comes to ganking lanes as the enemy will be in the dark. As the Support, as soon as you are about to complete your warding quest, make sure to change your trinket to this one to take advantage of the ability to clear vision. Because you’ve completed your quest, it wouldn’t be worth holding on to it, so you may as well change the trinket to the Oracle Lens.

Farsight Alteration (Blue trinket)

The final trinket that we haven’t discussed yet is only available after level 9. This trinket is only really purchased by the Top, Mid or ADC and it should be done not long after hitting level 9. I recommend that only these 3 roles use this item because the other two roles should take Red Trinkets instead. The Farsight Alteration is a ward that can be placed from up to 4000 units away and reveals the area for 2 seconds and champions inside for 5. This trinket has a very long cooldown which is, as you guessed it, reduced by level.

Farsight Alteration (Blue) chart from Lol Wiki

The Farsight Trinket should be used to spot enemies that are doing objectives such as Baron or Dragon. It is important to hold onto this trinket when an objective is spawning just to make sure that you can see the objective and tell if the enemy is taking it. The other use (which is not as beneficial) is to ward around the map to check bushes before you walk into them. This can be very helpful if the enemy are all missing and hiding in a death bush.

Runes and Items

There are additional ways that you can provide vision for your team and that is through specific runes and items.

Zombie Ward

The first rune is called Zombie Ward. This Rune provides you with a few things, but one of the main things it does is provide you with a ward. When you destroy an enemy ward, a ‘Zombie Ward’ will be put in its place. If the location of the destroyed ward is already warded, then you will gain a ‘zombie ward’ in your inventory which can be placed within 30 seconds.

Zombie Wards last for 120 seconds and do not count to your overall ward limit. This means that you can place 3 additional trinket wards while a Zombie Ward is up. As there is no limit to the number of Zombie Wards on the map at any one time, you can have as many ‘Zombie Wards’ as your heart desires as long as you’ve destroyed an enemy ward.

Zombie Ward chart from LoL wiki

This rune is usually taken on Junglers who take domination as their main rune tree. It can be very good at enabling you to clear the enemies vision and place more wards.

Ghost Poro

The second rune option is called the Ghost Poro. What this basically does is whenever a champion walks into a bush, a channel will occur and a poro can be left inside the bush. Standing still or moving around in a bush can change the location of the ghosted poro. This ward can be left in an area for 5 minutes until it’s either spotted or until another poro is placed.

If the enemy enters a bush where a poro is hiding, it will be scared away and you will lose vision of it. It will also be placed on a 60 second cooldown. The good thing about this rune is that no poros will be harmed on Summoners Rift.

Back to top!

2. How to Ward During Laning Phase

Now we’ve come to the main information section of the guide. We wanted to include everything so far because we wanted this Mobalytics guide to be the complete one-stop-shop for all things vision related. For us to achieve this, it was important that everybody knew what the basics were before we move on. We will try to be consistent by giving you examples of good warding locations when you’re in a winning match up, an even matchup and in a losing matchup.

Level 1 Warding and Positioning

At level 1, there are a variety of different warding strategies and tactics that you can prepare but not all of them are always going to be worth warding. Before that, I want to discuss how you can save your first ward by positioning better before the minions start to spawn. As we all know, you should position in an area to scout the enemy in case they try to invade. Each role has a (sort of) designated spot where they should stand to spot the enemy.

If you stand in these areas like suggested, you will not have to place your ward at level 1, nor will you have to walk into the unknown when you make your way to your lane after leashing for your Jungler. Walking into the unknown can be very dangerous and you may have to blow your Flash early or you may have to recall even before getting to lane which can mess up your early game. While this is not always the case for the top or mid lane, it can very well be the norm for the bottom lane.

Standing in an area like suggested will help you save your first ward as you will not need to use it early to spot the enemy as you would be using yourself as a ward. There are some exceptions to this rule, however, such as playing against a Blitzcrank or Thresh who can hook you level 1 or if the enemy is notorious for invading before minions spawn. When something like this occurs, you should stay in this position up until you spot them and then start running away. Before doing so, you should drop and place a ward so you can see if the enemy continues to chase you.

It is beneficial to not place any wards pre 1:25. This is because the information they will give you is next to nothing and you could actually save yourself using a ward just by positioning better.

Warding locations to protect early Scuttle Crabs

Depending on your lane, I would recommend that you use your ward at level one in between one side of the river in the river bushes. Warding at 1:25 will help your Jungler and your team out by knowing if the enemy is taking that side of the map’s Scuttle Crab as well as the knowledge of a level 2 gank or an invade. Since they spawn at the 3:15 mark, the ward would last long enough to spot the enemy. Depending on what side your Jungler starts on, you should place a ward on the other side of the map. For example, if the Jungle starts on the bottom side and receives a leash from the bottom lane, either the Top laner or the Mid laner should go and ward the bush on the opposite side of the map. Whereas if they start on the top side of the map, the Support or Mid laner should ward at 1:25 in the river bush on the bottom side of the map.

I recommend positioning and warding here because:
I’ve already touched upon why you should ward in these selected bushes, but I’m also going to go into detail on why I recommend standing in these positions before the minions spawn as well as warding in the specific areas at 1:25.

First of all, it will allow you to know if the enemy is invading level two to try to kill you or steal away your other buff. It will also allow you to know if the enemy has gone for the Scuttle Crab at the 3:15 mark and also tell you if the enemy is not doing it which means that you can take it.

If you are against a champion who is notorious for level 2 ganks such as Shaco, Twitch, Jarvan, or Camille, warding here can potentially prevent an early gank as you would be able to spot them going through the river if they were to take this route.

Now let’s move onto why you should stand in the areas suggested at level 1. There’s no fancy reasoning to stand here, except that it tells you if the enemy is invading you or not. Standing in one of these bushes and consistently walking around once inside will allow you to spot the enemy in case they try to enter your jungle. I recommend that you keep moving while in these bushes in case the enemy tries to hit you with abilities. We’ve all been hooked at level 1 by a Blitzcrank right?! That means you shouldn’t be tabbing out when the game has started. Make sure that pre minions spawning, you’re in a position to see the enemy in case they come.

I feel it’s about time we start with the first major example of warding in lane. It’s important to note that we have used these three terms to make it relatable to your own gameplay. By which we mean if you’re in an even matchup, it means none of the towers have gone – such as in the early laning phase, if you are in a winning or losing match up, it means that one of the towers have gone- like after 10 minutes.

How to Ward Top Lane (Blue side)

Let’s start with the blue team’s top lane. So in the early game, there are not many valuable warding locations. The reason for this is simple, there are limited areas where you can ward that will consistently provide you with information.

Warding as Blue Top laner (playing even)

Depending on the matchup, you may be able to place a Control Ward or a trinket ward in the river bush close to your lane. In the majority of matchups, you will start off by placing a Green Ward in this bush during the early game. If you are pushing, you can switch up this ward and place a Control Ward in the top lane river bush instead. However, if you are freezing or playing evenly, you should not place a Control Ward here.

This is because the enemy will be able to clear it and you will not be able to do anything about it. This ward would be considered an ineffective ward as it wouldn’t survive for long. Unless you can physically 1v1 the enemy or fight them for vision dominance in the river, it’s better to place a Control Ward further down in the river as it will be more cost efficient for you because it will stay alive for longer. Do not place a Control Ward in the top lane river bush if you’re not pushing the wave or able to fight the enemy. Instead of this, you would want to just place a trinket ward here.

Furthermore, I do not recommend that you place in a Control Ward in the enemy’s bush as they would easily be able to clear it. Again, this would be considered an ineffective ward as it wouldn’t last for long as the enemy could just clear it.

I would not prioritize any vision in the top 3 bushes for the majority of matchups, as they (generally) do not provide you with much information. I would recommend that you (generally) avoid warding these bushes. I would not suggest completely throwing out the idea of warding these three bushes though- especially if you in a matchup where the enemy can jump on you such as a Rengar or if you’re coming close to having two stacks on your trinket and are unable to ward elsewhere. I wouldn’t prioritize warding these bushes as there are much better alternatives around.

Now let’s talk about losing your lane and let’s assume that the enemy is sticking to their lane and trying to pressure your tier 2.

Warding as Blue Top laner (playing behind)

For you to be able to continue farming safely, you need to make sure that your jungle is warded and that you have wards nearby to protect you. It is important to have your jungle warded not only for your safety but the safety of your Jungler. Wards in these areas give your team a lot of information of the whereabouts of the enemy if they decided to leave your lane. For example, if the enemy was to rotate to the mid lane, go to the Rift Herald or try to take away a jungle camp- you would know about it.

I recommend that when you are moving further away from your base that you only use Trinket Wards to ward the map. This is because if the enemy decides to push their lane, they will easily be able to clear your Control Wards and you would have wasted gold. However, I recommend that there is a Control Ward in the river bush or alternatively one near your blue buff. This is because, if the enemy is to place a ward nearby, it would be spotted and it could be taking off the map easily.

Furthermore, there are many warding locations for the enemy to ward in this area and placing a Control Ward here prevents a lot of them. When you are on the back foot, it’s important to place valuable information that can help your team know where the enemy is. There is no point placing offensive wards in a losing match up as the enemy will always be on your side of the map. I would suggest that you place even or defensive wards instead.

When you are winning your matchup and applying pressure to the enemy, you have a wider range of warding spots.

Warding as Blue Top Laner (playing ahead)

The further you are up in the lane, the more vision you need deeper into the enemies jungle as this will give you the longest reaction time to the enemy moving towards you. There are also some defensive warding spots that can protect you against flanking manoeuvres or potentially enemy encirclement.

Because you are so far up in lane, I would recommend that you place Green Wards in the enemies jungle to protect you. I do not recommend Control Wards in this situation as you maybe unable to contest them. Furthermore, the enemy could easily clear them if they were to check the bushes. As the Green Wards are invisible, the likelihood of them staying alive for longer is probable.

Also, some of these warding locations can tell you if the enemy is taking a jungle camp as well as tell you if it is up or not. This will allow you to steal away their camps. Again, we’ve gone for even wards in the river to protect you against flanks as well as allow you to know if the enemy is rotating or not.

How to Ward Top Lane (Red Side)

When you are the red team Top Laner, you have a variety of warding locations for your early laning phase. We will start off by talking about where to ward when you are in an even matchup.

Warding as Red Top laner (playing even)

As you can see, there are a range of different wards placed here. Just like the blue team, you should place a Control Ward in your side bush. As you are the Top Laner and you’re the red side, you can place either a more forward ward or choose for a defensive one. I would recommend that you place a Control Ward defensively if you are not pushing the wave or playing aggressively.

If you are playing aggressively, then you can place a Control Ward in the river. I recommend that you do not place a Control Wards in either of these two bushes if you are playing under tower or are having a rough time in lane. If you cannot place them in either of the bushes, then go and take a walk down the river and place a ward in the middle of the river bush.

When you are playing aggressively and are pushing your lane, you can place a Green Ward over the small wall near your lane to provide you with vision of the jungle plant. Many Junglers use this plant as a means to gank the top lane. If you see the enemy attempting to use this, you can back off in time without fear of being killed. Alternatively, you can manually destroy the plant to prevent the enemy from using it. Like we said with the blue side, you can place wards in the top 3 lane-bushes, however, they are not always going to give you information, so keep that in mind if you intend to ward them.

It’s not uncommon for you to lose lane and in a good portion of your games you will unfortunately lose. It may be your fault, it may be your team’s fault, or it may just be an unfair matchup. Either way, whenever you are losing your lane, you have to adapt and ward around your lane to provide you and your team with protection.

Warding as Red Top laner (playing behind)

As you should be playing relatively safe, you cannot afford to place Control Wards deep around the map. You have to either go for defensive wards or even wards. This is because the enemy can easily clear a Control Ward that is placed further down the lane. Because it is difficult to ward deeply when you are being pressured, I would recommend that you do not push up to far forward and only ward when it is safe to do. I recommend the use of your trinket for this as it will be the most reliable way of gaining vision.

It is beneficial to have Control Wards in your own jungle to see if the enemy Top decides to rotate through your teams Jungle or is attempting to take away any camps or buffs. This will also give some added security for your Jungler when they approach the top side of the map.

When you are winning your lane, you may want to continue applying pressure by pushing your lane.

Warding as Red Top laner (playing ahead)

In order for you to do this safely, you will need to provide sufficient ward coverage around the lane and the enemies jungle. The protection this provides is valuable and without it, you can get killed and lose your lead. If you were to die in this situation, the enemy may be able to come back from their disadvantage and you may have to start adjusting your gameplan.

As you are pushed up into the enemies side of the map, I would recommend that you prioritize placing Vision Wards rather than Control Wards as the enemy will easily be able to clear them and you may not be in a position to challenge them for it. It is a good idea to place Control Wards in the top side of the map as well as in the river to prevent any counter movements from the enemy.

A good Control Ward in the top bush will deny any vision for the enemy which can come in handy to prevent a TP play or the enemy spotting your Jungler. I recommend that you place Green Wards in the enemies top jungle rather than Control Wards as they will be invisible and unlikely to be found.

You should prioritize a Green Ward directly in the middle of the topside jungle- just outside of the blue buff. This is a fantastic place to put a ward because it will show you a variety of different measures the enemy could take to get to you. Arguably, the ward in the middle is the most beneficial of them all because it has many different spotting zones which can give you plenty of time to back off. This is because it grants vision of people coming into the jungle, coming from the top side of the Jungle, coming from mid lane as well as coming from the wolf pit.

How to Ward Mid Lane (Blue Side)

The mid lane requires priority when it comes to warding. Many Supports and Junglers like to ward around the mid lane because it is the core section of the map. Splitting the map in two, the river and the middle lane are considered high traffic areas with plenty of different warding locations that need to be conquered. The mid laner is unable to ward the whole of the mid side of the map which means it’s up to the Jungler and the Support to help them ward.

Naturally, the Mid lane has more possible warding locations associated to it because of the architecture of the map. Compared to the other lanes, there are more possible direct ganking routes for the enemy as the Mid lane is wide open. This means that vision needs to be placed in more areas to stop potential ganks.

Warding as Blue Mid laner (playing even)

As you can see demonstrated by this picture, when you are the blue team’s Mid laner, you need to have wards that will provide you with as much information prior to the enemy getting face to face to you. The deeper the ward, the easier and the longer amount of time you have to react to it.

I like to have a Control Ward placed in the side bushes to deny enemy vision as well as being able to set up ganks for the Support or Jungler. It is recommended that you place this ward closer to your side of the map rather than the enemies as the enemy will have to overextend if they want to clear it. While the range of the ward doesn’t change nor does the job of it, putting the ward real close to your side in the bush will make it difficult for them to clear it. This is especially true if the ward you have placed is a Control Ward.

Having it over your side can prevent the enemy from destroying it over the wall. Depending on how the game is going, you may find it difficult to decide on which side of the map to put your Control Ward. I recommend that you put the Control Ward on the side that your team needs more vision on. If there is already a ward in the bottom side of the middle lane, then you should place a ward on the top side of the lane so you have vision on both sides.

When things go wrong, one of the most efficient ways to get back into the game is by farming and gaining experience. When you are not as strong as the enemy, you have to respect them and prepare for them to jump on you at any given time. To counter this, you should avoid areas where they are and instead rely heavily on good vision control.

Warding as Blue Mid laner (playing behind)

In this image, we can see that there are a wide range of mixed wards. This is because when things are going wrong, you have to protect yourself as well as your team. As many Mid laners can roam and are able to move around the map with ease, it is important that you provide your team with deep wards to spot any potential roam from the enemy.

A ward that is slightly underrated is a ward that is placed in the middle of the lane. You might see your allies do this occasionally and you may think why they would waste a ward by putting it in the middle of the lane. Placing a ward in the middle of the lane has a few benefits. One of them is that it allows the team to know which way the Mid laner has gone if they have left lane to roam, backed or gone to pick up the blue buff. It also tells you if any other enemies are coming mid to siege the tower.

When you’re winning lane, you need to continue to apply pressure to the enemy by having wards inside their jungle to prevent them from entering or moving around the map. If you know where the enemy is at all times, you can capitalize on that and prevent them from doing anything

Warding as Blue Mid laner (playing ahead)

Like always, you want to have wards inside of the enemies jungle in areas that are high traffic and where the enemy Jungler or Mid may be walking through. Having invisible wards here will allow you to know where they are at all times and allow you and your team to set up a potential trap. It can also allow your other lanes to play aggressively knowing that the enemy Jungler is somewhere else on the map and unable to counter them.

It can also be beneficial for you to have Control Wards as well as other wards inside and near bushes. This is because it can allow you to sit and pitch a tent and try to execute an enemy as soon as they walk by. This is a really good way of snowballing your lead.

How to Ward Mid Lane (Red Side)

As the red team’s Mid laner, you too have a range of different warding locations. Just like the blue team, you should prioritize having wards that are slightly further out rather than close by to give you a longer reaction time to react to potential ganks.

Warding as Red Mid laner (playing even)

As pictured above, there are a wide range of wards that can be placed in the bottom side of the map. I feel that this is very good area to focus on as I feel (but could be wrong) that many Junglers prefer to gank from the bottom side of the map compared to the top side.

Likewise, you would also want to ward the side bushes with either Control Wards or Warding Totems on your side of the map. Having a Control Ward close to your side will allow you to deny enemy vision if they place it in that bush and the enemy will not be able to clear it without overextending.

Many Junglers like to hide in the darkness around the mid lane where they do not expect any wards to be. Waiting for the optimal opportunity to go in and surprise you is what they want to do. This is why is it important to have wards that are in the enemies jungle, around the mid lane, and in the river.

Warding in these three locations will allow you to spot the enemy before they are able to do anything which will allow you to play safe and not fall into the trap. This is a huge benefit for your team because some players like to wait for quite some time before doing anything. This means you can waste their team by ‘baiting them’ without putting yourself in danger.

On occasion, you will find yourself on the back foot and you may have lost lane. It’s important that you don’t give up and try to get back into the game by warding efficiently and going for risk-free trades. Having wards that are even on the map will allow you to spot the enemy if they try to take objectives, as well as then running around the map.

Warding as Red Mid laner (playing behind)

Like suggested throughout this section for both teams, many Mid laners are able to kill and burst you down if you fall into their trap. This makes it incredibly difficult to roam around the map and get things done when you’re behind. One way of countering this is by warding every nook and cranny and not going alone around the map. Having areas warded around objectives such as the Baron and the Dragon will allow you to know if the enemy is doing it. This will make it much safer when you try to contest them. During the later stages of the game, face checking is no easy business and if you face-check at the wrong time, you could give the enemy the objectives for free.

Depending on how the game is going, you may prioritise top vision as it’s easier to ward. However, you should try to keep wards on both sides of your lane to prevent the enemy from invading your jungle and snowballing their lead into another lane. After level 9, you will find it slightly safer to ward if you pick up a Farsight Alteration on champions like Syndra or you can opt for a Red trinket as a roamer to keep the paths clear.

When you are winning your lane and have got the first tower, it’s important that you continue to apply pressure around the map. One way of applying pressure is a by warding the enemies jungle and taking away their camps whenever they are up. Mid laners are able to clear the camps pretty quickly if they have AOE abilities.

Warding as Red Mid laner (playing ahead)

If the enemy Jungler decides to walk through their jungle and does not respect you, having vision of them may allow you to kill them if they are low enough. Having a plethora of wards inside the enemies jungle will not only benefit you, but it also benefits your Bot lane, your Top lane and your Jungler. Understanding where the enemy Jungler is at all times will allow your team to apply pressure as well as take objectives if they know that the enemy Jungler is someone else on the map.

Many Mid laners are assassins of such and like what we said with the blue team, you want to have wards in high priority- high traffic areas so you are able to kill the enemy if they start to roam or move around the map. If you know an area is not warded, you could hide in this bush and wait for the enemy to walk by and then assassinate them. A good bush to try this would be on the way to Baron or on the way to the Dragon.

How to Ward Bot Lane (Blue Side)

When it comes to the bottom lane, you need to have vision around your lane and in the river. As stated previously, the Support has to ward in the mid lane, the river, as well as the bottom lane. This is why there are quite a few wards outside of the bottom lane in this upcoming image.

When you are the blue team bot lane, your goal is to provide vision for you and your lane partner as well as wards for your team. This is why there are wards around the map. Vision in the river is very good as it can tell you if the enemy is doing the Scuttle Crab or if they are going for the Dragon.

Control Wards are also good in this situation as it can also tell you if the enemy is roaming through the river to either invade your jungle or to gank the Mid laner from behind. This is why these two Control Wards are pretty good when placed there.

Warding as Blue Bot lane (playing even)

Depending on how the lane is going, IE if you’re pushing or getting pushed in, you may want to place a more-aggressive Control Ward in your lane. Whereas if you are being pushed in, you cannot place a Control Ward in the bottom line river bush at all as the enemy will easily be able to clear it and you would have wasted some gold.

Compared to the top lane, you can ward the lane bushes inside of the lane at the bottom side of the map. This is because the enemy Support usually hides in this position in order to engage on you without being seen. If you keep a ward here, you can tell when the enemy is going to jump on you. If you are pushing, you could place a Control Ward in the bush behind you so your Jungler can lane gank. Having a Control Ward in this position will deny the enemy any vision of the Jungler of being there.

The blue team’s bottom side of the map has more warding locations compared to the enemies bottom side. This is because of the architecture of the map and how many bushes there are compared to the enemies. This means that you need to ward the correct bushes at the right time in order to provide your bottom lane duo with enough vision that it can protect both of you.

Warding as Blue Bot lane (playing behind)

As you can see, the wards are mostly in the bottom side of the Jungle as well as in the river. Like always, you need to have even wards in the river so you can spot the enemy coming in and out of your jungle as well as if they start to roam or rotate. You also want to have wards that are in your bottom side jungle so the enemy does not ambush you when you are rotating from lane to lane.

You may ask yourself, why is there not many Control Wards directly connected to the bottom lane? There are a few reasons for this but the main issue is that is a waste of gold as the enemy can easily clear them resulting in them being ineffective. Control Wards, unlike Green Wards, are visible and if they were to walk through a bush, they can easily spot it. This means that you need to keep wards in this area invisible to the enemy so they do not clear them.

We do have one Control Ward in the bot side river bush which is there just for cheese! When you’re walking to lane or walking around the map, you generally do not check this bush when you are ahead. This Control Ward is used solely to abuse the enemies ignorance and hopefully, it will stay alive for long enough. This is the reason why we have a Green Ward here because it can be quite useful if you have started to push back.

When you are winning, you obviously want to have a mixture of even and deeps wards in the enemies jungle. This will allow you to know if anybody is roaming from another lane to come bot side or if the bottom lane starts to move around the map and match your roams.

Warding as Blue Bot lane (playing ahead)

Because you are far up in the lane, you need to have wards that would protect you when you are overextended. I do not recommend that you have obvious Control Wards placed in the enemies jungle as once they push the wave back, you would forfeit all of them. This is why you want to have them strictly in bushes and not just in plain sight like Green Wards.

It’s nice to have wards that give you and your other laners information. These wards will also give you enough time to back off if anyone comes to your lane to defend. As you are in enemy territory and overextended, they would have the advantage in chasing you down. This is because you have more of a distance to travel in order to escape which gives them a better chance of killing you.

How to Ward Bot Lane (Red Side)

As the red team, you need to prioritize vision that is on equal terms during the early levels and then move on to wider vision when the game starts to progress. On first glance, the wards seem pretty similar to the opposing teams bottom lane and that is true. However, there are a few specifics differences between the two teams.

Warding as Red Bot lane (playing even)

First of all, you may notice a defensive mix of wards on your sides tri-brush. I would only recommend warding here if you are losing your lane or playing relatively safe. For example, if you are being pushed under your tower, then you would definitely want to ward here because it provides you with a defensive ward that will allow you to back off if need be. This is the only acceptable circumstance to warding this bush. You do not ever want to ward here if you are winning or even.

I wouldn’t recommend that you place a Control Ward in the enemies tri-brush because they quickly clear it if they decide to push the wave. This would mean that you have wasted an expensive ward. You can place a Control Ward in the bottom lane river bush if you are even or are pushing. This will allow your Jungler to possibly gank your lane. Once again, we have placed a ward in both bushes which can help you out if the lane is even. You can put a Control Ward in your side bush if you are pushing to enable your Jungler to lane gank, but you wouldn’t want to place a Control Ward here if the enemy is pushing you under tower as they can easily clear it.

When things aren’t going too well, you’ll need to bring back your wards and start to ward inside your own Jungle to prevent your Jungler from falling just as behind as you. When you are behind, it’s important to not allow the enemy to continue their snowball and put other laners behind. This is why it is important that you ward your own jungle and lane.

As we can see by this image, there are a lot of wards that in the bottom jungle. This is because it will allow your team to know if the enemy is going through your jungle in order to take away any camps as well as steal away any buffs that may be up. Having vision in the river will also allow you to know if and when they have left.

Warding as Red Bot lane (playing behind)

There are two separate Green Wards in the middle of the Jungle. This is to prevent any potential a bush by the enemy who may be hiding behind a wall or in the darkness. The areas that are warded are known “hotspots” for the enemy where they try to pounce on unsuspected targets. If you have these areas warded, you will not fall for their trap and instead, you can master a plan in order to kill them.

When you are behind, the enemy may run through your side of the jungle in order to get to the mid lane in attempts to take down the tower. If you have vision here, you would be able to follow the enemy without fear of face checking or being surprise attacked by them. It will also give time for your Mid laner to react and back off or clear the wave if they see the enemy coming.

When you are dominating the lane, you need to adjust your warding style. As you can see by this image, you should try to put wards around the enemies jungle to spot any potential Jungler interaction within your lane.

Warding as Red Bot lane (playing ahead)

Vision is incredibly important when you are pushed up in the enemies side of the map. When you are ahead, it is important that you continue to applying pressure to the enemies bottom lane. However, if you were to get caught out in enemy territory, you may throw your advantage and give the enemy an opportunity to get back into the game. This is why vision is incredibly important because it can allow you to escape before the enemy gets a chance to group and collapse on to your lane.

Depending on the matchup and how far ahead you are. You may be able to place an aggressive Control Ward in one of the main bushes in the enemies jungle (see the mixed ward.) If you are not completely destroying the enemy, you may be unable to place a Control Ward here, but this is a very good bush to ward in general as it is considered a high traffic zone. Having a ward here will tell you if anybody is coming towards your lane which will leave just enough time for you to escape.

Back to top!

3. How to Ward After Laning Phase

We’ve discussed the laning phase, where you could ward, and we’ve discussed a lot of vision information, but we haven’t really touched on what to do after the laning phase has ended. Continue to buy Control Wards in the early game, the mid game and the late game. Just because you buy a Control Ward in the early game and it’s still alive, it doesn’t mean that you should not buy another one and place it somewhere else. If your Control Ward is alive but the game has moved on, place another Control Ward in a different area.

Here is a guide to where you could look to ward if the game is even and it’s practically a stalemate. A lot of the Control Wards suggested are just like the wards in laning phase and that is a pretty common sign you’ll see throughout this section.

Blue Team General Control Wards

Blue team Control Wards (playing even)

Even wards are a great way of providing your team with information of the Jungler if they enter the river or if anybody has left their lane. River wards or even wards are vision that is placed evenly along the map. If you were to cut the map in half, they would be along the joining line. Warding here is great because it can tell you if the Jungler is entering your jungle, leaving your jungle or going to gank a lane. It can also tell you if somebody has left lane in order to roam, rotate or go to an objective.

However, if the game is not going too well and you are losing, it’s important to adapt your warding situation and bring your wards slightly further back. You want to still have a mixture of even wards but many protecting your own jungle and their entrances. As the game will be fought more on your side of the map, it is better to have wards that are closer to your side than the enemies.

Blue team Control Wards (playing behind)

This is because it will give you more concrete information about them moving around your jungle and your side of the map. I feel that it is pointless warding the enemy’s jungle when you are behind because the enemy will most likely not be using their jungle as much as yours. For example, they would be prioritizing moving around your jungle compared to theirs and they would be stealing away all your camps. Furthermore, if you were to go and ward in the jungle you may get caught out of position which could allow the enemy to take an objective.

If the game is going incredibly bad and the enemy is knocking on your nexus towers, you would need to adapt your warding placement again and go for some defensive wards and a few even wards. Warding your own base is not always effective however it can be useful if the enemy is trying to siege a tower. Warding just outside of the towers range will allow you to destroy any wards that may be placed over the wall. Make sure to keep the ward out of range of the enemies auto attack so they cannot destroy it over the wall.

Blue team Control Wards (playing very behind)

I recommend placing a mixture of wards evenly in your jungle and a Control Ward or two in your base to give you a wider knowledge of the enemies map movements. If you were to not ward your jungle and not place wards evenly, you would be unable to see if the enemy are trying to ambush you nor would you be able to see if they go to Baron or the Elder Dragon. It is a good idea to place wards that are in ‘kill zones’ as they can prevent you from being ambushed by the enemy (especially against assassins or mages.)

As the blue team, you have a wide range of warding places when you are winning. Without good ward coverage, you will not be able to abuse the enemies as much as you could have and this may give the enemy an opportunity to get back into the game. This is why it is important that you continue to apply pressure even when you are winning and give the enemy no room to get back into the game. If you do not continue to apply pressure to the enemy, you are not going to improve as a player because you have an advantage but you are not abusing it.

Blue team Control Wards (playing ahead)

As we can see by this image, there are a lot of different warding places you can put your Control Wards when you are winning. Depending on where your team is focusing, you may want to stick to one side of the map compared to both sides. For example, if you are sieging the bot lane, you’d want to stick Control Wards around the bottom side of the Jungle. This will allow you to catch out enemies and also siege more effectively. And if you are trying to siege the top lane, you would focus on warding the top side. Experience will tell you where and when you should prioritize placing your Control Ward.

We have suggested that you place more wards around the enemies jungle compared to the river or inside your own jungle. This is because you want to catch the enemy out before they are able to get too far out of their base. If they were able to freely roam around the jungle, they would soon be able to catch up in gold and farm.

Red Team General Control Wards

Just like the blue team, when you are playing as red team, you should prioritize having wards that are even on the map when a game is pretty close. Warding in these areas like suggested will give your team a lot of information and protect your team thanks to the location of many of them.

Red team Control Wards (playing even)

You will see a lot of similarities between the two pictures and you can technically use both if you are on either side of the map. So make sure to use both of the ‘even warding’ images to your advantage for future reference.

Just like before, if the game is looking rough and you are losing across the board, it’s time to start bringing your Control Wards back into your own jungle to give you some security and protection.

Red team Control Wards (playing behind)

There are some even wards and more defensive wards. The even wards will provide you with some security if the enemy decides to invade your jungle. Defensive wards will provide you with information once the enemy has entered your jungle. Additionally, having a Control Ward around at the back end of the Baron pit will prevent you from walking into the unknown and face checking a potential ambush from the enemy which could result in the enemy being able to take the Baron.

When you are on the back foot, you definitely need to keep your side of the map warded and you need it warded properly to get back into the game. Without sufficient warding to protect your team, you will start to fall behind in farm, gold, and experience and it will give you little to no chance to get back into the game.

Red team Control Wards (playing very behind)

When you are at such deficit, you need to rely on getting picks and the enemy throwing. This cannot be achieved if you do not have enough warding around your base and the surrounding jungle. So it is important that you have a mixture of wards inside your base, inside your jungle and in the river. Just like the previous image, warding in bushes that are high priority or have heavy traffic (generally speaking) will prevent your team from being ambushed and the enemy taking away objectives, which again, would give you little to no wiggle room to get back into the game.

When you are winning, it is important to give no room for the enemy to breathe by consistently applying pressure to them wherever they are on the map. Without constant pressure, you may give the enemy an opportunity to get back into the game which is something you want to avoid. It may also cause the game to last longer which will also give them a higher chance of getting back into the game and you throwing.

When you are winning, you should have more offensive wards and wards placed in their jungle. This will prevent them from being able to rotate around the map as well as take their jungle own camps including their blue and red buff.

Red team Control Wards (playing ahead)

As you can see from this image, there are some wards around the bottom side, the top side and near the Baron pit itself. We’ve also included wards outside of the mid lane entrance to prevent the enemy from placing wards over the wall. Having Control Wards around the area that we’ve suggested will allow you to siege and flank the enemy as they will not be able to see you coming.

We’ve talked about ambushing and how important it can be for the enemy, but you can also use it yourself. If you (as a team) set up in a bush that is traditional pathing to the Baron, your team could hide and ambush them as soon as they walk up towards you. Control Wards would work heavily in your favor as they would not be able to see you hiding there.

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4. Where to Ward While Sieging

We have already discussed a lot about warding and where you should ward during the laning phase for when you are behind or ahead. Now it’s time to discuss where you should look to ward when you are attempting to siege objectives. We have indirectly touched upon the subject already, however, now we’re going to go into slightly more detail and give you advice for specific team orientated sieging.

Warding while you are sieging objectives is incredibly important for the safety of your team. When you are trying to take an objective, the enemy will try to stop you at all costs. If you have sufficient vision coverage around the objectives, it will allow your team to take the objective more safely or back off if you are unable to secure it.

To keep this section short and sweet, we’ll try to provide you with the information for all the major towers that are hard to siege. This includes tier 2 towers and the inhibitor towers.

Blue Top Lane Siege Wards

The top lane tier 2 is probably one of the easier objectives to take out everything we are listing because the top lane is usually left alone for a good portion of the game. It doesn’t really get touched unless somebody is split pushing or the minions are advancing. While this isn’t the case for every game, there is more pressure in the bottom and mid side of the map compared to the top lane.

Let’s start with the blue team once again. When you are attempting to siege the top tier 2 tower, you will be quite far from base as it’s one of the furthest places you can be on the map away from your base. When you are trying to siege this tower, you need vision in the top side of the enemy jungle to protect you and your team from being flanked by the enemy.

There are many warding locations that you can use to your advantage and some of the wards we have suggested can come in handy. It’s important to note that this section, in particular, would benefit from a lot more team-oriented wards as the more vision you have in the enemies jungle, the easier it is to siege an objective.

Wards for sieging Top tier 2 turret as blue team

Depending on the situation, you may find it valuable to place a Control Ward in the open of a choke point. This is good as it can prevent the enemy from being able to place wards over the wall near the tower. This can deny the enemy vision of anybody who may be attempting to jump over the wall in order to tower dive. Of course, you may be unable to do this if you are not able to dive or apply pressure to the tower directly.

It’s good to have a mixture of offensive and defensive wards when you are far up in a lane. We will definitely be repeating ourselves, but when you are in the enemies territory, you need to have wards that are aggressive and defensive in case you have to back off. Whether you are split pushing or sieging objectives with your team, having these types of wards will give you enough time to back off in case of a flank.

They can also provide you with a lot of other useful things. One example is that if a bush is housing a Control Ward and you are split pushing, your Jungler could wait in this bush and you together could try and kill the enemy. This sort of bait is perfect when it comes abusing the enemy and taking a valuable tower.

Wards for sieging Top inhibitor as blue team

Sieging an inhibitor can actually be slightly easier in comparison to a tier 2 tower in some retrospect. This is because gameplay can be quite repetitive without many options to what the enemy can do to stop you from taking the objective. I’m not saying that these towers are super easy to take and they can, in fact, take a long time to destroy. What I am saying is that: what the enemy will do to stop you is almost always scripted.

This is one of the reasons why there are not as many warding spots for you when you are sieging the top lane inhibitor tower. There are some very obvious wards that are recommended to prevent the enemy from flanking you and to help you escape. But, the most effective wards are the wards that deny the enemy vision.

Utilizing your Trinket as well as a Control Ward can deny the enemy any vision just outside of their base. This could make it very difficult for them to leave. When you want to ward outside of their base, make sure that they will not be able to destroy it over the wall. I recommend that you place a Control Ward directly away from the base and have it close to the jungle wall to ensure that they cannot auto attack it.

Red Top Lane Siege Wards

Sieging for the red team is actually pretty good when it comes to this specific scenario. Once you are in the enemy’s jungle, it can be difficult for them to get you out. Having decent ward coverage when you are trying to take this objective can make it even harder for them to do so.

I recommend that you ward all the major entrances to the middle of the jungle. If they try to take you on from the side, you would be able to see them- which will allow you to back off in time before they initialize their team fight. Having wards that directly cut the access into the top side of the jungle will also allow you to swap objectives once you take down their tower.

Having wards in the wolf’s pit as well as the brush near the mid lane will allow you to see if the enemy starts to rotate from the mid tier 2 to the top tier 2 as well which could give you the opportunity for some of your team to collapse on them and switch targets.

Wards for sieging Top tier turret 2 as red team

While it may not always be possible, after taking the object, you can rotate through their jungle and try to pressure the Baron. As the enemy will have no ward coverage in the jungle, you may be able to ambush them or just take the objective straight up.

After you have taken the tier 2 tower, it’s time to siege the inhibitor. Many of the wards are the same as previous except for the noticeable Control Ward outside of their base as well as the one that placed inside of their base. Having a Control Ward outside of their base will prevent the enemy from being able to spot you if you decide to back off or move from the top lane to the mid lane.

Wards for sieging Top inhibitor as red team

It will also allow your team to have a slight (theoretical) advantage of the enemy would not be able to poke you as efficiently as they will not be able to see where you are. You can use this to your advantage to siege the tower in reasonable health which allow you to start a team fight if the enemy decides to jump on you. Furthermore, having a ward in the enemies base will allow you to poke them effectively in order to make them back off which can give you ample time to take the objective.

Blue Mid Lane Siege Wards

The mid lane requires perfect vision throughout when you are trying to apply pressure and siege their objectives. This is because the mid lane is more open compared to the other side lanes so it requires adequate vision on both sides of the map in order to protect you and your allies while you try to take the towers. This is no easy job for the Support or the Jungler and it needs the whole team to work as a unit in order to ward both sides.

When attempting to siege the mid lane, you will find yourself struggling to ward effectively as there are more warding locations and potential flanking opportunities for the enemy. At first glance, you may think that many of the wards are going to be similar to other lanes and other images we’ve already showing you and while that is true to some extent – sieging the mid lane is very difficult and it is near impossible for you to ward every possible area around mid to prevent a counterattack.

As the mid lane is…you’ve guessed it, in the middle of the map, you have possible flanking opportunities and warding requirements for both sides of the lane. As you can see by the first image, you need to have deep wards inside the enemies jungle. Having deep wards inside the enemies jungle and wards outside of their jungle can allow you to spot and poke the enemy if they try to defend the objective. It can also allow you to switch focus if you see the enemy trying to attack you from the side.

Wards for sieging Mid tier 2 turret as blue team

I recommend having Control Wards inside of the enemies jungle near the wolf pit to prevent them from being able to ward over the wall. This will allow you to clear their vision with ease as well as prevent them from being able to hit their skill shots on you as they would be in the blind.

When you are attempting to take the inhibitor towers, you will need vision inside and outside their base to prevent them from being able to see your team. Unlike the top or bottom lane, you will need vision on both sides of the tower and a Control Ward on both sides of the outer wall of their base.

The call for wards on each side of the tower is to ensure that you can see the enemy if they move around their base. It will also allow you to hit the enemy more successfully while also denying the enemy poke potential as they will be unable to see you.

Wards for sieging Mid inhibitor as blue team

It’s not unknown for a siege in the mid lane to occur before the tier 2 towers in the side lanes have been taken. Having Control Wards around the enemies jungle will allow you to rotate to those objectives if you are unable to effectively siege the mid lane.

Red Mid Lane Siege Wards

For the red team, warding is rather similar to the blue team except for the fact that it’s on the other side of the map. It is important that you have wards on both side of the lane ot allow your team to know the whereabouts of the enemy while you’re sieging an enemy tower.

We’ve got wards placed near and afar on both sides of the map to ensure that if an enemy tries to flank your team or tries to catch somebody of guard, your team will know about it and you would be able to react to it in time.

Wards for sieging Mid tier 2 as red team

As you’re sieging the mid lane, you can place a Control Ward in the bottom side Jungle bush. This would be a good ward to place if you have bottom side priority as it can allow your team to quickly rotate to the bottom lane if you want to continue a siege. I would not recommend warding here if you do not have priority though because the enemy will easily be able to clear it and use this bush to set up an engage.

To get priority on one side of the map, you should have a member of your team nearby in the jungle that can prevent the enemy from advancing. For example, 4 members of your team could be in the mid lane, while one member is off to the side in the bottom side near the bush. Once again, when you’re knocking on the enemies base, you need to have vision that is in the enemies base and a mixture of defensive wards to stop the enemy from getting a flank on you.

Wards for sieging Mid inhibitor as red team

Warding in the top side of the enemy’s jungle can be useful after you’ve sieged the objective. This can allow your team to move swiftly to the Baron after you’ve left the mid lane. Alternatively, if the Baron is not up, having wards placed in the bottom side of the jungle will allow you to rotate to the Dragon or Elder Dragon.

Vision around the lane when sieging an objective is for a few things. It can prevent yourself from getting flanked, prevent the enemy from engaging on your team, prevent the enemy from spotting your team and also allowing your team to quickly rotate to another lane or another objective after your initial siege. The mid lane is the core of the map, so if you can conquer the mid lane, you can take over the map.

Blue Bot Lane Siege Wards

When you are trying to siege an objective in the bottom lane, you need to have vision inside the enemies jungle to prevent them from collapsing on you. Whenever you are sieging any tower in the game, you are in enemy territory. Any engagement or trade with the enemy on their turf can give them the advantage when you are overextended.

Sieging the red teams tier 2 tower can open up the bottom lane for your team and allow you to take away the bottom side jungle for the enemy. Taking away resources and denying the blue buff for the enemy mid is a great way to play the war of attrition. When you are attempting to siege it, you will need to have defensive Control Wards in the main bushes behind you.

Wards for sieging tier 2 Bot turret as blue team

Warding in these areas is very nice as it can prevent the enemy from making teleport plays and deny any potential flank opportunities. Control Wards specifically are very helpful at this as they can deny the enemy clear vision to make these plays. There are also a lot of deeper wards that are indirectly benefiting you when you are sieging.

These wards are further out and can spot the enemy if they decide to rotate or roam down. These wards cover all the major entrances and exits that are safe to ward and are guaranteed to provide you with information. Many of these wards are specifically placed in the middle of any choke point because they will grant vision in multiple angles.

The Green Trinket ward that is placed right in the middle of the enemies jungle grants vision of four key points of entry. This ward is invaluable because for only one ward it provides so much information.

When it’s time to knock at their inhibitor towers, things can get pretty messy. I recommend that you ward aggressively while also providing your team with some defensive wards in case the enemy decides to make a play.

Wards for sieging Bot lane inhibitor as blue team

There is no real warding strategy when you are trying to take down and inhibitor as you may already have seen, but remember to always place a Control Ward outside of the enemy’s base to prevent them from placing any wards over the wall.

I’d like to remind you that it needs to be out of range of the enemies auto attack so they can not clear it and that should be able to spot any wards that are placed over board!

Like before, you also want to place a ward inside the enemies base, but outside of the towers range to spot any enemies that are possibly looking to engage. When your team is sieging like this, it is important that you keep an eye on where the enemy is and on the map the whole time to prevent them from getting a flank attack off on you.

Red Bot Lane Siege Wards

When you are playing as the red team and are in the sieging bottom lane, it is important that you have ward coverage that is nice and safe to place.

Wards for sieging tier 2 Bot turret as red team

In this image, we can see that there are not that many wards that will directly help you siege the bottom tier 2 tower. The reason for this is simple, it’s too risky to ward deeply on your own as being caught out could ruin the siege completely. However, if you were sieging mid and then decided to rotate to the bottom lane – vision would not be like this and you would be able to place much deeper wards- as they would be on route to the bottom lane. We are going slightly off topic, but this is an example of adapting to your situation and your environment to improve your warding capability.

The majority of wards that are placed are going to be nearby to where your team would be. This is because they are less risky to place but also provide just as much information as deeper wards. This is because they are placed in (potential) high traffic areas that are slightly out of the way to provide your team with enough information and reading time so you can back off before the enemy gets to you.

When you are trying to siege the bottom lane inhibitor, you need to make sure that the enemy is in complete darkness. If they cannot see over the wall, they will be trapped in their base and may be unable to engage. Use this to your advantage by placing Control Wards outside of their base so they cannot scout or place any deeper vision.

Wards for sieging Bot lane inhibitor as red team

Specifically attempting to siege this tower requires vision around the enemies jungle to prevent them from escaping or trying to pick off members of your team. If you can deny them vision via good Control Ward placement and efficient sweeping of their wards, then sieging becomes a lot easier.

While we suggested some very specific wards and where some of the pictures didn’t have many vision wards placed, it is important to note that the more wards you have when sieging,- the easier it is to take the objective. Just because we didn’t include a suggested ward, it doesn’t mean you can’t ward there.

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5. Jungle Control Warding

Having wards placed in your jungle as well as the enemies jungle is a great way of knowing where the enemy Jungler is at all times. Vision like this can be quite risky to place especially if you are going into the unknown. This means that you need to go into the enemy jungle at times when it is safe to do so. In this section, we will go into detail about where you should place wards in the enemies jungle for maximum guaranteed information and where you should ward your own jungle if you are being invaded frequently.

Blue Team Jungle Wards

Let’s start with blue side. When you are the blue team, you have a wide range of warding locations that you can use to your advantage when you are trying to ward the enemies jungle. Each ward has its strengths and its weaknesses and it is important to note that warding the enemies jungle is all about trying to get information on their whereabouts.

This means that you want to prioritize wards that are in areas that are high priority or frequently used jungle routes. As you can see, we have put emphasis on areas where the Jungler is most likely going to walk through in their jungle and prioritized those populated areas compared to areas or paths that are less regularly taken.

Warding the enemy jungle as blue team

As we can see by the image, we have gone for a mixture of deep and shallow wards but every ward could provide information. We have gone for wards that are generalized and less specific because they will give you a higher chance of gaining information. For example, we do not have many direct wards at the jungles entrance as these only show the jungle when they are coming in and out.

In simple terms, if you know that the Jungler has entered his jungle, you’re gonna lose sight of them as soon as they go in. Whereas if you place a mixture of shallow and deep wards you will be able to see them throughout.

When you want to provide vision inside your own jungle, you have to prioritize the jungle entrances rather than having deep wards. One of the reasons for this is it will allow your team to have information of the enemy entering your jungle before he actually takes away your camps. This will give them enough time to react and come to your assistance when possible. Furthermore, many Junglers go into the enemies jungle in order to gank a lane. It is not uncommon for players to do this especially if they want to dive the enemy so having wards near your jungle entrances makes sense.

Protecting your jungle as blue team

I would recommend that you try to ward the river as well as your own jungle entrances to ensure maximum information to the whereabouts of the enemy Jungler while also providing valuable information to your team in case they do not invade.

You wouldn’t start warding your Jungle directly unless you are forced to. For example if you are behind or the enemy is good at invading. Unless you have to, you should try to prioritize wards in the river and the enemies jungle.

Red Team Jungle Wards

Now let’s discuss what you can do as the red team to ward the enemies jungle. Like we just said, there is a range of wards that you can place and we have put wards at every single jungle entrance in the blue sides jungle. This will give us a lot of information about the location of the enemy jungler if they intend to gank a lane.

The bottom side of the jungle is the easiest to ward and the majority of Supports can easily go into this side of the jungle to place deep wards. This is why we have included three separate spots for either Control Wards or Trinkets to be placed.

Warding the enemy jungle as red team

The top side jungle is harder to ward in a some aspects and I feel like the majority of jungles prioritize the bottom side of the map. Additionally, there are “no real good” Control Ward locations in the top side of the enemies jungle that can provide you with valuable information that won’t be destroyed instantly except for the one that we have suggested.

Protecting your jungle as red team

Once again, if you have to ward your own jungle, you want to prioritize wards that are in the river or near your jungle entrances. This will provide you with the most information possible and can prevent the enemy from invading you. However, you can include some Control Wards inside your own jungle if you are frightened of being 1v1’d by the enemy. This is especially true in the top side bush when many have been sacrificed rip brothers and sisters.

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6. Warding Objectives

When it comes to taking a major objective such as the Elder Dragon, an elemental Dragon or The Baron, you will need to have enough vision around the objective to make it safer to take. As both teams are practically the same, we will discuss both the warding locations for both teams in one go. This will allow you to adapt to each situation and allow you to know where to ward when you’re on both sides of the rift.

The further the wards are from the objective, the longer length of time you will have to react to the enemy. If you’re unable to finish the objective in time, you can back off and let it reset or if you can take it- try to burn it down and finish it off. If you are able to turn on the enemy and fight them, then you can also do that if you’re sure can win the team fight. In a lot of situations, fighting for a 50/50 Baron is not worth it so having good ward coverage can definitely help you out.

Blue team objective wards

It is recommended that you also place a mixture of wards that can be sacrificed to slow down the enemies advance. While it’s not ideal, making the enemy waste time is a good way of gaining a small advantage when it comes to finishing of the objective. I do not recommend that you use this as a general rule as it is a waste of wards, but it is something to keep in mind when you’re trying to rush and take an objective.

Depending on what side of the map you’re on, you always want to have dedicated vision in the enemy’s side of the map. These wards will tell you if enemy decide to contest the objective. For example, if you’re the red team, you would want to ward over and around the Dragon to spot the enemy. You would not want to ward your own jungle as the probability of the enemy coming from your jungle is near impossible. As the Dragon pit is on the blue side of the map, to spot the blue team, you need to ward the blue side of the map around the pit.

Red team objective control wards

Compared to the blue team, when you wanted to take the Dragon, you should ward the red side jungle. This is also true for the Baron. As the blue team, you would want to ward evenly and in the enemies jungle to make it safer to take the objective. Where as for the red team, you would want to ward evenly and ward the blue side top jungle.

Warding in the enemies jungle as well as evenly across the river is the best way to take one of these major objectives. Like suggested in the sieging section of this guide, the more wards you have, the better. So if your team has wards to spare, don’t be afraid to put them closely around the object to make it safer.

Before taking the objective, make sure that you use your sweeper to spot out any wards. Furthermore, you should put a Control Ward in the pit itself to clear wards if you don’t have your Sweeper ready or block out any potential new vision. Keep in mind how wards work, if there is a Control Ward placed, it will block out vision and not show the objectives health after a brief period of time. If there is an ally Control Ward and an enemy Control Ward in the pit, they will not cancel each other out and the enemy will be able to see the health.

Finally, if the enemy places a normal ward when you are taking the objective, DO NOT ATTACK IT! Attacking the ward will show the enemy the HP of the objective which may allow them to steal it.

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7. Warding Tips and Tricks

In this section, will give you some little tips and tricks you can use to improve your vision control. This includes some little warding points you can use to abuse the warding system. We will also discuss some areas you should avoid placing to prevent dead wards.

There are some areas on the map where you can place a ward on the wall and it will shuffle along and land somewhere on the map. You can use this to your advantage by saving some time. It can also come in handy if you are unsure if you can personally walk up and go to ward a certain bush for example if the enemy has kill pressure or is missing.

The Scarra Ward

Commonly known as the Scarra ward, this area has become easier to ward throughout the seasons and now it’s really easy to do. If your intention is to take the Dragon or Baron, you can always place a ward in these bushes to help you secure it. This ward is rather risky however as if you’re trying to sneak away the objective and the bush is warded by the enemy, they can assume that somebody is trying to take the objective.

The Scarra ward

Red Side Waterfall

As a Support main, this is one of my favorite wards. Whenever the red team is forced to play under or near their tower, it can be really difficult for them to get wards down. If you leave your lane to ward, the enemy maybe able to strike your ADC. This is where this ward can come in handy.

Now this ward is not very good, essentually it’s a waste of a ward because it gives little to no vision and on paper, it’s bad. However, it is actually… good. It can tell you if your enemies are rotating, it can also tell you if the enemy Jungler is specifically in this part of the bush and it can also allow you to keep you and your carry alive.

Red Side Waterfall

Sneaky Baron Ward

Up until the 2018 season, this ward was not well known or utilized as much as it is today, but now it has seen common practice in all regions around the world. You’ve guessed it, it’s the Baron ward. This ward is not often picked up by a Sweeping Lens as it is slightly out of the way, however, it is close enough to spot any enemies who are auto attacking the Baron. You can place a ward here if the enemy is setting up the Baron as it can tell you if they are indeed doing it. There is also a variation of this for the Dragon pit which is essentially the same as this one.

Sneaky Baron Ward

Another Baron ward that can be utilized is by placing a Control Ward or a Green Ward at the back-behind the objective itself. Unless somebody plays with an unlocked camera or goes out of their way to try and clear it, they will start taking damage from the Baron as they can easily miss click on to the objective. I recommend that you place your wards here when you’re unsure if the enemy want to take the Baron. After 20 minutes, it’s a good idea to always have your ward in this location.

For our final warding suggestion and it’s a valuable one! A generic tip at best! Whenever you intend to place a ward… Make sure it’s positioned correctly.

Wards you want to avoid

There is (or at least was) a little technique to ward the top lane when you’re being pushed under your tier 1 tower. However, it is not worth showing nor attempting to do. This ward requires a very specific area to be placed in order for it to work and the success rate for this ward is very unreliable to reproduce. This is why I do not recommend attempting to place a ward over the big wall. Instead, you should just walk around your tower to ward the bush. This ward is ultimately better because it also gives a wider vision zone.

Another ward you want to avoid is the ward in the top side red jungle. This is actually a fantastic place to put a ward as this bush specifically is a high traffic area and it is one of the more popular bushes in the game. Now I do not recommend warding this from one specific place. If you’re to the north side of this bush and intend to ward it, I would recommend that you position closer to the bush and do not place the ward on the wall. This is because this bush is very temperamental and frequently doesn’t scout any vision when you make this move.

Bad warding spot, red jungle

To not run into this glitch avoid using the wall technique on this bush and instead just walk to the side of it and place a ward. A 1 second delay is worth more than burning a ward.

How to complete your warding quest faster (Supports)

While every role and every person needs to buy wards and place them, one of the Support’s main duties is to provide vision around the map. As the Support gets free wards thanks to their starting item, it is important that they complete their quest as quickly as possible in order to start providing their team with more vision.

Each quest line requires you to earn 500 gold through either dealing damage through Spellthief’s or killing minions with Relic Shield. For each of these quests, you should try to get them completed as quickly as possible. Anything later than this could jeopardize your early game as you will be unable to keep the map warded. If you cannot complete it in time, the enemy may be able to get multiple kills around the map due to the lack of vision.

There are a few different ways you can find out what the best starting item for your champion is. First of all, you can use ProBuilds and copy what the professional players are taking on your champion. Another way is by looking at guides to see what people suggest and why they suggest it. Additionally, you could use the Pre-Game of our application and copy the build path that we suggest. From all these suggestions, you should know what two possible starting items that you could take on that champion.

To get your Relic Shield stacked quicker you need to get the first two melee minions as soon as you get to lane. Whilst it doesn’t have to be two on the first wave, you need to make sure that you get at least one. By the time the next stack is up, you would be able to take the cannon minion with it. Your third stack will be on the third minion wave.

The priority of minions goes cannon, melee, and then ranged. You should never take a ranged minion unless you are forced to. This is because it grants minimal gold and it is only delaying your quest. You should prioritize cannon minions because they give you lots of gold and will allow you to do your quest quickly. You should try to get these whenever you can. Remember that they spawn on every third wave in the early game so try to save a stack if they are approaching on the next wave.

There is a small rhythm and trick to this which goes as follow: melee, cannon, melee, cannon. You should follow this rule during the laning phase.

Spellthief’s Edge is, by far, the most difficult starting item to stack because it relies on you being proactive in lane by attacking the enemy and dealing damage to them. The best way to get this item stacked is by going to trade with the enemy you when you have 3 stacks available. You can also attack the tower to consume extra stacks. If you know you’re going to back or buy items, you can also try to trade with the enemy in order to consume some more stacks.

Avoid stealing any minions when you are stacking this item as it will stop you from generating stacks briefly. This will delay your vision quest because the item will not be generating stacks for you to consume. Depending on your champion, you may find it easier to stack this item compared to other champions. Make sure that you do not put yourself in a bad position or put your lane in jeopardy because you are trying to stack.

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8. Clearing Enemy Vision

Clearing vision is just as important as placing it and it’s the job of every role to contribute. When you think of clearing vision, you would usually think of the Support and the Jungler who go out to seek and destroy the enemies vision and while that is true to some extent, it is important that everybody buys Control Wards to try and limit the enemies map presence.

There are three main ways of clearing vision in League of Legends and I would like to experiment with a fourth suggestion that could be considered a way of denying vision.

1. Buy Control Wards

The first and most obvious way of denying vision is by purchasing Control Wards. Control Wards are a great way of spending your money as they can provide your team with a lot of information. They can tell you if a bush is warded or not which will allow you to set up ganks for your Jungler. They can also tell you if an objective is warded.

Control Wards sound great right? Yet not everybody purchases them. You might pick up one or two a game which on the surface seems like a good amount, however it is not nearly enough. It is important to buy Control Wards throughout the game to continue denying and applying pressure to the enemy.

I cannot tell you how many Control Wards to purchase as it depends on what role you are playing, how the game is going, where your team is focusing on and loads of other situational stuff. The way to understand it is, try to buy as many Control Wards as you can throughout the game and place them in areas that could provide you with information.

As a Support, it’s good to have a few on you at any given time so you can place them as you move around the map. It is good to note, however, that you should not put your core build behind by purchasing too many wards.

2. Use a Sweeping Lens (Red Trinket)

The second way of denying vision is by purchasing and using a Sweeping Lens. This is not going to be ideal for every role and it is only really the Support and the Jungler are who will use a Sweeping Lens. Sweeping Lens allows you to block out and deny enemies vision around the map which means it is a valuable resource when used correctly.

The cooldown of this trinket is incredibly long so it’s important that use in the right place and the right time. This means you would want to get as much value out of it as possible and not use it without thinking about what you’re doing. For example, if you do not think that the enemy has been in a certain area of the map, there is no point in autopiloting and using your trinket here. You only want to use your Sweeping Lens when you feel that an area is warded.

A good place to look is throughout the river. If you are roaming, you definitely want to use your Sweeping Lens as you go along to look for wards and clear them.

The Sweeping Lens blocks out wards that have been found. You can use this to your advantage by walking through the river without being seen. You can also use it to deny vision around objectives such as the Baron or Dragon. The Sweeping Lens will however show you on the map if you decide to order auto attack it and it will also show you briefly before it cuts off. Control Wards do not get switched off when they are being swept by a Sweeping Lens- so keep that in mind when you try to clear them.

When I use my Sweeping Lens, I try to take advantage of the big radius of it and walk through as many bushes as I can in order to try and find any vision. One way of doing this is by walking in the middle of the river and taking advantage of the range.

How to sweep Dragon river

Here is an example image of how I would use the Sweeping Lens. As the radius is huge and because it lasts for a long time, it will allow you to move around the map and deny multiple wards instead of just one. Take advantage of this by walking as far as possible and through as many bushes as you can. Try to stay in the middle of the river and do not stand to closely to walls as you could be missing out on potential wards. You cannot physically sweep over big walls which makes is important that you utilize the area of effect on this trinket and stay in the middle as you walk around the map.

For Supports, remember to change your Trinket as soon as you are about to complete your quest in order for you to start being able to deny vision more thoroughly. As you do not need another set of wards on your trinket, it’s best to go with this option as you can stop denying vision in a wider radius. I’ve said it enough and for good measure, remember not to waste it as use it appropriately.

3. Use auto-attacks and auto-attack resets

The third way of denying vision, which may not be available for everyone in the early game, is by destroying wards through auto-attacks. Many champions will be able to do it in the late game, as their attack speed increases. The Warding Totem or Green Trinket has 3 hit points. Before it goes invisible, it remains visible and is able to be seen by the enemy. If the enemy were to auto-attack the ward 3 times before it goes invisible, it would be destroyed. You can use this short delay to your advantage by trying to destroy wards before they goes invisible.

Depending on who you are playing and if you are in a solo lane or a duo lane, you may find great success in being able to destroy these wards before they go invisible. For example, the Mid laner may not be able to destroy any of the enemies wards in the early game of as they lack attack speed. This may also be true for the Top laner and the Jungler. Bottom laners have more success in being able to destroy the enemies vision as there are 2 people in the lane which gives them more of a chance to destroy it. If you know that you can destroy the ward before it’s about to go invisible, try to attack it and destroy it.

Many champions have abilities that allow them to have an auto attack reset. This is a huge bonus when it comes to clearing wards as it gives you a free auto attack. Many champions including; Leona, Lucian, and Dr. Mundo have this ability which give them the added advantage of being able to destroy wards. If your champion has one of these abilities, make sure that you utilize it and try to destroy the enemies vision in lane. Here’s an example by Zackattack:

4. Avoid certain parts of the map

The final method (which isn’t really a method, more of an idea) is by denying vision by avoiding certain areas of the map. Thanks to the vision ping, you can communicate with your Jungler to tell them of an area being warded.

If the Jungler or another roamer knows that an area is warded, they could take an alternative route or avoid a certain part of the map to prevent the enemy gaining any information of the whereabouts of them. This could be seen as a way of denying vision as the enemy would not get any information from the ward.

Now you know about all the major ways of denying vision, it’s now time to take this into practice. Out of the four methods, the easiest way of improving your ability to clear wards is by purchasing Control Wards throughout the game and placing them in areas of high importance since this is something you can do across all five roles.

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9. Real Game Scenarios

Just like our wave management guide, we found great success in helping players understand different situations by giving example scenarios and what we think you should do in them. In this section, we are going to give you some popular matchup and specific warding techniques to help you understand where you can ward against certain enemies to have an easier time in lane. We won’t be covering every scenario for every role and every champion, so if the one you’re looking for isn’t covered, try to apply some of the concepts from the examples we listed.

Playing Mid against Shaco: Levels 1-3

There are a few main warding techniques you can use when playing against a Shaco. Shaco is a big problem for many mid laners because of his invisibility and notorious level 2 gank potential. This can make it quite difficult to play aggressively at level one or two.

Warding against Shaco as a Mid laner

I recommend warding in either of these locations on each side of the lane to protect yourself. Warding slightly outwards is good because it will allow you to see the Shaco before he goes invisible which will allow you to back off in time and not get killed by him. Furthermore, warding outwards gives you more protection as a whole because the enemy may go through different routes to get to your lane. Again, Shaco is good at this because his Q can let him get over a wall.

Playing Mid against Jungle Twitch: Levels 1-3

Twitch is in the same boat as Shaco. This is because of his invisibility, as well as his overall early game damage. Twitch likes to get a head and one way of doing that is by ganking a lane level 2. When playing against a Twitch, you need to make sure that you follow these select warding positions in order to help protect you against the level 2 gank.

Twitch has a range of possible ganking routes and it is near impossible for you to ward them all. The river bush wards are great at spotting the Twitch before he goes invisible and it will tell you if he is going into your lane. This will also help you at knowing what side of the lane to stay away from if you see him approaching.

How to Ward Against Twitch as a Mid (yup, similar idea as Shaco)

Many Twitch players hold off using their invisibility until they’re about to gank a lane so it’s important that you get a deeper first ward in order to protect yourself against his invisibility. I would recommend that you personally search up Twitch jungle one-tricks and see their ganking routes if you want to get a better understanding of where he may be coming from.

Playing against Nocturne: Level 6

Up until level 6, Nocturne will struggle to get around the map and gank lanes. One of the reasons is because he has no real way of getting onto the enemy without the enemy disengaging or escaping thanks to his lack of hard crowd control (his E is a form of crowd control, however, it is easy to escape from which makes it difficult to work around). This is why we see many Junglers power farming until level 6 and then going to gank lanes.

As Nocturne’s Ultimate range is huge, it can be difficult to ward against him because he will never be close to wards as he will always come from afar. This means that short or shallow wards against him are rather pointless. Instead, you should place deeper wards in and around the map to be able to spot him.

How to ward against Nocturne as red team

Here are some of the places where you can ward against him to prevent some of his ganks or at least see him before he Ults you. As you can see, there are some deep wards in there which can be difficult to get down alone. If you are frightened of meeting him in the enemy’s Jungle, do not go alone or wait for assistance from your team. If they cannot come and help you, you could go when Nocturne is spotted some else on the map as this will be the safest time to place wards.

How to ward against Nocturne as blue team

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10. Conclusion

It’s time to wind down this vision guide with a small reminder and a remark that you should think about when warding in the future. League of Legends is an incredibly situational game and you have to adapt to every scenario when a head and behind. We have done our best to provide you with valuable information that can help you overcome each situation and improve your warding game.

You may agree or disagree with some of our ward suggestions and that is fine, as every game is different, it is understandable that everybody can have different opinions on where to ward and where not to. At the end of the day, is very important to remember one key thing and that is better to have ward then have no wards.

Source: A cool shirt from Etsy!

It is very difficult for anybody to ward everywhere on the map and we’d suggested some areas specifically for laners to ward. As we just said – it’s difficult for one person to ward the whole map and it is up to the team to provide wards and place them around the map as the game develops.

Many players may think it’s just the Supports job to ward and I know we did a big section just for Supports. This doesn’t mean that you cannot buy wards if you are playing a different role. In fact, as a Support main, I would highly appreciate it if you were to purchase and place your wards throughout the game in order to conquer the map with me.

If you have any questions or want to learn more, check out PicklePants stream.

Watch live video from PicklePantsLOL on www.twitch.tv

To round this guide off, I would like to thank you for reading this guide and I hope that you learned something from it. Warding is something that is crucial for everybody to understand so I wanted to make this guide accessible for everybody no matter what skill or rank they are.

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You made it through! We hope you found this comprehensive guide useful and educational. Let us know if we missed any warding concepts in the comments below. As always, you can find Picklepants in our Discord if you have any questions!

The post How to Ward in League of Legends: Everything You Need to Know about Vision Control appeared first on Mobalytics.

League of Legends is a team-based game with over 100 million active players taking to the Rift every month. In a game with such a large player base and an ever-growing roster of champions, it can be rather challenging to create a good team composition and play it to its strengths. With the lack of communication in champion select and solo queue in general, it can make it even harder for a set of 5 strangers to create, maintain and play as a team.

We’ve all played in and seen countless games thrown because of either team not understanding how to play their team comp correctly. This factor affects every rank in League of Legends, from the casual gamer to hardcore veterans, and we’ve even seen our hearts broken in the LCS.

By knowing the strategies and win conditions behind every team comp in the game, you will start to understand and develop a habit of knowing exactly what you need to do in every game you play. This will increase your win rate, KDA and the likelihood of coming out ahead because you will know what you need to do.

In this in-depth Mobalytics guide by PicklePants, we will discuss everything you need to know about playing as and against every team composition in the game. Utilizing their strengths while minimizing their weaknesses will allow you to get an understanding of what your teams combat goals are for each game. As teamfighting has such a high impact on the game, understanding how to teamfight effectively no matter the circumstances is a must.

In addition, we will also go over typical teamfighting aspects that you may not have understood in the past. Terms such as flanking are not as obvious as everyone may think. We will also discuss how every role should teamfight; through positioning, target focus and other handy tips, make sure you give that a read to see if you’re up to par. 

As this guide is going to be our most in-depth guide to date, we’ve gone ahead and added chapters to this guide like all our previous in-depth posts to help you skip around and digest the information that is presented. If you want to check out some of our other in-depth all-in-one everything guides like our latest roaming guide, the all in vision guide or maybe even our complete wave management guide, then click here. If you have any feedback or questions, please reach out to me on Twitter!

This article is intended to be digested in segments and should not to be read in one hit! You will also find us repeating ourselves in some parts. This is due to overlaps in team compositions and teamfighting tactics. Personally, I would recommend going to the chapter you’re looking for and reading from there.

Chapters

1. Communication and How to Build a Decent Team Comp
2. Knowing Your Job in the Teamfights
3. Wombo Combo
4. Poke Comp
5. Protect the Carry
6. Pick Comp
7. Split Push
8. Engage
9. Dive
10. 1-3-1
11. AoE (Area of Effect)
12. Counter Engage
13. How to Play Without a Defined Team Composition
14. Which Team Comps to AVOID
15. The Truth about Team Compositions in League of Legends
16. How to Teamfight as a Top Laner
17. How to Teamfight as a Jungler
18. How to Teamfight as a Mid laner
19. How to Teamfight as an ADC
20. How to Teamfight as the Support
21. How to Flank
22. How to Set Up an Ambush
23. Where to Teamfight
24. Fighting Around Objectives
25. When to Teamfight
26. Understanding Team Power Spikes
27. When to Avoid Teamfighting (Example Situations)
28. Teamfighting Tips and Tricks
29. Good Resources to Help You Teamfight
30. FAQ
31. Conclusion

Disclaimer

Miscommunication will bring a handicap to teamfighting and team comp execution. Unfortunately, there is no real viable way of communicating in solo queue because there is (currently) no other method to talk to your team outside of the chat and ping system. This will make it rather difficult for some of our advice to be implemented and work in solo queue. However, all of the advice will work wonders when you’re playing as a pre-made 5-stack in Clash, flex, or normals. 

All of the advice does work in a real game setting. However, it is up to you as the reader to implement what we suggest and use it in game. Adaption is incredibly important in a game such as League of Legends because there is so much going on that can impair your gameplay.

Furthermore, as League of Legends is an incredibly situational game, it is rather difficult to create an in-depth guide like this. So please keep this in mind when dissecting the information and using it. For example, if your team is behind, in certain parts of this guide, you may be unable to achieve what is suggested.

When applicable we will provide alternative options to help you. We will also try our best to provide you with situational and context related advice to assist you in transferring information from this guide in actual gameplay whenever possible, which is by far one of the best ways to learn.

Finally, you may disagree with some of the champions that are suggested in this guide, which is fine. One disagreement you may have is who we suggest is in a team composition, or who counters any specific comp. At the end of the day, many things can counter a composition, and many champions work in more than one comp.

Janna is a prime example of a champion who can work in multiple compositions. So please keep that in mind when you are reading parts of this guide because there is more than one option to every situation. League of Legends is a rather dogmatic and subjective game, and we welcome any discussion that is involved in making this guide better. 

Everything that you see and read in this guide is highly situational and should be used at the reader’s discretion.

Chapter 1: Communication and How to Build a Decent Team Comp

League of Legends is a situational game with many different factors directly impacting how the game is played and won. One of the biggest impacts with team building and League in general is communication- or lack of, within Solo Queue.

As we all know by now, there is little to no communication in League of Legends. Without the ability to communicate via voice (with non-premades), it makes the game much harder to play, and good team compositions to be made. From the Pre-Game to teamfighting, communication has a direct impact on basically everything that surrounds the game. 

With that said, you can have a slight impact on what your teammates pick in champion select, and how the game is played out by communicating.

Champion Select

You cannot force your teammates to play certain picks. In fact, it’s never really a good idea to recommend a champion unless, the player plays that champion in particular. For example, I would advise against asking your Mid laner to first time Yasuo because he would be good in the team composition. This is where you need to use your own judgement to create and empower the perfect team composition to beat the enemy. 

Let’s suggest you’re the Support and the final pick for your team. If your team is lacking in one area or another, you should try to play a champion that compliments the champions who are already locked in. For example, if there is no frontline, it would be better to play a tank like Leona or Alistar rather than playing somebody with no frontline prowess. You should always look to pick someone and something that your team needs. Janna is one of my favorite champions in the game and she should be played as a utility Support. She is rather squishy and lacks any form of frontline capability. So, picking her in a team with no frontline is basically useless.

Understanding and looking at what your team has already picked is incredibly important. Before locking in your champion, make sure that you’re playing somebody that synergises well with the team. We cannot go into too much detail as of yet because we’ve only just started this guide, but it will make sense as we go on.

If you see that your team is missing certain aspects to create a half decent team comp, don’t be afraid to make suggestions. Not champion specific, but something on the lines of “we have no frontline” or “we need AP.” These are two of the more common champion types that may be forgotten about which drastically decreases the chances of winning a game.

This is one of the final direct steps where you can have an impact on what your team chooses. Once the champions are locked in, you either have to dodge, or play it through. It’s not uncommon for games to be lost in champion select: or at least, made 10x harder due to a poor composition. So making sure that you have a good team comp will give you a noticeable teamfighting advantage (if played correctly).

The Pre-Game

You can also use the Pre-Game application through either the standalone Mobalytics app or our website to have an understanding of when your team is strong and when you should group together and teamfight.

There are a lot of ways this information can be interpreted. For example, if you see that your team is not very good during the early game, you could try to extend the laning phase until you’re ready to group. Or, minimize drastic 5v5 teamfights as they may not work in your favor as the enemy is stronger. On the other hand, if your team is really good in the mid game but falls off late, you should use this knowledge to your advantage and try to end the game, or gain a noticeable lead while you’re strong so you don’t get outscaled or fall flat later on.

You can also see when each team is strong too. If you notice that you are stronger in certain parts of the game (like during the mid game), you can try to group during this time to gain the advantage and snowball or finish the game. In our above example, Zyra’s team composition is better during the mid and late game compared to the enemy’s. This means Zyra and her team should have a slight advantage in these later game teamfights.

If you want to learn and understand how powerspikes work and what makes a champion peak at a certain part of the game, then you might be interested in this guide. Here’s a quick snippet from that guide.

For each of the three phases, our tool will assign one of three colors:

• Green indicates that the champ is expected to be strong during that phase
• Yellow indicates that the champ is expected to be average during that phase
• Red indicates that the champion is expected to be weak during the phase

As a reminder, we calculate these values according to the features of a champion’s kit such as their base stats and scaling ratios. We also take into account their ability designs and cooldown rhythms. These are guidelines, not laws – it’s important to keep in mind the context of the game.
For example, if you have a green late game and you’re against a red late game, normally you would think that you should win the 1v1. However, if you had a very poor early game and that red opponent spiked and snowballed early, you may still lose despite having the green > red advantage.

Likewise, if you’re a red champ early, that doesn’t mean that you cannot defeat a green early game. If you have the right opportunity such as an allied gank or a cocky dive by your opponent you can still find success.

Communication in Game

While in game, you will need to communicate with your team as much as possible to coordinate and play to your teams strengths. Without a dedicated infrastructure or game plan, your team composition will not be able to play to their strengths and win the game. The only way your team can do this effectively is by utilizing the chat and the ping system.

You’re probably getting bored by now, but once again- there is no way to directly communicate with your team in Solo Queue as there is no voice communication system pre-built into the game when playing with strangers. So you’re limited to how you can communicate in game.

This is where the chat and ping system will come into play. Using the ping system will allow you to coordinate attacks onto the enemy as well as identify what your intentions are. Making good use of the ping system is very important and has a rather sharp learning curve. Have you ever been in lane when your Jungler ganks- but doesn’t ping that they’re coming? It’s kinda’ like that.

Without telling your team what your intentions are, you may overextend and get caught out of position which can cost you the teamfight or an objective such as the Baron. This is why pinging what you want to do is incredibly important. Without it, your intentions may go unnoticed which can have severe consequences.

I find the best ping to use is the “on my way” ping and frequently using it to ensure that my team knows what to do and what I am going to do. Using it before you go in- not as you’re going in, will insure your team knows what’s going to happen. Doing it early enough will also allow you to back off if there is any form of miscommunication or if somebody doesn’t want to fight.

The “on my way” ping is also beneficial as it can allow you to know what your side laners, or split pushes are doing. For example, if you’re playing in a 1-3-1 comp, your split pushers can ping where they’re going while the rest of your team plays safe and disengages. There is so much information that can be passed on through pinging. It is just unfortunate that it’s not always used in the correct manner or always acted upon.

Another in game option is to use the text channel and type to your teammates. This method should only be used if you’re going to communicate useful information and useful ideas. If you intend to flame or be toxic- then there’s no point using it. In Solo Queue, it can be difficult to find a good shot caller. Many players do not like the responsibility of being a shot caller, and they will usually follow what like minded players suggest. If you’re a natural shot caller like myself, you can use this to your advantage to tell your team what to do.

For example, suggesting to fight when your team has their ultimates up is a good way of getting your team to group. If not, asking them to group is another way of utilizing the chat. Many players like to farm and forget to group, so specifically asking players to group and fight is one way of getting their attention.

There’s a lot of things you can do to communicate with your team in order to play and build a perfect team composition. We’ve already made a similar post about communication in game if you want to learn more.

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Chapter 2: Your Job in Teamfights

There are quite a few different jobs a champion can have. Thankfully, as every teamfight is somewhat similar, it can be relatively easy to start a teamfight doing one thing, and finishing it with another. As an example, you may start a teamfight by focusing the enemy frontline, and then finish it by peeling for your carries.

Due to this situational aspect of teamfighting and League of Legends in general, we’ll go over a few different examples per champion role (or playstyle) and discuss what their goals may be during a teamfight. Keep in mind that these examples are what you may want to do. In other situations, you may be unable to do what’s suggested because of your team composition, enemy comp, team coordination and other situational aspects to the game. In addition to this, depending on the context, you may not be able to do what is suggested, or you could do something that isn’t always advised, but might work depending on the situation. Whatever is suggested in this section should be taken as guidance for better results in game.

Later on in this guide, we will go into great detail about how to teamfight as the Top, Jungler, Mid, ADC and Support, and discuss basically everything there is to do with them. This will include some of the information in this section as well as other teamfighting necessities. So make sure your read that part too!

How to teamfight as a tank

Example Champion: Malphite

Malphite’s ultimate is crucial in teamfights because it can knock up multiple enemy champions at once.

Ahead:
When Malphite is ahead, he will be incredibly tanky. This is fantastic for his team as he can be the complete frontline in teamfights. Utilising his ultimate on the backline, or whenever the enemy is grouped together will allow Malphite to do his job effectively. After he has used his ultimate, he can either keep his focus on the enemy backline, or fall back and protect his team.

As he is a tank, sticking to the enemy frontline is a good way of soaking up damage to protect them from the enemy damage dealers.

Even:
Malphite is always good thanks to the tanky items he buys as well as his ultimate. While he will not be able to soak as much damage compared to when he’s ahead, he will still be able to do his job and do it well.

Just like in the above section, he will want to ult as many champions as possible and keep them locked down. However, as he will not be as tanky, you should look to fall back to a safer position when you’re unable to tank anymore damage.

Behind:
When Malphite is behind, he cannot do his job effectively if he is the only tank on the team. This is where he will need to basically become a secondary Support and protect his carries. Using his ultimate to solely protect his team by knocking up the enemies once grouped or whenever the carries are in danger is the go-to plan.

If he was to focus the backline when he is behind- he is basically sacrificing himself. This is not a great plan, so I would generally avoid it as you’re giving the enemy an advantage. But, if you’re engaging or surprising the enemy through flanking or ambushing, then focusing the backline or enemy carries is a must.

How to teamfight as a fighter or bruiser

Example Champion: Renekton

Renekton gains bonus health and damage when his ultimate is active. This makes him really good at teamfighting.

Ahead:
When Renekton is ahead, he can be devastating to play against. This is why it’s recommended that you try to focus the squishier members on the enemy team. This is usually the backline as they will not always purchase armor to defend themselves straight away.

As Renekton will be building damage and tank, he can very well defend himself against an enemy attack. This is why it’s a good idea to try to focus the backline in teamfights.

Renekton however maybe unable to run through the enemy frontline to fight the enemy behind. this is where flanking will come in handy.

Even:
When Renekton is evenly matched or not necessarily winning, he may be unable to completely stomp the enemy backline alone. He may need to switch his focus to taking down the enemy frontline instead. Focusing the frontline allows his team to take down the frontline and then take it to the enemies backline afterwards.

When evenly matched, Renekton is not a great damage dealer nor tanky champion. This means that going into the enemies backline when even will be the wrong thing to do as you’ll be unable to deal enough damage to the backline- and not tanky enough to survive the fight. This is why it’s important to switch your focus if you’re unable to kill the enemy. But, if Renekton has the assistance from other diving or engage champions, then this shouldn’t be to much of an issue.

Behind:
When Renekton is behind, he will be unable to fight the backline on his own. This will make it rather difficult for him to survive the teamfight like previously discussed. This is why he will need to stick closely to his carries and focus whoever is on the enemy frontline. Using Renekton’s kit and crowd control, keeping whoever is coming close to your team will serve Renekton well and enable his carries to dish out damage while he protects them.

Most top lane roles like a tank or fighter- when behind will need to fall back and become a “secondary Support” and focus the frontline. This is because they are unable to survive the fight if they are to face the enemy damage dealers on their own.

How to teamfight as a mage

Example Champion: Syndra

When set up correctly, Syndra’s ultimate can be devastating for the enemy.

Ahead:
When mages are ahead, there’s nothing really stopping them apart from their own greediness. As mages like Syndra can do a lot of burst damage, it’s better for them to focus the backline if they’re over extended. But as Syndra is quite squishy, she may unable to make it into the enemies backline. This is where you should prioritize your damage on the enemy frontline even though you could kill the enemy ADC outright.

In addition to this, Syndra is a fantastic example of a champion that can switch targets with ease. Thanks to her E, she can knockback and stun enemies who are coming towards her. This means that she can either focus the frontline/ tanks who are trying to kill her, or try and gain a sneaky Scatter the Weak (E) and blow up the enemy ADC who is stunned instead.

Of course, she would prefer to kill the enemy carry, but it may not always be possible as Syndra will be putting herself in a position where she may also get killed. So you’ll have to use your own judgement and experience to decide what to do.

Even:
Just like before, Syndra has the option to either focus the frontline, or try to destroy the backline if she gets a cheeky E off. This is the usual gameplay for Syndra and mages alike when they’re coming face to face with the enemy. As many are squishy, they cannot always focus the backline, which is why I recommend focusing the frontline in most cases unless you’re able to easily get to the enemy backline.

Behind:
When Syndra is behind, she will lack burst damage. This is why you should only really be focusing the enemy frontline rather than the backline at all. If you were to get caught out of position when using your ultimate on the ADC for example, you may throw the fight. In my opinion, when behind it’s not about carrying. It’s about enabling your team to win- even if that means taking unorthodox methods to gain a victory.

Adaption is key for any champion in League. Many champion guides and advice doesn’t cater to when players are behind and they recommend continuing to do the same thing even though you will be physically incapable off. Just remember, if you’re behind as a mage, you don’t have to burst someone down. It’s all about dealing damage to whoever you can while you can.

How to teamfight as an assassin

Example Champion: Leblanc

Leblanc gets a lot of mobility thanks to her W. This allows her to get in and out of teamfights and skirmishes.

Ahead:
Leblanc is an assassin who, once ahead- is a terror to play against. Assassins don’t usually fight 5v5 per say, they do however like to flank and deal burst damage. Because of an Assassins nature, they will look to target the squishier members of any team and try to eliminate them as quickly as possible. This will turn the tide of any fight making any continued exchange a 4v5 in the assassin’s favor.

Even:
When an assassin is even and not ahead, they should still continue to try and focus the squishier champions on the enemy team. While the exchange may be not as efficient or clear cut, your goal is still to eliminate and take care of one of the enemy carries.

However, as you’re not going to be as strong, it may be slightly more challenging to kill them. This is where having Ignite and other resources available to you will pick up the slack and allow you to still have kill pressure on the enemy.

If the enemy doesn’t have many squishy targets, then your job is to go for short trades inside of the teamfight- dealing damage and jumping onto the enemy and then Distorting back out again afterwards.

Behind:
Playing behind as an assassin is one of the worst things you can do. I would advise against falling behind if you can help it…! As you lack damage and survivability, it can be rather difficult for you to be able to deal any significant damage. Because of this, it’s better for you to focus the frontline and work with your team to take down the enemy tanks.

Unless you can get a good flank off on the enemy, or use your combos in the most efficient way- you’re going to struggle touching the enemy carries.

How to teamfight as an ADC

Example Champion: Caitlyn

Caitlyn can use her E offensively or defensively whenever she needs to. Among other things, this gives her great kiting potential.

Ahead:
When an ADC is ahead, they can play incredibly aggressive and be the super carry their team needs. Caitlyn is one of the best carries to get ahead because of her range, her passive and overall damage output. Even though she is ahead, she must continue to position next to her Support and with her teammates to ensure that she doesn’t get picked off early.

However, as she is ahead, she can play slightly more aggressive by kiting forwards rather than backwards in teamfights. For example, once the enemy has engaged, she should kite backwards and then when she is in a safer position, start kiting towards the enemy.

Even:
Caitlyn should be played the same way as if she is ahead. This is because she is an ADC after all and most ADC’s have a 1-dimensional game plan. Prioritizing the closest enemy is what she will need to do as there is no real chance that she will be able to freely damage the enemy backline.

When playing as Caitlyn, remember to kite as much as you can to give yourself the best chance to survive and deal as much damage. Sticking close to your Support: do not go to far forward unless they’re there with you.

Behind:
When Caitlyn is behind, her damage is going to suffer. It will be rather difficult for her to deal damage in teamfights because the enemy will just be able to just roll Caitlyn down. This is why you need to stay incredibly close to your Support and let them protect you. While your damage will be minimal, your damage output is still going to be needed to kill the enemy frontline.

Stick towards the backside of your team at all costs and only auto attack when you’re in range of the enemies (when they walk forward, do not walk towards the enemy). Kiting backwards rather than forwards would give Caitlyn more survivability and protection in teamfights.

Unfortunately, Caitlyn and many other ADC’s will struggle to survive in skirmishes when behind as they may not be able to survive the initial engagement from the enemy.

How to teamfight as a utility Support

Example Champion: Janna

Janna’s ultimate is fantastic at healing and protecting her carries from the enemy frontline.

Ahead:
No matter what stage or strength Janna is at, she will need to protect her teammates as much as possible by using all of her abilities to keep her allies alive. Janna should be stood next to, or slightly in front of her ADC to provide them with bodily protection as well as healing and shielding.

Even though Janna is ahead and will deal damage through her abilities- you should avoid trying to be the carry. You will be too squishy to be able to do enough damage to kill anybody.. Furthermore, you should never be in the frontline as a utility Support like Janna. So, it makes sense to play the supportive role in teamfights as that is, after all, your role.

Even:
When Janna is even, she should be looking to protect her team as much as possible by keeping close to them and protecting them with her healing and shielding. When Janna is even and not ahead, your healing and shielding will be slightly reduced- however, it is still impactful.
Janna needs to be stood next to her ADC and in the backline at all times to be useful in teamfights.

Behind:
Spacing and positioning is incredibly important when Janna is behind. As Janna is always squishy even when ahead- it’s important that you watch your movements in teamfights and not position incorrectly. Doing so will open yourself up to the enemy, and you will likely get killed because of it.

Dying early in a teamfight will not only cost your life, the ADC’s life- but it might also cost the teamfight itself and potential objectives afterwards. In many cases, this can be prevented by good positioning

How to teamfight as a tank Support

Example Champion: Leona

Leona’s ultimate can stun multiple enemies at once. In some cases, this can be the whole team if they’re squished together.

Ahead:
When Leona is ahead, she will be the frontliner that every team wants and needs. This is because she will be able to tank so much damage while being able to zone enemy champions.

As your team is ahead, it should be okay for Leona to stick onto the enemy carries and lock them down while her team deals damage. But, she will need to be prepared to fall back and help her ADC if the enemy has frontline champions who can get on to them easily.

Even:
When Leona and her team are even, she will have a split personality and two separate jobs to do. Leona and many other tank Supports are in a difficult situation when it comes to teamfighting and I would say that the majority of casual lower-ELO Leona players only focus on doing one of her two jobs.

The first job for Leona when even is to be the frontline for her team. Using her crowd control and tankiness- she can lock enemies in place and let her team collapse on them. The second job is to protect her carries from imminent danger. This is why when Leona is teamfighting, she needs to make sure that she goes in and then falls back to protect her carries when needed.

Failing to recognise your teams needs may cost Leona and her team mates their lives.

Behind:
When Leona is behind, she cannot be the frontline. Instead, she will have to stick close to her ADC and protect them at all costs.

Using all of your abilities and crowd control, you will focus on stopping the enemy frontline from collapsing on, and killing your teammates. Using your E as well as your Q and ultimate to protect your carries is incredibly important. Make sure the enemy cannot get through you and the frontline to get to your backline will increase your carries survivability. Which in turn, will give your team a bigger chance of winning the teamfight.

If you were to go in and be the frontline for your team alone, you will be sacrificing yourself as your teammates will be unable to help you. They will also be unable to kill the enemy, and they will fall shortly after yourself.

With this in mind, as Leona has a long ranged ultimate, she can look to hit the enemy backline with it and take them out of commission briefly, but it really depends on the situation.

Once again, I would like to say that these examples given are just theorycrafted. If you’re unsure if you can do your job correctly or do what is suggested, try to adapt your positioning and revert to protecting your carries. No matter how far behind you’re, protecting your carries is always a good thing to do as they may be able to carry you.

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Chapter 3: Wombo Combo

Now we’re getting to the part of the guide that everybody wants to know and learn, how exactly do you play as any specific team comp? First of all, we’ll need to learn what each team composition is and what it does. For us to understand that, we’ll need to learn the basics.

When we think about ‘team compositions’ in League of Legends, the first thing that comes to mind is a wombo combo team, so it’s appropriate if we start with that one.

A wombo combo team comp is a team that thrives at grouping and fighting. They will usually stick together as 5 and try to force a teamfight whenever possible. Due to the nature of a wombo combo comp, they will try to engage together and use their abilities in sync to kill and lock down as many enemies as they can. This team composition is rather similar to an AOE, or area of effect team comp which we will discuss later on.

This team comprises of champions that have crowd control or AOE abilities. One of the most popular champions in this team composition is Wukong. Wukong is a prime example, and also a very good champion in this type of team comp as his kit synergizes well with it. Utilizing his Decoy (W), Wukong can use his invisibility to try and get on to the enemy. After he has infiltrated enemy lines, he will activate his ultimate and knock up as many champions as he possibly can. His team will then use everything they have available to them to follow up and continue the fight.

When you are partaking in this type of team composition, your goal is to start a teamfight whenever your team is grouped together. This includes straight 5v5 teamfights, whenever you have the numbers advantage or in plain skirmishes around objectives like the Baron or Drake.

Due to the nature of a wombo combo team composition, you should try to keep the enemy in place for as long as possible. Layering the teams crowd control and damaging abilities one after another will keep them in place for a longer period of time. This will increase the likelihood of your team coming out ahead.

Ideally, you would like to fight in areas that are quite claustrophobic- such as inside the jungle, or around objectives in small areas. This is because the enemy will be bunched together and not be able to escape. As your team comp relies on the enemy grouping and being together- this is ideal.

The highlighted red areas represent good teamfight locations.

Here is an image of where you should prioritize fighting the enemy to come out ahead. You can make teamfights happen here by invading the enemies jungle. As this team comp is really good at fighting in general, they can actually fight anywhere, but inside the jungle is favored.

Take into account who has their ultimate up to increase your team’s ability to kill the enemy and lock them down. For example, if only one of your allies have their ultimate available, it may be difficult for your team to win the fight. However, if you all have your ultimates- then teamfighting will be much easier.

Because your team relies heavily on engaging with the enemy, make sure that you all go in at once to synchronize your damage output. If you go in with a large buffer between yourselves- it will be difficult to teamfight. Furthermore, when you’re wanting to fight the enemy, you need to make sure that you engage and go in as quickly as possible so you do not get poked down and forced back.

Example Team Composition
Many champions fit well in this type of team composition, here are some examples.

Malphite: As his ultimate is a knock-up, he can use it knock up the enemies that are grouped together. This will allow his other teammates to reposition and follow up. If the enemy are grouped rather closely, it is probable that you will hit a 5 man knock up.

Wukong: Thanks to Wukong’s ultimate, he will be able to knock up multiple enemies over a long space of time. When using his ultimate in conjunction with his W (Decoy) he can get into position and then knock up everyone.

Orianna: Orianna’s ultimate will pull any champions inside the area directly towards the ball. This will force the enemies into a small location- ideal for Malphite’s ultimate, and Sivir’s Ricochet damage. She is also able to speed up and shield allies who have her ball around them. This will work in synergy with other champions and their ultimates.

Sivir: Her ultimate is really good at starting a teamfight and following up when an enemy is locked in position. As it gives everybody a brief movement speed buff, it will allow her team to reposition and chase enemies, as well as potentially engage. Her ultimate can also give her bonus attack speed.

Rakan: His ultimate and Grand Entrance (W) combo is very good at keeping enemies locked in place. Using it in conjunction with the rest of his allies ultimates will make it very difficult for the enemy to escape.

While this team composition doesn’t seem fancy on paper, once perfected- it is very strong and hard to play against.

Tips and Tricks
In this section, we will go over some specific teamfighting tips and tricks that will help you win when playing as this team composition.

• Avoid using all of your ultimates on one player.
  • Don’t use all of your ultimates when trying to kill one enemy as it will leave nothing to use against the other 4 teammates. Instead, try to save your ultimate for the bigger picture, and in a major fight setting instead.
• Always make sure that your team has most of their ults before fighting.
  • As this team composition relies heavily on teamwork, you should always keep an eye on who on your team has their ultimate up and who doesn’t. Everyone using their abilities at once will (to some extent) synchronise their cooldowns and allow you to teamfight more efficiently. Whereas if somebody uses their Ult, they won’t have it for the next teamfight.
• Try to fight in small areas.
  • Fighting in small areas will increase the likelihood of you and your allies hitting key targets and hitting your ultimates. As a result, you may have a favored teamfight.
• Don’t hesitate before going in.
  • A wombo combo team comp relies heavily on your team engaging at once. However, if a member of your team was to get poked down- it can prevent your whole team from engaging. This is why it is important that once you’ve set eyes on your target: go in as soon as you can to prevent the enemy from poking or disengaging.

How to counter a wombo combo team composition
Now you’ve learned how to play in a wombo combo team comp, you need to know how to play against it. There were a few key factors that we repeated in this section- did you spot them? Their biggest strength can also be their biggest weakness, so make sure you use this information to beat them.

• Avoid letting them engage on you.
  • While easier said than done, try to avoid letting the enemy team get a hold of you and engaging. You can do this in several ways by either poking them and forcing them to back off or utilizing your abilities to disengage and force them off your team. For example, Janna’s ultimate is really good at disengaging thanks to the knock back.
• Do not stick close together.
  • If you’re grouping, try to avoid holding hands and staying close to one another. This will reduce their AOE and wombo combo potential as they may not be able to hit everyone with their abilities. For example, Malphite can only use his ultimate in 1 area and not 5, so if your team is together but not close, he won’t be able to hit everyone.
• Avoid fighting in tight areas.
  • Like above, avoid fighting in small locations where your team will be grouped closely. This includes inside the jungle, around objectives and in small areas of the map. Avoid fighting and staying close to reduce their ability to combo you.

Team comps and champions who counter a wombo combo team comp are:

• Janna can knock back the enemy frontline thanks to her ultimate which can prevent them from engaging. This will delay a teamfight or mess with the enemies combos, which may work in your favor.
• Nami can delay the enemy from engaging with her Q and ultimate. She will also make it difficult for the enemy to use their abilities in sync.
• Soraka can silence the enemy, which will prevent them from casting their ultimates. This will stop them from using their abilities all at once.
• 1-3-1 compositions can be good against this comp if your allies have disengage and do not get caught out of position. However, it does rely on your split pushers to know what they’re doing so it prevents the enemy from engaging. Furthermore, the 3 in the mid lane will need to not over extend, or let the enemy engage on them as they will lose the skirmish.
• Poke comps can prevent the enemy from engaging. Making good use of your abilities, you will be able to poke the enemy down which will make it really difficult for the enemy to engage on your team. But, make sure you do not over extend and allow the enemy to get on to you.

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Chapter 4: Poke Comp

This team composition does exactly what it says on the tin, and arguably one of the more frustrating team compositions to play against. It revolves heavily around poking the enemy and looking to either force them to concede, back off, or die for their greediness. It is one of the easier compositions to perfect in solo queue because the enemy will find it difficult to play and communicate against. Furthermore, there are a few variations to this comp which makes it ideal for Solo Queue.

A poke comp is a team that tries to poke the enemy as much as they can prior to teamfighting. They will usually hold off from straight 5v5’s as they may lack crowd control or other factors that influence a fight. However, they more than make up for it and more in other ways like through raw damage and poke. Luckily, compared to some other team compositions, there are a few variations to the level of poke one can have. For example, it can comprise of 5 poke champions, or with 3 and still be considered a poke comp.

Usually, you’ll find that champions with lots of poke abilities fit right into this team comp. A perfect example is Ezreal. Ezreal can use his Q and W to poke the enemy. Zoe is also a fantastic champion in this team comp because of her Q. Many champions have poke abilities- so most fit right in.

Unlike some of the other team compositions, your goal is to avoid fighting with the enemy as soon as you spot them. This is because there will be no set up for your team and the enemy will be relatively healthy. Setting up a teamfight by poking is needed in this team composition because your main goal is to poke the enemy.

If you were to fight straight away, the enemy would be able to roll your team down as you will be unable to deal enough damage in one short burst. This is where delaying a teamfight and poking beforehand is needed. Try to delay the (actual) teamfight for as long as possible to increase your chances of winning said fight. Making good use of your champions kit, you’ll need to deal damage to the enemy through poke as consistently as possible before trying to overwhelm.

To win with this team composition, your team needs to avoid being caught out of position or letting the enemy engage on you. As your team may not be great at fighting in a 5v5 setting, the lack of health and lack of engage opportunity (as they would be low) from the enemy will assist you at coming out ahead. This is because the enemy will be too low to engage on your team.

This team composition relies heavily on your team being able to hit their skill shots with pinpoint accuracy and consistency. Without it, your team will struggle.

Example Team Composition
As we suggested, this team composition doesn’t require everyone to be a poke champion. For example, it may consist of a few poke champions rather than a full poke team. With that in mind, here is some examples.

Jayce: Has insane poke thanks to his empowered Q’s. He also has lots of burst damage which is really helpful in this type of composition. Additionally, he can use his E to speed up his allies so they can close the gap and engage once they’re ready.

Taliyah: Taliyah is really good in teamfights if they’re in open areas around the map compared to enclosed areas due to the “Worked Ground” placement on her Q. As a poke team comp usually moves around a lot, Taliyah is perfect in this situation.

Lux: Her consistent damage output is really strong when ahead and vital in this type of team composition. This is because she has multiple forms of poke from her Q, E and her ultimate. Her W will also come in handy because it can shield her allies which will come in handy when a teamfight occurs.

Ezreal: Ezreal has lots of poke thanks to his Q, W and R. Ezreal’s abilities (especially his Q) is on a rather short cooldown which makes his damage output consistent- that is, unless he can’t hit his skill shots.

Neeko: She has lots of poke and fighting potential thanks to her Q. She can also use her root to start the next stage of the teamfight. As her E will root enemies in place, it will allow her allies to use their abilities with pinpoint accuracy. To top that off, her E can go through minions which means the enemy will have no protection under their own tower.

This team composition will excel at poking the enemy and dishing out damage, however it lacks any form of frontline. This is where having a possible tank Jungler or Support would come in handy.

Tips and Tricks
In this section, we will go over some specific teamfighting tips and tricks that will help you win when playing as this team composition.

• Avoid using all your mana before engaging.
  • Don’t waste all of your mana poking before the teamfight as you’ll have nothing to use in the fight itself. Always save enough mana for your ultimate so you can at least use that in the upcoming skirmish.
  • Make good use of the blue buff and mana items to increase your mana pool.
• Group together, but not super close.
  • Remember to group frequently in order to take siege towers and teamfight. However, don’t stand to close together as you may be opening yourself up for attack from an enemy champion who has CC. For example, a good Leona ultimate could allow the enemy to engage on your team.
• Don’t let the enemy engage on you.
  • While easier said than done, try to avoid letting the enemy get on to your team. You can do this in a few ways by either poking the enemy down, avoid picking fights in tight areas, sticking together and not going alone.
  • This team composition is usually quite squishy so keep that in mind.
• Adjust your champion picks.
  • A poke team can consist of a range of champions and still be considered a poke comp. If you want to, you can always have 2, 3 or even 4 poke champions with a tank Support or tank Jungler to protect your carries.

How to counter a poke team composition
Learning how to play as a poke team composition is one thing, but learning how to counter them is another. Here are some vital tips and tricks to use when you’re playing against a poke team composition.

• Fight them as soon as you can.
  • One of the biggest factors that make this team composition work is time. With time, they will be able to poke you down and force you to recall. However, if you do not give them time to deal damage before a fight, they will struggle to survive and will ultimately get rolled down.
• Take away their resources.
  • Blue buff benefits a poke comp dearly. This is why you need to try to prevent the enemy from getting it. By taking your own buff and trying to steal the enemy’s buff, you will be cutting down a key members ability to output consistently damage.
• Play an engage heavy composition.
  • As many poke champions are rather squishy, you can use this factor to your advantage by picking heavy CC or engage type champions and trying to engage on them at first light. This will prevent them from being able to deal damage and should give you the edge.

Team comps and champions who counter a poke comp are:

• Sion is good against this team composition because he is a tank and can engage on the enemy. He will also have some extra protection thanks to his W. Finally, his ultimate can be used to engage onto the enemy.
• Blitzcrank is a champion that can pick people off. If he is in a position to get a good hook, he can swerve the teamfight in his teams favor. However, he is squishy so it’s vital that he dodges the enemies damage.
• Malphite is a tank champion that can engage when the enemy over extends. As a poke composition will be somewhat over extended to deal damage, he would be really good in this type of comp if he is able to knock multiple enemies up at once.
• A Pick comp counters this composition in particular because it can pick of key members when they over extend to dish out damage. Also, as these champions are usually rather squishy, pulling in 1 target can change the teamfight around.
• A wombo combo team can be good against this composition as long as a few key factors are brought into play. This includes engaging as soon as possible, not letting the enemy poke you down and not hesitating when your team goes in. If all of these 3 factors are achieved, then it’s plain sailing for them.

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Chapter 5: Protect the Carry

Protecting the Carry composition is one of the more difficult compositions to perfect in Solo Queue because it relies heavily on team coordination- which is something that is not always present in game. Furthermore, it requires one person (or sometimes 2) on that team to be the true carry, which is something that some players are not fond of as everyone likes to be the carry for their team.
Anyway, let’s discuss what makes a Protect the Carry comp work.

This composition is a team that revolves around one or two players being the true carry while the rest of their team provide them with protection through frontline, healing or shielding. The carry will usually be a hyper carry- normally sitting in the bottom lane. This is because they will be ranged and also be able to dish out consistent damage in teamfights. The champion in question should be really good at teamfighting and have a strong mid to late game.

However, this team composition doesn’t always have to have their hyper carry in the bottom lane. Instead it could be a Jungler like Twitch who plays the carry role. Thanks to his kit and the bonus protection, Twitch will be an incredibly difficult champion to play against thanks to his consistent damage output which his kit provides.

You will find that in Solo Queue, this team composition is really good at protecting their carries, which makes it rather difficult to play against when they’re grouped together. This is why this team composition will tend to stick together after the laning phase has ended.

The strategy is basically the same for every teamfight in the game: protect your ADC or hyper carry at all costs. For you to do this, your team should group together and play around said player. By providing healing, shielding or protection, your job will be to keep the ADC alive for as long as possible to enable them to deal as much damage as they can.

Unfortunately, winning as this team can be quite tricky for a number of reasons. The first is that it requires the hyper carry to be ahead or at least- not behind to teamfight. This means that the hyper carry will need assistance during the early game and laning phase to get ahead.

Second of all, it requires your ADC to have good mechanics and be a reliable player. If they get caught out or make a fatal error, you may as well say goodbye to the teamfight as your team may be unable to do anything while they’re dead. Which also brings us to our next point. You have to play around them.

If the ADC is not with your team because they’re either picking up farm in a side lane recalled or are at red buff, you have to avoid fighting or letting the enemy fight you. This is because your team will be unable to come out ahead as they will lack damage.

Basically, to win as this team composition, you will need to put faith in your ADC to know how to play the role effectively. Your team will also need to do whatever they can do to protect the carry for as long as possible.

Example Team Composition
Because the hyper carry will be on the enemies most wanted list, it would be smart to have other champions on the team that can provide protection. Here’s an example team composition.

Dr Mundo: Is a strong tank that can soak a lot of damage thanks to his health regeneration and his ultimate. This will allow him to be the frontline for his team, and take the enemies damage while his team shreds them.

Warwick: Can protect his carry or potentially be the carry thanks to his E- Primal Howl and his ultimate. The crowd control provided by these abilities can provide much needed protection against the enemy frontline to keep the carry alive.

Orianna: Orianna is classed as a control mage and is perfect in this team composition. Her kit can speed up and protect her allies thanks to her W and her E, while also being able to empower the ADC. Likewise, she also has her ultimate to displace and keep her carry safe.

Twitch: The hypercarry in question. He is really good at dishing out consistent damage with his Spray and Pray (formally Rat-Ta-Tat-Tat). If he can be enabled and empowered or protected, he will be able to pop off in teamfights.

Lulu: Is one of the best Supports to pair with a hyper carry. This is because Lulu can provide healing and shielding through her abilities and items. Her ultimate is also really strong in teamfights which will definitely keep her ADC alive.

This team composition specifically will be rather frustrating and difficult to play against because of the healing, shielding and protection it can provide to its true carry. Of course, you can have more protection with a tank Jungler or a different utility based Mid laner.

Tips and Tricks
In this section, we will go over some specific teamfighting tips and tricks that will help you win when playing as this team composition.

• Keep grouping.
  • As your team relies heavily on the ADC or hyper carry to deal damage, you will need to group around them as often as possible to win the teamfight.
• Be prepared to sacrifice yourself for the hyper carry.
  • Because you’re funnelling everything into your ADC, you will need to prioritize their lives over your own. If you’re a tank champion, peel for them as much as you can and be prepared to sacrifice yourself for the greater good.
• The hyper carry shouldn’t always be in the frontline.
  • Earlier in this guide, we discussed what your goals are when you’re ahead, even or behind. When playing as a tank, make sure that you stick to the frontend of your team, and never let your ADC be in front of you. If they are in front, then they will receive the full force of the enemies damage. If they die, the teamfight might be over.
• Understand your win condition and do whatever you can to save the ADC.
  • For example, you can use your ultimate to keep the ADC alive rather than starting the teamfight with. This is a welcomed factor that can help your ADC survive for longer. For instance, you can use it to displace or stop the enemy from getting on to your ADC.

How to counter a protect the carry team composition
Unfortunately, to counter a Protect the Carry team composition requires perfect communication and factory-like consistency to beat. Due to the protection these team compositions are granted, you need to prevent the carry from staying protected

• Take down the protection before fighting.
  • As the ADC or carry will be getting protected at all costs, you should try to take down the protection before starting the teamfight. Catching out the enemy Support while they go to ward is a great way of reducing the enemy teams fighting potential.

• Finish as early as you can.
  • Most ADC’s tend to get stronger as the game develops. Caitlyn, Kog’Maw and Twitch all excel during the mid and late stages of the game. You can prevent them from getting to their power spike by pushing your advantage and trying to end the game as quickly as possible. This will make teamfighting easier as they will not be as strong.

• Pick engage.
  • It’s rather difficult for a team to protect their carries when the enemy has lots of crowd control and hard engage. If you can layer your crowd control and engage with your allies at the same time- not one after another, you should be able to kill the enemy and stop them from being able to protect themselves. Much like a wombo combo team, going deep together is the way to go.

Team comps and champions who counter a protect the carry team comp are:

• Nautilus has point and click CC which will allow him to at least lock down the enemy hyper carry. He is also a tank which means that he should be able to get onto the backline and defend himself at the same time.
• Poppy is probably one of the best champions to pick against this team comp if she can use her Keepers Verdict correctly by knocking away the carry. Her team can then clean up the rest of the enemy who were not knocked away.
• Urgot’s ultimate will ignore many of the shields that are provided to the ADC or hyper carry when they’re being ulted. Also, the fear from his ultimate will displace enemies which will allow you to quickly finish everyone off.
• An engage comp like a wombo combo team will do really good against a protect the ADC comp as long as you can engage as quickly as you lock eyes on them.
• Playing as a pick comp will reduce the enemies overall defense capability because there will always be a member or two not with them. If you’re playing as a pick comp, try to pick of squishy members first or the ADC if possible.

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Chapter 6: Pick Comp

Traditionally, a Pick comp is rather difficult to play against in Solo Queue because it relies on you and your teammates being able to dodge skill shots and not get caught out of position. This means that players who are over extended or isolated are easy targets that this composition can prey on. A Pick composition requires the enemy to adapt their playstyle to prevent them from being caught out of position. By sticking close together, they will limit what a Pick comp can do.

A Pick comp relies heavily on the team being able to pick champions off- before or during a teamfight. They may do so by assassinating enemies who are caught wondering the rift or they may just attack a lone ranger. However they do it, they always try to take down a member or two to win the teamfight.

More often than not, they will try to take down the biggest threat and assassinate them to make the teamfight favorable. For example, the Mid laner, Support or the ADC. Generally, they do not focus or try to catch out the frontline, as it will give the enemy a chance to enter the teamfight. For example, hooking the enemy Alistar is not a smart idea because he will be able to get a multi person knock up with a simple W+Q combo. You would be helping him out by pulling him in.

There are a few different types of champions that can pick off enemies. They may have pulls or hooks like Blitzcrank or Thresh, hard crowd control like Nautilus, and in many cases, they’re an assassin like Zed, Akali or Nocturne.

If your team benefits from picking somebody off before a teamfight who is out of position, you will need to ward around the map- specifically the river to enable you to do so. For example, an Assassin like Zed may struggle at teamfighting. However, he could wait patiently in a bush for the enemy to walk past him and then pounce on them.

However, if your team doesn’t have an assassin or somebody who can look to pick players off before a teamfight occurs, you can try to pick players off in the teamfight instead. Before fighting, there is a grace period between every fight. This is usually in the form of a standoff between both teams. If you see somebody overstaying their welcome and positioning to far forward, your team should try to execute them. This will make the following teamfight 5v4. But, make sure that your team doesn’t blow all of their abilities and ultimate’s on one person.

There are 2 variations to a pick comp and you should try to play the team composition that suits you best. If your team relies heavily on getting picks before a teamfight ensues- such as Nocturne or Zed, you should try and pick off a player beforehand. Otherwise, stick to catching enemies who are too far forward or out of position.

Example Team Composition
A Pick Comp can have champions that are great at teamfighting or ones that are not so. Either way, a Pick Comp is great at taking down enemies who are caught out of position. Here is an example team comp.

Maokai: Is a tank champion that has a root on his W. This will allow him to lock down enemies who have miss-positioned or who have been brought forward towards his team. Furthermore, his ultimate is really good at flanking and CC chaining multiple enemies which can come in handy. While it does move quite slowly, if he uses it from the side or the rear- the enemy will most likely become entangled.

Nocturne: Can use his ultimate to take down the backline or assassinate an enemy who has mispositioned. Nocturne can cover a vast range in a short period of time which is great in a pick comp. Depending on the team composition and who the enemy has, he may be able to either 0-100 somebody like the enemy Support, Mid laner or even the ADC. In teamfights, he should look to assassinate whoever is vulnerable.

Malzahar: As his ultimate is point and click CC, he can easily keep one enemy champion locked down in a teamfight. This will allow his team to focus them and gain a free kill. Furthermore, if somebody CC locks an enemy champion who has mispositioned, Malzahar can stop them from escaping by casting his ultimate.

Ashe: Her ultimate is fabulous at stunning targets and locking them in position. If you can get a long-ranged stun, it will increase the length of time they’re stunned. This would allow her allies to follow up and hopefully kill the stunned target. Additionally, she will also have lots of consistent damage thanks to the items she will build, her Q and her overall damage.

Blitzcrank: Blitzcrank’s Rocket Grab can pick out targets to start a teamfight. His pull can be extremely useful at taking down targets assuming he can hit them. Making a clutch play by pulling in one of the squishier carries on the enemy team will make teamfighting much easier. Blitzcrank or any hook champion will need to avoid pulling in somebody who can engage as it may favor the enemy.

Tips and Tricks
In this section, we will go over some specific teamfighting tips and tricks that will help you win when playing as this team composition.

• Don’t be afraid to make plays.
  • “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” is a popular quote and is somewhat fitting with this team composition. Don’t be afraid to make plays and throw your ultimate out or try to catch the enemy out of position with one of your abilities. You never know- you may pull or stun the enemy and pick up a kill or two.

• To catch out more enemies, ward the map.
  • If you’re playing as an assassin like Nocturne, to gain more kills, make sure you ward the map- especially around the river and jungle entrances. When an isolated enemy is moving through the river alone, you can try to use your ultimate on them and kill them. Here are some good warding locations – taken from our warding guide.

• Always check the map before making picks.
  • You may see the opportunity to catch an enemy out of position, but before pulling the trigger- make sure you’re not falling into a trap. This is why it’s important that you check the map to see where your team is and also where the enemy are. If you’re teamfighting, make sure your team is going to follow up. If you’re trying to collapse onto somebody, make sure you’re not going in 1v5.
• Take out the squishy members first.
  • To some extent, taking down the squishiest member (whoever it is) is worth it. For example, you may be able to take down the Support first. However, this is very situational. In most cases, taking down a carry or somebody who is a major threat first will make the teamfight relatively easy.

How to counter a pick composition
To counter a pick composition, you need to stop getting caught out of position in order to teamfight the enemy. As they rely on picks, doing whatever you can to keep you and your allies safe is a must. Here’s what you need to do to beat the enemy.

• Pick champions with dodge abilities.
  • Being able to dodge whatever the enemy throws at you is going to come in handy in teamfights. This will not only increase your survivability, but it should also allow your towers to stay up for longer. If you playing as a champion with a dodge ability, then dodging should be easier, if not you’ll have to use your own skill and judgement to dodge the enemies abilities.
  • Furthermore, pick champions that are not squishy. Kog’maw is going to be easy meat for the enemy and horrible to play as against this comp.

• Start to group.
  • Some versions of a pick comp rely on catching enemies who are on their own. If you group close together when playing against assassins, it will reduce their chances of being able to one shot the enemy.
• Pick engage.
  • Instead of allowing your teammates to get caught out of position, you can try to engage on the enemy whenever you spot them. For example, if your team has some hard engage champions, you can all engage at the same time to prevent the enemy from picking anyone off and gaining the numbers advantage.

Team comps and champions who counter a pick comp are:

• Ezreal has dodge abilities that can stop him from being targeted by enemy abilities. For example, Ezreal can use his E to dodge Blitzcrank Q. He also has good poke which will allow him to poke the enemy and make it dangerous for them to try and pick somebody off.
• Alistar is a fantastic engage champion and will exploit their mistakes if they try and pull him in or pick him off. If he gets hooked in, he will be in the mix with the enemy team. This will allow him to use his W+Q combo and potentially knock 5 players up. Doing so will give Alistar’s team an incentive to follow up and fight.
• Lissandra is a jack of all trades champion and will be really good against this comp. She can engage into the enemies lines which is perfect against this comp. She can do so by flanking or by just running at the enemy. She is also really good at stopping assassins in their tracks with her ultimate. This will give not only herself extra protection- but also protect her allies from being picked off.
• A team that is built around engage champions is a must against this team composition. This is because you will be grouped together and deny a portion of what makes a pick composition good. Pick engage champions and look to engage whenever you’re in a position to do so.
• Any team that groups together will be good against this team comp. A wombo combo team (as long as they’re on the same page) will work good against this comp because they will not get picked off before a teamfight. They will also stick close together which makes it difficult for the enemy to try and pick players off. Furthermore, if they do try to pick somebody off by pulling them in, they’re putting themselves in great danger because it will enable the rest of the wombo combo team to go in.

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Chapter 7: Split Push

When perfected, a split push team composition can be incredibly deadly and difficult to play against. However you see it, it’s biggest strength can also be its biggest weakness- which often gets exploited by the right team composition. When playing as and against a split push comp- timing is everything.

A Split Push team composition doesn’t really want to teamfight every second of the game. Instead, they try to split up and take down towers or objectives and gain a gold advantage through good macro. This composition comes in a few variations which include 1-4-0, 0-4-1 and 1-3-1. However, in this section we will only focus on the first two. There will be another section later on discussing how to play in a 1-3-1 comp.

This team comprises of champions that are good at split pushing and are good at clearing waves. This is because they are able to push relatively fast in order to reduce or apply pressure. As the enemy may have the numbers advantage in a teamfight, having champions with good wave clear will provide your team with some protection to stop the enemy from taking down your towers.

The strategy for this type of team comp is rather simple; split up and look for clues your team will need to group closely together while 1 or 2 players split push. Usually, this will be either an assassin, a mage or a bruiser who does the split pushing as they will have wave clear and good kill potential on enemies who try to contest. You should avoid putting someone that lacks kill potential in a side lane as they will be unable to apply any pressure there. For example, a 0-4 Zed in a side lane will not have the greatest of kill power because he will not be able to assassinate the enemy. The enemy could just wave clear and make it difficult for him to apply pressure.

While they’re split pushing, the other 3 (or 4) team mates will need to play around the middle lane and try to clear waves and siege when the enemy is drawn away. From there, they can either follow the enemy or take a tower nearby.

To win as this team, you will need to rely on the other members to not over extend or get caught out of position. While 1 or 2 members of your team split push, the rest of your team should stick around the middle lane (or another lane): wave clearing and not over extending. You should be able to apply and deny pressure in the middle lane while your other laners split push and apply pressure there. Potentially, this will split the enemy up and allow you to apply pressure in 3 lanes at once.

If the enemy leaves the middle lane to stop somebody from split pushing, the grouped players will need to push the wave and apply pressure to the tower. This way, the enemy will either forfeit a side tower, forfeit the mid lane, or waste time. Your teammates in the middle lane should not really teamfight unless they are able to (such as if the enemy leaves to go to another lane) as the enemy can just turn the teamfight in their favor.

Realistically speaking, this team composition is really difficult to execute and win as in Solo Queue because it relies on communication.

Example Team Composition
As a Split push team composition doesn’t always want to split push, nor does it always want to group, you are somewhat limited into what champion characteristics your team can have. For example, you will require 1 or 2 champions that are able to split push and 3 other champions that synergise well together.

Jax: One of the best split pushers in the game thanks to his wave clear and bruiser-style gameplay. He is also one of the best duelers and split pushers in the game because of his E and W. Jax works great in this comp as he will be able to fight anybody who comes to contest his split push.

Sejuani: Sej will be the tank and the frontliner for her team. She will be the protection her team requires to survive in the middle lane while the other lanes split push. It’s advised to have a tank to be in the middle lane with the non-split pushing champions so the enemy doesn’t jump on them.

Ahri: Ahri is able to split push as she has good wave clear thanks to her Q. She can also (to some extent) assassinate enemies who try to contest her from split pushing. Ahri can play the role of split pusher or stick with her other teammates in the middle lane. In addition, her Charm (E) will allow her to try and catch enemies who have miss positioned.

Sivir: If her team is split pushing, Sivir can just play passive and clear waves in the mid lane. Thanks to her Q and W, she will have no trouble defending and preventing the enemy from taking down towers. Her ultimate can also be used to disengage and escape if the enemy tries to ambush her team.

Janna: Has the ability to disengage in case the enemy tries to engage on her team when they’re grouped as 3 or 4. She can use her Tornado (Q) to knock up and prevent the enemy from engaging, while also utilising her ultimate to knockback and stun them- delaying and unraveling their engage.

Tips and Tricks

In this section, we will go over some specific teamfighting tips and tricks that will help you win when playing as this team composition.

• Avoid teamfighting when your allies are split pushing.
  • It is a good idea to avoid teamfighting or trying to skirmish when somebody is missing on your team. While rather situational, if you can’t fight the enemy- then don’t bother trying. Instead, you can wait for one of the enemies to leave and then try to fight (if you can) when the fight will be on equal terms.
• When grouped, do not over extend.
  • As the bulk of your team may only consist of 3 or 4 players, over extending or walking to far forward may allow the enemy to set up an ambush. For example, if you were to try and contest an objective, somebody on the enemy team may be able to engage on you. As you are only 3 or 4- your team would be easy pickings.
• Avoid split pushing if your allies will get stomped in a teamfight.
  • If your allies are behind, you can’t really split push and leave them as they will just get engaged upon and they’ll be unable to defend themselves. Instead of split pushing, look to group with them to try and come out ahead.
• When the enemy moves to another lane to stop the pusher, apply pressure to another tower.
  • If the enemy sends multiple champions to stop a side lane pushing. For example, sending 2 to the bot lane to stop the Jax from pushing, you should try to apply pressure to another objective. If they’re on the bot side- look to take the Baron. If they’re on top, look to take mid or the Drake.

If you’re struggling to know when you can and can’t split push, we’ve made a separate split pushing guide in the past that can help you out.

How to counter a split push team composition
A Split push composition is a team that doesn’t always want to teamfight. Instead, they may want to disengage from the fight and just let their split pushers do the work. This is how you beat them.

• Pick engage.
  • You need to take advantage of the enemy being weaker in numbers to start a teamfight. By picking champions that can engage, you will be able to engage on the enemy whenever they miss position. Many team comps that utilise a split pusher try to hold off from fighting, so you need to pick an engage comp and teamfight as soon as you can.
• Send 1 person to go to the side lane.
  • You will need somebody in your team who is able to counter the split pusher and prevent the enemy from being able to take objectives. Usually, this will be somebody who is ahead and is able to clear waves rather quickly. For example, Ahri, Twisted Fate, Shen or Renekton are all decent at split pushing and counter split pushing.
• Force objectives.
  • Many of the teamfights may be in your favor- numbers wise, as there will be somebody split pushing. You can use this to your advantage by forcing down objectives. For example, grouping mid and taking down an objective while the enemy split pushes somewhere else. If the enemy split pusher doesn’t back and help their team, you can threaten another objective or a teamfight.

Team comps and champions who counter a split push comp are:

• Nautilus has point and click CC through his ultimate. It can be used to force a teamfight when the enemy over extends or tries to push the wave. It is possible that he can even knock up multiple champions if they’re grouped closely together. To beat this composition, you’ll need to engage as soon as you can- so picking Nautilus against this comp makes sense.
• Vi is another champion that can engage thanks to her ultimate which is ironically another point and click ability. You can use this to engage on the enemy when they over extend.
• Jayce is really good at poking and clearing waves thanks to his empowered Q’s and overall damage output. He can be quite good at either preventing the enemy from split pushing, or forcing the enemy to back off when they’re in the middle lane.
• Engage comps are a must in this situation as it can prevent the enemy from splitting up. For example, if you engage on the enemy as soon as they’ve split up- you’ll be able to fight and kill them instantly as long as you go in without delay. After that, you can put pressure on the mid lane tower and possibly their base. Overwhelming the enemy and making sure they will not be able to split is what your goal is.
• Quite similar to an engage comp, playing as a dive composition and being able to dive the enemy as soon as they’re under tower will allow you to kill them and take their objectives afterwards. For example, diving the enemy and then destroying their t2 tower will force the split pusher(s) to back off and recall. If they do not recall, you can take more of their base including the Inhibitor and Inhib tower.

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Chapter 8: Engage

This composition relies heavily on being able to engage on the enemy when they’re caught out of position, or when they’re over extended. This comp relies heavily on communication, and are required to have good map awareness at all times. Without good map awareness and knowing where their allies are, they might end up going in at the wrong time or going in without their teammates.

An engage composition is a team that tries to engage on the enemy as soon as they step one foot out of place. By grouping closely together, they are able to overwhelm the enemy and win teamfights by engaging.

They usually will stick together as 5 because there is safety in numbers. But also because it allows them to have a higher impact in teamfights. For example, if there is only 1 champion who can engage, they may struggle at actually fighting. Whereas if they had 3 champions that can engage, there would be no trouble as everyone can go in at the same time and use their abilities in synchronization to win the fight.

For this team to win and fight effectively, they need to be on the same page. If there is confusion among the ranks, it will be really difficult for you to come out ahead because you will lack a consistent and effective engage. For example, only half your team engaging while the rest stay passively behind. This is where communication and in game awareness comes in handy.

Communication and map awareness is so important in this team composition because you will need to see where your allies are at all times. If they’re not nearby, then you cannot and should not engage. Additionally, you will need to have good communication to interact with your team to describe your intentions. For example, saying “I’m going to engage.”

To win as this team and to increase your chances of being able to engage, you will need to engage as soon as you can, and not have a standoff with the enemy. This is because they will be able to poke you down which may force you to recall or not engage. By engaging almost immediately- you will be reducing this issue.

Example Team Composition
Engage compositions are one of the most accepting comps in the game. Many different champions work beautifully in this composition and here are just a few.

Renekton: Renekton has good follow up and is able to get into the teamfight thanks to his E. However he cannot necessarily be the engage that his team wants or needs. While he can ambush the enemy, he cannot get onto the backline by running directly at them. As Renekton will be building damage and defensive items like The Black Cleaver or Sterak’s Gage, he will be able to deal and soak damage in teamfights thanks to his ultimate, which should help his team come out ahead.

Amumu: Amumu is a tank who can be the frontline for his team. While relatively immobile, his Q will allow him to get in to enemy lines. Once there, he can follow up with his ultimate which should provide his team with enough time so they can reposition and follow up. Until the mid-to-late game, he will be rather squishy so it might be difficult for him to engage. This is where he should look to flank the enemy instead of rather than running straight at them with his Q.

Lissandra: Lissandra is a perfect example of a champion that can engage on the enemy but also protect herself. She can engage with her E, root the enemy with her W, and then intomb herself with her ultimate. Lissandra is really strong in an engage team composition because she can get in and get out relatively safely. Also, she has the follow up that her frontliners need: her E will allow her to reposition and follow up at her team’s request.

Lucian: What more is there to say about Lucian apart from him naturally being great at dealing damage and following up when his team engages thanks to his kit. His ultimate is fantastic in teamfights and will drain the enemies health bar when they’re locked in position through layered crowd control. In addition, he can also use his E to reposition and close the gap between him and the enemy. This means that Lucian will be able to consistently deal damage in teamfights- perfect in any team comp.

Alistar: Alistar is one of those champions that is really good at engaging and teamfighting. So it makes sense to include him in this team composition. Ali is really good in teamfights because he is a tank champion. His kit also compliments him greatly- allowing him to knock up multiple champions at once. A simple W+Q combo or Flash W+Q can be one way he engages. However, Ali can also make good use of Hextech-Flash and use it to flank or ambush the enemy. As you can see, he is great in this comp.

Tips and Tricks
In this section, we will go over some specific teamfighting tips and tricks that will help you win when playing as this team composition.

• Always look to see where your team is before engaging.
  • It seems obvious that you need to make sure your team is around you before teamfighting. But time and time again players seem to start a teamfight without looking where their teammates are. To stop yourself from going in 1v5, make sure that your team is nearby and also ready to teamfight. If they’re not nearby, don’t engage.
• When trying to ambush the enemy, make sure the bush isn’t warded.
  • Some champions are really good at ambushing the enemy. If you are trying to surprise them by hiding in a bush, make sure that the bush is not in fact warded. Purchase a Control Ward and place it in the bush to ensure it’s not warded. If you avoid checking the bush for wards, you could be wasting your time and you may even get killed for it.
• Try to not make it obvious.
  • Sometimes, engages are pretty obvious like the final battle in Narnia. While it may work sometimes, it’s not recommended that you always try to start a teamfight by running at the enemy. Instead, you should try to change how you engage to keep the enemy on their tippy toes. For example, you may want to run at them from the side, or come at them from the rear.

• Communicate.
  • Make sure that everybody on your team is ready to teamfight and that they’re on the same page. You can do this by pinging one another as well as chatting. If somebody on your team is dead or is not in a position to teamfight, try to avoid forcing the teamfight on them as it may come and bite you later on. For example, forcing Alistar to fight without his ultimate will make him rather weak which may result in him and the rest of your team dying.

How to counter an engage comp
Engage comps can be difficult to play as and against in Solo Queue due to the lack of communication. However, you can potentially use this disadvantage to your advantage. Here are some other tips to beat an engage comp.

• Pick disengage.
  • The opposite to an engage composition is a disengage play style. By disengaging and stopping the enemy in their tracks, you will be able to survive the teamfight and hopefully keep your team alive. If your champion has any abilities that are crowd control, stuns or knock backs, they’ll be needed to delay the enemy. Crowd control and interruptions are a necessity when playing against this comp.
• Poke them down.
  • It should be obvious, but you need to ensure that the enemy is unable to engage on your team. One way of doing this is by poking the enemy down and reducing their health bars. Because they will be low, they will be unable to engage on your team as it would be very difficult for them to survive the teamfight. You should poke as much as you can and as consistently as you can so they cannot engage.
• Don’t squash together.
  • As an engage composition will try to engage on you whenever they can, avoid sticking super close to one another to reduce the chances of them getting a multi person knock up. Some team compositions and champions rely heavily on being able to engage on the whole team at once. For example, Amumu or Alistar will try to affect as many people as they can whenever they engage. If your team is grouped but split up, it will reduce their chances and overall usefulness in teamfights as they will be focusing one target and not five.

Team comps and champions who counter an engage comp are:

• Janna has a plethora of abilities that can disengage and force the enemy back. Her ultimate can directly knock back enemies, while her Q can block some pull or dash abilities like Amumu’s Q, Lucians E, Nautiluses’ Q and Alistar’s W+Q combo.
• Syndra has the poke and damage output required to force the enemies to back away. She can utilise her ultimate by purchasing magic penetration to break through the enemies magic resist, while also dishing out consistent damage with her low cooldown Q. In addition, she can use her Scatter the Weak to stun advancing enemies- preventing them from engaging.
• Sivir’s ultimate is incredibly useful in teamfights to engage or to disengage. This can allow her and her team to disengage if they need to back away quickly. Furthermore, Sivir deals a lot of damage with her Q and her W which means she can poke down enemies before a teamfight occurs. If things are rough in game, she also has her E to fall back on to protect her against 1 CC ability.
• Poke comps can be good against this team composition as long as they have abilities that can be used at long range. You want to avoid playing poke champs that do not have long range because you may be opening yourself up to be engaged on. For example, Jayce would be better at poking with his long ranged empowered Q rather than Anivia with her close ranged ultimate.
• Counter engage compositions are perfect against this comp because they somewhat rely on the enemy engaging on your teammates. Many players under estimate or undervalue what a team composition does and they fight for no reason- even when they’re at a disadvantage, so a counter engagement comp makes sense. Let the enemy engage on you and then fight back.

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Chapter 9: Dive Composition

A Dive composition is rather difficult to play against as it leaves no place safe for your team. It’s a composition that loves to dive the enemy under tower and siege objectives. More often than not, when this team groups and threatens a tower, the enemy has to react or back off, otherwise they will get dove and killed. This comp usually has multiple tanks or Assassins so they can dive under tower. This comp is great in Solo Queue as there are a vast number of champions that can join and work well within it.

A dive comp is undoubtedly one of the better teamfighting comps in the game. The enemy will find it difficult to teamfight and play against them as there will be little to no protection provided by their towers. Because of their excellent teamfighting capability, they will always be able to pressure objectives one after another. For instance, after sieging and taking one tower, they can rotate to another objective and try to siege that tower as well- or take an alternative objective like Drake.

To get the most out of this team comp, you should always let the tanks tank the tower agro first. This is because towers reduce damage taken and deal tons of damage over time. Turrets gain 40% additional damage each time they strike a champion- which maxes out at 120% additional damage. Imagine you’re the ADC tanking the turret- you’re basically taking free damage for no reason. This will definitely cause a sway in the teamfight.

There are a few things to keep in mind when playing as this team composition. Even though you’re playing as a dive comp, you do not need to always dive the enemy- you can just siege the objective and try to take the tower. By positioning aggressively, you can threaten a tower dive and force the enemy to back away from their tower. This is true even when you do not want to dive the enemy. If they over extend and try to defend it, your team can pull the trigger and dive them. This is a really good thing to do if the enemy has multiple squishy champions.

All though diving the enemy under their tower may not always be possible by running directly at them. Instead, you may have to use the terrain to your advantage by flanking the enemy while they sit cosy under their tower.

Much like every other team composition in the game, for them to be able to win teamfights effectively, every member of the team will need to be on the same page. Otherwise, your team may dive a tower and have no follow up from the other members. As the tanks don’t deal much damage, they may get killed by going in without any follow up damage. So, it is important that you communicate, and have good map awareness so everyone is on the same page.

Example Team Composition
A Dive composition is similar to an engage composition due to the fact that they will need to engage. Here is an example team composition that is pretty good at diving the enemy.

Malphite: Is a tank champion who can become unstoppable while ulting. Having somebody who is a tank and can also engage will give the squishier champions on your team some respite as they will not take tower aggro. In addition, as Malphite’s passive gives him a shield, he will not always have to risk his health bar if he can go in with his shield up. This means he can tank for longer when needed.

Kayn: Can get over walls and dive the enemy with his E. If he is ahead and is in blue form, he will be able to one shot the squishy targets under their own tower (but he may die for it). Red Kayn on the other hand is perfect in this situation as he will be able to dive the tower and make it out alive. His kit is perfect in a dive composition.

Leblanc: Leblanc is an assassin that can deal lots of damage in an incredibly short amount of time. She is also really good at getting over walls and taking down enemies with her W. If you pick Leblanc and play to the side of a teamfight, you will be able to dive with no problems.

Xayah: Has lots of AOE damage in teamfights, especially if she builds Runaan’s Hurricane. Making good use of Xayah’s passive and her E, she can leave multiple feathers behind the enemy when she goes to trade. She can then pull them back to herself when she sees fit and hopefully root the enemy. If there are lots of feathers around- she can root multiple enemies. In addition, she also has her ultimate which is a safety net just in case things go wrong.

Alistar: Thanks to Alistar’s ultimate, he is able to dive the enemies tower and activate his ultimate to reduce incoming damage. This will allow him to tank the tower for a good portion of the teamfight. He also has crowd control on all of his other abilities, making him perfect at locking down enemies under their tower. On top of that, Alistar is also an engage champion and will not struggle at engaging when needed.

Tips and Tricks
In this section, we will go over some specific teamfighting tips and tricks that will help you win when playing as this team composition.

• Make sure everyone is on the same page.
  • Once again, making sure that everybody understands what they’re doing in a teamfight is crucial for a dive comp to work. If somebody doesn’t understand that the team is planning to dive, they may miss position and deal minimum damage in the teamfight. You can reassure players by pinging “on my way”.
• Call out targets via pings.
  • If everyone on your team focuses the same person down, it will completely tear the enemy to shreds. It will also be much safer for your team as you will not be tanking as much tower aggro. Call out target priority by pinging the enemy you intend to focus. You should do this before a teamfight ensues, and continue doing it throughout the engagement.
• Look to see where your team is before engaging.
  • Before engaging, make sure that your team is in a position where they can follow up and assist you at diving. It is a mistake on your part if you were to dive the enemy alone, because you didn’t look to see where your allies were. Only dive if they are within range and are willing to help you.
• Make sure the tanks tank first.
  • Towers deal a lot of damage- especially over time. Make sure that the tankiest member on the team is the towers main focus to begin with. This is because it will allow them to soak the towers damage while your allies are able to freely hit the enemy. If the ADC is tanking for example, they would take a lot of free damage which can result in them having to back off early or die.

How to Counter
How do you prevent them? By not letting them dive of course!

• Don’t play squishy champions.
  • As this composition wants to go head first and dive into your team, playing as a squishy champion is a big no-no. It’s recommended that you play somebody who has strong defensive or health capabilities so you do not get one shot in a teamfight. If you are playing as a squishy champion and miss position, it can cost you the teamfight and an objective afterwards. If you are playing somebody who is squishy in this team comp, if applicable- buy some defensive items as soon as you can.
• Purchase early defence items.
  • To counter a dive composition, you will need to buy some defensive items to protect yourself. If the enemy is mostly AD, pick up some health and armour – Dead Man’s Plate is a fantastic choice. If the enemy has mostly AP, buy some magic resist and health – Adaptive Helm works wonders in a heavy AP oriented team comp.
• Play engage.
  • Having a front line with champions that can engage is a good way of playing against this type of team comp. If your team can engage before the enemy does, the enemy will be unable to get into the back line and be able to exploit your weak or immobile allies.

Team comps and champions who counter a dive comp are:

• Soraka’s E is a silence which prevents the enemy from using any of their abilities: this includes escape or damaging abilities. Preventing the enemy from using their abilities to either engage or get on top of your team will make it really difficult for the enemy to be able to finish of your allies. On top of that, Soraka also has a global heal on her ultimate and healing with her W. These will keep her allies alive for longer in the fight.
• Poppy is pretty good at countering a dive comp thanks to her ultimate which can knock back and delay the enemy from engaging. Poppy is also a tank, so she shouldn’t be squishy and killed instantly. To top that off, she also has her Steadfast Presence which can prevent the enemy from dashing in and getting kills. This will stop a lot of the enemies dive potential.
• On paper, Neeko’s ultimate is really good against a dive comp. This is perfect against a dive comp because it will at least keep them in place shortly after they’ve gone in. Neeko also has a root on her E to prevent the enemy from engaging, and her W which can allow her to juke the enemy.
• A split push composition can beat this team as long as they do not let the enemy fight them inside the mid lane or under their own tower. They will need to avoid fighting as they may get run down and killed instantly. The split pushers will need to constantly apply pressure in the side lanes to prevent the enemy from doing anything in the middle lane. While it works, a split push comp is difficult to counter, but not impossible.
• A poke composition can counter this comp during the mid game if they are able to poke the enemy down and prevent them from engaging. By throwing out their abilities and clearing minion waves consistently, it will make it difficult for the enemy to dive the team because they will be low. Keep poking them down to prevent them from taking towers and engaging.

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Chapter 10: 1-3-1 (Split variation)

A 1-3-1 team composition is a split push comp- similar to one we described earlier. Apart from a few key differences. This composition is basically the same and requires the team to play around objectives to open up the map and gain a lead. They rely on the enemy not being able to coordinate with one another to gain free objectives.

A 1-3-1 team composition is a variation of a split push comp. We won’t go into too much detail because we would be basically copy and pasting the information over. The only variation between this composition and a traditional split push composition is that there are only 3 champions in the middle lane, and 2 champions in the side lanes split pushing.

The main differences between a split push comp and a 1-3-1 comp is how many champions are split pushing. In some split push comps, there may only be 1 player split pushing in the top or bottom side of the map. Where as in this comp there will always be 1 player topside, 3 in the middle and 1 hugging botlane.

This comp can be rather difficult to execute in Solo Queue because it relies on impeccable map awareness and pressure to work properly. It requires the side lanes to work in conjunction with the middle lane and vise versa. For example, when the enemy backs off and rotates to a side wave, the players in the middle lane will need to communicate what’s happening and apply pressure in the mid lane.

Example Team Composition
A 1-3-1 team composition is basically the same as a Split Push composition as they both contain champions that will split push while others stay in the middle lane defending towers and avoiding skirmishes. Because of this, you will need two split pushers, somebody who can disengage and somebody with wave clear. Here’s an example team comp.

Shen: Has decent damage and wave clear if he builds Tiamat. Shen’s ultimate is what makes him perfect in a 1-3-1 comp. If he sees that his allies are struggling, he can just activate his ultimate and be there within a flash. He also has good trading potential once he has some items behind him like Tiamat, Sunfire Cape or Adaptive Helm.

Rumble: Rumble has good wave clear and kill potential when he is grouped with his team. He is able to catch out and slow enemies- which can help picking up kills with his E. Rumble also has a way of escaping with his W that can provide him with a shield and a small bonus amount of movement speed. His ultimate will also come in handy at displacing and clearing minion waves because it deals a lot of damage in a wide radius. The Equalizer (his R) can also be used to prevent the enemy from escaping or walking through parts of the lane by placing it towards their general direction.

Fizz: If Fizz is ahead, he has a lot of kill potential. This makes it rather difficult for anybody to stop him from pushing. Thanks to his ultimate, he is able to 1v1 basically anyone who comes to contest and stop him from pushing. You can use Fizz’s overall champion design to your advantage by clearing waves and dealing damage with his E. Or he escape and back away with his W. Fizz has a lot of manoeuvrability and outplay potential which will help him back away if needed.

Caitlyn: Caitlyn is rather good at sieging towers and dealing damage whenever the enemy moves to another lane. She doesn’t have the best- but far from the worse wave clear which will help you clear waves if the enemy tries to push. She also has some kill potential and can easily finish of enemies with her ultimate. Caitlyn can also use her traps to prevent the enemy from moving around parts of the map. For example, if she is sieging a tower, she can place them to the side of her team so they don’t get collapsed upon.

Karma: One of the biggest issues with split pushing and split pushing compositions is that it’s hard for the team to stay composed and not get caught out of position. Luckily, Karma can empowered her E to protect her team and get them away from the enemy. She can also use her Q to clear minion waves if the enemy looks to be trying to engage. Additionally, her W can root one enemy- which can provide her team with some bonus protection.

Tips and Tricks
In this section, we will go over some specific teamfighting tips and tricks that will help you win when playing as this team composition.

• Break the team comp traditions if you can’t split push.
  • Just because you’re playing in a 1-3-1 comp, it doesn’t mean that you only play like it. Instead, you can group as 5 when need be, or you can go as 4 with 1 player split pushing. Adaption to every situation is key in League of Legends: especially when you’re trying to outsmart the enemy.
• Always look to see where the enemy is before pushing.
  • If the enemy looks to have left the middle lane to protect their T2 tower somewhere else, before pushing the wave, make sure that the enemy is in fact gone and that they’re not waiting for you to over extend to ambush you. This goes for every player whether you’re split pushing or grouped.
• Make sure your allies are safe and that they will not die.
  • It is advised to not split up if your team is behind. This is because the enemy can easily engage and start a teamfight on your weaker allies. If the enemy decide to group and run it down mid, 3 weak teammates will not be able to stop them. You will need to stop splitting up and try to stick together.
• Have vision around the lane you’re split pushing.
  • When split pushing, you will be opening yourself up for the enemy to collapse onto you. However, you will be able to escape or back away if you have sufficient ward coverage around the lane you’re split pushing. You will need to make sure that you place your Trinket and Control Wards around the map to spot the enemy before they’re in range of you. If you see the enemy coming, you can back off and disengage. While you do this, your allies can apply pressure in another lane.

How to Counter
Playing against a 1-3-1 team composition requires a lot of communication and quick decision making. You must make sure that the players contesting the side lanes are able to 1v1 the enemy otherwise they will be over-pressured and forfeit towers. Thankfully, lack of communication and planning will work heavily in your favor.

• Pick engage.
  • Because a 1-3-1 usually has wave clear and tries to delay a teamfight, you will need to stop them from delaying by picking champions with engage. Once you see that the enemy has split, you can try to engage on them as soon as you can in order to start the fight. Time is of the essence when playing against a 1-3-1 comp and you’ll want to fight them as soon as you can.
• Make sure you can contest the side waves.
  • Having a decent team composition is so important when playing against this type of team. You will need to have champions with engage and good follow-up in the mid lane-with champions who can counter the split push in the side lanes. For example, Shen and Twisted Fate are really good in this type of team composition because they both have decent wave clear and global ultimates. This means you can clear the waves and get to your team if needed.
• Make decisive decisions.
  • Without making clear decisions, you will find that the enemy will be able to out-rotate and be able to take lots of objectives for free. This is due to the fact that you may find yourself wondering around the map clueless to what to do and defend. I recommend that you try to make any decision clear and final. For example, if you’re going to engage- engage. If you’re going to back off and defend- back off and defend. Don’t bother walking halfway and then walk back on yourself.

Team comps and champions who counter a 1-3-1 team composition are:

• Nautilus is a great champion that can counter this composition because he has point and click CC with his ultimate. He also has the ability to engage or force a teamfight, which is perfect against a split push team composition like this because they want to deny and delay teamfighting as much as they can.
• Twisted Fate is good in and against a 1-3-1 comp because he can split push and counter split push. Thanks to his consistent wave clear with his Q and W, he is able to clear and push waves quite quickly. He can also group with his team to teamfight, or catch out enemies roaming the rift with his ultimate. For example, Twisted Fate can prevent the enemy from split pushing, and then quickly blink to his team with his ultimate (and vise versa).
• Pantheon can be considered a counter to a 1-3-1 composition because he can prevent the enemy from split pushing with his strong 1v1 potential and wave clear. He also has a semi-global ultimate that can help him get into a teamfight if need be. Pantheon can also use his ultimate to start a teamfight and surprise engage onto the enemy. This makes Pantheon a solid pick against a 1-3-1 comp.
• An engage comp is needed when playing against this composition because it will prevent the enemy from being able to disengage or clear the waves and delay a fight. You need to play a team composition that can teamfight and engage immediately. The longer you delay, the more pressure and objectives the enemy can take in your side lanes.
• A dive comp is similar to an engage comp because they can both engage on the enemy. As you need to engage as soon as you can, a dive comp is perfect against a split push team like a 1-3-1 variation.

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Chapter 11: A-O-E (Area of Effect) Team Comp

An AOE or Area of Effect team composition is one of the best team comps to play as during the mid-game.It is also one of the easiest compositions to play in- assuming you’re fighting in a tight area of the map. Without overhyping this team any further, let’s discuss.

In an AOE team composition, you will need to group closely together to succeed and beat the enemy. You cannot split up too much because you will reduce your teams chances of winning a teamfight as everybodies damage is heavily relied upon. While this team composition is good at fighting anywhere, to have a better chance of winning a teamfight, you can fight in small areas around the map such as inside the jungle, or around objectives. This is because the enemy will be quite close together which will allow you to hit more champions with your abilities.

With that said, this team is fantastic at taking objectives and teamfighting because they have so much pressure when they are grouped together. This is why there is added emphasis on sticking nearby.

The strategy and win condition for this team comp is very straightforward. All you have to do is group together and try to fight the enemy as one. By letting your front line go in first, they can lock the enemy in position while the rest of the team repositions and starts to dish out damage.

Because this team is pretty good at teamfighting, you will need to make sure that your team is on the same page and that you have good awareness of what is happening around you. For example, if you are playing as the front line, make sure your allies are in a position to follow up and deal damage. You do not want to go in when they are not in a position to help you as you will be sacrificing yourself. Additionally, you should also have good awareness of who on your team has their ultimates available. As this team relies heavily on AOE damage, you need to make sure that your allies have their AOE abilities available to them also.

Before engaging in any teamfight, make sure you and your allies have mana available to you. If you do not have any mana, it will catastrophically reduce your chances of winning the fight as you will lack consistent damage. You should make good use of both sides blue buffs whenever possible. Make sure somebody on your team takes your blue buff and when possible try to steal and nab the enemies away from them. Having two blue buffs on your team will allow those champions to dish out consistent damage which is needed in an AOE team comp.

Example Team Composition
An AOE team composition is a team that has multiple champions with AOE (area of effect) abilities that work together in conjunction with one another to deal tons of damage to the enemy. Here are some champions that have AOE abilities and work well together.

Rumble: Rumble is a fantastic champion that is perfect in an AOE team. First off, he has an AOE Q that spits fire in front of him so when he is facing multiple champions, he will deal a lot of damage to multiple enemies at once. His ultimate is also very good in teamfights, especially if the enemy is locked in position or in a tight area. If Rumble were to use his ultimate in a choke point like the jungle or around an objective, he will be able to hit all of the enemies at once.

Amumu: Amumu’s ultimate has a rather large radius which fits snugly into an AOE team composition like this. Because it is huge, you are able to hit multiple enemies at once, which can keep them locked down while your team repositions and follows up. Amumu is also a tank so he can be the frontline for his team and protect them while they deal all the “real” damage.

Cassiopeia: Cassiopeia has 3 abilities that are AOE skill shots and one ability that is targeted. Because of this, Cassiopeia is amazing in an AOE team as she has multiple abilities that accommodate it. The main reason we’ve gone with Cassiopeia in this team comp is because of her ultimate and oh boy can it be a game changer. If Cass is able to hit multiple facing enemies with it, the teamfight is basically GG because the rest of her team can follow up while they’re turned to stone.

Jinx: Jinx’s Q can be switched between a standard auto attack to, an AOE one at the cost of attack speed and mana. With the change of her damage output, utilising her rockets will deal damage to multiple champions at once if they’re close by one another. She also will gain bonus range which means she can deal more damage further away- providing herself with some protection. In addition, many Jinx players build Runaan’s Hurricane which interacts with her Q. This means she can deal even more damage to multiple champions at once.

Brand: Brand is a champion that is notorious for AOE damage. In teamfights, he can completely melt the enemy lineup if they try to fight him. Brand’s kit and passive is very good and benefits his abilities greatly. Brand is really good in teamfights thanks to his ultimate which can bounce between nearby enemies. When they’re close together and locked down, he can easily shred through their health bars. Honestly, Brand can deal so much AOE damage if he gets the opportunity to it’s unbelievable.

Tips and Tricks
In this section, we will go over some specific teamfighting tips and tricks that will help you win when playing as this team composition.

• Take fights in areas that are enclosed- like around Baron or Dragon pit or in the Jungle.
  • As an AOE comp is really good at dealing damage in a big radius, you can use this to your advantage by fighting in areas that are quite tight. For example, around the Dragon, the Baron pit or inside the jungle. Fighting here is good because the enemy may be unable to dodge some of it.
• Make sure your team is there to follow up.
  • Before going deep into enemy territory or preparing to engage, make sure that your team is there to follow up and help you. If they’re nowhere nearby, it will be really difficult for you to be able to do consistent damage or survive as the enemy can just focus you down. Always make sure your allies are there to help deal damage- especially if you’re the tank or frontliner like Amumu or Maokai.
• Maximize your damage output by hitting as many champions as you can.
  • As an AOE team composition relies on dealing damage to as many champions as they can. It’s better for you to save your ultimate, or core abilities until you’re able to hit multiple champions with them. For example, Cassiopeia’s ultimate is game changing if used correctly. I would prefer that she hit multiple enemy champions rather than just one- wouldn’t you? This goes for a lot of abilities and champions such as Amumu, Maokai, Annie and Rek’sai to name a few.
• Keep an eye on everybody’s ultimates.
  • If somebody is missing one of their AOE ultimates, try to avoid starting a fight and wait for them to have their ult back up. If it is a game changing ultimate like Amumu’s, teamfighting without it can be rather difficult. One mistake can quickly turn the game around and you may be unable to fight the enemy again. In short, if someone is missing their ultimate, try to delay the teamfight.

How to Counter
Failing to recognize the win conditions of an AOE team composition can be deadly. They rely heavily around working together and fighting as one. Stop them from doing this by using these tips and tricks.

• Avoid fighting in enclosed areas.
  • Try to avoid fighting inside the jungle or around small choke points. This is because the enemy relies heavily on hitting as many champions as they can at once. If your team groups very closely in these tight areas, you will be giving the enemy an easy time.
• Kite it back.
  • An AOE team composition is a team that relies heavily on using their ultimates to teamfight. You can use this to your advantage by waiting for them to use all of their ultimates and abilities at the start of the fight to turn it around. For example, once the enemy has engaged, dodge what you can- and kite it backwards. As the enemy would have used all of their abilities, it will be very difficult for them to chase and kill your team when you are kiting them. This is especially true against melee champions.
• Don’t group close.
  • As an AOE team relies on hitting as many champions as possible with their wide ranged abilities, you should avoid sticking close to one another to reduce the chances of hitting multiple champions at once. For example, Cassiopeia will be unable to hit 5 champions with her ultimate if the other team is separated. While she may hit one or two, the other champions would be able to dish out damage while the others are locked in place.

Team comps and champions who counter an AOE comp are

• Janna is a perfect example of a champion that counters many of the teamfighting comps in the game. She is also pretty easy to execute, which makes her perfect for Solo Queue. Janna can prevent a lot of the AOE damage thanks to her kit that provides shielding and healing. She can use her Q to block and prevent the enemy from engaging. She can also use her ultimate to knock back the incoming and engaging enemies as well as provide her team with an AOE heal.
• Xayah can be quite good against an AOE composition because she has a self protecting ultimate that can block and neglect some of the enemies damage. For example, she can use her ultimate as soon as the enemy starts dishing out damage. She also can root multiple champions if she is left to freely auto attack the frontline as she can throw and retrieve her feathers.
• On paper, Yasuo looks to be a fantastic champion that can total disrupt the enemies teamfighting potential because his Wind Wall can block a lot of incoming damage. However in reality, it may be quite different. He can counter this composition if used correctly.
• A split push composition is great against an AOE comp as it prevents the enemy from engaging and teamfighting as your team will be split up and not grouped together. With that in mind, you will need to make sure that the 3 players in the middle lane do not over extend or get caught out of position as they will immediately lose the teamfight.
• A pick comp can be good against this team composition if you can kill some of the major damage dealers first. For example, killing the enemy Mid laner prior to starting a teamfight will reduce the enemies chances of dealing damage and coming out ahead. Make sure you try to take down the squishier members first when possible.

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Chapter 12: Counter Engage

A counter engage team comp is a team that tries to hold off from engaging entirely because it doesn’t necessarily have the ability to do so. Instead, they try to let the enemy engage first, and think that they have the advantage. They then proceed to turn the teamfight on its axis and totally wipe the floor with the enemy.

This team composition comprises of champions that are good at fighting, but don’t necessarily have the ability to engage. This is one reason why this comp is called a counter engage comp. It will usually consist of champions that have AOE or crowd control abilities in order to do the most damage in the shortest amount of time.

To win as this team composition, your team needs to avoid being caught out of position or splitting up to much. There is definitely power in numbers, and as your team relies heavily on being grouped as 5 to deal the maximum amount of damage- splitting up will have deadly consequences.

In some ways, this team is basically the same as an engage composition apart from the fact that this team doesn’t want to (always) engage. Though they’re both similar in the way they want to stick together and fight as 5.

Note that this team can engage if they have champions who can engage and start the teamfight.

Example Team Composition

A counter engage composition is a mix of champions with AOE abilities, crowd control and self-peeling abilities like dashes or escapes. As a counter engage comp wants the enemy to engage on them, they will benefit greatly from being able to use their abilities in combination with one another. Anyway, let’s discuss an example team comp.

Illaoi: Illaoi can have a good time in teamfights if she is able to let the enemy engage once she has a few tentacles around her. Illoai gets a lot of bonus damage through hitting her E, so it is vital that she’s able to do that in order to burst the enemy down. Her ultimate is crucial in teamfights and without it- you will see a huge decrease in damage.

Kindred: Kindred is on the other side of the spectrum when it comes to teamfighting. Her ultimate will stop her allies from being destroyed as soon as the enemy engages on her team as it prevents anybody from hitting lethal.

Karthus: Is notorious in teamfights because of his damage output and his passive. Karthus can deal a lot of AOE damage in the teamfight once multiple enemies have surrounded him thanks to his E. However, he must not use his ultimate until he is in a safe position to do so or after he has died because it may get cancelled.

Xayah: One of the few AD Carries in the game with self-peel. Her ultimate will be very useful at keeping herself alive and dodging the enemies damage as she can just pop it to get away.

Zyra: Zyra’s ultimate is fantastic in close combat teamfights because it can knock multiple champions up at once. As the enemy would be engaging, they would be rather close to Zyra and her team which will make it easy for her to get multiple knock ups.

This team composition can be goodat disengaging if need be thanks to Zyra’s ult and Kindred’s ultimate. Obviously, they are also really good at teamfighting if the enemy engages on them.

Tips and Tricks
In this section, we will go over some specific teamfighting tips and tricks that will help you win when playing as this team composition.

• Try and fight in smaller areas when possible.
  • Fighting in small areas is great for some counter-engage comps because the enemy will be in a tight area that can allow this team to hit multiple champions at once. For example, Zyra using her ultimate in the Jungle can knock all of the enemy members up if they’re bunched together.
• Avoid trying to force 5v5 teamfights.
  • Remember what your team composition is and what your goals are. You need to wait for the enemy to engage on you so you can teamfight. For a teamfight to work in your favor, you have to wait for them to make the first move. With that in mind, do take fights that are guaranteed to work in your favor.
• Stick together.
  • For a counter engage composition to work, your team will need to group together and play as 5. You can’t really split up too much as the 4 players may not be able to win the fight on their own.
• Baiting is the way to go.
  • As you require the enemy to engage, baiting them into an exchange can be a really smart way of beating them. For example, if somebody tries to bait the enemy to engage on them, the rest of your team can use the element of surprise to pounce and fight.

How to counter a counter-engage comp
Unfortunately, countering this team composition can be difficult if you don’t have the right team comp. You will need to rely heavily on team coordination, skill and self discipline to not do what the enemy wants you to do.

• Don’t engage.
  • A counter engage composition wants you to engage. Do not engage at all unless you have the numbers advantage with either many of the enemies missing or dead. You cannot teamfight in an equal 5v5 setting against this comp as they will always come out ahead.
• Split push for days.
  • As they want you to group and fight them, if your team doesn’t group at all and instead just split pushes- the enemy will be limited to what they can do. They can either stop you from split pushing and equal the playing field in the middle lane. Or they stay as 5 mid while they lose objectives elsewhere.
• Focus on fighting when the enemy is split.
  • If you notice that one of the enemies is not with their team because they’re somewhere else- like in base or in a side lane, you could try to apply pressure to the enemy and potentially fight them if you are in a position to do so. You may find more success with this if it is one of the major damage dealers who is MIA.

Team comps and champions who counter a counter engage comp are:

• Jax is a great split pushing champion and can take over the map when ahead. He is also a great duellist which will make it hard for the enemy to stop him from splitting.
• Poppy is a great champion to pick against a counter engage or an engage comp as she can knock away key targets: leaving the remaining enemies outnumbered.
• Janna is really good against engage and counter engage comps as she can knock away the enemy and prevent them from re-engaging or counter engaging thanks to her ultimate. This small but effective play can mess with the enemies ability to teamfight which can work in your favor.
• A split push team comp is good against this composition as you will not be allowing the enemy to teamfight. As the 3 laners in the middle lane will not be fighting or engaging, splitting up is perfect as you’re denying what this team composition wants you to do.
• A poke comp can be good against a counter engage composition as long as they poke to their hearts content and do not engage. Poking the enemy and forcing them away from their objectives will allow you to open up the map and deny the enemies map movement.

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Chapter 13: How to Play Without a Defined Team Composition

A team without any real composition is limited in what it can do. It doesn’t always have any tanks, it doesn’t always have peel, and it cannot always fight. This is why learning to play in a team which is pretty vanilla is super important because it is something that we see often in Solo Queue.

A team with no definitive team composition is a group of champions that don’t really have any strong points and no specific strength. For example, they may not have poke or sustain. They may also lack synergy and not be able to really co-operate or interact on the same level because their champions just don’t mesh well. One of the most dominant strengths a team comp can have is the ability to dive. However, in a team composition such as this: you may not have anything that is apparent at first.

Variations of this composition are far from uncommon in Solo Queue, which can make it difficult to single out what you need to do without a reliable context. So, winning as this comp can be quite challenging because there are so many different variations to it.

Setting up ambushes is something that will always work no matter what team composition you are in. I would recommend that you look to set up an ambush when possible so you’re able to gain kills and win the following teamfight afterwards. As you may not have any specific team composition, the enemy with a clear comp can slice right through you. But this way, you may have a chance at getting kills and snowballing them into a lead.

We can’t go into too much detail about how you can teamfight as this composition because there is so much variation around it. Instead, I would recommend that you read a section later on that discusses how to play as any specific role. Knowing how to play your role effectively will allow you to naturally adapt to the context any circumstance you find yourself in.

I would highly suggest you avoid playing in a comp with no clear way of winning as you will find it is incredibly difficult to beat the enemy in teamfights when they have a half decent comp.

Example Team Composition

As suggested, this team doesn’t really have anything that is super apparent or reliable to win teamfights with. For example, it may not have many tank champions or champions who can engage. There is a huge array of champions that fit into a team composition like this in Solo Queue. This example team composition we are going to suggest is not far from a real comp seen in Solo Queue.

Sion: Is a tank champion that will be the frontline for his team. He can use his ultimate to start a teamfight and try and knock up enemies who are walking past bushes with his Q. Sion is also a very adaptive champion because he can group with his allies and teamfight where he can be the frontline or be used to peel. He can also be a split pusher if needed.

Rengar: Rengar will struggle in teamfights if he is behind because he will not be able to assassinate anyone. It’s best for him to try and avoid going in to assassinate or one shot anyone, if he is unsure he can do it as he will be sacrificing himself. This is a pretty obvious statement, yet a lot of Assassins try to make this play with poor results. But, when he is enabled and when him and his allies are on the same page- he can deal damage. His Q will help him deal damage, while his W and E will provide him with some utility.

Heimerdinger: Can be good in teamfights if he is given the time to place his turrets. In this team comp, he wouldn’t really be able to do too much if Sion tries to engage as he will be left behind. However, Heimerdinger can look to initiate a teamfight by using his ultimate and upgrading his grenades to stun and slow the enemy.

Draven: Draven is a really good ADC when ahead but he sucks at teamfighting if he doesn’t have any peel or protection. As this team doesn’t really have anything to protect him as much as he would like, you will find it is going to be difficult for him to be able to kite and pick up his axes. Mechanically demanding champions need a composition that benefits them and without it, they’re going to find it incredibly difficult to teamfight.

Lux: Is a Support that is seen quite frequently in lower ELOs. Many of the lower ELO Supports we’ll build this champion as full AP. Building AP Lux won’t really help her ADC apart from the CC and the shield she can provide. On the other hand, Lux’s kit is quite good at dealing burst damage if she is able to hit her skill shots and is able to poke before a teamfight occurs.

I know you can turn around and say “well, this team comp is so and so…” and yes, that is true to some extent. However, it is the fact that this team lacks any form of real dominant power in one aspect or another. For example, it only has one champion who can be the front line, it only has one champion who can engage, and it only has one champion that can deal consistent damage. The problem is, this composition is not far from something that many players meet in a daily basis on Summoners Rift. So, we’re not even being deliberately petty with this comp.

Tips and Tricks

In this section, we will go over some specific teamfighting tips and tricks that will help you win when playing as this team composition.

• Try and play around individual champions power spikes.
  • As you have no “official” way of teamfighting, you will need to play around your own and your teams power spikes. This is the only way you are going to come out ahead because you lack any substance of a teamfight comp.
• Default to peeling when possible.
  • Whether you are ahead, behind, or hard smurfing, try your hardest to peel for your team so you are able to win the the teamfight. As your team doesn’t have the greatest of teamfighting potential, there is added emphasis on peeling and helping your teammates out in teamfights as without it, they may get killed instantly.
• Try to set up ambushes whenever possible.
  • Setting up an ambush on the enemy is always a great thing to do in any team comp. However, it may have to be your default play style when you are playing in a comp with no dominant and reliable way of teamfighting. For example, if the enemy is really good at teamfighting and you’re not, the only way you may be able to fight them is when you have the numbers advantage, and one way this can be achieved is by setting up an ambush.
• Just dodge the game.
  • While not really a tip, I wouldn’t recommend playing and following through in a team with a poor team composition because it is very difficult to play and win as. You may get frustrated and annoyed that you had to sit through and play with this team composition. So I recommend that you dodge the game if you have a team that loses to the enemy’s team comp like this one.

How to counter a team with no real composition
Countering this team composition is rather easy if you have a proper team composition. Here are some tips and tricks to use when you’re playing against a team with no real team composition.

• Group up
  • As they may be unable to defend themselves or fight against you, grouping up and sticking together will make it difficult for the enemy to be able to conquer the map as they will be limited in what actions they can take. Instead of being proactive, they may have to play reactive and in some extreme cases, they will not even be able to do that. So, taking the initiative will work heavily in your favor.
• Pick Engage
  • When playing against a team with no synergy and no real team composition, picking champions with engage abilities will allow you to engage and teamfight with the enemy. As you have a team comp, you should do slightly better no matter the circumstances.
• Hit hard and force teamfights.
  • Some variations of this team will perform incredibly poorly in teamfights. If the enemy doesn’t have any synergy or anyway they can teamfight effectively, you should try to fight them whenever you are in a position to do so.

Team comps and champions who counter a comp with no comp are:

• Lissandra is great in teamfights and is one of the strongest teamfighters thanks to her newly designed passive. Lissandra is a good champion to pick into a comp without a comp because she has the ability to engage and teamfight.
• If the enemy is full of squishy champions, Olaf can just run through the enemy’s lines and take them down. Olaf is also really good in teamfights if he has follow up by his front liners. This can prevent him from being burst down and killed.
• Poppy’s ultimate is very good in teamfights- especially if the enemy is split up. Poppy can use her ultimate on 1 or 2 members of the enemy team and knock them a way which will leave the remaining champions alone on their own. This will make the teamfight go in your favor undoubtedly.
• Engage compositions beat teams that are disjointed and not on the same page. If your team groups up, you might be able to engage on the enemy and take them down.
• Poke comps can prevent the enemy from teamfighting by reducing their health bars over a period of time. When playing as a poke comp against this non-existent composition, make sure you poke as much as you can before teamfighting.

If you don’t want to teamfight, poking them down will allow you to take objectives instead by forcing the enemy away from an objective.

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Chapter 14: Which Team Comps to AVOID

Personally, I would advise that you avoid playing as these team compositions because they put you at a disadvantage from the beginning of the game. If you find yourself in one of these teams, be prepared to dodge the game, as you’re not going to be in for an easy ride.

In my opinion, if it’s your first dodge of the day, I would recommend that you dodge and take the minus 3LP as it will save yourself some time, stress and aggro. However, if it’s anything after the first dodge- then unfortunately, you may have to play it through. You can use our advice so you never fall into this trap again.

There are a few things you can do to avoid running into this issue:

• Show your intended pick.
  • Make sure you always hover the champion you want to play. This is a good routine to get in because it will stop your team from banning your champion. It may also make your teammates adapt their champion pick to something that benefits the team.
• Always take into account who your allies have chosen/ intend to choose.
  • Similar to above, if your allies have hovered who they’re wanting to play, make sure you take into account who they want and be prepared to change who you want to play. If they are picking after you, you could play somebody different and allow them to pick their desired champion if the two will clash. For example, an AD Mid and an AD Top do not always mix well.
• Adapt your pick according to your team.
  • If your team has already locked in their desired picks and it’s coming to the end of champion select, make sure you look at what your team has and doesn’t have. For example in the top lane, if you see that your team has no tanks, you could play a tank champion like Maokai instead of picking a fighter.
• Tell your team what you’re missing.
  • If you have already picked your champion and notice that your team is missing certain champions like a mage or a tank to build a decent team comp, don’t be afraid to tell your team.One of the more consistent mistakes teams make is having no AP champions. If you notice that your team is lacking a mage- tell them!
• Have a reasonably sized champion pool.
  • As you may need to adapt your champion pick, the right move would be to have multiple champions available to you. For example, 2-3 champions that are somewhat similar but are different. For example, if you’re a Top lane main, you could have a tank, a damage dealer and a mage (Malphite, Jax and Lissandra).

If you’re struggling to make or find your champion pool, check out our guide on how to build one.

Team Comp 1: A full AD team.

What is the comp:
A full AD team composition is just as suggested: it’s a team with 5 champions who deal primarily AD damage. This team composition can still be considered full AD with the Support being an AP champion if they’re not a traditional damage dealer. For example, Janna, Nami, Lulu and Soraka can all deal damage- but do not do enough damage to be considered as the AP carry. This team doesn’t include mage-like Supports such as Zyra or Brand because they build AP items.

The issues with this team composition:
The biggest issue with this team composition is that the enemy can easily counter you by purchasing armour items. The enemy can just stack armour items like Ninja Tabi, Chain Vest, Dead Man’s Plate or Seeker’s Armguard and counter you directly. If the enemy are smart, they will also choose champions that directly counter a full AD team composition such as tanks who can focus heavily on armour rather than buying magic resist.

Why you should avoid playing as this comp:
You should avoid playing as this team composition because it is incredibly difficult to win teamfights with and win the game. This is because the enemy can just build armour items to protect themselves. For example, Ninja Tabi will stop a lot of your auto attack damage, which will reduce the chances of you being able to kill the enemy. As the enemy would be alive for longer, it will be really difficult for you to stay alive.

Assassins are also useless in these types of team comps because you will not be able to burst any champion down. Zed is an assassin that (to some extent) relies on the enemy being squishy in order to execute them. However, if everyone is stacking armour, it will be difficult for him to do it in a teamfight.

How to counter this comp:
Full AD team compositions are more common than many players think. Fortunately, they’re rather specific but do have room for variation. Here are 3 tips to counter them directly, make sure you utilise them well to earn that free LP.

• Buy armour.
  • The best way to stop an AD team from dealing damage in teamfights is by stacking armour. Make sure you buy armour items to reduce the enemies overall damage and prevent their assassins from being able to do anything.
• Focus the backline.
  • The squishier members of any team are usually the back liners. Thankfully, as the enemy is all AD, you can potentially waltz pass the front line and head straight for the enemy carries. Taking the carries out of the fight will make it extremely difficult for the tanks or the front liners to be able to do anything. Killing off the strongest members should put the teamfight in your favor.
• Take Exhaust
  • Don’t get me wrong, Exhaust is a pretty abysmal Summoner Spell in its current form. Pros and players alike have been complaining about it for a while and it has seen a decline with many players favoring the more useful Ignite. However, I feel that it is still a worthwhile Summoner Spell to take when you are playing against full AD teams, or teams with multiple assassins. Imagine this, exhausting the assassin as soon as they jump onto your team. Their only source of damage taken out by just one click. I always take it when I notice that the enemy is full AD.

Team Comp 2: A full AP team.

What is the comp:
A full AP team composition is a team that consists of mostly AP, if not all, AP champions. As AP champions can be played in the bottom lane alongside traditional ADC’s and melee champions, a full AP composition is far from uncommon. However, out of all of the team comps we advise against playing, this is by far the rarest because of the recent meta changes.

The issues with this team composition:
Most mages are rather squishy and easily killed in teamfights. This might make it rather difficult for your team to fight as you may get killed all at once. However, to counter this, your team will have burst damage which will help you kill the enemy. At least it would, if they were not stacking magic resist.

When you’re playing against a full AP comp, the enemy can just build magic resist or health items like Adaptive Helm or Banshee’s Veil to protect themselves. This will make it rather difficult for your team to burst anybody down.

Why you should avoid playing as this comp:
You should avoid playing as this comp because you will not be able to deal sufficient damage to the enemy in teamfights as the enemy will just stack magic resist and health. Furthermore, you will lack consistent damage in teamfights because everyone will be waiting for their next set of abilities to come up. Compared to a traditional comp with an ADC, you will specifically lack auto attack damage and miss out on the consistency that the role provides.

How to counter this comp:
When there are multiple AP champions on a team, you’ll need to make sure you don’t let the enemy bloom and be able to deal lots of damage. One way of doing this is by abusing the fact that they’re mages.

• Buy magic resist.
  • Reduce the enemies all in potential and burst damage by buying magic resist and health to give you some more defensive stats. Adaptive Helm is a fantastic item against a full AP team because it provides you with magic resistance and health. Also, it will reduce damage dealt over time through items and abilities that tick like Brand’s Blaze, Teemo’s Q and Liandry’s Torment.
• Pick Engage.
  • Many mage compositions rely heavily on poking the enemy down before killing somebody. It is difficult for a full AP comp to fight when the enemy is on full health. This is why they rely on poking before engaging. You can use the mage’s vulnerability to your advantage by playing engage champions and engaging on them as soon they’re spotted. This will not only save your teams lives and hit points, but it will also prevent the enemy from gaining easy kills.
• Go for short skirmishes.
  • Avoid going for extended teamfights because the enemy will usually be able to outclass you. Due to their poke and overall damage output, it may be difficult for you to win a teamfight that is rather long. This is why you will need to avoid waiting to teamfight and instead: get in and get out. For example, go in and get a kill or two and then start backing off and resetting. This is a good way of teamfighting because you will slowly gain advantages and reduce your team’s death count. This can also prevent the enemy from snowballing and one shotting your teammates.
• Set up an ambush
  • The enemy will have lots of poke abilities because they’re all mages. This might make it difficult for your team to run at them and try to engage. To counter this, you should try to flank, ambush or surprise engage onto them. This should save your allies lives- especially the tanks as they will not take (as much) incoming damage when trying to go in.

Team Comp 3: A full melee team

What is the comp:
A full melee team is a team that is comprised of melee champions filling its roster. Much like some other compositions, there sometimes can be one ranged champion in the mix- like a traditional ADC but for the most part, the rest of the team is melee.

The issues with this team composition:
The main issue with playing as this team composition is that you will be melee and unable to deal damage at range. This means that you will need to be face to face and within the enemy lines to teamfight.

Furthermore, the enemy will be able to kite away or disengage from your team- which will make it even harder for you to stick to the enemy. Combining this with immobile champions, there’s no chance of being able to get on to the enemy.

Why you should avoid playing as this comp:
You should avoid playing as this team composition because it is rather difficult to execute in a teamfight. As everyone is melee, you will struggle being able to get on- and stick to ranged champions. In higher ELO, this is going to be even more difficult because ADC’s will be able to kite you.

Additionally, this composition will struggle being able to actually engage and start the teamfight as you will not be able to just run at the enemy. This is because they will be able to poke you down and disengage.

You may also find that it is difficult to siege objectives and destroy towers too because you have to be right near the structures in order to deal damage to it. This may mean that you’re unable to siege at all or be able to whittle away at the towers when the enemy is around.

How to counter this comp:
Countering this team composition is really easy. All you need to do is play around the range advantage.

• Learn to kite.
  • As a melee comp has little to no ranged champions, make sure you’re able to kite the enemy away. Auto attacking the enemy as they run at you- while retreating will allow you to deal damage to them and potentially force them to back off from their engage.
• Try to ambush/ assassinate the back line.
  • Teamfights can get pretty messy, and players often forget their role and position in a teamfight. If the Support goes in and leaves the ADC alone in the backline, try to focus them down first. This will make it really difficult for the enemy to back off from an engage and also be able to pick up kills.
• Poke the enemy as much as you can.
  • As the enemy are all melee champions, preventing them from engaging will delay a teamfight. If you’re able to poke them down by using your abilities, you can force the enemy to retreat or back away from an objective. For example, if your team are pushing the enemy under their tower and trying to siege, you can force the enemy to back off just through poking.
• Try to end the game as fast as possible.
  • If the enemy has scaling laners, it’s best to try and end the game as quickly as you can so they cannot get to their power spike. As the game rolls on, the enemy will get stronger and stronger, and start to be able to defend themselves. This might make it rather challenging for your team to be able to kill the enemy as they will be super tanky. This is especially true if the enemy has multiple tanks.

Team Comp 4: A team full of ranged champions.

What is the comp:
This team composition is not always a bad thing, but can be challenging to play as. This team comprises of 5 champions that are ranged with little to no melee damage. For example, a comp that doesn’t have any short-ranged abilities or engage potential.

The issues with this team composition:
The biggest problem with this composition is that you will most likely have no frontline in the teamfight. As you don’t have any tank champions, you will be soaking a lot more damage which can make it difficult to stay alive and come out ahead.

Furthermore, there are a limited number of ranged tanks or ranged champions that are a tank. Apart from Gnar, Lissandra and a few others, there’s not many players who can be tanky, ranged and be able to engage a teamfight.

Why you should avoid playing as this comp:
You should avoid playing as this team because you lack frontline and the ability to engage or teamfight. Because of this, the enemy could just engage on your team whenever they’re ready- and you won’t have any control over when a teamfight happens.

How to counter this comp:
Ranged team compositions are a bugger to play against because it will be difficult for you to lock them down and get in range of them. Nevertheless, make sure you go deep with your team to kill them off one by one. Furthermore, don’t let them poke you down. A ranged comp will have lots of poke potential which can make it difficult for you to fight against.

Pick range.
A range team composition we’ll always have the range advantage over melee champions. This is why you should try to pick ranged champions to play against them. This is because a ranged team can easily kite away and escape from any melee champions. For example, in a traditional teamfight, Darius will usually take down the front line, but if he is getting kited in teamfights, it will be very difficult for him to get on to somebody when they’re all ranged.

• Flank the enemy.
  • Melee champions will find it very difficult to engage and fight against a full ranged team. This means that running directly at them will not work in your favor. Instead, you need to try and flank the enemy from the side or try to ambush them to win the teamfight.
• You need crowd control.
  • Crowd control works heavily in your favor against these types of team compositions because you will be able to lock the enemy down which can give your teammates time to follow up and attack. An AOE lockdown like Amumu’s ultimate can give your allies ample time to reposition and start attacking the enemy. I recommend that you have as much Crowd Control – preferably easy to hit CC to lock them down as you can.
• Don’t let the enemy push or siege
  • Because this team will have poke and range, it will be really difficult for your team to defend any objective they try to take. Prevent them from sieging by flanking or clearing waves in a timely fashion.

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Chapter 15: The Truth About Team Compositions in League of Legends

Let’s get down to business, team compositions are somewhat overrated in League of Legends because you don’t need to have a full team dedicated around a play style or team comp to win. For example, you don’t need to have all 5 champions with a knock up or AOE damage to work in an AOE or wombo combo comp.

Instead, you may only have a few champions who do that sort of thing and still be considered as a specific composition. For example, you may only have a Jungler or a Support with a knock up and still be considered as a wombo combo team. For poke comps, you don’t even have to have 5 champions that can poke: it may only be one or two champions that can poke and still be considered as a poke comp.

Many team compositions are all about individual play style and champion characteristics. Figuratively, if you were to stick a bunch of your favorite champions into a blender, you would see that they would work in basically any composition, and work in many different comps.

That’s not to say that team comps are useless or overrated and you’ve wasted your time reading everything up to here. Undoubtedly, there are some champions that favor working together and some champions that don’t like working together at all. There are also some champions that directly benefit certain comps like a Yasuo in a wombo combo team.

Instead of stressing about making the perfect team composition, worry about working as a team and having a group of champions that synchronise well with one another. This is something that should be your top priority as you don’t want to pick somebody in a comp that won’t benefit them. As an example, if Yasuo doesn’t have any teammates that can provide him with a knock up, his ultimate can be rather restricting as he has to rely heavily on his tornado to be the only way of knocking enemies up.

In short, don’t worry too much about what team comp you fit in to. Instead, focus on playing your champion in favorable situations where your champions will work in sync with one another to win the teamfight. Try to limit the situations where you’re fighting poorly or inefficiently for maximum chances of winning the game.

• If you favor poking before teamfighting- make sure you poke.
• If you favor at split pushing- try to split push whenever possible, but be prepared to group.
• If you favor at engaging at first light- engage as soon as you’re in a position to do so.
• If you favor at fighting in small areas- fight small areas when possible.

There are 145 different champions in League of Legends and every one of them is different from the last. You can have all the theory crafting and analysis to help you win, but there is always going to be a spanner thrown into the works. Just play to your champions strengths and win conditions while playing around your weaknesses to come out ahead.

To finish off this section, teamfighting in League of Legends is incredibly situational and there is an extreme learning curve that can only be learnt from playing the game. If you’re new to League, worry about getting the basics down before worrying about team comps.

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Chapter 16: How to TeamFight as a Top Laner

In the top lane, there are a variety of different champions and play styles that can perform well there. This makes it hard to describe what a Top laner, or any laner in fact should do in a teamfight. We’re half way now, but are only starting what many players need to learn- which is how to teamfight as any specific role or champion type. But, the win conditions of your champion and role may differ to what is suggested, so keep this in mind.

To help you grasp what you should be doing in a teamfight, we’re going to break down your:

• Goals or fundamentals.
  • Understanding what your role and job is in teamfights is crucial to coming out ahead.
• Where you should position during the teamfight.
  • Positioning plays a huge part in teamfights and if you’re positioned incorrectly- it can be deadly.
• And who you should focus.
  • Focusing on the wrong target can cost you your life. Make sure you focus whoever you need to win the fight.

Additionally, we will also provide you with some general tips and tricks to help you beat the enemy as each lane/role. To help us structure this, we will discuss each role and break it down from there. This will not only help you make it clearer to read, but also easier for you to understand and incorporate it into your own gameplay.

Like suggested, there are many different champions that can be played in the top lane. From tanks to fighters and sometimes even mages, many different champion classes work well there. I recommend that you learn how every role likes to teamfight, so you’re able to know what you should be doing and what the enemy may look to be doing.

For example, if the enemy has multiple tanks, you will understand what to expect for them and what you need to do to counter them.

Fundamentals and Teamfight Objectives as a Top Laner
Because there are many different classes that can be played in the top lane, the fundamentals or teamfighting goals will change depending on which champion archetype you’re playing. Your goals may also change depending on which champion you are, and who the enemy team consists of.

We will start with tank champions as they’re one of the more common themes that are seen throughout the rankings. Tank champions are the healthier champions on your team like Malphite or Maokai. They will usually be one of the main engagement tools, if not the only engage tool to start a teamfight.

• Engage when you’re in a position to do so.
  • As you are the front liner, you need to look to engage whenever your team are nearby and ready to fight. Avoid fighting or trying to engage if they are not nearby.
• Protect your team for as long as you can so they can deal the damage required to win the fight.
  • Tanks don’t have a lot of damage- but they do have a lot of health. After engaging, peel back and protect your carries and keep them alive. With your presence, your carries will be able to deal more damage and stay alive for longer.
• Be prepared to flank the enemy.
  • It will not always be possible to run directly at the enemy and engage on them. In situations where you can’t do this, try to put yourself in a position where you can use the element of surprise to your advantage.

For champions who are bruisers like Renekton or Darius, your goals are somewhat similar to the other playstyles. Instead of being the frontline, you’ll always need to be towards the front of your team.

• Engage with your other frontliners like the Support or Jungler.
  • If your teams engage tool goes in, you will need to follow up and help them as soon as they engage. As a bruiser normally deals damage, you will need to do whatever you can to help your front line win the teamfight. Many tanks can’t hold off for to long without needing reinforcements, so it’s your duty to assist them.

For mages or champions who deal AP like Lissandra or Rumble, the fundamentals are pretty vanilla, and you can probably guess what they’re by now.

• Try to deal as much damage as you can to whoever you can.
  • As you will be playing a champion that deals a lot of damage, you should try to do as much damage to whoever you can during the teamfight. This will not only increase your overall stats but it will also swerve the teamfight in your favor. You can’t always be picky on who you focus, so try and focus whoever you can.

We will say this now rather than in every section- so keep this in mind for future reference. You’ll have to adapt to every in game situation. If the enemy are ahead or you are behind; you may not be able to do what is suggested as it may work against you. Try to adapt and do whatever is needed to win the teamfight.

Where to Position as a Top laner in Teamfights
Positioning is another thing that needs constant adaption and re-adaption as the game develops. In the first few exchanges, you may find that you have no success at being in the front line. This would call for urgent movement to a more defensive position as the game develops.
Unfortunately, not every champion archetype or role has the luxury of being able to swap positions like a tank and sometimes- it’s just tough luck.

As we are going to be providing you with a plethora of images and potential positioning suggestions, we are going to clarify what they mean now before we move on. This will also save us some time repeating ourselves for every image as we go along.

Each image or teamfight is broken down into 3 layers or sections. The first section is the ‘Front Line’. The champions that are in the front line of a team composition may be either tanks, engage champions, poke champions or champions who rely on picks. Many champions can fit into this category- but it’s highly situational. The mid section is the ‘Middle/ Back Line’ of the team composition. This is where your mages can go, your poke champs can be, the ADC’s or the Supports. The final line is the ‘Back Line’ and as you would expect, it holds the carries like mages, ADC’s and Supports.

Some images will not have a ‘backline’ per say where others will. There are a few reasons with one being that the (far) backline will hold champions who have long range abilities that can be used at a distance without needing to be close.

The arrow in every image indicates where your team will be going, and where the enemy team are. However, to avoid confusion, there are no enemies in these images as it would make the images rather difficult to read and understand. But just assume that there are enemies coming from where the arrow is pointing.

Finally, you may disagree with where we have placed some champions. As you will find out, many champions can go in many different lines. We are trying to put emphasis on you doing your job correctly and not positioning too far forward or in the wrong area. If you were to do these things- IE, be in the frontline as an ADC, it will limit what you and your team can do. So what I suggest is using all of these images as a basis to improve and work on your own positioning in teamfights.

• Maokai: Is positioned here so he can look to engage with his W or Ultimate if the enemy walks too far forward.
• Galio: Is in a position where he can engage or taunt anyone with his W incase they try to engage onto his ADC. If he is AP, he can also clear the waves quickly when sieging.
• Vladimir: Will need to stay behind his frontline so he can dish out damage. If he gets killed, the enemy can run down the rest of his team.
• Shaco: Is away from his team so he can assassinate a target on their way to group.
• Bard: Will be keeping his allies alive with heals and using his Q to stop anyone from getting on to Vladimir.

For tank champions, you need to be in the front line ahead of all of your teammates- but not too far forward where you will be over extended. You will need to be in the front line so you are able to engage and be a threat to the enemy. Positioning here will also allow you to start a teamfight as soon as you see the opportunity to do so.

If you are standing in the back line, it can be very damaging for your team. First of all, it may allow the enemy to engage on you as you will not be in a position to do anything about it. Secondly, the enemy may be able to play aggressive because they know that you are no threat and you’re not going to engage anytime soon. In League of Legends, you have to play very theoretically and be mindful with your actions. Even though you may not want to engage, you need to apply this form of mental pressure on the enemy, and make them think that you are wanting to engage.

• Alistar: Is towards the front of his team so he can look to initiate and engage when an enemy champion walks too far forward. Once he has used his combo, he can retreat and keep his ADC safe.
• Amumu: Is positioned in the front as he is a tank and can engage with his bandage to get onto the enemy and follow that up with an Ultimate
• Aatrox: Is in the middle of the pack. Once his frontline goes in, he can go in too. But for him to be able to unleash his kit, he can’t get poked down beforehand.
• Taliyah: Another champion in the middle. Taliyah will be switching between the front and mid line so she can poke the enemy.
• Miss Fortune: Needs to position way at the back so she can get a good channel off and deal as much damage to the enemy while they’re locked in position.

If you are playing somebody who can engage or is a bruiser, you will also need to be positioned towards the front of your team. This is so you are able to follow up if your team goes in, and also be able to deal damage. If you are a melee champion and are positioning too far backwards, you’re not going to be able to do any damage in the teamfight. So positioning in the front is most beneficial. (As a bruiser) You don’t necessarily need to be right within the front line, but you should be in a position to follow-up when your team goes in.

• Rammus: As a tank, he will need to be in the frontline to engage and taunt any unexpecting enemy. If he stands towards the back side of his team, he will not be able to taunt anyone unless the enemy engages.
• Thresh: Will need to stand towards the front of his team so he can use his Q to hook someone to start the teamfight. Afterwards, he can move back and protect his ADC.
• Ahri: Should be stood around the mid and frontline. She should move forward to poke but fall back to a safer position whenever possible. She shouldn’t stand in front of her tanks though otherwise she may get killed first.
• Swain: Should be near the front but not in the frontline. Even though Swain is generally tanky thanks to his Ultimate, if he gets caught out, he will get burst down pretty quickly. Standing in the mid or back end of his team at the start of the fight and then moving forward when his Ultimate is active is a good way to go.
• Ashe: As Ashe is the carry, she needs to be stood in the backline so she doesn’t get instantly popped as the teamfight starts.

For mage champions, you will need to keep a constant eye on where your team is. If they are pushing forward, you will need to make sure you stay in the middle of them. You should always be towards the back end- or in the middle of your team for maximum protection.

If you position in the front line and are not playing somebody who can engage like Lissandra, you may become an easy target for the enemy and you may die at the start of the fight. As you need to do as much damage as you can, you can’t always position aggressively. You should be in line and around the same position as your AD Carry, your Support or Mid.

• Dr Mundo: As a tank champion, he should be in the frontline absorbing most of the enemies damage to keep his allies alive.
• Camille: Camille can engage with her frontline as long as she doesn’t get poked down before hand. She can be played somewhat like an Assassin where she attacks from the side of the fight. If Camille sticks with her team, the enemy can disengage or peel away from her.
• Karma: Needs to stand in the middle of her team when the fight occurs: using her W to root the closest enemy and keep herself and her carry alive.
• Janna: Janna has to be stood next to her ADC to keep them safe. If she walks forward, she might get taken down quickly and that will leave her ADC alone without much protection.
• Twitch: Has to be stood in a safe position at all times. Thankfully, his Ultimate increases his attack range. He needs to be stood near his Support and not go invisible with his Q and pop up next to the enemy team otherwise he will get killed instantly.

When playing as a champion who needs to engage or shut somebody down, but can’t really do so because they may be behind- or even the enemy may even have disengage, you might prefer to try and flank the enemy in order to do your job properly. To do this, your team should be close together while you are off to the side of them: out of vision, and then when the enemy overextends- you pounce.

Who to Focus in Teamfights
It’s very easy to over complicate teamfighting and suggest who you should focus in every situation. Realistically, all you need to do is focus whoever you can, and do as much damage as humanly possible. With that said, there are some favorable situations that may tempt you into focusing certain champions.

For tanks, you will be in the frontline and soaking most of the enemies damage to begin with. Keeping the enemies focused on yourself will allow your allies to deal damage while you soak everything up that the enemy throws towards your team. But who do you focus? Let’s use Malphite as an example. Malphite has the option of using his ultimate to knock up multiple enemy champions if they’re grouped together. He could then potentially stick to the enemies he has knocked up as long as he has the follow up from the rest of his team.

However, it may not always be possible for him to do this; especially if he is behind, or if he doesn’t have any follow up. This is where he may want to fall back after his initial engagement with the enemy and not focus the enemy back line anymore. To some extent, like a hit and run where he gets in and then gets out again- but in this case, retreats to the mid or backline. From there, Malphite or any other tank could peel for their team by using their abilities to keep the enemy from getting onto his teammates. Your carries will get extra protection, and hopefully survive for longer and deal more damage with Malphite protecting them.

This is a win-win situation, and a good call for action for many tank champions as they will not be putting themselves in an over extended position for long. For you KDA bandits out there, you will also not die as often, and you will be playing a crucial part of providing added protection to your allies. This may be a default action if you do not have anyone else on your team who can follow up and engage with you.

On the other hand, if your team is getting engaged upon, you will have to use your ultimate this way of protecting your allies and keeping them alive. If you were to ult the backline when the enemy frontline is already on your team mates- you’re basically wasting your ultimate as they will not be able to do anything with enemy CC’d.

You have to remember what a tank does. Rarely is a tank able to shutdown the enemy back line on their own. Nobody expects Malphite of all champions to kill the enemy backhand in these crucial teamfight situations.

If you are playing somebody with kill threat like a bruiser, you could also focus the enemy back line. As long as you have teammates who can also go in. However just like a tank, it is not always possible to do this. Instead you may wish to peel for your team and focus whoever is in the frontline. In many cases, this will be the enemies engage, or somebody equal to yourself.

Depending on where the teamfight is, you will not be able to run directly into the enemy’s backline and take them down. This is especially true if the enemy are engaging on your team. When the enemy is engaging like this, you will need to focus whoever you can and deal damage to whoever is closest to you.

When playing as a mage or somebody who isn’t going to be in the frontline, you will need to focus whoever the closest enemy target is during a teamfight. Unfortunately, this may be the enemies front line or in some cases, somebody who has walked to far forward and been caught out of position by your team.

While it makes sense to want to eliminate the enemy backline first and get rid of the enemies damage dealers, in reality, it doesn’t work like that. If you were to try and focus the enemy backline as a mage without any form of engage or survivability, you may die for your greediness which will cost your team the teamfight. Only make these risky grabs for the backline if you know they’re going to work in your favor.

With that said, if your team catches somebody out, you will need to take down the member who has been caught in your trap. You will need to provide the burst damage to kill them, and make use of this potential free kill.

Who you decide to focus in teamfights is entirely situational. This made explaining who to focus really difficult. We haven’t covered every teamfight situation because it’s basically impossible. For instance, if you engage, you could focus the enemy backline, but if the enemy engages- you may have to focus the frontline. Alternatively, if your team is behind, you may need to keep your focus on the enemy frontline and protect them.

Every player will need to adapt their target focus from teamfight to teamfight: and from game to game in order to come out ahead. If you’re still struggling to understand who to focus, I recommend that you try to do your research for your favorite champion. Through looking at Mobafire guides and just playing the game more. Experience plays a huge part in teamfights.

Teamfighting Tips and Tricks for the Top Laner
We’ve discussed how you may want to approach a teamfight when playing as a Top laner, now it’s time to give you some additional tips and tricks to truly enhance your teamfighting prowess.

• Be prepared to flank the enemy

Whether you are a tank, a mage or even a bruiser- you may be the only member on your team who can engage. Because of the sticky situation you’re in, your best bet may be to flank the enemy. If you’re not particularly healthy or tanky like when playing as a mage or a bruiser, flanking will be your default plan of action.

If the enemy are grouping together around a specific lane, you could try to sneak your way through the jungle and collapse on them while they’re over extended. As flanking can provide the element of surprise, you can use this to your advantage to have a slight lead at the beginning of the fight.

There are many places you can flank, and many forms of flanking work wonders in Solo Queue. Some of the better areas to flank are around towers like when a team is sieging an objective. You can also use the element of surprise to your advantage around Dragons and even Barons if you’re sure they’re unwarded.

• Make good use of your Teleport when possible

Many Top laners will take the Summoner Spell Teleport. It is one of the best, if not the best macro orientated Summoner Spell in the game. In recent times, Riot has adjusted how this Summoner Spell interacts and you can no longer cancel it once you’ve started the channel (unless the enemy cancels it). Whether you like this change or not, once you start channelling Teleport, you will always be following through with your channel.

Teamfights can break out in the blink of an eye and some fights are over in seconds. When split pushing or when you’re not with your team, always keep an eye on what is happening.

If you notice that a teamfight is looking to erupt, be prepared to use your Teleport as soon as you can. Teleport has a 4 second channel which needs to be started as soon as possible. If the teamfight has already started, you need to Teleport immediately so you can get into the action and help your team. You should avoid delaying your channel for too long as the teamfight may finish or be near the end once you get there, and teleporting in may just be giving the enemy another free kill which in turn could result in Baron being taken.

Teleporting doesn’t just have to be reactive, you can use it to take the initiative. Like suggested, you can use your Teleport to flank the enemy or get a good engage onto them from another angle. For example, if the enemy is sieging an objective, you could teleport to a nearby ward and collapse on them.

In some cases, Teleport doesn’t need to be used- like if the teamfights already over. Teleport itself provides a lot of pressure for split pushing champions like Renekton or Jax as they can apply pressure and take an objective in one place, and within 4 seconds be somewhere else on the map.

Unfortunately, we can’t really tell you how to improve on, and how to use this Summoner Spell more appropriately because experience plays a huge part in it.

• Learn when to peel and protect your team

No matter who you’re playing, you can always look to peel for your other team mates whenever a teamfight has begun. Peeling and keeping your other team mates safe is a smart way of playing out teamfights because it can ensure that they will stay alive for longer and deal more damage because they’re being kept alive.

Instead of losing a teamfight and giving the enemy gold, you should stop trying to be the solo carry for your team. Focus heavily on being a secondary Support. Peeling and protecting your teammates will increase the chances of your team coming out ahead as you will be protecting them.

It doesn’t really matter which role you’re playing in the top lane as every role can peel and you will naturally find yourself peeling in teamfights. Peeling may be a default strategy for champions who are behind or who do not have much kill threat like a tank. For example, a tank may want to engage on the enemy, use whatever they can on the back line, and then fall back to their baseline (back line) and peel for their team. In addition, bruisers and tanks will not always be able to deal consistent damage or be able to dive into the enemy’s backline. This is where peeling for their team mates is a good strategy to have and a good action to tank when you’re not sure if you’re able to engage or be the frontline for your team.

• Start building tank items when you’re behind

We get it, you don’t like having to take the back seat or be in a weak position- nobody does. Unfortunately, everybody has to pull their weight and do what is needed to win the game. If you’re playing a champion that usually builds quite offensively before investing into defensive items like Renekton or Sion, you should buy some defensive items instead of raw damage when behind.

As you’re behind, you will not be able to do what you’re usually capable of. This makes teamfighting difficult as you cannot dish out the damage you may want to. Building tank and defensive items instead of damage can be more beneficial for you and your team. For example, Renekton will usually get a few AD centric items before going more defensively. This is good because he will be able to deal damage, but also bad for him as he will not be tanky.

When a champion isn’t tanky, they can get destroyed immediately in teamfights if they are not able to kill the enemy quickly enough. However, buying defensive items can allow them to get tankier and be able to soak a little more damage. As you’re behind, you won’t be killing anyone on your own, and building damage will not help you as you won’t be able to get into a position to kill the enemy.

Like suggested above, you will need to peel for your team when you’re behind, so buying AD or AP will not really protect them as the enemy can just focus you first, and then take them down momentarily after. However, if you’re healthier and harder to kill, the champion in question can delay the enemy from switching targets which can be very beneficial for your ADC or other carry champions.

Not every champion can take the initiative and start building defensive items willy-nilly as they may have core items that need to be brought first.

• Learn when to back away from an engagement

Dying in a teamfight is more forgiving if your team wins the fight itself and is able to get something out of it. But you shouldn’t be looking to die in every teamfight that occurs. If you do, it’s probably because you haven’t learned the tell tale signs of teamfighting or not taking into consideration your health bar and the enemies damage.

If you’re coming close to dying in a teamfight, try to use whatever you can on the enemy and then back away so you do not die. Dying can cost you a lot in terms of gold, experience and it may allow the enemy to set up or take objectives like towers and the Dragon or Baron. So dying should be kept to a minimum.

There is a fine line between dying for the greater good and dying recklessly. Unfortunately, there is a learning curve to this, however for the most part, the best way to work on dying less is keeping an eye on your health bar and taking into account what the enemy has available, and what they can do to you. For example, if the enemy has a Pyke, he may be able to kill you earlier compared to an Ahri because of his ultimate that can instantly kill you when you’re below a certain percent of health.

• Stop split pushing if your team cannot fend off the enemy

Some champions are natural born split pushers. The issue with split pushing is that it can leave your team in hot water if you split push at the wrong time. Unfortunately, not everybody knows when it’s the right time to split push.

If your team is behind, you can’t really split push when the enemy are grouped together as they can easily dive and engage on your teammates. As they’re behind, there is no way they will be able to disengage or survive the initial engagement as it is 4v5. You need to be with your team otherwise you will start forfeiting objectives.

If you want to split push, make sure you keep an eye on what your team is doing and be prepared to TP at any time to go and help them.

• Focus the enemy backline

We’ve suggested to focus the enemy backline in the section above, but we didn’t really provide you with much assistance or tell you when your main focus should be the backline and when it shouldn’t be. But don’t worry, we’ll try and be a bit more specific here…

• So, you can always focus the enemy backline if you’re ahead as they won’t be able to disengage and get you off of them as you would be ahead. But, this depends heavily on if your allies are also ahead. If you’re the only person with a lead, then you cannot do this.
• You can also focus the enemy backline when you have multiple champions who can engage with you as you will not be alone when diving in.
• If you’re trying to pounce on the enemy while setting up an ambush, you should always focus the damage dealers or squishier members and eliminate them quickly.
• When attacking from the side ie flanking, you will always need to focus the backline and the enemy’s biggest threat.
• When the enemy is behind and squishy, you will always want to take them down early because it reduces the enemies chances of winning the teamfight. For example, if the enemy Mid is 0-5, it’s still worth taking them down if they deal damage first. However, you may not want to waste your ultimate on them (depending on who you’re playing) and you may not want to do this if the ADC is 5-0. In this instance, you would focus the 5-0 ADC, and then first the Mid laner afterwards.
• You may also want to focus the enemy backline if you have Guardians Angle or Zhonya’s Hourglass as it provides you with a little more protection. This can take the enemies focus away while your team kills the frontline. But this is very situational.

Realistically speaking, as the game develops, you will naturally pick up on who you can and can’t focus. It’s rather complicated to say outright “focus the backline every time” without context as this isn’t always the case.

• Focus the enemy frontline

We have also suggested to focus the enemy frontline in our previous section and we didn’t give much if any additional assistance to tell you why to do that. Here’s some specifics’…

• If you’re behind and unable to kill the backline on your own, your default plan of action is to focus the frontline and keep them off your teammates.
• If you’re the only engage member of your team, you will need focus the frontline or run the risk of dying if you were to focus the backline.
• For AP champions who are played in the top lane with no way of engaging, this is your go-to plan of attack as you will never be able to get into the backline unless you’re flanking.
• If the enemy engages on your team, you will need to focus the frontline to keep your carries safe.
• If the backline is out of range, then obviously focus the enemy frontline to at least deal damage and then change your target focus.

To avoid over complicating things, as a Top laner, if you’re playing as a bruiser or a mage, you’ll always be peeling for your team and focusing the enemies front line unless you have the ability to get into the enemies backline.

• Adapt to each teamfight

When a teamfight kicks off, lots of careful planning and theoretical work gets thrown out of the window. This is because every teamfight is different and every situation calls for different actions.

As there are so many different scenarios, we cannot cater to every single teamfight or tell you what it is you should be doing in every single instance- no one can. So, don’t be afraid to go against the grain or against what we or anyone else suggests in a teamfight as you never know what might happen.

There is a rather sharp learning curve in League of Legends which can only be worked on by learning on the job. You need to call from past experience and use your own perspective to focus whoever you need to: to win the fight. We could sit here and stay “always focus the front line” or we could say “always focus the back line” when in reality, it isn’t going to black or white and work as intended.

In addition to this, you will find that you will need to change your target focus as the game progresses. For example, after you have used your ultimate on one champion, you may want to try and shut down another key target afterwards. Poppy or Malphite could use their ultimate on one (or multiple champions) and then go and focus the frontline.

Adaption is crucial and you’ll need to adapt to every teamfight and focus whoever is the biggest threat to you and your teammates at any given time. It may be the front line, the enemy back line or even the Support. Just focus who you can and be prepared to change your target at any given moment.

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Chapter 17: How to Teamfight as a Jungler

There is a lot more to do with teamfighting as a Jungler than many players think. It is not always about making those Insec plays or montage level clips. Instead, it is all about empowering yourself and your teammates. There are a few different classes that can be played in the Jungle role, but many of them have the same principles and aims.

Fundamentals and Teamfight Objectives as a Jungler

The fundamentals can change depending on which type of Jungler or champion you’re playing and what role you’re undertaking in your team. For example, a tank Jungler like Sejuani will have a different play style compared to a champion like Evelynn who is an Assassin. To fill in the gaps when possible, we will do our best to list fundamentals that apply to each of the main roles which are: tank, assassin and fighter.

Like our previous section, we will start with tank champions as they are quite common in Solo Queue and throughout the rankings. Tanks are champions that will usually be in the frontline, and be the main source of engage for their team to start a teamfight.

• Engage when you’re in a position to do so
  • As a tank will usually be in the front line and be the main source of engage, you will need to look to engage whenever you and your team are in a position to teamfight. You will need to keep an eye on where your team are at all times to minimize poor engagements or positioning errors where you end up 1v5.
• Soak as much damage as you can
  • Tanks need to soak as much damage to ensure that their carries can stay alive for longer and deal more damage. If you don’t soak the damage but they do- your team will not win the teamfight.
• Be prepared to flank the enemy
  • As tanks will need to engage to start a teamfight, you may find it difficult to run directly at the enemy and just fight them. There may be a few reasons for this, but the best way of countering it is by looking to use the element of surprise to your advantage.

For champions who are bruisers or fighters like Lee sin or Jarvan, you need to avoiding trying to be the solo carry for your team. Instead be the player that wins the fight. Here are some of your goals for a bruiser.

• Follow up and engage with your team
  • Whenever your team engages, you need to follow up and assist them in whatever way you’re able to. A fighter will usually deal damage and be able to sustain for a period of time, so make sure you use this to your advantage to kill the enemy.
• Avoid getting cocky and trying to solo carry the fight
  • While you may believe you’re the next best Lee Sin and you’ve played “5000 hours of Lee Sin”, you should not be cocky and try to make a play that can cost you more than your bargain for. For example, if you try to make a flashy play and fail, you would get yourself killed which can cost your team the fight.
  • This isn’t just a Lee Sin problem. When ahead, you don’t want to ruin your KDA so you play slightly less aggressive- we all do. But this greediness to secure kills and protecting the KDA can be really bad for the games outcome. KDA doesn’t mean much, but a win means everything.

Assassins such as Evelynn or Shaco don’t have the best time in long drawn out teamfights where many members are surrounding one another. They will usually try to catch somebody off guard to secure the kill and start a teamfight. Whatever your intentions are, here are some of the goals for an Assassin.

• Focus on taking down whoever you can
  • As your job is to try and assassinate somebody, you should do whatever you can to take down whoever you can on the enemy’s team. That might be the enemy Mid laner, the ADC or even the Support. You should try and take down whoever you can so you can make the teamfight 5v4 and take away some of the enemy’s damage or protection ability which will make the teamfight easier.
  • Many players undervalue the life of the Support. It is worth killing the enemy Support if possible (like a utility or healing Support) as they’re worth just as much as a damage dealer as they provide their team with a lot of utility and protection. If that is gone, the enemy team may crumble.

• Be prepared to flank
  • An assassin like Eve will not be able to directly run at the enemy because of her passive which grants her invisibility. If she was to show and run at them, the enemy will know and see where she is at any given time- reducing her chances of assassinating anybody.
  • This is why flanking will be better for Eve and other assassins alike because it can increase their chances of assassinating key targets and starting the teamfight off in the right direction.

Where to Position as a Jungler in Teamfights

As a Jungler and like many of the other roles, your positioning will need to be adjusted depending on which champion archetype you’re playing. For example, an assassin will position differently to a tank and a bruiser. Understanding where you need to position and adapting your positioning as the game develops is key for success and you will need to consistently adapt it throughout the game.

• Sejuani: As a tank Sejuani needs to be in the frontline so she can absorb damage and use her Ultimate to lock down a key target.
• Ornn: Ornn needs to be near the front so he can peel for his carries and use his Ultimate to catch out any enemy who may have walked forward.
• Tristana: Is in the middle of the backline and close to Janna so she can be shielded and deal damage to the enemy frontline while remaining safe from the enemy frontline.
• Ziggs: As a Mage and a champion with poke, Ziggs needs to be near the front but not too far forward. He needs to be in the mid section so he can poke the enemy down before a teamfight occurs.
• Janna: Needs to be stood near her carries so she can protect them with healing and shields. If she walks too far forward, she can be an easy target for the enemy.

Tank champions will need to be towards the front of their team so they can soak damage and protect their allies. Additionally, positioning here is good as you can look to engage and collapse on the enemy with ease. If the Jungler is the only source of engage, positioning to far back will give the enemy some breathing room as they know that you’re not going to engage any time soon as you’re not in a position to do so.

Sejuani is a very good example of a tank that looks to engage to start teamfights. While her ultimate is long ranged, it can easily be dodged or misplaced. If you’re closer to the enemy, the chances of them being hit by it are higher and it will be difficult for the enemy to dodge it at point blank range.

• Wukong: Is away from his team so he can assassinate and surprise the enemy when they pass by. As someone with hard engage, he should try to remain out of sight for as long as possible so he doesn’t get poked down.
• Kayn: As an Assassin, Kayn needs to get onto a target to kill them. If he is with his team, he may be unable to assassinate a target without being poked down. Attacking from the side makes his job a little easier.
• Braum: Braum is positioned in front of Miss Fortune and Neeko so he can protect them as much as possible while using his general tankiness to be in the frontline. As soon as the fight starts, he will peel back and keep his carries alive.
• Miss Fortune: Is in the backline so she can remain healthy and stay safe. As her Ultimate is a channel, she needs to stand back so she can get a good channel off and deal a lot of damage to the enemy.
• Neeko: Neeko can use her Ultimate as disengage or peel. If the enemy has Assassins, she can use her Ultimate to protect her backline champions. She needs to be stood in the mix of her team if the enemy engages. However, she will swap between standing forward before retreating and poking.

If you’re an assassin, your positioning will be completely different to a tank depending on who you’re playing. Many jungle assassins have stealth like Twitch, Shaco or Evelynn. If you position and show yourself grouped with your team, you will be reducing your chances of dealing damage or assassinating anyone. This is why you need to be with your team, but out of sight, off to the side of your teammates.

Assassins or champions with invisibility need to use the element of surprise to their advantage, but they can’t do that if the enemy knows their exact coordinates.

Many bruisers will need to be positioned near or in the frontline so they can engage or follow up when their allies go in. For example, once the Support has engaged, the Jungler can follow up and get into the action quickly. If the Jungler is not in a position to follow up, then they may struggle getting onto an enemy target as they may be to far away to do anything to kill the wounded prey.

Once the Support has gone in, the enemy will be locked in position briefly. If you do not follow up and go in with them, the enemy may get away and be able to break free from the CC. However, if you’re there to dish out damage and layer your CC with your allies, it will be difficult for the enemy to escape. This is why positioning towards the frontside of your team is important.

Who to Focus in Teamfights

Teamfighting and suggesting who to focus is very situational and rather difficult to discuss and justify who to focus without proper context as it depends on what is happening in the game. For example, you will need to adjust your target focus depending on what position your team is in, and where the teamfight is.

If you’re playing as an assassin like Evelynn, you will rely heavily on bursting somebody down almost instantly to get in and get out of the teamfight and survive. For you to do this, you will need to focus whoever is squishy on the enemies team. An assassin should prioritize these players as they will not have defensive stats which will make it easier for you to kill them.

You do not really have a priority, as it changes from game to game and teamfight to teamfight. But as a general guide, it’s the biggest threat first like the Mid or ADC, then it goes to the Support and tanks. But in most cases, you will just try to take down somebody who is out of position and is easy to kill.

When playing as an engage champion, you should try to catch whoever is out of position and engage on them with your ultimate. But only if they’re easy to kill like one of the enemies carries or the Support. You should not waste your ultimate on the enemy tank because they will be able to escape and back away before you and your team are able to burst them down.

After you’ve started the teamfight, you will need to either stick onto the enemy who you’ve CC’d or enemies who are close by. Alternatively, if your team is not able to handle the enemy frontline, you may need to peel it back and protect them by focusing the enemy frontline instead. Like previously suggested in out Top lane section, you need to remember what a tank champion does. They are not always able to shut down the enemy backline on their own and they will often need the assistance of other champions to deal the damage while they keep them locked down. If your team is unable to deal damage to the players in the backline, then you need to reposition and change focus.

Bruisers have a few options open to them when it comes to teamfights, but it depends heavily on what your team is doing and how you’re playing the game (if you’re ahead, even or behind). If your team has other champions who can engage, then you will need to engage with them and focus whoever they’re focusing. For example, if the Support has caught out the backline, you will need to go in and focus the backline champions.

If your team doesn’t have any form of engage and it’s left up to you, you’ll probably need to focus the enemy frontline and try to kill them and protect your team. But, if you can catch out an enemy who is out of position, then you will definitely want to prioritize taking them down. Bruisers don’t have the luxury of being able to one shot or tank damage indefinitely, so you have to be somewhat picky when it comes to teamfighting so you do not get yourself killed and throw the teamfight.

Teamfighting Tips and Tricks for the Jungler
We’ve hoped you have learned some information about what your goals are in teamfights and what you should be looking to do in them. Here’s 10 additional tips and tricks to help you come out ahead as a Jungler in teamfights.

• Try to assassinate or take down the squishiest target first

When playing as an assassin or somebody who has a lot of damage, you should try to focus the squishier members of the enemies team so you’re able to almost instantly take them down before the fight breaks out.

Your target focus will be different depending on what is happening in the game and who is vulnerable. In most case, you will either be assassinating and taking care of the enemy Mid, ADC or the Support as they are usually the easiest to kill. Your choice on who you may focus depends on who is the biggest threat to your team, who can or can’t defend themselves and who has their abilities up.

If you cannot assassinate or take down a squishy member of the team because they’re grouped closely together, you will have to play the waiting game and wait for one of them to miss position or leave the security of their team. Alternatively, you can wait for your frontline to engage and then follow them up when the teamfight occurs.

• Give your allies your buffs

During the mid and late game, you will not always benefit from taking your own buffs. Instead of letting them sit there or letting the enemy steal them, give them to your allies.

Unless you rely on taking the blue buff to deal damage; like an AP Jungler like Eve or Taliyah, you should try and give it to somebody who needs it more like the Mid laner as they will not have to rely on mana as much during the teamfight. They will also get 10% bonus cooldown reduction which will allow them to use their abilities more frequently. Additionally, if you’re not playing somebody who needs red buff, you should give it to your ADC. That is, unless you are playing Twitch or somebody who can benefit from it.

Each buff takes 5 minutes to spawn, so you should ping and communicate with your team so they can reposition and make their way there when it’s about to spawn. If you’re losing, this may not be possible and you will need multiple team members to move to it as the enemy may be setting up a trap.

• Adapt and change your target focus throughout the game

When the game starts, you may think about who you’re going to be focussing in the teamfight. While this strategy is good to begin with, it’s not going to help you as the game develops. For the most part, your target focus will change as the game develops. For example, you may focus the enemy frontline in one teamfight, but be able to take out the backline in the next. You should also be thinking about who you focus as focusing the wrong member may cost you the teamfight or get yourself killed.

Now, it sounds super obvious, and you may question why we have put this into multiple sections of this guide. The reality is, not everybody adapts who they focus at the start of a teamfight or adjust their target focus as the game (or teamfight) goes on. Many players tunnel vision or think that their job is to do XYZ. While your job may be to do something, ie focus the enemy backline- it is not always possible to achieve. Instead of trying to focus the backline in every teamfight, you’ll need to adjust your target focus to something you can do- like protecting your backline as a tank Jungler.

Note that it isn’t always as crystal clear and obvious to who you should focus and who you shouldn’t and in some cases you will just need to focus the closest enemy target. This is especially true if the enemy starts the teamfight.

• Do not try to make the flashy plays or solo carry

This tips aimed more towards you Junglers out there who want to be the solo carry. Lose your ego and don’t cost your team the game by trying to make outrageous plays by going in 1v5 and trying to pull out the impossible. Yes i’m talking about your Lee Sin and your Twitch.

While you may think you’re the next best thing, get off your high horse and do your job in the teamfight by doing what is needed to win. This doesn’t mean trying to Flash kick the enemy into your team. This doesn’t mean sneaking up close to the enemy alone and trying to melt the enemy.

With every nice play I’ve seen, there has been countless mistakes and embarrassing plays Junglers have made when trying to make these sort of plays, and unfortunately many losses caused by these sort of mistakes.

Stick close to your team and play as 5. Only go in when your team is also able to follow up and engage with you. Do not try to make these plays when the enemy is grouped together as you will get killed and shut down instantly. You can make these plays if catch somebody off guard like when they’re alone.

• Avoid engaging or starting a teamfight without looking at the map

It goes without saying that you should look at the map before engaging, yet so many players fall into this trap and engage without looking. Similar to driving a car into an intersection, or crossing the road, you always need to look before stepping out.

If do not see where your teammates are, you may be going into the fight alone and you will get killed for it. If your teammates are not nearby, then you cannot and should not engage. Alternatively, if your team is with you but you don’t know where the whole enemy team is, you may not be able to engage on a lonesome ranger because their team might be right around the corner. This isn’t always the case though and you should try to kill targets who have mispositioned- if you know where their team is.

• Prioritize your Smite on the objective when fighting around monster pits

When fighting around an objective like the Baron or the Dragon, make sure you keep an eye on the health bar of the monster. You need to know how much damage your Smite deals so you are prepared and ready to secure the objective if it drops below a certain amount of hit points.

As you will need to use your Smite to take the objective, you must avoid using it on any champion or on any other creature/ minion as it will not be up in time if a fight happens around an objective.

If you are the team that is trying to secure your objective when a teamfight happens, you either need to finish off the objective or disengage and fight the enemy. Unless it’s near lethal, you cannot continue taking the objective as your team will take damage from both the objective and the enemy. If you can’t kill the objective without fear of it being stolen, use what you can to delay or deny the enemy and opportunity to get into the pit.

• Be prepared to flank the enemy

While applicable to every lane and role, the Jungler will have the best chances of engaging a teamfight by flanking from the side rather than plain running directly at the enemy. You will not always be able to run directly at the enemy for many reasons. For example, the enemy may have a rather strong frontline which will be difficult to break through. Alternatively, they may have lots of gap closures/escape abilities which make frontal engagements difficult as they may be able to dodge the apparent skill shot. As another example, the enemy may have a very protective Support who is able to disengage and prevent you from engaging.

Whatever the reason for your unavailability to engage, you can always look to flank the enemy from the side in order to hit the enemy right where it hurts.

If you’re around an objective, you could try to flank through the river or through the jungle as it will not always be warded. You need to use the maps architecture to your advantage to make flanks work more favorably.

• Start going tank if you have no frontline

Quite similar to a Top laner, the Jungler can often become the front liner if there is no other champions who can accomplish or do that job. While this is directed more towards fighters or bruisers in the jungle, basically any Jungler can become the front line. However, you may not want to do this if you are an assassin, or are very far ahead.

It is recommended that you buy some defensive items to protect yourself so you can be in the front line while also being able to deal damage. An example item is Guardians Angel which will allow you to be the front line, but not always die or sacrifice yourself in the fight because of its passive.

There are many different items you can purchase to make a fighter or bruiser into a tank, if you want to learn or know what to buy, give this article a read.

On the other hand, if you are the only person who is ahead on your team, you will need to start picking up defensive items as soon as possible so you can survive and dish out damage in the teamfight. If you were to die or get caught out, your team may not be able to win the teamfight as they will lack your consistent damage output. But buying defensive items will reduce the risk of you encountering this problem.

• Don’t fight and die before an objective

If there is an objective coming up rather soon such as the Baron or a Dragon, make sure you do not teamfight or die in a fight as it may risk your teams chances of securing the objective. It is vital that you do not die specifically as it will make it very difficult for your team to secure or steal the objective as you will not be able to smite it.

If you are the same level as the enemy, you may have a good chance of securing the objective. But if you are dead, your chances will quickly diminish. This is why you need to make sure that you do not fight or die when a major objective is up or is coming up soon.

We have made it sound easier than it actually is, but you can prevent this by not over extending or getting caught out when a major objective is coming up.

• Stop farming your Jungle and group*

While it is important to stay up in farm and CS, you can give it a rest in the late game when teamfights are occurring. Now I’m not suggesting that you should leave your jungle up in it’s entirety, or sit around twiddling your thumbs for 10 minutes, but what I am saying is that you need to cut back on farming, and instead look to apply pressure whenever possible.

If you are farming your own jungle, you’re not going to be applying much pressure to the enemy. However, if you are with your team and trying to start a teamfight, then you are applying some form of pressure.

If you are losing the game and are trying to get back into it, you have to be picky about when you decide to enter your jungle and take the camps. This is because the enemy may be waiting right around the corner or setting up an ambush. As you are the Jungler, this may cost the Baron or similar objective. You must stick close to your teammates in the later stages of the game as one mistake can cost you everything.

While this does apply to all roles, I find lot of Junglers will continue farming instead of grouping with their team- which leaves their team in a 4v5 situation when the enemy jumps on them. This is your teams fault, but also your fault because you are not with them when you need to be.

If you want to farm, do so while your team is not grouped. Once they have group together, you need to be there with them.

*If you’re trying to get an item, steal the enemies camps or give/get buffs, then you should be farming and taking camps. This section is highly situational and context reliant.

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Chapter 18: How to Teamfight as a Mid Laner

Learning to teamfight as a Mid laner is crucial to securing kills and staying alive for longer. While many Mid laners are different, the principle is the same for most mages. There are multiple different play styles that a Mid laner can have such as a control mage, poke or an Assassin (to name a few). We will discuss these play styles and how you should teamfight as them.

Please note that we will mostly be discussing AP champions, or champions that dominate the Middle lane. Some of this information- depending on the champion, can be flexed into the Top lane as well as the ADC role.

Fundamentals and Teamfight Objectives as a Mid Laner
The fundamentals can change depending on which type of champion you’re playing in the mid lane. For example, an Assassin like Zed will have a slightly different playstyle to a control mage like Orianna. Because there are a lot of different play styles and champions, we will do our best to list off the fundamentals that are applicable when possible.

These are some of the main goals or fundamentals you’ll need to keep in mind as a Mid laner who deals AP damage such as Ryze, Syndra, Ahri or Azir. These are also good for general mages or poke mages like Syndra or Lux, control mages like Orianna or Lissandra and anyone who’s not really an assassin.

• Try to deal as much damage as you can to whoever you can
  • It’s pretty obvious that as a damage dealer you will need to deal as much damage as you can during the teamfight. If you cannot deal damage, then it will be really difficult for your team to come out ahead.
• Try to stay in a safe position whenever possible
  • Positioning safely is important during the whole game, but more so in the mid/late stages where one mistake can cost you everything. It is important that you try to stay in a safe position in teamfights so you do not get taken out of the equation as soon as the fight begins. If you do get caught out, your team will lose a lot.
• Stay as close as you can to your allies
  • In teamfights, you should try to stay as close as you can to your other allies so they can provide you with bonus protection. If you’re far away from them, you may get singled out and they may not be in a position to help you. Additionally, you do not want to be too far away from them as you will not be in range to deal damage to the enemy.

For Assassins like Zed, Talon, Ahri or Leblanc, your fundamentals may change because you need to assassinate players and aim to burst somebody down.

• Be prepared to flank the enemy
  • Most assassin’s will not be able to run directly at the enemy. Instead, they will need to pick off a member by flanking and taking them down in a split second. If you can’t assassinate anybody, then teamfighting can be difficult depending on who you’re playing. For Ahri or Leblanc, it won’t be much of an issue but Zed and Talon will really struggle as they will not have consistent damage output.

Where to Position as a Mid laner in Teamfights
Traditionally, a Mid laner needs to be somewhere in the backline so they’re able to dish out damage in a teamfight. While this is still true for many champions, it is not the norm for everyone. Understanding where to position will allow you to deal more damage in teamfights and win them in succession. This is because you’ll be able to stay alive for longer because you’re not putting yourself in danger.

Depending on who you’re playing and what your role is in teamfights, you may need to position in the frontline to be able to poke or engage. Alternatively, you may need to be in the backline to dish out consistent damage. Whatever your champions play style is, you need to make sure that you adapt it into every situation to make the best of any given scenario.

• Pantheon: Pantheon can be towards the front of his team to catch out enemies who may be positioned too far forward. Additionally, he can use his shield to block incoming damage to keep his team alive.
• Brand: For Brand to be able to dish out all his damage and be able to make full use of his kit, he will need to be safe and hide near his carries. He doesn’t want to be too far back as he will not be able to poke, but he shouldn’t be too far forward either.
• Lucian: Is behind Tahm Kench and in the front of the baron pit. By doing this he will stay safe from the enemy while being able to deal damage to the ones approaching him without being damaged himself.
• Tahm Kench: Should have his full focus on protecting his ADC and keeping his allies alive.
• Lissandra: Lissandra is able to use her E to get into the enemy team and then self cast her Ultimate to deal a lot of AOE damage.

For example, Lissandra is a champion that usually engages and gets in between the enemies line so she can use her W- root the enemies and then self-cast her ultimate to provide her with protection. If she were to stand in the backline, the enemy will be able to whatever they want because they know Lissandra is not in a position to engage on them.

• Evelynn: As an Assassin, she needs to be stood away from her team so she can assassinate any target that may be running to group with their team. If she can assassinate a target before the teamfight, it will be much easier for her team.
• Malphite: As a tank, Malphite needs to be stood near the front of the team so he can absorb damage and use his Ultimate aggressively when they walk towards his team.
• Jayce: Jayce needs to be stood towards the front of his team while moving forwards and backwards as his team sieges. He needs to be in a position where he can poke the enemy with his E>Q or Q>E combo before a teamfight occurs but not too far forward where he can get killed.
• Draven: Draven is the ADC and needs to be stood in a safe position at all times. As the super carry, he shouldn’t be stood too far forward otherwise he will get killed instantly. Draven will need to reposition throughout the fight to pick up axes.
• Lux: As a squishy champion, Lux needs to remain safe and not get caught out. As a Support, she needs to stand in the backline so she can buff up her team and keep them alive. If she dies first by standing too far forward, Draven will have no protection and will die quickly.

If you’re a champion that relies on poking before a teamfight, you should position slightly more forward so you’re able to poke the enemy down and use your abilities. Throwing out your abilities prior to a teamfight occuring is one way of reducing the enemies health bars to dust. However, there are some exceptions to champions with long range poke like Jayce. Jayce can stand in either the frontline to poke or in the backline thanks to his E+Q combo. This is also true for many Mid laners who have long ranged poke like Lux, Kog’Maw, Vel’koz, Xerath or Zoe. If you decide to play in the frontline, make sure you do not go too far forward or allow the enemy to catch you out of position.

• Zac: Will need to engage to start the teamfight. If he shows his positioning and his E animation, the enemy may just poke him, interrupt his channel or just run away. Jumping in from the side makes it much easier for him to teamfight.
• Leblanc: Leblanc is an Assassin who needs to jump onto the enemy when they miss position. If she is with her team, she may be unable to jump onto the enemy team. This is why Assassins like Leblanc often attack from the side rather than by running directly at the enemy.
• Riven: For Riven to be able to teamfight, she needs to be in the frontline so she can dish out damage. If she is in the backline, she will have to waste her Q’s trying to get onto the enemy. By standing in the frontline, she can go in when Zac goes in.
• Xayah: As a marksman, for her to be able to dish out lots of damage she needs to be positioned safely in the teamfight. Her Ultimate can be used to dodge incoming damage, but she should only use it as a last resort- this can be achieved by positioning well.
• Zilean: Needs to be in the backline and buffing his team with his ability. As soon as an enemy engages, he should lock them down with his CC.

When playing as a champion that is an assassin, you may be in a different boat when it comes to teamfighting depending on who you’re playing. Champions that rely on the element of surprise to take down an enemy like Zed or Talon, may be unable to teamfight directly. Instead, they may prefer to hold off to the side of their team- out of sight and ready to pounce. They are not always able to show their positioning, or stay with their team as it reduces the element of surprise and their success rate.

An assassin like these two will lack damage if they’re not able to assassinate, or get into the enemy backline and burst somebody down. Melee assassins will really struggle at this where as ranged ones don’t always have this issue like Ahri or Leblanc. A Melee assassin be able to be in the frontline with their team as they will just got stopped almost immediately when they decide to go in by the enemy frontline. An assassin also can’t be in the backline as you will not be a threat to the enemy. Furthermore, you will have to use your gap closure to get closer to the enemy before going in, which is not ideal.

• Qiyana: Qiyana should be slightly off to the side of her team so she can set up her Ultimate and assassinate key targets. Assassins need the element of surprise to dish out tons of damage and no truer is this for a champion like Qiyana.
• Fiddlesticks: Fiddlesticks needs time to channel his Ultimate. He cannot be seen otherwise the enemy will either disengage or interrupt his Ultimate. Standing away from his team allows him to surprise the enemy and engage when he needs too.
• Yorick: When Yorick has to teamfight, he should be towards the front of his team. This allows him to get onto the enemy backline and make full use of his kit.
• Morgana: Morgana needs to be next to her ADC so she can protect them from the enemy team. She may mix up her positioning when her Binding is up by positioning more forward when it’s up and falling back when it’s down.
• Kai’sa: As an ADC, Kai’Sa should be towards the back of her team at the start of a fight. She can reposition with her E and Ultimate when necessary, but standing at the back at the start of the fight will allow her to dish out damage while in relative safety.

Many Assassins will hold off to the side of a teamfight and make it appear to be a 5v4. You can use this to your advantage by engaging on the enemy backline when they engage on your team.

Who to Focus in Teamfights
Target selection in a teamfight is very situational and depends on what is happening in game. For example, you will find that you often have to adjust and adapt who you focus from game to game and from fight to fight.

If you’re an Assassin like Leblanc or Zed, you will need to try and burst somebody down almost instantly for you to get in and out of the teamfight. In most cases, this will be a squishier member on the enemies team because you will not be able to kill anyone else fast enough. For example, if a Zed was to try and take down the enemy tank, he will struggle even with full armor pen and lethality. Instead, Zed would favor taking down either the Mid laner, ADC or the enemy Support as they are generally easier to kill.

Players often undervalue the Support because they “don’t really do much in a teamfight.” In fact, they are just as valuable as any other member of the team. With that in mind, don’t go focusing the Support or the player who is not a threat to your team (for example, if they’re far behind) when there are more valuable targets to kill.

Additionally, if you are somebody who deals a lot of burst damage like Syndra with her ultimate, you should prioritize hitting specific enemy champions to burst them down. For example, a Syndra ultimate launched at a squishy member of the enemy team can be borderline harassment and has little to no counter play.

If you’re a poke Mid laner with AOE abilities, there is no real target focus. Instead, you should try to deal damage to whoever, and whenever you can. We could sit here and lie to you- saying “always focus the backline” with your poke and win the fight easily. In reality, it is not always the case and not always possible. It is better for you to hit whoever you can with your poke abilities prior to a teamfight occurring so you have a slightly better chance at winning the teamfight. With that said, if you’re able to hit the enemy backline with your abilities- then go for it.

If the enemy uses the element of surprise and engages on your team, you will need to attack the closest enemy target and deal damage to them. In many cases, this will either be the Support, Top laner or Jungler.

Teamfights can get pretty messy quickly. If you’re unsure who to focus, the bottom line is basically deal damage to whoever you can in the teamfight. Slightly unprofessional, but in reality that’s how it works.

Teamfighting Tips and Tricks for the Mid Laner
Teamfighting as a Mid laner can get tricky for a number of reasons. Hopefully these tips and tricks will help you get the edge.

• Buy magic penetration

Whenever you are playing as a mage or anybody who deals most of their damage through AP and their abilities, you need to make sure that you buy magic penetration. Without magic penetration and magic pen items, you find it very difficult to be able to penetrate the enemies defense and deal lots of damage.

This is especially true against compositions that have a lot of tank champions or multiple engage champs as they were usually stack defensive stats like armor, health a magic resist.

There are a few different magic penetrating items you can buy. Two of the more popular ones are Void Staff which provides 40% magic penetration, or Morellonomicon which gives 15 magic penetration. These two items will help you a lot and increase your damage output in teamfights.

If you want to learn more about itemization for AP mages, you may want to read this beginners guide.

• Buy armor penetration

When you are playing as an AD champion such as Zed or Talon, you need to make sure that you buy armor penetration and lethality to be able to break through the enemies hit points.

As most AD champions in the mid lane are Assassins, you will need these items to help you deal burst damage and get in and out of a teamfight. Additionally, these items will help you breakthrough the armor of the enemies tanks if they get onto you. This means that you’ll be able to kill them faster in comparison.

There are a few different lethality or armor penetrating items in the game. One of the more common that is brought is Duskblade which provides a lot of damage and lethality.

If you want to learn more about itemization for AD champions or Assassins, you may want to read this beginners guide.

• Pick up the blue buff

When you are playing as a mage, you need to make sure that you pick up the blue buff whenever possible. Blue buff will help you indefinitely in teamfights as it will allow you to use your abilities more freely and not have to worry too much about your mana pool.

In addition to this, blue buff also provides cool down reduction- so if you don’t have the max percentage of cooldown reduction already, you will be able to deal more damage to the enemy and use your abilities more frequently. As a bonus, if you are running Transcendence, you will also get additional damage if you have 40% (or 45%) already.

• Try and auto attack when your abilities are on cooldown

While easier said than done, when you are not using your abilities- make sure you start auto attacking the closest target and weave your auto attacks in between each ability use.

Mages and AP champions traditionally do not deal a lot of damage through auto attacks unless they have Lich Bane. But this damage can be very helpful in teamfights as any little bit of damage you can deal may change the outcome of a skirmish

After you have used an ability, start auto attacking the closest target until your next ability is up. Without being picky, try to avoid cancelling your auto attacks during this time for maximum damage output!

• Pick up defensive items when needed

When playing as a mage, an AD Carry, a fighter or a bruiser, everybody benefits from some defense items. For mages specifically, you will need to buy items that can protect you against some of the enemies damage in teamfights. You will need to decide which defensive items you need by what the enemies biggest threat to you is.

For example, if the enemy has multiple burst or AP champions, you would benefit from a Hexdrinker when playing as Zed or Talon. If you are a mage and the biggest enemy threat is an assassin, you will want to get Zhonya’s Hourglass when playing champions like Syndra or Veigar.

There are plenty of defensive items you can buy in the game to help you. Just remember, buy the items to counter the biggest threat on the enemy team.

• Be prepared to flank the enemy

When playing as an assassin, it may be difficult for you to take down anybody on the enemies team when they are grouped together. This is especially true on champions who have an ability they rely on to close the gap between them and the enemy. For example, Zed W or Leblanc W. These champions rely on those abilities for extra damage and gap closure. Without them- they may be unable to deal enough damage in the initial stages of a teamfight.

When the enemy is grouped, they will find it difficult and often be incapable of running directly at the enemy and getting to the backline without having to waste their gap closure and lose a big portion of health. To counter this, Assassins should look to flank the enemy whenever possible.

Flanking will allow these champions who have a lot of burst damage to come out ahead and be able to do their job in the most efficient. They will not be putting themselves in as much danger or risk compared to running directly at the enemy and trying to get into the back line as they shouldn’t have all 5 champions facing them at once.

• Assassinate or take down the squishiest member(s) first

When playing as an assassin, you need to try to focus somebody who is rather Squishy and easy to kill. This is important for a number of reasons. The first benefit is that it allows you to get in and out quickly without having to worry too much about your health. Compared to focusing a tank, you won’t spend too much time inside the enemies line which should save you some HP.

Secondly, it will allow you to take something out the fight almost immediately leaving the rest of their teammates in an unfavorable situation. If you are able to take out one of them major damage dealers like the Mid or ADC, the enemy will lack a lot of damage. If you take out the enemy Support, the enemy will lack a lot of shielding and utility.

I always recommend that (whenever possible) you should focus the squishy enemy champions as they are easier to kill.

• Attack the closest target

If you are not playing an Assassin, or somebody who can get into the enemy back line with ease, you will need to stick with your team and focus the nearest enemy champion. It’s easy to say don’t focus the tank- but in reality, you will be focusing the tank quite a bit. You need to focus the closest enemy champion to have an increased chance of surviving the teamfight. If you were to try and take down the back line as a utility mage, you will find it difficult as you will like burst damage.

To be able to burst through the enemy front lines defense, you will need to buy magic penetration. We’ve already listed some items above, so we won’t go into too much detail again, but you need magic pen.

If there are multiple enemy champions coming towards you and your teammates. For example the enemy have engaged or caught your team off guard, you need to focus the closest target who has the most kill threat on you. For example, if the enemy Mid liner and the enemy tank is coming towards you, it would be better for you to focus the Mid laner before focusing the tank. This is because they have a higher kill threat than the tank. Additionally, they will be easier to kill than a tank as they will have less health and protection.

• Play slightly more aggressive with Zhonya’s/ Banshee/ Guardian’s Angel

There are many defensive items a mage or Mid laner can buy which include Zhonya’s Hourglass, Guardians Angel and Banshee’s Veil to name a few. When you have one of these items available, you can play slightly more aggressive as you have the items passive to fall back on.

For example, if you are an AD champion like Zed, Talon or Pyke, you may want to purchase Guardian Angel for added protection. When this items passive is available, you won’t die immediately in a teamfight. This will prevent you from obviously dying and costing your team the exchange..

Having these items allows you to play slightly more forgiving and a bit more aggressive – but mind you, not too aggressive as it can quickly backfire.

• Watch your positioning and avoid being the frontline

Now this may sound counter-intuitive to what I was suggested previously, but let me explain. For the most part you should avoid being in the front line as you are putting yourself at risk of being targeted by the enemy. This is true during teamfights, and when both teams are standing off with one another.

You will also need to not be in the front line when you are walking around the map and don’t know where the enemy is. This is because the enemy will easily be able to focus and kill you because you are in the front line.

However, if you are playing a champion who needs to poke, you need to be stood in the front line to hit your abilities and poke the enemy. When you are not using your abilities, like when they are on cool down, you need to fall back to a slightly safer position. Once your abilities are back up again, you need to reposition towards the front of your team and then use them. For poke champions, you need to rinse and repeat and keep doing this until a teamfight starts.

With that in mind, you need to really be picky about where you position and understand what your champion wants to get out of a teamfight for the best results. As a general rule, avoid being in the frontline unless you benefit from it.

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Chapter 19: How to Teamfight as an ADC

The ADC or Marksman class will deal most of the consistent damage in a teamfight. Compared to a Mid laner, you will not necessarily be using your abilities to kill the enemy unless your champion is somebody who has low cooldowns and relies on them to deal damage. For example, Ezreal will use his abilities far more often than Caitlyn to poke and deal damage. Caitlyn will get most of her damage through auto attacking. This is why learning to teamfight and staying alive in a teamfight is crucial.

While many ADC’s are similar, they all have a slightly different play style and kit. So what is suggested will need to be slightly adapted depending on who you’re playing. Additionally, as there are a variety of champions that are currently being played in the ADC or marksman role, we will not be discussing all of them Instead, we will only be talking about traditional ADC’s.

Fundamentals and Teamfight Objectives as an ADC
There are a few specific ADC goals that come to mind when playing as the ADC. If you want to learn the fundamentals when playing as an AP champion in the bottom lane, then check out the Mid lane section.

• Deal as much damage as you can while staying alive for as long as possible
  • As you will be dealing consistent damage, it is important that you stay alive for as long as you can to ensure you deal as much damage as humanly possible.
• Keep your distance by positioning in a safe manner at all times
  • Do not put yourself in danger by positioning to far forward or letting yourself be in range for the enemy to get on to you with their cc. If they do this, you will get killed and taken out of the teamfight.
• Stay as close as you can to your allies
  • There is power in numbers and by sticking close to your teammates- you will have a slight but noticeable safety net that can help you stay alive for longer.

Where to Position as an ADC in Teamfights
To be able to deal consistent DPS, you will need to be in a position where you’re out of range of the enemy, but close enough to be able to deal damage. For most, you will be in the backline and behind or next to your other backline champions like the Support and the Mid laner. This is a perfect place to position because you will be out of range of the enemy auto attacks as well as their CC.

• Trundle: Trundle is a tank and can absorb a lot of damage. If he is in the back, he will not be able to protect his carries and absorb incoming damage. By standing at the front, he can use his Pillar E to catch out targets as well as block incoming skill shots.
• Ivern: With the help of Daisy, Ivern can peel and protect his carries. This is why he should be in the middle of his team so he can provide them with as much assistance whenever it is needed.
• Janna: She should be stood in the back line protecting her AD Carry. If she gets killed at the start of the fight, the opponents can easily take down the one true Carry. But, if she positions well, she can keep herself and the carry alive with healing and shielding.
• Varus: If Varus is not poking, he should be in the back line using his basic attacks to deal as much damage as he can. Utilizing his Ultimate as a utility spell, if he positions in the backline he will be able to deal a lot of damage. However, at the start of the fight, he may wish to be slightly more aggressive and start the teamfight by using his Ultimate on an unsuspecting target.
• Orianna: As the main source of AP damage on her team, she will need to be in the middle of her team and standing behind the frontline. She is quite squishy, so she might get killed first if she is too far forward.

Wherever you position, you need to make sure that you are relatively close to your other teammates including the Support. As one of the Supports main duties is to heal, protect and keep their ADC safe, if you’re positioning to far forward or to far backwards, then it will be difficult for them to do what is needed.

Like stated, you will need to be in a position that enables you to do what is needed of you, which is to deal damage and win the teamfight. If you position in the frontline, you may be easy pickings for the enemy who can just focus you down. However, if you’re to far back, you will be missing out on consistent damage.

There is a fine line and learning curve to positioning for every role but more so for an ADC. So make sure you practice and keep an eye on your positioning at all times.

• Zyra: Zyra is very squishy and deals a lot of AOE damage. She should be near her carries so she can protect them. As Zyra has crowd control with her Ultimate and E, she needs to use them on the closest enemy champion when they engage.
• Jhin: Should always be towards the back end of his team so he can dish out damage. As his Ultimate is a channel, he needs to use it in a safe place- far away from enemy champions so they cannot interrupt it or kill him.
• Yasuo: Yasuo shouldn’t be in the forefront of a fight. This is because he can easily get locked down before he engages. It’s better for him to stay in the middle or in the back at the start of a teamfight, and then uses ability to push forward. If his team has a lot of crowd control or knock ups, he might position somewhere else.
• Xin Zhao: As a fighter, he needs to be stood near the front so he can engage. He will want to be in the front line so he can engage as soon as the enemy miss positions. He can then use all of his abilities to protect his carries or get onto the back line depending on which situation he is in.
• Shen: As a tank, Shen need to be stood in the front line so he can engage with his taunt as soon as the enemy miss positions. If he is standing far back, he will not be in a position at all to engage. Standing forward allows him to pressure an engage even though he may not want to go in.

Suggesting where to stand is really difficult because it is different in every single game, but there is great emphasis on making sure you’re in a position where you cannot be hit with enemy CC or enemy damage.

Who to Focus in Teamfights
95% of the time, you will need to focus whoever the closest enemy member is, while also making sure you’re staying safe. Keep your distance to deny them the opportunity to get onto you entirely.

In many cases, this will be the tank or the enemy bruiser- basically the enemy frontline. If the enemy deals a lot of damage or has crowd control, you will need to try and create a gap between you and the enemy. For example, if Darius were to get on to you, you will most likely get killed because he deals lots of damage. One of the biggest downfalls to Darius is that he is rather immobile which means he can be kited quite easily. You will need to kite him so you can create a gap and stay alive.

However, if you have an ability that is really strong in teamfights and allows you to make plays, for example Kai’Sa’s ultimate, Twitch’s ultimate or Vayne’s kit, you can sometimes make the risky play and change your intended focus. This is where the other 5% comes in to play. Doing this can be fine as long as you will stay alive and be able to deal damage to win the teamfight. If you’re going to die because of this- then obviously don’t do it.

Who you focus is initially situational and will change from game to game. For the most part, you need to focus the closest target(s).

Teamfighting Tips and Tricks for the ADC
Here are some additionally teamfighting tips and tricks you can take with you onto Summoners Rift!

• Avoid using your immobilizing ultimate during a teamfight

It sounds obvious, and it kind of is. However many players make the mistake of using their ultimate in a teamfight when they are not in a safe position to do so. Some champions like Jhin or Caitlyn become immobile for quite some time while they channel and use their ultimate. During this time, you will be unable to escape or do anything if the enemy gets in front of you.

If you have an executing ultimate, or an ultimate that keeps you in place, it is better that you don’t use it during a teamfight unless you are in a safe place to do so. For example, right in the back- out of range of anyone. You can use your ultimate at the end of the fight or at the beginning in Jhins case, but you should avoid using it in the middle of a fight because you will be out of commission and not be able to auto attack or deal any damage.

• You can play slightly more risky when you have your Summoners/ Guardians Angel

If you noticed that you have your Guardian Angel up, you can to some extent play slightly more aggressive. This is because you can rely on the revive effect and its passive to save you. I wouldn’t recommend going full Rambo, but playing and positioning slightly more aggressively is more forgiving when you have Guardians Angel available to you as it will allow you to revive and get back into the teamfight quickly.

This is also true for Summoner Spells as well. If you have your Flash up, you can use it to flash forward to get kills as long as you can survive. Flash and other Summoner Spells are undoubtedly really good in teamfights because they can assist you in multiple ways.

While you do have these items or spells to protect you, it is important that you do not waste them because of your negligence.

• Keep an eye on your position throughout the game

While easier said than done, always try to keep an eye on your positioning throughout the teamfight and when roaming around the map. If you position to far forward, you will notice it immediately as the enemy will be able to focus you down and kill you.

One thing you can do is try to remember how big of a radius you can auto attack the from. Using this information and the range, when possible, you should try to keep the nearest enemy champion as far away from you while still being in auto attack range. You can see your champions auto attack range by pressing ‘A’ on your keyboard. This will provide you with a visual guide of how far your champion can auto attack from. This will at least prevent you from being auto attacked and focused down by melee champions- especially Jax and Darius.

Using this information, you should try to keep that much space between you and the enemy by kiting them in teamfights.

Throughout the game, teamfights can spring up from anywhere and in a blink of an eye. This is why you need to avoid getting caught out by being too far away- or to close to your team. For example, if you decide to walk through the river before your allies, such as rotating to an objective, you may be putting yourself in great danger where the enemy can take you off the map. The enemy may then be able to start a teamfight where you can’t participate which will come out in their favor.

We see this a lot in the later stages of the game when the enemy tries to set up and ambush to kill unsuspecting squishy members. You can prevent this by having good map awareness and understanding of where your teammates/ the enemy are at any given time.

• Remember to kite and not stand forward

During teamfights, a lot can happen in a very short space of time. There is so much to decipher and react to that will directly impact who comes out victorious. One way of increasing your teams chances of coming out ahead is by learning how to kite the enemy and attack while moving.

In lower ELO, you often see AD Carries standing still and just auto attacking. Depending on the situation, you may be safe to do this but for the most part, it’s a bad habit to have. This is because when you are standing still, it is rather easy for the enemy to just throw their skill shots directly at you because you are not moving. If you were to move around, it would make it more difficult for the enemy to hit you with their skill shots.

In addition, if the enemy has front line champions who can engage, standing still will allow them to easily get on to you and shut you down. Where as if you are kiting and moving around, it will be much more difficult for them to get onto you or kill you.

Depending on the situation, you may be able to kite forwards, but at the start of a teamfight you will need to kite away from the enemy. As a general rule, try to kite around the enemy so they do not deal damage to you.

So how do you actually kite?

Kiting, also known as orb walking or stutter stepping is something that cannot be picked up and learnt straight away. It has to be worked on over time, and will only be mastered after lots of dedicated practice. There are a few ways you can kite and here are two of the easier and more efficient ways of kiting.

Kiting in its simplest form is where you auto attack the enemy and then move away from them. You then auto attack them again once your next auto attack is available and then move away. Depends on how fast you auto attack and what your attack speed is, the more you will need to kite.

The first and more obvious form of kiting is where you auto attack the enemy once and walk backwards. You then repeat this over and over again whenever you’re ready to auto attack again. This is a common way of kiting but can be quite difficult to maintain and do properly as it is very easy to mess up on and miss click. If you were to miss click, you may be putting yourself in extra danger because you will not auto attack the enemy, instead you will be walking towards them.

The second method of kiting is by keybinding something called “player attack move click” in your settings tab. Binding this to a key that you can regularly press will allow you to kite much more efficiently and prevent miss clicks from happening. Pressing this button basically auto attacks the nearest target to yourself and where you click.

Let’s suggest an enemy Darius is running towards you. You need to kite him the best you can to prevent him from pulling you in and killing you. If you were to kite with the first method, you may miss click and walk towards him. However, if you use the second method, you may be able to auto attack him and create a noticeable gap between the two of you. This will make teamfighting much safer and slightly easier.

As suggested, kiting is very difficult to learn and do. Experience plays a huge part in learning how to kite efficiently, so don’t worry if you don’t master it straight away.

• Watch the position of your Support

One of the Supports main duties is to protect their ADC and the rest of their team. However, it does take two to tango. If you notice that your Support is not there to protect you because you have either positioned too far forward, or you are not following up- it is most probably your own fault.

Keep in mind where your Support currently is at all times to increase your survivability and usefulness in teamfights. For example, if you know that your Support will not be protecting you at all times like an Alistar or Leona who start a teamfight by engaging, you will need to position safely until they are able to come and protect you. Keeping your distance between you and the enemy front line is what you would need to do in these brief moments where you are alone.

On the other hand, if your Support is somebody who is a utility Support who provides healing and shielding, you will need to play around them and keep close to them so they are able to help you. Some utility Supports are rather immobile and cannot do too much without you being close by, which makes it important that you stay in range, and stay close to them so they can use all of their abilities to protect you.

For example, Janna is a Support that doesn’t have the greatest of range- but she does have abilities that can protect you. If you position too far forward, she will not be able to follow up and help you because you’ll be putting yourself in a very dangerous position where you will get yourself and her killed.

Remember, this is also true for other roles as well as the Support. If they are not going forward, then you shouldn’t do so either.

• Pick up defensive items if you need MR or armor

Adaption is incredibly important in League of Legends and many games alike. If you do not adapt your item build, you will suffer at the hands of the enemy. There are many defensive items you can buy as an ADC, and we can’t discuss them all. However, we can provide you with some advice that may help you itemize better for teamfights.

If the enemy has lots of magic damage, you should pick up items that provide you with a little bit of protection. For example, you can adjust your Boots by purchasing Mercury’s Treads instead of Berserker’s Greaves. You can even buy a Hexdrinker which would provide you with an additional shield to reduce burst damage.

It’s not just magic resist you can buy though. You can also get armor items to protect you against assassins or AD champions. Like previously, you can change your Boot recommendations to buy Ninja Tabi instead. You can also buy Guardians Angel which is a favored item for many ADC’s no matter the circumstances.

There are a plethora of different items you can build on an ADC to protect yourself. Make sure you look at what the enemy has, and who is dealing the damage. You should then buy an item that will protect yourself against whatever they throw at you.

• Get Red buff

The red buff will help you prevail in teamfights because it deals extra damage and slows the enemy. This makes it perfect for ADC’s as it will provide you with a slight increase in damage and added protection with the slow. This means kitting enemies will be made easier, and you should be more of a threat to the enemy.

If the Red Brambleback is coming up rather soon, make sure you rotate to it and pick it up as soon as you can so you have it for the next teamfight. This will also prevent the enemy from stealing it.

• Attack the closest target unless a better one is in range

As suggested, you’ll need to attack the closest enemy champion that is nearby. However, there are a few exceptions. For example, when taking note of your champions attack range, multiple champions can be inside of it and can be your main focus. Instead of just focusing the closest target like a tank who may not have much kill threat on you, you can adjust your focus to somebody who does.

For example, if there is an enemy tank hugging you and also a damage dealer attacking another ally close by, you could switch your focus from the low kill threat tank to the high kill threat damage dealer. This should increase the likelihood of coming out ahead because your allies will be safer, and an enemy threat would’ve been eliminated.

• Be careful when it comes to using your dash

Most ADC’s have some form of a dash that can be used offensively as well as defensively. It can be used to close the gap between you and the enemy, or create one. Whatever its use, it plays a huge part in how an ADC teamfights.

Lucian has a really useful dash on his E. It can be used in a variety of ways, and it really enhances his kit. However, without it, he is opening himself up to a lot of potential damage. If he were to use it to move forward, he may be putting himself in an exposed position where he can be hit with enemy crowd control or other abilities. Or he may get focused by the enemy and killed. Being caught out and getting killed can seriously reduce his teams chances of coming out ahead.

This is where making smart decisions come into play. Unless you’re in a specific situation where you are trying to get away from the enemy or get closer and finish them off, try to avoid using your dashes unless you have to. For Lucian specifically, while it does give him some bonus damage (through his passive), I would recommend being picky when you use it.

Unfortunately, we have all seen and experienced Vayne or any other ADC dashing towards the enemy and getting one shot by insane… luck! So, to prevent this, be careful about which direction you choose to use your dash. As a general rule, if the enemy has crowd control or abilities that can leave you in a sticky situation, try to hold off from using your dash offensively until most of risk factors are eliminated.

• Invest in armor pen when against tanks

Armor penetration, and lethality items are undervalued in teamfights because they will actually allow you to deal damage to the enemy frontline. If the enemy has multiple tanks or frontline champions on their team, you need to invest in some armor penetrating items.

There are a few different items available to you, however we will only discuss a few of them. The first and only advanced item on our list is an item called the Last Whisper. It gives you some AD, but it also gives you some armor penetration. The armor penetration is what we’re buying it for. I recommend getting this item as soon as the enemy starts getting beefy and hard to kill.

The next item is Mortal Reminder. It is built from a Last Whisper and an item called Executioner’s Calling. Executioner’s Calling is a must have item when you’re playing against a tank with lots of sustain or self healing. Picking up this item against a champion like Dr. Mundo, Volibear or Darius is good as it can (potentially) stop them from regenerating health quicker than you deal damage. In addition, if the enemy has lots of healing champions like Soraka, Nami, Janna or anyone that heals, this item will reduce their healing. This is because Executioner’s Calling applies Grievous Wounds on targeted champions that reduces their healing.

This item is also great against champions like Akali or Vladimir who sustain and get a lot of healing through their abilities because of the Grievous Wounds passive on Executioner’s Calling.

The final armor penetration item we’re going to discuss is Lord Dominik’s Regards which is an item that provides a healthy chunk of armor pen and some damage. If the enemy has lots of armor and defense stats but no health regeneration or sustain- then buy this item as it gives 10% more armor penetration.

Please note: There are some other unique items that provide armor penetration or lethality. However, many of them are champion specific and cannot or should not be brought on every ADC. Where as the items we’ve listed can be purchased on any AD champion.

Without buying these items, you will find it very difficult to kill the enemy frontline when they buy armor or have lots of health. It will take longer for your team to kill the enemy frontline without an armor penetrating item which may leave your frontline in a vulnerable position- alone with no follow up damage.

If you want to learn what items an ADC should buy, check out this basic itemisation guide.

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Chapter 20: How to Teamfight as The Support

Unlike some of the other roles on Summoners Rift, the Support doesn’t always play a glamorous job to win the teamfight by dealing damage. In most cases, all they do is peel, protect and do whatever they can to keep their allies alive.

There are 3 different Support archetypes that fit snugly into this role. This consists of the mage or damage dealing Support who deals lots of damage and build AP. A utility Support that focuses on providing their team with healing and shielding. And a tank or pick Support who usually engages and protects their team.

Fundamentals and Teamfight Objectives as The Support
The fundamentals change depending on which role and type of Support you’re playing as all 3 are different and are played differently. The fundamentals may also change depending on which champion you’re playing.

The best way to tackle this section is by going into detail about each role separately. So, let’s start with the fundamentals that apply across the board to all Support types.

• Keep your allies alive for as long as possible
  • Obviously, you will need to keep your allies alive for as long as possible in a teamfight so they can deal the damage in order to win the fight. This means you should use everything available to you to keep them alive and prioritize their life over your own.
• Protect your ADC and the rest of your team mates
  • Initially, many players think that you just need to use your abilities to protect your ADC. This is not the case. You should use whatever you can to keep yourself and your teammates alive for longer, even if this means “wasting” an active item or an ability to keep someone alive.

For mage or damage dealing Supports like Brand, Vel’Koz, Zyra or Annie, the fundamentals and goals are the same as above, but in addition there are a few other goals.

• Deal as much damage as you can while staying alive for as long as possible
  • As you’re building AP items it is important that you try to use all of your abilities and use them as much as you can during the teamfights. If you’re going to die, don’t be afraid to throw your ultimate out for additional damage.

For utility Supports like Janna, Karma, Nami, and Lulu, the fundamentals are the same as above, but there are a few more goals that you need to keep in mind.

• Prioritize healing and shielding your allies rather than yourself
  • Traditionally, utility Supports do not deal a lot of damage. This is why you’ll need to use your abilities to keep your allies alive for as long as possible so they can do the damage needed to win the fight. This means you should not always shield, or keep using your abilities on yourself as protection can only get you so far. In order to win most teamfights, you need pure damage which can only be achieved by your teammates.

For tank or pick/ engage Supports like Nautilus, Thresh, Alistar and Leona, here are some of their additional goals.

• Engage when you find a good opportunity
  • You will need to look to engage and start the teamfight by picking off an enemy who is out of position or over extended.
• Fall back to a default peeling position after engaging
  • A tank Support must return to their ADC and fellow backliners when they’ve gone in and started a teamfight. If you refuse to fall back and protect or peel for your carries, they may get taking down or zoned by the enemy frontline. To prevent this, you can engage and then fall back as soon as your team has followed up.

Where to Position as The Support in Teamfights

Positioning as the Support is incredibly important. If you are to misposition, you may be in an over extended position where the enemy can easily grab and kill you. If you were to die quickly in a teamfight, you will be putting your team at a severe risk of losing the teamfight as you will be unable to support them.

Positioning in a teamfight depends on which champion and role you’re playing. For example, a mage Support will usually position differently to a tank or utility Support. Because there are 3 different Support roles, we will go over each individually.

• Fiddlesticks: Fiddlesticks needs the element of surprise in order for him to make full use of his Ultimate. If he is seen channeling his Ultimate, the enemy may back away or interrupt it. It’s best for him to stay away from his team at the start of the teamfight.
• Malphite: Should be stood at the front of his team so he can engage as soon as the enemy miss position. If he’s too far back, the enemy may take this for granted and position more aggressively or look to engage. Standing at the front also allows him to absorb incoming damage.
• Viktor: Should be in the middle of his team while moving from the front to the back whenever his E is on cooldown. As a poke champion, he should poke as much as you can before a teamfight occurs. He should only move forward when hiss abilities are up, otherwise he may get targeted and killed before the fight starts.
• Kai’Sa: Kai’Sa needs to remain safe at the start of a fight. She shouldn’t be too far forward as she may get killed or engaged on as soon as she walks forward. She should remain in the back for as long as possible while using her E and Ultimate to reposition when necessary.
• Nami: Needs to be stood in the back at all times. Protecting her carries and her other allies is very important for Nami and she should not be in a position where she can get killed quickly.

For utility Support’s you’ll need to be positioned incredibly close to your ADC and your other backline champions. This is so you are able to heal and shield them as well as protect them from the elements.

If you position too far forward and in front of your AD Carry, you may be putting yourself at risk because you will come into contact with the enemy front line. However, if you stand too far back from the AD Carry, the enemy will put all of their focus into them which may cost you the teamfight. Instead, I recommend that you stand around the ADC so you are able to protect and keep them safe. For example, adjust your positioning and fluctuate between standing right beside them and on top of them to ensure maximum protection.

• Pantheon: If Pantheon is grouped with his team, he should always be towards the front. This allows him to potentially engage on to an enemy who may be positioned to closely. Pantheon doesn’t always need to be grouped with his team though as he can use his Ultimate to get to his team.
• Brand: Brand is an AP champion who needs to poke. If he’s too far back, he will not be able to deal damage. But if he is too far forward, he will put himself in a position where you can take a lot of damage. Is important that he stays in the middle of his team so he can dish out damage from relative safety.
• Graves: Graves should be in the front or in the middle of his team. His range isn’t the greatest, so he does need to be quite close to the enemy in order for him to dish out all his damage. Thankfully, Graves’ kit allows him to reposition in case of an emergency, so he can be played quite forgiving in that regard.
• Ezreal: As Ezreal has long-range spoke, he can poke from afar. He doesn’t necessarily need to be in the front, but I can be in the middle or in the back. At no point should Ezreal, use his E is aggressively unless he is sure that he can kill the enemy or survive.
• Lux: Needs to be stood in the back line so she can protect her teammates. If she is is positioned too far forward, she may get killed first and as a squishy champion, she is very vulnerable to all ins and poke. Standing far back increase the chances of surviving.

For damage dealing Supports, you need to be positioned next to, or slightly in front of your carries in the backline. This is because you need to be in range to use your abilities and deal damage so your team can come out ahead.

If you are playing too far back, you may not be able to do as much damage compared to being nearer the front. As you are playing somebody who is a mage, you need to be in a position where you can constantly dish out damage which may not be possible if you are further back. This is especially true on champions like Brand who rely on their ultimate to bounce between enemies to deal even more damage. On the other hand you do not want to be too far for where you can be easy pickings for the enemy.

• Leblanc: As an Assassin, Leblanc can be split from her team if she is ahead to try to take down any champion who may be roaming or walking towards her team. If she can take down a carry before the teamfight even starts, then her team has a huge advantage.
• Illaoi: Illaoi should be in the frontline so she can use her Ultimate on as many enemies as possible. If she is back, she will not be able to hit many enemy champions.
• Leona: Should be towards the front off her team at the start of the teamfight then peel back and protect her ADC.
• Tristana: Needs to be stood in the backline auto attacking the nearest enemy target. She shouldn’t push up too far forward unless it’s safe to do so, otherwise she will get killed.
• Olaf: Should be in the frontline so he can absorb the enemies damage while keeping his carries alive.

For Supports who are relied on to pick off members or engage to start a teamfight, you’ll need to be in a consistent position where you are able to do exactly that. For the most part, this means you will be right at the front- leading your team to victory. You need to stand here to apply some form of pressure to the enemy and look to engage whenever they miss position or group to closely together.

After you have engaged and started the teamfight, you need to make sure you go back and peel for your ADC and you are other carries. If you forget to peel, your ADC or other champions in the back lane will get run down by the enemy front liners. This is especially true if the enemy have bruisers in their front line like Darius, Renekton or Riven. However, if your team lacks any other form of frontline- then you’re going to be in a sticky situation when it comes to peeling. You have to go with your gut and stay in the frontline so the rest of your allies do not die. Keep an eye on who on the enemy team is the biggest threat and keep them away from your team.

In short, before a teamfight occurs, he will need to be in the front line. Once it is under way, you will need to fall back and protect your carries.

• Kayle: Kayle must be stood in the middle of her team so she can remain safe and trade with the enemy. As she is quite squishy, she can easily get killed if she walks too far forward.
• Braum: He should always be towards his team at the start of the fight, but he should move back as soon as he has used his initial set of abilities. Once he has used them, he needs to fall back to protect his ADC.
• Orianna: Can use her Ultimate on the Braum as soon as he goes in to CC chain the enemy. Alternatively, she can use it as a peeling tool to keep her ADC alive.
• Jinx: Needs to be stood in the backline while using her E as a self peeling tool. If she stands near the front, she may get killed instantly, so she needs to be stood back.
• Nocturne: Is away from his team so he can assassinate a target before the teamfight occurs. Alternatively, he can be out of sight so he doesn’t get poked down before engaging onto the backline.

Knowing where to stand and position in a team that is really difficult because it is different in every single game. However, you need to make sure that you can keep yourself and your allies alive for as long as possible by positioning in a suitable area where you are not over extended and will not get killed by the enemy as soon as the teamfight starts.

Who to Focus in Teamfights
Unlike some of the roles in this guide, there isn’t always a main target for Supports to focus on. Rather than- you just need to adjust your focus to whoever’s closest to your ADC.

For utility Supports, your main focus will be on protecting your teammates and keeping them alive for as long as possible. One way you can do this is by preventing the enemy frontline from getting close to your allies. You can do this in a variety of ways but for the most part you will just be using your abilities to keep them away while buffing your AD.

Janna is a prime example of a utility Support. In teamfights, Janna will need to protect her ADC and other teammates from the enemy frontline. She can do this by using her Q to prevent them from dashing in, and she can slow them with her W. Janna will also be able to shield herself or her other allies to keep them survive for longer. Finally, she can use her ultimate to heal up or knock back the enemy frontline from getting onto her allies.

Mage Supports are in the same boat as utility Supports with the fact that they need to protect and use all of their abilities to keep the rest of their team alive. In many cases, they will be focusing the enemy frontline. However, it can be matchup dependent and it depends on who you’re playing.

Some AP mage Supports deal a lot of AOE damage like Zyra or Brand and these champions both have abilities that can peel for their team. Zyra has her E and her ultimate, while Brand can stun the enemy. You will need to try and use these crowd control abilities on the enemy frontline to stop the enemy from taking down you and the ADC.

However, you may need to save your ultimate’s and other big AOE abilities so they can deal damage to more than one champion. Brand is a prime example of a champion that relies on hitting more than one enemy with his ultimate to deal more damage. If you focus the enemy frontliner who may be on their own, you will be severely reducing your damage output. Instead, it is better for him to use his ultimate onto as many champions as possible. This is the same case for Zyra as she can knock up multiple champions.

As a general rule, it’s a good idea to protect your ADC even when you’re a mage because you can both deal damage together to kill the enemy frontline.

For engage or tank Supports, there is no real target focus at the beginning of the teamfight. However, there is some favorable picks you can try and make. For example, trying to wipe out an enemy damage dealer like the Mid or ADC first will make the teamfight favorable immediately.

After you’ve engaged and started the teamfight, you’ll obviously want to work your way back and try to peel for your ADC (when applicable) From there, you will need to use whatever you have to throw at the enemy frontline to prevent them from getting onto, and killing your backline.

For example, Alistar can use his W+Q to engage, then fall back to his ADC and fellow backline champions. Where he will then use his second round of cooldowns to keep his ADC alive.

On the other hand, if the Support is the only frontline champion in the team, you will need to keep the enemy on you for as long as possible: while doing whatever you can to keep the damage dealers safe. While it’s easy to suggest “focus the damage dealer”, it’s not always possible and in reality- it is much more difficult. So realistically, just CC and lock down whoever you can.

Remember, adaption is needed throughout each teamfight. You need to remember your role, and do whatever you can to stay alive and win the teamfight.

Teamfighting Tips and Tricks for the Support
Let’s not forget the Support. Here are some additional tips and tricks to help you beat the enemy and be the Support that everybody wants on their team.

• Watch the positioning of the ADC and other backline champions

When we suggest watching the positioning of your AD carry and fellow teammates, it is more than just looking to see where they are so you can use your abilities on them. In fact, understanding where your teammates are, and where the enemy is- is a very important mechanic and skill to learn.

However, let’s just discuss the importance of watching their positioning in a teamfight. Obviously, you need to look to see where they are so you can use your abilities and heal and shield them. You can also look to see where they have positioned. For example, if your AD Carry is positioning and moving forward- you need to match their positioning and protect them as long as you can. If you stand still, they may go out of range and be unable be protected.

Additionally, if your AD Carry goes forward but you do not, they might become an easy target for the enemy which can result in them getting killed and you losing in the team. This can be prevented by both of you going and moving together.

During the later stages of the game, you will need to stick close to your team and protect them as much as possible. So why this advice technically becomes obsolete later on, just keep a close eye on where they are and try to back them up whenever you can.

• Stand in the front when you’re trying to engage

When playing as a pick or an engage/ tank champion, you need to stand in the front with your other front liners. This is because you need to be in a position where you are able to potentially fight the enemy and engage on them as soon as one of them has stepped out of position.

If you stand in the back line, the enemy will be able to miss position all they like as you are not close enough to do anything about it. In addition to this, if you are playing somebody who goes fishing and relies on hooking of pulling somebody in like Blitzcrank, standing in the back line will make it increasingly difficult to hook anyone as they will not be in range.

Standing in the front line applies a form of pressure to the enemy. and it makes them think that a teamfight can break out at any minute. A smart enemy will respect your positioning and not position too far forward, however an unfortunate one will play greedy. When they do this, it is your time to make a move and engage on them.

You can’t engage or start a teamfight if you are in the back line as a tank (unless your abilities let you) as you will not be close enough to do anything. This is why standing in the front line is important as you can at any given moment: go in. Also, as you are in the front line, you will be able to soak some damage and protect your carries whenever they dish out poke.

Your allies will also favor this positioning because it protects them and prevents the enemy from poking them down as they will have a wall in front of them. It will also allow them to poke more consistently as they will be closer to the enemy which should increase the chances of them hitting their skillshots. And finally, they won’t get taken down by Assassins running straight towards them as they will have a front line to go through first.

• Prioritize using your abilities on keeping your allies safe

Unless you have to, you should priorities using your abilities such as your shield on your carries instead of yourself. This is because they will directly benefit your team in the teamfight, while also giving them some added protection. I would advise against using your shield (or other abilities) on yourself if they are something that empowers your allies. For example, Janna’s E which gives additional damage and Lulu’s W which gives MS and attack speed. This is because these abilities will come incredibly handy in the teamfight which can make all the difference.

Although there is a priority list which you are at the bottom of, if you have to use your abilities on yourself- then do it. Don’t die in vain with your ultimate up if it could have protected you. You need to remember that you are worth just as much gold as anyone else and your role is just as important as others.

• Be prepared to flank

I promise Mobalytics family, this is the last time we’ll be discussing flanking in this section of the guide! Supports are very good at flanking to start teamfights. This is because they can often get over walls or pull enemies from out of nowhere. This is especially true on champions who have hooks and pulls like Thresh or Nautilus. Leona is another example of a flanking champion that can be really in a teamfight if she abuses fog of war.

In most situations, the tank Support will be the person who flanks as they will usually be somebody who can engage. You don’t necessarily see a mage or a utility Support flanking because they traditionally do not start a teamfight.

Flanking is an important maneuver to perform but can be rather risky. You have to have complete coordination and communication within your team to be able to flight appropriately. In addition, you will need to make sure that the area is not warded so you do not get collapsed upon.

Finally, if you are champion that utilizes Hextech Flash like Alistar or Leona- then flanking becomes a whole lot easier.

• Remember to use your actives

Every Support you play will have an active in one form or another. Whether it is Redemption, Locket or Mikael’s, you need to make sure you use it in a teamfight. A cheeky Redemption when your teammates are low health will be very effective and will heal everybody inside. This small heal could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

Depending on the situation, you may want to use your actives at the start of a teamfight, for example using Locket could be good at the beginning. But you don’t necessarily want to waste them if there is no real immediate threat from the enemies side. For example, you don’t want to use your Locket as soon as Karthus ults as it has a delay and Locket may run out beforehand making it redundant.

Once again, experience plays a huge part on knowing when you should use your actives. Although, the lesson to take away is that you always need to use them whenever they are available as they can really make the difference.

• Adapt who you should protect as the fight goes on

It is common knowledge that you need to adapt who you protect as the teamfight goes on as people die and targets get eliminated. At the start of the fight, you need to keep your focus on protecting your carries and keeping them alive for as long as possible.

It’s very difficult to say who to protect and who to use your abilities on because it is very situational and dependent on what is happening in the game. As a general rule, you should prioritise healing your carries over the front line. However, if your carries are full health or are rather healthy with no real risk of dying anytime soon, use your shield and heals on the front line to pump them up a bit.

While low-key non-efficient, always shield whoever you can when you pick somebody off because it grants you and assist and free money.

• Remember to use your Exhaust

While Exhaust is not as common as it once was, it is still fantastic in teamfights against assassins or champions who like to get in among the action. This is because Exhaust can completely exhaust and take somebody out of the teamfight and prevent a lot of their damage.

In most teamfights, you will either exhaust the champion who is the biggest threat to you and your team or who you’ve caught out of position. It is better to focus and exhaust the biggest damage dealer because it reduces their damage output and will also make it easier for your team to kill them as they will become immobile. However, if you’ve caught somebody- you may want to exhaust them to allow your team mates to close the gap and execute them.

Realistically, experience plays a huge part in knowing who to exhaust and when. It is also very context driven and is heavily dependent on what is happening in the game.

• Go fishing

Many teamfights occur because somebody gets caught out of position which ultimatly gets abused by the enemy. You can use this fact to your advantage by trying to use your crowd control abilities as often as possible and trying to catch players off-guard. This technique is called ‘Fishing’.

Basically all Supports apart from utility Supports without crowd control can do this. For example, Blitzcrank can use his Q, Thresh can use his Q, Zyra can use her E and Nautilus can use his Q. These abilities are all long ranged and can be quite temperamental which can work in your favor.

If you are playing somebody who can go fishing, try to hook the most vulnerable target as possible and avoid hooking any tanks or anybody who can engage as you would be doing them a favor by letting them get into your team…

• Avoid warding alone when you’re unsure where the enemy is

When the game starts going on a bit and death timers really start stacking up, you need to not ward if you are alone or do you do not know where the enemy is. Going to ward can be devastating if you get caught out when the objective is coming up soon. This is because your team will have virtually no vision around the objective and the enemy will easily be able to take it as they have the numbers advantage. Alternatively, the enemy may try to pressure towers or try to start a teamfight which will come out in their favor, unless your team can do something about it.

Avoid warding if you don’t know where the enemy is as you should not run the risk of overextending and walking into five members of the enemy team. Instead, you should only go to ward when your team are nearby and around to help you as there is safety in numbers. It is much more difficult for the enemy to kill all of you as they run the risk of being killed themselves. So they will not necessarily fight if there are multiple enemies around.

If your team is not grouping with you or helping you to go and Ward, you can’t necessarily ward: at least, it is advised not to. Instead warding deeply alone, you will have to have shallower wards.

• Avoid engaging if your allies are not nearby

I’m sure we have wrote “do not engage” for every major engaging role by now and for good measure. It is just as important for a tank Support, an engage Support, a tank Top laner or even an engage Mid laner to know not to engage when their teammates are not by. Avoid trying to start a teamfight when they are not with you as you will be going in 1 v 5.

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Chapter 21: How to Flank

Now we’ve come to the stage of the guide where we’re covered most of team compositions, but now we’re going to discuss some specific teamfighting information and methods. We’re gonna start with something simple which is flanking.

In this guide, we’ve suggested flanking the enemy quite a bit- but what exactly do we mean? Flanking the enemy is a pretty simple and basic League of Legends action. Much like flanking in the military, police force and in sports, it is where your team is in one position (or holding a position), while another member or members approach from a different angle. This is more commonly seen in teamfights that are in lane or are near a jungle entrance due to the fact that flanking members can hide and attack from the side.

There are a few main types of flanking manoeuvres in the game. The most popular and more common example is where somebody attacks from the side. Assassins like Leblanc or Zed are prime examples of good flanking champions. This is because they are sometimes unable to break through to the enemy backline if they have a strong first line of defense.

The second type of flanking maneuver is where you surround the enemy and force them into a small area with little to no escape potential. Used in WW2 to ill effect, it is a good way off collapsing on enemy targets. This is very good if you’re against a team comp with squishy or ranged champions as you can easily get to and focus the backline.

Flanking can also be achieved through using the Teleport Spell. By teleporting behind the enemy on a ward or minion, you can force the enemy to either go through you, fall back on themselves, or take a different escape route.

For example, if you’re in the bottom lane, you can Teleport behind the enemy and force them to go through their jungle to escape. This is when your team will collapse on them and a fight will ensue. This will work wonders if your team benefits from fighting in small areas like an AOE or wombo combo team composition.

Flanking can be achieved by basically any member of your team depending on the situation. In most cases, flanking will be done by an Assassin, a tank or somebody with CC. This is because they will either be able to deal damage, start a teamfight or lock somebody down which can make the skirmish a 5v4.

There are a few factors that influence your team’s ability to flank the enemy. The main problem with flanking is miscommunication. While flanking, you will need to communicate with your team so you all go in at the same time. If you go in one after another or the flanking member goes in on their own- it will be suicide.

When making plays with Teleport, or whenever you’re trying to flank- you will be over extended and potentially an easy target for the enemy. In some cases: such as if you’re going behind the enemy, they may start to focus you down and collapse on you. Going 1v5 is never a good idea, so make sure you don’t teleport or go in without your team being able to go in with you.

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Chapter 22: How to Set Up an Ambush

Ambushing the enemy is something you will need to do to start the majority of your teamfights. As suggested, you will not always be able to win a teamfight, nor will you be able to run directly at the enemy. This is where players look at ambush the enemy.

Similar to flanking, ambushing the enemy is where you hide and wait until they’ve walked past you. Once past or nearby, you should jump out of the bush and try to kill the enemy. This is a fantastic way of gaining the numbers advantage prior to a teamfight occurring.

To ambush the enemy, you need to be in a position where the enemy doesn’t expect you to be. For example, in a bush near one of their buffs, or in the river. There are a plethora of locations where you can hide out, so here’s some of our top picks. We’ve gone ahead and made a different version for each quarter of the map to make it easier to understand.

For each of the upcoming images in this section, there is a key they follow. The Yellow/Orange indicates where a bush is. You can hide in these bushes to ambush the enemy. The Blue represents an objective and where you can hide inside them. The color Red represents the use of Fog of War to ambush the enemy. Please excuse us if we miss a potential ambush position.

As you can see, you will need to be in areas that provide natural coverage. This is primarily bushes because that’s the only way you’ll not be seen around the map- if the enemy were to walk face to face with you. However, there is another way you can ambush the enemy- but it relies on your team placing vision around the objective so you can engage. The area in discussion is in the Dragon or Baron pit. Having a ward near the entrance (slightly to the bottom side of the Baron pit, and the topside of the Dragon pit), will allow you to see when the enemy face checks the objective.

Of course, this is a rather specific situation, but you get the point. Taking out an enemy before an objective comes up can allow you to take the objective uncontested. It may also mean that the enemy may avoid teamfighting. On the other hand, if they do decide to contest or try to fight you, you will have the numbers advantage. This is a perfect representation of how a player’s actions can snowball for the worse- which in this case is can cost an objective and a teamfight.

You should specifically look to try and ambush the enemy if you’re in one of these situations. Don’t worry though, ambushing and surprising the enemy is always a good idea no matter the circumstances.

• The game is a stalemate.
  • Sometimes, when the game is a stalemate and looks to be going either way, it can be difficult to gain the upper hand. However, if you’re able to ambush the enemy and take somebody out of commission, it can give your team a brief period of time where they can gain and abuse an advantage.
• You can’t teamfight the enemy.
  • When you’re in a bad matchup and can’t fight the enemy in a 5v5 setting, make sure you ambush them to get ahead. Taking down a key member will make the following teamfight much easier and can potentially allow you to win future skirmishes.
• The enemy is stronger together.
  • Following on from our last point, if the enemy is stronger because they’re either ahead or are better at teamfighting, make sure you try to ambush them and catch somebody out of position. It will make the next teamfight much easier as somebody won’t be there.
• You are playing as a pick comp.
  • Playing in a pick comp requires you to ambush the enemy to some extent. Make sure you catch unsuspecting victims out of position to continue the snowball.
• An objective is spawning.
  • If an objective is coming up rather soon, trying to ambush the enemy may allow you to take the objective unhindered- especially if you take down the Jungler. While I would recommend that you avoid fighting before Baron spawns, setting up an ambush is usually the exception.

To make ambushes work more consistently, make sure that you’re waiting or hiding in a bush that the enemy will most likely walk by. For the most part, during the mid to late game, this will be around their own Jungle and in the river. You should avoid trying to ambush the enemy if you don’t think they’d be on that side of the map. For example, if Baron is coming up, an ambush would be perfect around the objective. Trying to ambush the enemy in the bottom side in this situation would be pointless as no one would be there.

In addition, before waiting and wasting your time, make sure the bush is not warded. This may allow the enemy to ambush you and turn the tide of any would-be attacker. Purchase Control Wards throughout the game and make good use of your Trinket. We will go into more detail later on, but those tips will help you in the meantime.

On the flip side, if the game is equal, make sure you don’t get ambushed by avoiding these bushes in particular. If you were to get killed, it may cost you the objective or it may allow the enemy to start a teamfight. For Supports specifically, I understand that you need to ward. Avoid warding unless your team is going to protect you, or as long as it’s safe to do so. If your team will not come and help- you need to wait until it’s clear.

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Chapter 23: Where to Teamfight

There are a billion different fight locations in League of Legends, and each one is different from the last. Each teamfight location is incredibly situational and in game dependent- so as you’d guess, writing this section is going to get tricky. It’s obvious that we can’t cover everything in the game because well- that’s basically impossible, and I don’t have enough time to do so…

Anyway, I’m going to list some of the more popular teamfighting locations in the game and describe how you may want to approach them. Once again, I would like to say that everything in this section will be incredibly situational which may have an impact on how you play it out. For example, if you’re ahead or behind, what towers are available, who is around, cooldowns and overall skill, luck, timing and a dozen other things will impact a teamfight. That’s not even including the champion or team comp you’re playing!

Theoretically, on paper you could teamfight in any of these locations. But something may crop up which may make your team lose the exchange. Because of this, we’re going to do our best to describe when you can and can’t fight in these situations.

Inside the jungle
Teamfighting in the enemy jungle is never really a good idea because you never know what is coming around the corner. With that said, if you’re playing in a wombo combo, AOE or a team with good synergy, then this shouldn’t be much of a problem. If your team benefits from fighting in the jungle, try to get the majority of your teamfights in these close quarter combat areas to fully enhance your team comp.

Pros:

• Tight area that allows AOE or wombo combo teams to thrive.
• Can ambush and flank the enemy.
• Can allow you to rotate to another objective quickly.

Cons:

• You might be walking into a trap or a bait.
• Can be difficult to escape when teamfighting in these small areas.
• You never know what’s coming around the corner.

Around your tower
Unlike some of the other potential teamfighting locations, in the majority of cases, you will always be able to fight around your own tower. For example, when the enemy are trying to. But once again, if the enemy team comp favors diving or (for example) if they have multiple tanks or assassins, then fighting around your tower may be difficult.

Pros:

• Will not be in an overextended position.
• Limited flank potential-depending on the tower.
• Can protect your objective.

Cons:

• You can’t teamfight under your tower against a dive comp.
• Relies on your team not getting poked down by the enemy siegeing.
• Not going to be coordinated.

Under the enemies tower
If your team is able to fight under the enemies tower- for example, as a dive comp, then you can always look to fight under their objective. However, if you’re playing as a team without much kill or dive potential- then obviously don’t try and fight under the enemies tower. If the enemy tower is incredibly low though, this shouldn’t be much of a problem as you can take the tower first and then potentially fight.

Pros

• Can potentially dive the enemy.
• Might be able to take the tower.
• Will be able to disengage if needed.

Cons:

• Open yourself up to flanks.
• Will be over extended.
• Difficult to siege if the enemy has wave clear.

Around an objective like Baron or Dragon
Trying to fight around an objective can be quite rewarding. If your team is good at stacking together and dealing damage to multiple enemies at once, like if you’re in an AOE team or a wombo combo team comp, then fighting around an objective is recommended.

However, if you’re attempting to take the objective and the enemy decides to contest it and fight you, you’ll need to either finish the objective off if it’s on low health (less than 2k) or if it’s too high- you will need back off the objective or fight the enemy.

If you’re the contesting team, you’ll need to focus the enemy down before trying to take the objective unless it’s on low health where you can potentially steal it.

In and around the river
Obviously, fighting in the river is where a good portion of teamfights will happen. This is because there are objectives nearby and it is also where lots of players tend to get caught out or killed. You can always look to fight the enemy when they’re in the river no matter what your team composition relies on.

Pros:

• Can quickly rotate to another lane or objective after a fight.
• Plethora of ambush or flank opportunities.
• Lots of escape potential if things go south.

Cons:

• The enemy can use the openness to set up ambushes or flanks.
• Quite wide open which might leave some team comps at a disadvantage.
• If a teamfight is lost, the enemy can quickly rotate to the Baron.

In and around a lane
Fighting in lane is another choice of where to teamfight. There are multiple bushes around every lane which can allow champions to hide within. It’s pretty obvious why fighting here is good, so we won’t go into much detail.

Pros:

• If you win the teamfight, you can take the enemies tower.
• Fighting in the Middle or Top lane will allow you to rotate quickly to Baron.
• Fighting in the Middle or Bottom lane will allow you to rotate quickly to the Dragon/ Elder Dragon.

Cons:

• If the teamfight goes wrong, you might lose your tower.
• The enemy may be able to flank you through the Jungle.
• Depending on the position, you may be extremely over extended.

Knocking at the Inhibitor
Fighting near an Inhibitor can allow your team to take the objective as well as defend it. You will always want to defend your Inhibitor if you’re able to because once it’s destroyed, it will give the enemy an opportunity to get into your base. If you’re on the offensive and trying to break into the enemy’s’ base, you may not always want to fight the enemy under their tower or near their Inhibitor because you may lose the opportunity to take it if it goes wrong.

Pros:

• Can easily rotate to the Baron afterwards.
• May allow you to protect your base from the enemy.
• Can take the enemies Inhibitor.

Cons:

• You will be over extended.
• If the teamfight goes wrong, you might lose the tower or the Inhibitor and even more.
• The enemy may be able to flank you when siegeing.

Realistically, you can teamfight anywhere on the map. But you should prioritize and try to fight in areas that benefit your team while avoiding areas that put you at a disadvantage. Naturally, every game is different and the majority of fights will be in and around the middle lane. One reason for this is because players naturally group here as it’s in the middle of the map.

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Chapter 24: Fighting around Objectives

We’ve already briefly touched upon fighting around objectives, but there is so much more to do with it than was first shown. There are basically 5 or 6 core objectives in League of Legends with many of them being duplicate. The specific objectives we’re going to discuss are the Baron, Dragon, T1 Towers, T2 Towers and Inhibitors/Inhib Towers.

Each major objective requires proper set up and focus to be taken in the most optimal of fashions. Without clear and decisive actions, fighting or trying to take the objective will be considerably risky and may work against you. This is why learning to fight around them will increase your chances of coming out ahead.

Please note: We will go way off topic in this section because you need to know what other options are available to you rather than just fighting the enemy.

Fighting around the Baron
When taking the Baron, you have a few options on what your team can do.

• Turn and fight.
  • If the Baron has too much health left available, and you’re unable to burst it down, it is possible that you can turn and fight the enemy. I recommend this because if you were to continue focusing the objective with no end in sight, the enemy could just focus your team and kill you. Because they wouldn’t be taking much damage in return- it is obvious who will come out ahead.
• Finish off the Baron.
  • If the Baron is on lowish health- at around 2 to 3k, should finish of the Baron and then try to peel back and escape. This is a good idea because you will be able to secure the Baron buff and hopefully back off before the enemy gets there. This will be much easier in the later stages of the game because death timers are longer, and teams have more damage which means securing the objective will be faster and inevitably safer.
• Back off.
  • If your team is not in a position to teamfight or secure the objective as it has too much health left: you will need to back off, retreat and get the hell out of there. You do not want to fight and die around Baron as you may give the enemy an opportunity to take it uncontested.

When playing as the team that doesn’t start the Baron, here is what you can do to stop the opposition taking it.

• Contest and fight.
  • Trying to contest the objective is something you should always attempt to do whenever possible. In many games, the team taking the Baron will continue to focus the objective rather than the enemy straight away. This can give your team ample time to deal damage to them, but this does depend heavily on the ELO. You should always try to contest it, because you may be able to kill the enemy or force them away.
• Force the enemy off the objective.
  • Forcing the enemy to back away from the objective may give your team a chance to secure it later on. If not, you would’ve at least delayed the enemy and shown your presence on the map. Forcing the enemy to step away or stopping them from taking it may allow you to teamfight soon after.
• Don’t contest it.
  • If you’re not in a position to contest the objective- then don’t do it. You need to not throw the game or fall further behind by contesting an objective. Instead, try to apply pressure elsewhere by trying to take the Dragon or a tower somewhere else.

Making the best of a bad situation is what you need to try and achieve to ensure the enemy doesn’t walk all over you. In this situation, doing whatever you can to prevent them gaining the advantage by delaying or stopping them from getting the Baron is a must. If you can’t, try to make them pay for taking the Baron- ie taking objectives away or killing them.

After securing the Baron
After you’ve secured the objective, you will need to back off and avoid teamfighting, especially if the enemy is trying to fight you. If you were to turn and fight after securing the Baron, you would be putting users with the buff at risk and they may potentially lose their life as well as their Baron buff. This might make securing the Baron relatively pointless because nobody (or limited members) on your team would have the buff to use.

Instead of fighting the enemy when they approach, try to peel back, and get out as quickly and as safely as you can. This is your goal in a good portion of circumstances because risking a teamfight is not a good idea after securing the Baron. This is especially true if the enemy is nearby during the mid or late game. If you’re ahead and the enemy are quite far behind, it is possible that you can turn and fight after you’ve taken the Baron. Honestly speaking, it’s really situational and in game dependent, so keep that in mind before engaging/disengaging after an objective.

If you were the team that didn’t secure the Baron, you can try to fight or pick of members of the enemy team. This is perfect for you because you may be able to reduce the enemies Baron power play by killing members with the buff. You should be okay to fight them because the enemy would’ve taken some damage in order to secure the Baron themselves- depending on the time of the game.

Fighting around the Dragon
Here are some of the options available to you when you intend to take the Dragon.

• Turn and fight
  • If you are unable to secure the objective before the enemy gets to your team, you can look to fight them and try to catch one of them out of position when they walk forward. This is a smart play to make if you’re unsure if you are able to secure the objective or not. If you are unable to fight the enemy because they are stronger, don’t fight them and just back off.
• Finish the Dragon
  • If you are in a position where you can finish off the Dragon, you’ll always want to secure it as it is an objective after all. After securing the objective, you can either try to fight to the enemy if you are in a position to do so or you can just back off and retreat. However, if it is the Elder Dragon, it may not be advised.
• Back away from the objective.
  • If the objectives health is too high and you are unable to destroy it in time, you can look to fight the enemy or just back off and let it reset. If you’re not in a position where you can kill the enemy or take the objective, it may be better for your team to back off as a whole.This will ensure that the objective will not go to either team in a hurry. A prime example would be if your Jungler’s Smite is on cooldown. Backing off will ensure that the enemy does not steal the objective and gain the advantage. It may also deny the enemy fighting potential later on in the game if it is an Infernal Drake, Mountain Drake or the Elder Dragon.

Contesting the objective is what many teams will do. While it’s possible, it’s not the only option.

• Try to contest the objective
  • While contesting the Dragon is a smart idea, it’s not always possible to do if you are behind. Furthermore, some Dragons aren’t even worth contesting. For example, I would always advise contesting the Elder, Infernal or a Mountain Dragon whenever you’re in a position to do so because they are the stronger Dragons around. However, if it is anyone of the other Dragons, it may not be worth your time trying to contest it if you are able to get something else out of it.
• Force the enemy away from the objective
  • If you are that much of a threat to the enemy, you could try to apply enough pressure to them that it forces them to back away from the objective. You don’t need to necessarily fight the enemy to do this; you can just walk up to them. However, it depends heavily on the situation and circumstances in the game. Forcing the enemy off the objective may allow your team to snatch it up later on, or it may call for a fight to ensue.
• Secure a different objective
  • The reality is, you’re not always going to be able to contest or fight the enemy whenever they try to take the Dragon. This is why you should try to apply pressure elsewhere if possible. For example, if you see that the enemy have almost taken the objective, you could try to take a tower or another objective somewhere else. This means that taking the Dragon would not be free for the enemy as it would cost them an objective. Alternatively, if you see that the enemy is walking to the Dragon, you could try to take the Baron buff.

Fighting around tier 1 towers
When you’re on the offence, here are 3 options available to you.

• Dive the enemy.
  • When playing as a dive team composition, you can always look to dive the enemy if you and your team are in a position to do so.
• Destroy the tower
  • Destroying the tower will open up that side of the map for your team. You should aim to destroy as many towers as you can to apply even more pressure to the enemy and make nowhere safe for them to farm. After destroying the tower, you can either try to catch somebody out of position or rotate to the Dragon.
• Back off
  • If you’re unable to take the tower first try, avoid forcing anything. You do not want to get killed because you over extend and overstay your welcome. Just back off and wait for the next minion wave or try to rotate to another objective like the Dragon and come back later.

Tiet 1 towers are not always worth defending. If you lose them, the games far from over, but here’s what you can do to cling on for dear life.

• Back off
  • Tier 1 towers are nothing special. While they do provide you with some defense, they will not win you the game. Tier 1 towers are not worth fighting and dying over during the Mid game as it may allow the enemy to take the tower and then the Baron.
• Clear the waves
  • If the enemy has grouped as 5 and are trying to take whatever they can, make sure you attempt to at least clear the minion wave to prevent them from taking anything extra. While you may lose the tower, it’s not that big of a deal.
• Force a fight
  • While tier 1 towers are not necessarily worth fighting over apart from the mid lane tier 1, if your team is in a position to do so, you could try and force the enemy to back away by threatening a teamfight. By either ambushing or flanking the enemy, you will be able to set up the teamfight and potentially kill a few of the enemy champions. If all goes well, you can push the lane and try to take the enemies tower or rotate to another objective.

Fighting around tier 2 towers
When trying to siege a tier 2 tower, this is what you can do.

• Dive the enemy
  • Diving the enemy under their tier 2 tower is rather risky because your team will be over extended. But if it works out- you can gain a lot from it. For example, multiple kills, the objective and potentially even another tower or the Baron. If you’re playing as a wombo combo, AOE or Dive comp, you shouldn’t have many issues diving the enemy as long as your teammates are in a position to follow up. Make sure the tank dives first so they start taking the tower damage.
• Destroy the tower
  • When you’re sieging an objective, it is obvious that your goal is to destroy the tower. Let’s not over complicate this. If you’re able to destroy the tower- then go for it. Afterwards, you can potentially siege another objective or rotate somewhere else. Alternatively, if you destroy the tower first, you could try and start a brawl.
• Back off
  • If you’re unable to teamfight the enemy because they’ve rotated in time or are able to clear the wave- you don’t have many other options available to you. One of the more viable examples of what you can do is just back away and try to do something else. This can be either rotating to another objective, setting up an ambush or picking up the minion wave for round two. Whatever you do, don’t waste too much time because it may come to bite you later on.

As the defending team, make sure you don’t get caught out and die because it can cost you much more than your life.

• Back off
  • If you’re not in a position to teamfight or defend the tower any further, you will just have to let the tower go. By letting the tower be destroyed, you will be falling slightly behind and giving the enemy a gold advantage. However, you will keep yourself alive and not lose anymore objectives. It’s smart to leave the tower if it’s about to die and not teamfight if you’re unable too. This is because the enemy may get more than just a tower such as kills or other objectives. So, stay alive and play around the enemies macro movement.
• Force a teamfight
  • Tier 2 towers are one of your last lines of defence in League. Losing them is like losing a limb and it can be very restricting and difficult to play without it. If your team is in a position to teamfight, you can look to engage on the enemy or try to flank them. As they’re over extended and in your side of the map, walking through your Jungle can give you the element of surprise. If your team is in no fit state to fight, then you might have to let it go.
• Clear the minion wave
  • Make sure to clear the minion wave to reduce the enemies dive potential as there will be no Cannon Minion or regular minion to be able to tank the tower hits. This will reduce the overall dive potential that the enemy has. Moreover, it will deny the enemy from taking anything else if they do destroy your tier 2 tower.

Fighting around the Inhibitor and Inhibitor towers
When attempting to break open the game, make sure you do not over extend or overstay your welcome. Here are a few things you can do to maximize the chances of coming out ahead.

• Back off
  • As you’re in the later stages of the game, over extending when you’re trying to take the Inhibitor can be game changing and can definitely flip a game on its head. If you’re unable to fight or take the objective, just back off and don’t over extend further or get cocky. If you were to overstay your welcome, the enemy may be able to catch player out of position. After that, they could take the Baron or another objective. Make sure to not make this sort of mistake as it can cost you dearly.
• Take the Objective
  • Obliviously, if you’re unable to teamfight the enemy, you can try to take the tower instead. Sieging while applying pressure will allow you to take the objective and then fight- or take the objective and then back off. If you’re unable to force the objective, just back off and avoid getting caught out trying to take it.
• Rotate to another objective
  • If you’re unable to take the objective or fight the enemy, it is possible that you can try to rotate to another objective. For example, another tower or the Dragon/ Baron. While taking Baron will be rather risky, you could try to set up an ambush instead and try to catch out enemies wandering through the jungle and then take the objective afterwards.

Defend your tower at all costs- if it’s safe to do so.

• Force a teamfight
  • As you will want to keep your tower alive for as long as possible, starting a teamfight when the enemy approaches may provide your tower with some protection. This is because the enemy will have to go through you, which may delay taking the objective. Only do this if your team is in a position where they can fight and defend the tower. If not, don’t bother trying to force an attack as the enemy may take more than they deserve.
• Flank the enemy
  • Because you are around your own objective, you will have a slight advantage when it comes to defending it. One example of said advantage is that it allows you to flank or attack the enemy from the side. Not every team will ward inside your jungle- especially if they have just started to siege, which you can abuse by attacking them once they come into range.

• Be prepared to back off
  • It is a very difficult move to let your Inhibitors or their towers go because it will mean that you have to plan and play around a disadvantage. For example, you will have to make sure that you clear the future minion waves as they will contain Super Minions. If you are unable to defend the objective- just let the enemy take it. It may not be the greatest play ever, but it will provide you with time and it will deny the enemy from getting anything further like the objective and extra kills.

You may have noticed that we repeated ourselves quite a bit in this section. That’s because fighting around objectives is quite similar: but different depending on the objective you are trying to take. I felt that it was important to include all of these examples because each situation may require a different approach.

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Chapter 25: When to Teamfight

Remember, there are no official timers for fighting such as “try to fight at 10:55.” League is incredibly situational and these examples are just examples of potential fighting opportunities and it is up to you to make use of what is suggested.

• When an enemy is dead
  • When an enemy has died, you will briefly have the numbers advantage. This short-lived advantage can allow you to win the next teamfight. For example, if one or more enemies are no longer on the map because they’ve been killed, you can try to catch the rest of the enemies out of position and start a teamfight. Alternatively, you can use the numbers advantage to apply pressure to an objective.
• When you see someone recall
  • Having vision around the map is incredibly important when it comes to teamfighting. Many players like to recall in bushes because they are somewhat hidden away and provide them with added protection. If you see that a nearby enemy has backed off or recalled, you can try to engage on the remaining members and start a teamfight. You should have the advantage because there will be less enemies around which may swing the skirmish in your favor.
• When the enemy is alone
  • While not strictly a teamfight, if you see that multiple targets are alone, for example, the Mid, ADC and Support- you could try to fight them as 5 and overwhelm them. This would give you a numbers advantage and hopefully allow you to snowball that into a much larger lead.
  • Because your team would be together, it would be very difficult for the enemy to regroup and stop you from pushing. This is especially true if the enemy are playing in a 1-3-1 or are not nearby.
• Before an objective
  • Earlier in this guide, we suggested that you shouldn’t really fight before a major objective spawn. You can fight the enemy before an objective if there is a risk of them stealing it. For example, if the enemy Jungler is a higher level than your Jungler.
  • Alternatively, if there is a stretched-out Baron dance, you can look to teamfight the enemy to force their hand and hopefully you’ll come out head.
• After an objective
  • If you have just secured the Baron, back off and avoid fighting. You’ll want to avoid fighting if you have just secured the Baron because you will run the risk of losing players and the buff. However, if you’ve missed out on the Baron, you can try to contest and fight the enemy before they get to recall. This may allow you to kill a few of their squishier members, and reduce the enemies Baron power play.
  • You can always look to fight after a Dragon because it doesn’t necessarily give you an immediate buff, but you would want to avoid fighting with the Elder buff straight away. Just like the Baron buff, if you are on the team that missed out, you can potentially try to fight the enemy if the buff doesn’t empower them. For example, if they don’t have Elder with multiple empowered Infernal Drakes.
• When you know you can beat the enemy
  • If you know that you can beat the enemy, you should look to abuse your strength to take over the map. If you are ahead, but are not abusing the fact that you are strong, you’re giving the enemy an opportunity to scale and potentially get back into the game. Try to finish as quickly as you can, so you do not throw by getting cocky or getting out scaled by the opposition.
• When you have your teams power spike
  • In League of Legends, every champion has a power spike and multiple sub-power spikes. Additionally, many of these champions have team power spikes. For example, level 11 or whenever the team has their ultimate up.
  • Whatever your power spike may be, try to teamfight during this period of the game. If you are struggling to know when your team is strong or weak. Check out our Pre-game app, and you will see when your team and the enemies team is strong. This will allow you to use this tip to full effect.
  • Following on from this, if your team is not necessary strong- but are stronger than the enemies, you can try to abuse that fact for your own gain by teamfighting when they’re weak.
• When your team has more damage
  • The fact of the matter is, one way of winning a teamfight is just by dealing more damage than the enemy. If you have more damage because you are either stronger or ahead, you can always look to try and fight. One way of knowing if you are stronger is by looking at your ultimate. If it is an execute, or something that is used to finish off the enemy, then you may be stronger.
  • To some extent, this is also true for champions that scale. If the enemy has a lot of scaling champions while you don’t, you should try to fight them before they get to their power spike.
• When the enemy is missing core defensive spells
  • While technically more of a target focus, if the enemy carries do not have any defensive spells, you should try to abuse the fact they are defenseless in order to increase your lead. Much like a Jungler ganking somebody with no Flash in the early game, if the enemy is unable to defend themselves, it will make them easier to kill. You can abuse this by forcing a teamfight when they do not have: Flash, Heal, Guardian Angel or Zhonya’s Hourglass.
• When your team has their ults
  • If you have your ultimate up, you may be able to teamfight or skirmish with the enemy- especially if it is a game changing ultimate that is an execute. This is because it is probable that you will secure a kill with it. I recommend that you try to teamfight if your team has multiple ultimate up to increase your chances of coming out ahead.
  • If your team is an AOE or wombo combo team, make sure you only teamfight if most of your team have their Ults up.
• When the enemy doesn’t have their ults
  • Following on from our previous point, if you know the enemy doesn’t have any of their ultimate’s available to them, you could try to apply pressure once again by starting a teamfight while they’re down. This is because they will not be able to defend themselves. However, it does rely heavily on what ultimate’s are on cooldown. For example, if Janna doesn’t have her ultimate in a teamfight, it reduces her peel potential by a huge margin that will definitely have an impact on who comes out victorious.

It should be obvious, but if it isn’t, the suggestions are not the only times you can look to teamfight with the enemy. There are other times you can look to teamfight. What was suggested is a good basis to go by if you are struggling to know when you can teamfight.

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Chapter 26: Understanding Team Power Spikes

In League of Legends, every champion has their own power spike. Usually it will be at a certain level, or a certain period of the game. For example, Blitzcrank is really good in the early game and at level 2. If you know when your teams power spike is, you can abuse your strengths and try to teamfight during this time.

On the other hand, if you know when the enemy is strong, you can try to avoid fighting during that time, or try to end the game before the enemy reaches their strong point. For instance, a team with multiple late-game sailing champions will be much stronger as the game goes on compared to the early or mid-game. Champions like Vayne, Nasus, Vladimir and Kog’maw are all considered strong late game champions, but ending the game or gaining a huge lead prior to the late game will make it rather difficult for them to do well and win teamfights.

Additionally, if you’re playing in a team comp that is incredibly good at teamfighting like a wombo combo or an AOE comp, you can abuse this by teamfighting whenever possible.
There are a few things you can do to learn when your champion or team is strong:

Learn how every champion works
By playing every champion, or at least understanding how every champion works, you will start to notice patterns of when champions are strong or not. The more you play, the more knowledge you will gain, for example, until you’ve played Vayne or played against her a couple dozen times, you wouldn’t realize that she is really good in the late game.

On the other hand, if you know a certain champions play style, you can use this to your advantage by forcing teamfights when you know they can’t do anything to prevent them.

Do your research
Following on from our previous point, if you do your background research on every champion, you will learn when they are strong and when they’re weak. While you do not necessarily need to go out of your way to learn the specifics, it will help you speed up the process of learning how every champion’s playstyle and how they work.

Here’s a document that lists when champions are strong and when they’re at a power spike. While not initially up to date with the latest champions, much of the information (especially levels and in game time) is still correct

Use the Pre-Game app
If you do not know when your individual champion or teams power spike is, you can use the Pre-Game app to see when your team and the enemy’s team is strong. Using this information, you can play accordingly and group when you’re strong, and play around your weaknesses. If you see that the enemy out scales you, try and teamfight/end before they get to their power spike.

Look at the enemies items
One form of power spikes in League of Legends is when you or the enemy gets an item. For example, once an ADC gets 2 or 3 items, they will be considerably stronger and hit harder. This means teamfighting when your ally has their power spike can give you a slight advantage. However, if the enemy ADC has their item spike- you may need to take a different approach to teamfighting.

Take into consideration the team comp
If the enemy is playing a team that requires certain actions in game, such as fighting in the jungler or diving under tower, you can prevent them from gaining or playing to this power spike by avoiding their traps.

For example, if the enemy is really good at fighting in the jungle, avoid fighting inside of it! This is because you will be giving the enemy a slight but noticeable advantage. This advantage can be considered a power spike because they are better in that situation or circumstance. Another example would be if the enemy is good at diving. By not letting the enemy dive your team- you will be directly countering their team’s power spike.

If you want to learn more about power spikes and what makes a certain champion reach their power spike, give this a read.

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Chapter 27: Avoid Teamfighting in These Situations

Now we’re going to discuss parts of the game where you will want to avoid teamfighting unless you have to. Even then, some of these examples are relatively easy to escape from by just peeling back and retreating.

For the most part, everything in this section is going to be directed towards one team in particular, which is either the winning or losing team. You will notice that we have also included some of the optimal teamfighting timers we suggested in a previous section. Don’t worry, we’ll discuss the differences soon.

Immediately after an objective like Baron
Here is our first example of when you should never really try to teamfight. You may see we just included this topic in a previous section. To make it clear, if you have just secured the objective, you should avoid teamfighting because you do not want to risk players losing the Baron buff. In addition, if players do teamfight and die, it will reduce your teams overall Baron power play. This means that all the time and effort put into securing the Baron, would’ve been wasted because you decided to die.

If you’re far ahead, then this shouldn’t be much of an issue. However if the game is relatively even, then it’s best to play it safe.

If the enemy is engaging on you after taking Baron (or Elder Dragon), peel back and try to get out of there as quickly and safely as you can.

When you know you’ll lose
This shouldn’t be in our guide, because it is so obvious. Yet time and time again, we see players take teamfights that aren’t going to work in their favor. Avoid teamfighting as a whole in a 5v5 setting if you know you are not strong enough to beat the enemy. For example, if the enemy has a better team composition, or if they are playing a comp that directly counter you.

Instead of fighting them, try to ambush the enemy when they are split up. You can also use some of the other examples we’ve provided previously.

When the enemy has grouped with Baron buff
When the enemy has grouped with Baron buff, they will be much stronger and be able to deal a lot of damage. Instead of declaring all out war, try to ambush and catch enemies out of position. You need to avoid fighting 5v5, because they will most likely come out ahead. However, you can fight the enemy straight after they take the Baron because they would have unspent gold. After they’ve recalled and spent their money, you will need to wait until it’s depleted.

When the enemy is stronger
If the enemy is stronger because they are either playing in a better team composition, or are playing champions that are scaling, you should try to avoid fighting in a 5v5 setting. If you decide to fight the enemy when they are stronger, it’s pretty obvious who is going to come out ahead.
Instead, try to catch the enemies out of position, while avoiding fights in circumstances that benefit them the most. For example, avoid fighting under your own tower against a good siege or dive comp, and avoid fighting in the jungle against an AOE or wombo combo team.

When you have no available ultimates
If your team has multiple champions that have execution style ultimate’s such as Syndra’s Unleashed Power, Urgot’s Fear Beyond Death or Pyke’s Death from Below- you need to avoid teamfighting while they are on cooldown. This is because you will miss out on a huge portion of damage which may make it difficult for you to kill the enemy.

This is especially true if one of their ultimates is game changing like Pyke’s who can gain a reset. It is not just execution ultimates that make the difference though. If your champion has an AOE ultimate, then you will be missing out on a lot of damage or crowd control. If you’re playing as a wombo or an AOE comp- you really need to avoid fighting during this time.
Instead, only fight when you have these game-changing ultimates available to you.

When your team is not with you
Make sure to never engage if your team is not nearby to help or follow up, as you will be putting yourself in a 1 v 5 situation which will obviously come out with the enemy team gaining the advantage.

Map awareness will come in handy when trying to teamfight, so always check the map before rushing in and using your ultimate.

If your team is not in a position to teamfight
Quite similar to our above suggestion, if your team is not in a position to help you – then you shouldn’t engage. For your allies to be in a position to teamfight, they must be healthy and have mana. If they do not have a lot of mana available to them or if they are low on health, there is no point trying to force or try to teamfight as your allies will be unable to do much.

Teamfights can be quite limiting at the best of times and making your allies teamfight with a low mana pool is really taking the biscuit. Take into account the health, mana and see if they have their ultimates up prior to starting a teamfight.
Avoid teamfighting if your allies are not in a position to teamfight. Do not force them to fight: just let them recall.

If you have a lot of unspent gold
Trying to start a teamfight while you have several thousand gold in your pocket is never a good idea. This is because you could be missing out on a lot of extra damage, a potential item, or defensive stats. Try to never accumulate a lot of gold and sit on it because you are not doing anything with your advantage. Sitting on all of this unspent gold may make the difference between winning and losing a teamfight.

Return to base whenever possible and buy your items. This means no back to back teamfights.

After an objective like a tower
If you have recently destroyed and enemies tower, it may not be the smartest idea to try and fight the enemy. This is because you are already in an over extended position which may give the enemy an opportunity to flank or try and kill you. Among other things, this is also a really greedy play to make, and it will not always work in your favor.

If the enemy is forcing a teamfight on you and you are unable to teamfight or retaliate, the best thing to do is peel back and try to escape. It is important that you do not get caught out or die because the enemy would achieve their goal which could snowball into them being able to take objectives away from your team.

However, if your team benefits from fighting after a tower, then go right ahead.

Because League is so situational, you may be able to fight in these situations. However you’ll only be able to do so in specific scenarios.

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Chapter 28: Teamfighting Tips and Tricks

So far, we’ve discussed so much information about teamfighting in specific comps. Now we’re going to discuss some other teamfighting tips and tricks to use in Solo Queue. These tips will vary from generic teamfighting information, to in game awareness and other miscellaneous material that you probably didn’t realise should impact how you teamfight.

Always check for upcoming objectives
TLDR: If a major objective is coming up within the next minute, teamfighting will be risky.

Fighting before a major objective comes up should be done with caution. If you’re on the backfoot, it’s advised to not fight in a 5v5 setting when the enemy has the advantage. This is because the teamfight may result in the death of your teammates, which will give the enemy optimal time to take the objective without you being able to contest it.

However, depending on the team comp and who has the advantage, you can look to set up the Baron or Dragon and try to ambush the enemy. Trapping them while they walk through a warded area can bring a surprise element to teamfighting which can give you the edge. By killing some of the enemy champions- preferably the enemy Jungler, or forcing some of the enemies to recall, you will get the best chances of securing an objective after a teamfight.

It’s not always a good idea to fight before an objective. This is because you may lose the teamfight and the enemy can take the objective instead- regardless of whose ahead.
As a general rule of thumb, if the objective is coming up in less than a minute, you should avoid getting caught out or letting the enemy try to fight you. Dying when an objective is about to spawn will make it difficult for your team to gain vision and contest the objective if one or more team members are dead.

Always look at the map before engaging
TLDR: Check the map before going in to ensure your allies are with you and that you’re not walking into a trap.

Having an understanding of where all of your allies and the enemies are will directly influence the outcome of any teamfight. If you do not know where everyone is, you may be falling into some form of a trap.

Always look to see where the enemy is before going in on a lone ranger. If there are multiple enemies missing and not shown on the map, it may be because the enemy is trying to take Baron or another objective somewhere else. It could also mean that the enemy who is alone is baiting your team and waiting for their allies to flank.

On the flip side, if you are going to engage on to the enemy but notice that your allies are not with you- you’ll be over extended which will cost you your life. Before engaging, always check the map to make sure your team is there with you, and that they are in fact going to follow up.

There are so many reasons for an enemy to be missing and this is why map awareness is so crucial. If you don’t know where the enemy is- they could literally be anywhere on the map and this can cost you the teamfight. For example, underestimating how many champions are nearby may turn a 3v2 into a 3v5 in a matter of seconds.

Keep an eye on your teams and the enemy teams’ cooldowns
TLDR: If your allies do not have their ultimate’s up, it’s may be difficult to teamfight with no finishing moves.

Teamfights are often decided by which team has the most resources available to them. One of these resources includes their ultimates. When an ally is missing a damaging ultimate, it will make it difficult for them as they will not have their ultimate to fall back on for extra damage. For example, Syndra gets a lot of extra damage from her ultimate, but without it, she is going to struggle to burst down an enemy champion.

This is why you need to know who has their ultimate up and who doesn’t. If it is a game changing ultimate like Amumu’s Curse of the Sad Mummy or Katarina’s Death Lotus, you will struggle to win the teamfight. Not every champion suffers with this issue though as not every champions ultimate is always necessary to win a teamfight- for example, Thresh’s ultimate.
On the opposite hand, if you know that the enemy is missing some of their ultimates, you can look to fight them while they’re on cooldown. Knowing an enemy is defenseless and unable to deal lots of damage in return is a great way of teamfighting.

Avoid going for extended teamfights
TLDR: Going for extended trades isn’t always a good idea- unless your team comp relies on it.

Fighting for an extended period of time isn’t always a good idea because it can allow the enemy to regenerate or regain resources. And in some extreme cases, it can allow deceased enemies to get onto the battlefield. Also, it may give the enemy ample time to poke your team down and force you to back.

However, if you’re team is built around poke, you should prioritize poking the enemy for as long as you can before you fight them directly. If your team relies around engaging on the enemy, you should try to engage and fight as quickly as you can to prevent the enemy from poking your team down and forcing you to disengage

Extended teamfights can be good and bad- but it relies heavily on the comp. If you’re struggling to fight the enemy because they have lots of sustain or poke damage- look to fight and engage as quickly as you can rather than sitting back at waiting.

Take into account the location of the teamfight before fighting
TLDR: Try not to fight inside the Jungle when playing against a wombo combo, or AOE team comp as they will always come out ahead.

Before engaging or teamfighting with the enemy, always take into account where the teamfight is going to take place. In narrow areas of the map such as in the jungle, it can be really difficult to fight as a team. This is truer for some team comps more than others though. AOE or wombo combo teams thrive and benefit heavily from fighting in small areas as it ensures multiple knock-ups or stuns.

If your team has AOE abilities or damage, like Cassiopeia’s Petrifying Gaze, you can look to fight in tight areas as it’s almost guaranteed for you to hit multiple champions at once when they’re bunched together.

However, if your team cannot compete against the enemies- IE, if you struggle in tight areas, then you should avoid fighting at all costs in these narrow strips around the map. The areas that are more difficult to fight in are around the jungle and around the jungle entrances. It’s better to fight in the river or in a lane when you’re in this predicament.

Adaptation is vital
TLDR: Do whatever you need to win the teamfight.

Teamfights will often get messy and rather sloppy. One reason for this is that in Solo Queue, it is rather difficult to communicate as one. This is why adapting to your circumstances will allow you to have a higher chance of winning the teamfight.

One adaptation that you can make is through target selection. Throughout this guide, we’ve given hints and discussed what you should do, and who you should focus. In an ideal situation, you would be able to do this. However, you should use your own judgement and adapt to the situation when you need to. For example, if we’ve suggested to focus the backline- you might have to switch that up and focus a different member of the enemy team instead.

The first rule of teamfighting is that there’s no rules. It’s a no holds barred situation where anything goes. The best of the best adapt to every situation and focus whoever they need to.

You don’t always have to be the (solo) carry
TLDR: When behind, don’t try to be the carry for your team by making outrageous plays. Sit back, relax and peel for your team and let them carry you.

At the start of this guide, we discussed what some roles and champions should do when they’re ahead, even or behind. Using this information presented previously, there was a common theme between some roles which consisted of peeling for your team rather than trying to be the carry when you’re behind.

If you try to play aggressively in teamfights (by going for the backline) on your own when you’re behind, you will be killing yourself and giving the enemy free gold. This can result in your team losing the fight because of your actions. Realistically, the likelihood of you killing the enemy is rather low, so it’s better to do something that is guaranteed to work- like peeling for your team instead.

For example, if you’re a tank champion but are behind- you could use your ultimate and other CC abilities to protect your carries from the enemy frontline. Without your assistance, they might get killed easily which can lose you the teamfight.

Unfortunately, in Solo Queue we often see players trying to play super aggressive and perform outrageous maneuver when behind. Do not do this. Instead, adjust your playstyle to a more defensive and Supportive one whenever possible. If you’re playing as an ADC or Mid but are behind- it’s going to be challenging. Just remember to peel, kite and stick to your team to ensure you deal as much damage as you can.

Learn when to peel
TLDR: Whether you’re ahead or behind, you can always peel for your team.

Peeling in League of Legends can provide you and your team with more protection. This is why it is important to adapt your play style, and learn to peel for your carries. Whether you are playing as a tank or a fighter, a Jungler or a mage- you can always peel for your team mates.
At the start of this guide, we talked about how you could theoretically play when you are ahead, even or behind. There was a common theme throughout that section which consisted of peeling for your team when behind. However, you can always adapt your play style in teamfights to ensure that your team wins the skirmish.

Let’s suggest that your ADC is really strong, but also really vulnerable. For example, Kog’Maw who is a hyper carry, but also very squishy. If the enemy was to get on to him, it will be very difficult for him to survive the teamfight and dish out damage. This is where you can focus on protecting Kog’Maw at all costs. Instead of focusing some of the enemy carries, you can look to protect your teammate so they could dish out the damage and win the fight.

Realistically, you will find yourself inadvertently peeling for your team without even realizing it. I would recommend that if you are unsure of what to do, you should focus the front line and look to protect your team.

Look at how many enemies are in the area
TLDR: If the enemy has the number advantage, be picky about fighting.

Before fighting anybody, always look to see how many enemy champions are around your allies, and who on the enemy team can possibly join in the teamfight. It sounds obvious right? But players of every rank make the simple mistake of tunnel visioning and starting a fight without quite realising who is around to join in.

If you underestimate how many enemy champions are in the local area, you can be walking into a death trap- which can make your team suffer. While you could say that your team should also be on the lookout before following up, you as the leader and initial teamfighter should not have engaged in the first place.

Start building tank when behind
TLDR: If you’re behind, stop building damage and focus on defensive items instead.

Depending on your role, you can always start building tank and defensive items instead of continuing to buy AD or AP. If your team has too much damage, or is lacking a tank- I recommend that you do this after an item or two.

One example would be Renekton. He can be built as an AD champion, or as an off tanky member of the team. When he is behind, Renekton can be rather squishy which makes it difficult for him to deal and soak damage. This is because he will get killed rather quickly and before he is able to dish out and utilize his kit.

Focusing on defensive items and protecting your carries will increase your chances of winning a teamfight because not only will you survive for longer, but your carries and team mates will also be kept alive for longer too.

There are so many different things to think about when teamfighting and we’ve only discussed a few of the key elements. Remember that adapting is crucial, and you’ll need to adapt to every situation by adjusting your play style and how you play the game.

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Chapter 29: Good Resources to Help You Improve at Teamfighting

This guide’s intention was to provide you with as much teamfighting information as possible as well as assist you when you’re playing as and against any specific team composition. However, learning the basics of teamfighting isn’t always going to work in your favor if you don’t do relevant subject research.

In this section, we will share some other advice in the form of articles, videos and other resources that should provide you with extra knowledge.Taking advantage of some of this information will directly influence how you play the game.

Wave management
Wave management is crucial to teamfighting as you should always set up the waves around you prior to fighting. This is because after killing the enemy, you can quickly rotate to take an objective.

Coming out ahead in a teamfight isn’t always guaranteed. This is where having proper wave management and wave setup will work in your favor. Fights can go either way and if you were to lose a teamfight, you need to prevent the enemy from abusing the fact that some members of your team are dead. By having a lane pushed, the enemy will have to catch the wave and then push- which will reduce the number of objectives they can take as they will be unable to push as fast in comparison.

There is so much other relevant wave management information that impacts teamfights. Take a gander at our first in-depth guide to learn more.

Communication
Communication comes into play throughout the game and more so in teamfights. With poor communication, these skirmishes can turn sour pretty quickly and easily snowball out of control. This is why you need to communicate before, while and after a teamfight.

Telling your teammates to group or often disclosing some information will assist you in the teamfight. For example, many players don’t necessarily know what to do after the laning phase has ended, so a push in the right direction is always handy. Communication via the ping or chat system will assist you in teamfights as your team can pick and choose targets to collapse upon.

Understanding how to improve your communication as a whole will allow you to win teamfights and die less in the game. Here’s a separate communication guide we’ve made in the past.

Warding
Warding can make a game a hell of a lot easier and is key to every single game. By knowing where the enemy is at any given time, you will be able to coordinate attacks and engage on the enemy whenever they’re vulnerable.

Knowing that an ally is somewhere else on the map can allow you to engage and start a teamfight when you have a numbers advantage. For example, knowing that the enemy Mid laner is walking through the river may allow you to start a teamfight somewhere else on the map without fear of them joining. Another great example would be if you know a target is isolated, your team can collapse on them.

There are a plethora of warding locations that will help you win teamfights. If you’re struggling to know where to ward when playing on a specific side of the map, this guide should help you out.

Watch your replays
Watching your own replays is a great way of learning what you did wrong, and how to improve on it. For example, spotting your mistakes and looking at why you lost the teamfight. Your focus should be on what you did wrong in the fight and not your allies.

As this is a teamfighting guide; pick a replay, fast forward to when you had a 5v5 teamfight, and see what went wrong. Did you miss-position or did you get caught out? Whatever the reason for your loss, try to improve on it by focusing on not making the same mistake again in future games. For example, if you were caught out of position, make sure to stay with your team and not push too far forward.

The Pre-Game
While not strictly teamfighting related, the Pre-Game can assist you in knowing when your team is good and when it’s bad. Taking this advice on board, you will be able to play accordingly.
For example, if your team sucks during the early game, you should try to avoid teamfighting as you will be rather weak. However, if your team is really strong in the mid game, you can try to group consistently and teamfight whenever you’re able to.

With the addition of both teams power spikes (ie when they’re good), you can see when your team is stronger in certain parts of the game and try to abuse the enemy when they’re at their weakest.

The GPI – Fighting > Teamfights
If you’re looking to get specialized tips for teamfighting, then definitely have a look at the GPI, specifically the Fighting and Teamfighting section.

Many players feel that teamfights are linear and straight forward. While some can be considered easy or one sided, knowing how to come out ahead in every team composition and teamfight is a must. Often forgotten, some of the advice in the GPI system will definitely provide you with some helpful tailored advice.

Watch the LCS
While I generally advise against looking to the LCS to help you improve at League, one specific aspect of watching how pros teamfight can be rather good. Take note; they are communicating via voice and are trained to be coordinated, so you will be at a disadvantage from the get go.

For example, watching where a pro player positions in a teamfight will give you a good understanding of where you should also be positioned.

Another example would be where they teamfight. Usually, they will fight in areas that complement their team comp and minimize their time in dangerous fighting areas. A final example would be who they focus in teamfights.

There are quite a few things you can take away from pro play and use in your own gameplay. If you’re not into the LCS or Pro League, watching streamers is also a good way to go.

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Chapter 30: FAQ

Now it’s time to answer some frequently asked questions that are related to teamfighting in League of Legends. I’ll do my best to answer them in the most efficient way possible and cover what you should do when something out of your control is happening.

 Q: My team is not grouping
A: Remember that you have little to no control over what your allies do, so try not to overreact when they do not act how you want them too. Because of this lack of control, you’re in a sticky situation if they refuse to group. However, there are a few things you can do to entice them to group with your team.

Note that not everyone is deliberately refusing to group. Some players just don’t understand when it’s time to group, or they don’t know when they should group. Some players may also choose to not group at certain times, because they are trying to buy an item or gain enough gold.

One way of getting players to group is by pinging your teammates and requesting their assistance. Usually when somebody is pinging, players will react to it and re-position. Make good use of the ping wheel to get your team’s attention, however, do not be a jerk and spam ping.

Depending on the situation, you may be in the wrong. If you’re trying to get somebody to group with you, but they are refusing, it may be because you are requesting assistance in a poor situation. They may be in the right position after all, and it is you and the other members of your team who are in the wrong. You can always try to join the player who is split pushing or not grouping and try to siege and objective with them instead. In a worst-case scenario, you can always bring the group to somebody who isn’t grouping.

Q: I can’t get onto the backline
A: When you are unable to kill the enemy back line, you need to try to do whatever you can to deal damage in the teamfight.

Depending on which role you are playing, it may not be that big of an issue. For example, a tank champion is not expected to kill the enemy back line on their own. However, if you are playing somebody who needs to kill the back line in order to win the team and do your job, for example, an assassin, you need to change your focus to a different champion.

For example, adjusting your focus from the enemy ADC to the Support is a welcomed and favored change. I know what you are thinking “why do you want to focus the enemy Support when the ADC is worth more?” Many players seem to forget that Supports offer so much to their team like shielding, healing and damage, the Support does quite a lot in a teamfight. In addition, the Support is worth just as much gold as any champion in comparison.

If you truly cannot get on the back line at all, you can either try to apply pressure somewhere else by split pushing, or focusing the front line and playing around your team. Alternatively, put emphasis on ambushing and catching enemies out of position.

Q: We can’t kill the frontline
A: If you can’t kill the tanks on the front line, there are a few things you can do. While match up specific, if the tanks do not deal lots of damage, it might be okay to ignore them. However, if they are an off tank or juggernaut, you’re going to struggle. This is why you will need to kite backwards and try to disengage from the enemy. Creating a large gap between you and their frontline is a must. Once the enemy is on you, it can be rather difficult to get them off of you  this is where creating a gap is necessary.

Make sure you purchase some healing reduction through either Morello or Executioner’s Calling so they will not be as tanky in teamfights. This can also reduce the amount of time they will be alive in the teamfight which should also make it easier for you to kill them.

If the tank is the only person who’s ahead, try to flank and get onto the back line. Taking down the damage dealers will leave the tank very vulnerable.

Q: The enemy is engaging on my team as soon as I start to split push
A: If your team is going caught out because you are not with them, this is just as much your fault as it is theirs.

Avoid leaving your team if they are: unable to fight without you, are squishy and prone to being killed or if your team are behind. I won’t go into too much detail, because I’ve already wrote a separate guide on spit pushing. But if your team is dying because you are not there, you need to be with them so they stop getting engaged upon.

My team keeps getting caught out
If your team is getting caught out consistently, it is probably because there is a lack of vision around the map. Make sure you take advantage of your Trinket, and remember to purchase Control Wards.

The fact is, your team is getting caught out because they are over extending without vision. The only way that this can be resolved is by placing vision around the map. Avoid going into darkness if you are alone, or if the enemy are in the area. Having good map awareness as well as vision coverage will tell you where the enemy is at any given time- which will definitely reduce your team’s chances of getting ambushed or caught out of position.

If somebody looks to be walking out on their own, don’t be afraid to ping them and request them to fall back. There is nothing wrong with pinging somebody to return if they are in an over extended position.

If an ally is overextending in teamfights, you need to ping them back immediately to save their life. Avoid trying to go as deep as them (depending on who you’re playing) so you do not get caught out as well.

Q: We can’t teamfight the enemy
A: A conundrum we often see and experience ourselves is the fact that is very difficult to play against certain team compositions. Naturally, some are amazing to play as and easy to play against, however, you’ll always come across a rather difficult matchup.

If you’re unable to beat the enemy due to the fact that they’re stronger or better, you have a few options open to you. We won’t get into specifics because every comp is different, but here are some tips.

Try to catch the enemies out of position by either baiting or collapsing on lonely targets. This can give you a slight gold advantage over the long run and give you a better chance of winning a teamfight.
Avoid getting caught out of position. Getting caught will reduce your chances of being able to teamfight as they will gain a kill advantage which can quickly snowball into objectives.

Disengage from any teamfight that the enemy may force. Because you will be unable to teamfight properly, you will need to disengage and not let the enemy start the teamfight. One way of doing this is by disengaging.

Q: We have an AFK
A: Playing with an AFK is never a great feeling no matter how long they’re gone for. You will need to adjust your play style and only teamfight when it will work in your favor.

There are a few different strategies to play with an AFK, and unfortunately, the only viable option is to teamfight when it will be on level or favored terms. By sticking close together, you can engage and try to teamfight when somebody is away from their team. For example, if the enemy Mid laner is somewhere else on the map, you can try to force a 4v4 fight.

Unfortunately, teamfighting with an obvious disadvantage like having less players is going to be tough no matter what. Your goal is to delay the game for as long as you can to let your AFK come back, or try to get the enemy to throw the game.

Q: The enemy is stronger
A: Playing against an enemy that is stronger is very difficult and very situation- so use whatever we suggest with a pinch of salt. For the most part, playing against a team who are ahead is very difficult because you have to play more reactive rather than proactive. For example, playing the waiting game rather than rushing could work in your favor as the enemy may throw. However, there are a few actions you can take to beat the enemy that do not rely on time.

Because you are behind, trying to fight the enemy when they’re grouped is going to result in your team getting aced. Instead, try to fight them when they have miss positioned or are lower in numbers. This is the only way that you are going to win a teamfight against a fed enemy.

It goes without saying, but keeping your carries alive for longer will allow them to deal more damage in the teamfight; which could potentially swerve it in your favor. For Top laners or tanks, instead of trying to get to the back line, peel for your team as much as you can and keep them alive for as long as possible.

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Chapter 31: Conclusion

We are about to wrap this piece up, and we thank every single one of you who has followed this guide through to the end. Teamfighting is a very situational, and context reliant subject to discuss.

Realistically, while there are some very obvious things you can take away from this guide to improve at teamfighting like positioning- a lot of this information and teamfighting techniques are very situational and in-game dependent. By which we mean, they would not always be applied into every game or in every scenario.

If you want to understand teamfighting in it’s entirety, you need to play the game more and start building up your experience and portfolio. Experience and knowledge play such a huge part in improving at League of Legends. You can have all the theory crafting in the world, but applying it into any given situation can be tricky. The only way you can do this is by playing the game more and learning as you go.

Once again, we hope that you have learnt some new information about teamfighting that you can take with you into the fields of justice. Any questions or feedback, hit me up on Twitter!

If you have any questions or want to learn more, check out PicklePants stream.

Watch live video from PicklePantsLOL on www.twitch.tv

The post Everything You Need to Know About Team Comps and Teamfighting in League of Legends appeared first on Mobalytics.

Roaming in League of Legends is one of the most overlooked and underappreciated strategies in the game. If done correctly, roaming can allow you to apply pressure in multiple lanes at once. In this Mobalytics guide by PicklePants, we will discuss how you can roam in a safe and effective way- just like the pros. Although this guide focuses on roaming as a laner, many of the principles and concepts can be applied to jungle ganks.

What is roaming in League of Legends?

At a glance, roaming is pretty simple. Its core aspect is to gank and help allies. However, there are other things that roaming can achieve. From getting kills to taking objectives and warding, roaming is something that is incredibly important to learn. There is a lot of preparation and build up that needs to be done beforehand, which is often overlooked by some players. Without a good setup, you may start to fall behind as you’ll be missing out on gold and experience.

Contrary to popular belief, high ELO players also struggle with roaming effectively, and I’ve seen countless victims fall into void due to poor roaming. However, we’ve got you covered in this in-depth roaming guide, which is aimed at every rank in the game.
Chapters

1. The Basics of Roaming

2. Why you Should Roam

3. When to Roam

4. Before you Roam

5. Setting up the Roam

6. Roaming Routes

7. While Roaming

8. Conclusion

Similar to our other in-depth posts like the complete wave management guide and the previous comprehensive warding guide, you all loved that we added chapters and sections to them which made it easy to decipher the guide in a more effective way. This is why we have included them once again.

Before we get started, make sure to analyze your GPI

To get the most of this guide, it helps to really understand your own performance and capabilities. Our Gamer Performance (Index) evaluates your ability to roam within its Ganking score, among many other cool metrics like Snowballing and Initiative. If you want to know more about your personal ability to roam, all you have to do is get a free Mobalytics account and analyze your recent matches. We’ll help you understand your current skills and give you advice and insights so you can improve! Now, on to the basics of roaming…

1. The Basics of Roaming

Before we learn how and when to roam, we must first understand the fundamentals of what roaming actually is. Roaming in its simplest form is where you rotate or move from one lane to another. Every champion and role can roam, but some will find more success than others. For example, Janna will find it hard to roam; whereas Alistar would thrive.

Roaming is usually done during the early to mid stages of the game, especially during the laning phase. This is because the likelihood of gaining a kill or achieving your goal is far more probable since enemies will be more likely to be in isolation or fewer numbers.

With the recent changes to towers gaining armor plating, the laning phase has seen an notable extension with the towers become more difficult to destroy. Thankfully, this means that one mistake will no longer cost you your tower. Because of this extension to the early game, roaming is now a necessity rather than something you might do.

What is the difference between ‘roaming’ and ‘rotating?’

Rotating is quite like roaming and basically – they are the same thing in action but different in intention. You’ll find that we will refer to both of these terms in this guide, so it’s beneficial that we make it clear on what they mean before we move on. Roaming is generally a voluntary action which will result in you returning to your lane afterward.

Rotating, on the other hand, may mean that you are forced to move to another lane. For example, the enemy Support may be roaming to the mid lane and you’ll need to rotate to match it. It may also mean that you need to stay in the desired lane for a longer period of time once you’ve got there.

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2. Why you Should Roam

For the most part, the main reason for roaming is to help your allies survive and win the laning phase. But, there are other reasons that may entice you to roam such as the potential rewards that come with roaming. Once you’ve understood what benefits are on the line, you will be more inclined to roam and help out your teammates.

When an ally is in a tough matchup, they may get killed or be denied from farming. Once they have fallen behind, it can be very difficult for them to be able to lane against the enemy. When a lane is struggling, roaming can allow them to get back into the game by either forcing the enemy to recall or by killing them. A successful roam like this will give your ally the opportunity to pick up some much-needed gold and experience. Roaming and helping out in this fashion can also encourage them to be more useful later on as they will not be so far behind in comparison.

Having an ally gank you when you’re getting outclassed by the enemy can be a blessing. This is why it is important that you look to roam if any ally is struggling and falling behind in levels, experience or gold. In a game like League of Legends, the impact of each team player is incredible. If somebody is behind, the team may find it difficult to be able to win a team fight as it can be considerably one-sided. This is why it is important to never leave a teammate behind or ignore their cries for help if you have the opportunity to help them.

With the recent changes to the bounty system, the hunger to roam has been no greater with the potential to pick up a thousand gold in a matter of seconds. As it can be quite easy to gain a large bounty, reaping the reward of an enemy’s bounty can be rather satisfying. You may want to roam during this time as you’ll be able to gain the shut down from the enemy. This can potentially give you and your allies an increased influx of gold which will allow you to get your items quicker. Whether you kill the enemy or your ally does, you will both gain gold which will be useful.

If the Zed was able to roam, he’d get a nice amount of gold through killing the enemy Miss Fortune.

After successfully roaming to a lane, you may be able to apply pressure to the enemy’s tower and their gold plates. Applying pressure and taking their tower will open up the map for you and your team, which can make roaming a whole lot easier. You may also be able to continuously gank a lane and put the enemy behind if they have to overextend for farm. This will allow you to repeatedly roam back and forth to their lane and kill them over and over again. This is a cheesy way to make roaming more successful, and it really works.

There are some other reasons why you should roam, but it would take us all day to list them all. Just remember that roaming can allow your struggling laners to get back in the game, it can open up the map, and it can also give your team an increased amount of gold. When roaming to another lane, always keep your intentions in mind and make sure to only roam if you can get something out of it.

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3. When to Roam

There is a common misconception among players that believe there should be a certain timer to roaming, or there should be a number to aim for. While there can be some form of a goal for champions like Twisted Fate whose ultimates core purpose is to roam, you should avoid trying to make or follow a goal.

Instead, you should aim to roam as often as you can if you have the opportunity to do so. Unfortunately, there is a lot of practice and experience required to master the art of roaming and perfecting your movements around the map, so do not be too disheartened if you’re unable to roam successfully at first.

Let’s start discussing some of the suitable roaming opportunities in real game situations. So far, we’ve only discussed theory, and nows the time to put it into practice.

Straight from base

Roaming from your base can bring a surprise element to roaming. As the enemy will not see you leave your lane, they may not expect you to be there. When you roam from lane, the enemy is able to communicate with one another, which can allow the recipient to back off in time before the roam arises. However, roaming from base will irradiate this issue, as the enemy will not know your whereabouts.

Furthermore, roaming from base can be more forgiving depending on the role you’re playing. Roaming from base will allow you to switch directions and return to your lane if things do not seem to be working out en route. For example, if the Support is looking to roam, they will walk through the jungle to gank mid. However, if the enemy seems to be backing off, the roamer can just return to lane and not miss out on anything, as they will arrive at roughly the same time as their ADC.

There are some drawbacks to this though, and you will need to keep an eye on your lane while you’re gone. If the enemy gets to lane before you, they may start pushing the wave which means you’ll need to return as soon as you can.

In the video below, originally, my goal was not to roam but to ward. However, as I got closer to the Mid lane, it seemed that the Mid Laner was “in trouble.”

To counter gank a lane

If you notice that the enemy is looking to move towards one lane in particular, you can try and counter their gank. For example, the Support could rotate to the mid lane to match the enemy Supports roam. Alternatively, if you notice that the enemy Jungler is moving through the river in order to gank, you could head towards the lane as well to counter gank them.

You can counter gank directly from your own lane or from base. Taking advantage of the roaming routes image we will show later on will assist you when it comes to this type of gameplay.

As we can see from this video, I was roaming directly from base. I saw that the enemy Jungler was most likely going to gank the mid lane as they had gone past a ward. I positioned myself out of sight and waited for him to engage. This resulted in us gaining a kill.

When the ADC can be left on their own (as Support)

If your ADC is somebody who can play independently for a brief period of time, roaming when they’re in lane alone is a good way of applying pressure. This is because they will be able to stay in lane and farm while you go and get things done around the map.

Many champions can be left alone such as Ezreal or Draven, but it depends heavily on the matchup. If your ADC is behind or has no possibility to escape, roaming while they’re in lane can be difficult.

While gone, keep an eye on your lane and how your ADC is fairing up. If they seem to be struggling, return as soon as you can.

My ADC was already in lane and farming up a storm. As the wave was quite close to our tower, I knew that going to roam was no problem as the likelihood of them being engaged upon was minimal.

When your ADC is not in lane (as Support)

If your ADC is somebody of the insecure type and is unable to farm while you’re gone, your best bet is to roam when they’ve backed. Quite like roaming from base, roaming when your ADC is not in lane is one of the safest times for them.

From an ADC’s perspective, they would prefer for you to not roam when they’re in lane – especially if they’re weaker early. One of the biggest things to remember when roaming is that your ADC should not be put behind by your roam, so roaming when they can’t be put behind is key.

There are many different situations where the ADC will not be found in lane. For example, they may have either died or recalled. Once they’re no longer in lane, you need to start moving as quickly as you can so you’re able to roam > gank > and head back to base.

Knowing that your ADC is going to back can be incredibly useful. It can allow you to set up a roam by backing before your ADC does. This will give you some breathing room to roam and return to lane. In this clip, I’d left my ADC to finish farming and decided to make my way top.

As I had a huge time advantage on my side, it allowed me to roam further away. After killing the enemy, I then would have backed or gone through the mid lane to get back to the bottom lane.

When you have your ultimate up

Some matchups do not guarantee you a kill with your ultimate. For example, Supports such as Leona and Braum have very good ultimates, but have trouble killing when alone.

Twisted Fate’s ultimate, for example, is practically useless unless he is roaming. Sion also has difficulties killing the enemy laner if he is building tank. This is why I recommend that you should look to roam if you have your ultimate up.

Putting yourself out there to gain a kill is a great way of utilizing your champions kit and making the most of every situation. Roaming like this depends heavily on the champion you’re playing, so keep that in mind if you’re looking to roam in this situation.

Twisted Fate is a champion whose ultimate is fantastic at roaming. Always keep an eye on the map to check what health players are sitting at. If somebody is low enough, try to use your ultimate nearby.

When your ally has their ultimate up

We’ve used Sion quite a bit with our examples in this article and for good measure. He is fantastic at following up his allies thanks to hitting ultimate. If Sion cannot leave his lane because he’s receiving a lot of pressure from the enemy laner, or is gaining unwanted attention from the enemy Jungler, you could try and help him if he has his ultimate up.

As his Ult is considered crowd control, and as he has great follow up potential in general, ganking him when he has his ultimate up is a no brainer.

Champions who fit these criteria are Sion, Malphite, Nautilus, Ornn or Rumble who all have good game changing ultimates, but sometimes are unable to do anything with them because they are immobile or unable to roam. So, if you have the damage, you should try and roam and assist these champions in particular.

This example is slightly different, however, the same concept applies. As the bottom lane had no real priority through poor trading, the enemy could’ve killed them both easily. Because the Top laner had roamed, the bottom lane could bait and overextend because they knew that she was coming. Also, as Zilean’s ultimate is a form of resurrection, they knew that it was going to be a safe trade.

When you’ve killed your enemy laner

If the enemy laner has died – or for one reason or another(like recalling) is not in lane anymore, you should try to roam and do something while they’re not there. For example, if you’ve killed the enemy, you could roam while they’re dead and try to get something done. As the enemy will be off the map, there will be no pressure in your lane which is highly favorable when it comes to roaming. Depending on how the game is going and how long the death timer is, you may be able to push the wave and start to roam.

It is important to remember, however, if you need to back, you should recall and not roam. Also, keep an eye on your own lane and get back there at the same time as the enemy so you do not miss out on farm, XP or lane pressure.

After killing one of the enemies, the enemy duo decided to roam through the river. On their walk, they found the Jungler and were able to take him down. This is just one example of how killing the enemy can open up a variety of possible actions.

When an enemy laner is missing a core defensive spell

If an enemy champion has no defense capability because they have used one of their Summoner Spells in a previous exchange, you can abuse the fact that they’re defenseless and pick up some free kills. Communication and in-game awareness are so important for this type of roam, because you will need to know which enemies are missing their Summoner Spells.

I recommend visiting an ally frequently if their enemy laner has no Flash. Because their movement in lane can be relatively scripted, you should abuse the fact that they’re defenseless For example, as Annie is rather immobile, ganking her when her Flash is down is likely to result in basically free kills.

When an enemy has their Flash, a reward through roaming can sometimes be difficult because they may be able to escape or dodge your crowd control. But as they’re defenseless, getting a kill can be easier to achieve. Thus, I recommend frequently visiting an enemy’s lane when they’re not able to defend themselves.

Knowing that the enemy is missing one of their Summoner Spells, I made it my duty to abuse the fact that they were defenseless. Using this knowledge to my advantage, I roamed frequently while their Summoner Spell was on cooldown.

When the enemy is roaming and you need to match it

When a champion roams to a lane, there can be a numbers advantage in said lane. For example, if a Mid laner was to roam to the bottom lane, it could be a 3 versus 2 exchange which in many cases will result in the team with the numbers advantage gaining a lead of some sort. This is why it is crucial that you try and follow the enemy laner if they’re roaming. *

In some cases, you will be able to directly follow the enemy if you’re good in a 1v1 setting. Champions such as Zed or Akali are really good in this situation. However, if you’re behind or not very good in a 1v1 environment, you will have to take an alternative route to get to another lane. Taking a more defensive route will allow you to survive and not get killed by the enemy- especially if they’re an assassin such as Zed who gains a lot of kills by waiting for an enemy to walk past him.

Many champions like to bait roams. So, keep this in mind and do not push the wave straight away or directly follow the enemy as you may be falling into a trap. A few seconds late is nothing in comparison to getting baited into a trap and getting killed.

* If you cannot follow the enemy, push the wave and draw them back to your lane by applying pressure to the tower.

After returning to lane after a poor trade, we noticed that the enemy were roaming. We took an alternative route to collapse on them which resulted in our team gaining a kill.

To gank a lane with your Jungler

The buddy system in League of Legends can be incredibly useful. If the Jungler is headed towards one lane that looks to be difficult to handle, you could run along with them to gank the enemy. Making any exchange 3v1 or 4v2 puts the odds highly in your favor.

When you’re playing as a Support that lacks roaming potential, going with your Jungler increases your stature and roaming capability. For example, you may find it difficult to roam on Janna, but when paired with a Zac or any other Jungler, she can become really good at roaming.

Ganking or roaming can differ between scenarios. For instance, you may enter from one part of the lane and the Jungler another; or you may enter from the same side. It really depends on the situation. Thankfully, this type of roam is so forgiving that it will allow you to do a lot of things!

The Jungler was already in the mid lane once I started roaming. Unfortunately, they were bound to lose in the 2v2 situation. I decided to roam and make it a 3v2 which resulted in us gaining a kill.

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4. Things to keep in mind before you roam

Before you decide to roam, you need to make sure that it will work in your favor and you will not waste time nor fall behind because of it. No matter what lane you’re playing, the same concept applies to them all and you’ll need to keep in mind everything that we suggest in this section to prevent yourself from failing.

The main potential issue to roaming is that you may fall behind and miss out on gold and experience which can delay level and item spikes. This can create a noticeable difference between your team and the enemies.

You may also miss out and lose objectives if you decide to roam, which you should try to avoid at all costs. For the Support, there is much more on the line such as the life and well-being of your ADC.

When it comes to roaming, you need to make clear and precise decisions in seconds. Many of these decisions will directly adjust the game outcome. This is why it so important to think and act fast and take everything onboard in this part of the guide.
I feel that the best way to roam is by asking yourself some specific questions in the game. Asking these questions will become second nature with practice and you’ll be a pro in no time! Either way, don’t worry if you’re struggling to find optimal roaming opportunities at first.

In League of Legends, nothing is perfect and every little bit of practice you put in outside of the game is all theory. When it comes to actual League of Legends gameplay, no game is like what it should be on paper.

As no game is perfect, you should prioritize minimizing the collateral damage when you’re gone. For example, a few minions missed is nothing compared to a gold lead and a possible tower. In short, every roam you make will not be perfect – this is Solo Queue after all!

Here are some general questions to keep in mind:

1. Are you playing a champion that excels at roaming?

Previously, we have suggested that every role and champion can roam to some extent which we stand by. However, you will find yourself struggling to force roams on champions that lack any form of reliable hard crowd control like Janna, Soraka or Lulu as well as champions that lack raw damage such as Nasus.

Champions that are great at roaming are ones that have either high amounts of damage or crowd control. Alistar, Lissandra, Thresh, Pyke and Twisted Fate are all fantastic at roaming because their kit supplements it. This means that if you’re playing any of these suggested champions, you should have the first base covered when it comes to roaming. Let’s move on to what else you need to know before roaming.

As a side note, if you aren’t roaming with a champion designed to do so, you ARE hurting yourself. For example, once late game arrives, TF’s ultimate is much less useful in a 5v5 teamfight at Baron in comparison to another Mid laner, such as Orianna.

2. Is your targeted lane in a gankable position?

Map awareness is very important in League of Legends especially when you want to roam to another lane. Checking out how your other lanes are doing is a must before you set up and leave your own lane. Without looking at the lane itself, you will be wasting time by roaming and you may miss out on possible opportunities in your own lane such as being able to deny the enemy farm or gain a tower.

If a lane is pushing for example, unless you can dive the enemy, there is no point going to gank them because you will not be able to do anything as the enemy is already under their tower.

Another thing to look out for is the health of your ally and the enemy. If either one of them is rather low, it may be non-beneficial to gank or roam because either one of them will have to back off. If the enemy is missing a good portion of health, they will probably be clearing the wave and backing before you get there. If your laner is on low health, they will be unable to follow you up once you go in which may ruin any potential at gaining a kill.

If the wave is being pushed into the enemy’s tower, it will bounce or reset eventually. This can leave it in the middle of the lane which can give you a good chance at ganking.

Generally, avoid roaming if the enemy if freezing on their side of the lane. Unless you can dive or your ally can push and make it bounce.

If the wave is being pushed into your ally’s tower, or they are freezing, it can be a good time to roam. However, if the wave is stacking, they will be unable to help you once you go in, so ask them to trim it down prior to your arrival.

3. What resources does your ally have in the lane you’re roaming to?

While not necessary, if your ally has their ultimate up, it would be easier for your team to secure the kill.

Make sure your ally has health and is able to follow up once you engage and go in. If they are really low, they will not be able to help you. This also means that they should not die in the exchange either.

If your ally doesn’t have much mana, they may be unable to follow up with damage through their auto attacks. This would be a wasteful time to gank unless you have enough damage, like Morgana or Pyke.

4.  For Supports: Will your ADC be able to farm and stay alive while you’re gone? 

A good Support can take over the map through roaming alone. Much like the Mid laner or the Jungler, a dedicated roaming Support can literally be anywhere and everywhere at any given moment. Before leaving their ADC alone in lane, they’ll need to make sure that the ADC will remain alive while they’re gone.

The Supports main priority should be the ADC’s life and they should still be able to: farm, stay alive and not get denied. If the ADC will inevitably be denied or at risk, then roaming can be very difficult for them.
Depending on who your ADC is, they may be able to farm with their abilities. Ezreal, for example, is a great laner that can safely play alone for a small period of time thanks to his Q and his E. However, if your ADC is somebody like a Kog’Maw who is rather immobile and squishy- you should not roam.

If your ADC is somebody who cannot be left alone because they’re either defenseless or have no escape ability like Kog, Jhin, Twitch then you should not roam when they’re in lane. Instead, you should prioritize roaming when they’re guaranteed to not get denied or roam directly from the base.

You may be asking yourself if you can roam even when not all of the criteria are met. The answer is yes, you can roam if these things are not met. However, you should prioritize minimizing what is lost to prevent you from falling behind.

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5. Setting up for a roam

Setting up your lane before roaming is incredibly important. Without proper setup or utilization of the tools and techniques we’re going to suggest, you’ll find it difficult to survive and will ultimately see yourself falling behind.

Furthermore, you’ll delay your level and item spikes which can create a gap in your own lane. When roaming, a kill is unfortunately never guaranteed which increases the urgency for you to set your lane up like this so you do not fall further behind.

Shove your wave before you go

If you were to just drop everything and leave lane, the enemy would be able to push the wave almost instantly into your tower and start dealing damage to it. Because there would be nobody guarding or defending the tower, the enemy may even be able to destroy it.

This would not be a good trade for the most part as you’ll lose a tower- especially if it is the first one of the game. Unless you’re roaming to pick up kills and get a tower straight after, you never want to leave your lane in a position where the enemy can just quickly push it into your tower.

This is why you need to make sure that you push the wave before leaving. Directly pushing it will cause a buffer effect that works in your favor. For example, if you were to shove the wave from your side into the enemy’s, you would have the advantage when it comes to roaming. This is because the enemy will have to clear the wave in order for it to not deal damage to their tower.

This will delay them a fair bit if they were to follow. If the enemy was to follow you straight away, then they would lose a wave or more of experience and gold because they just left lane. This would also mean that their tower takes additional damage and they will delay their item and level spikes. From pushing and then roaming, you’ll be in the best position possible and miss out on minimal resources while gone.

If the enemy decides to stay in lane, you will have a short period of free time before it collapses into your tower. This is why map awareness is so important as you will need to keep an eye on your lane while you’re gone and return as soon as you can.

On top of that, if the enemy stays in lane to push, you’ll have the numbers advantage in any fight as the enemy laner wouldn’t be there. If the wave that you’ve pushed into the enemies tower is rather large, it will give you more time to roam and it will take the enemy longer to clear it if they do not have much damage or AOE abilities.

Communicate with your team

Communication is important as a whole in League of Legends and even more so when you’re trying to assist your allies. Before leaving your lane or moving from base, make sure that you communicate with your team and tell them your intentions. For the Support, there is added requirements to roaming because you will need to let the ADC know as well.

The way to communicate with your team is through pings and the chat. Utilizing the communication system through frequent and consistent pinging will allow your intended lane or laners know what should happen. Typically, you would use the “on my way” ping and use it repetitively while you’re on your way. I recommend that you borderline spam it to ensure that your allies take notice. It easy to miss one ping, so use it frequently so they know you’re coming.

You can also use the “OMW” ping to lay out a determined route for yourself. For example, if the Support was to roam to the mid lane, they could ping mid directly, and then ping which way they’re going – like through the jungle entrance or directly through mid. This can often allow your laner to reposition and start the engagement.

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6. Roaming Routes

Something that is heavily overlooked when roaming is the route that you take. If you take a suboptimal route, you may find that you get to the designated lane at a later time which may ruin your chances of helping your team or securing a kill.

For example, if you were to take a longer route to counter gank, the enemy may have already got the kill and be backing off before you get there. This is why it is incredibly important to always take the most appropriate route when possible.

Below, we have some image suggestions and examples of different routes you can take. Use these images at your own discretion, and try your best to adapt to every scenario with the most appropriate route whenever possible.

Be sure to watch your replays (which you should already be doing), to see if your pathing was optimal and how your timing could have been improved.

Roaming from bot lane (usually the Support)

Let’s start in the bottom lane with the Support. When the Support wants to roam, they may do so from base, or from their own lane.

Typical roaming route for a Support

As we can see in this image, we’ve given the perspective of either team and we will do so for every image in this section. In most situations, either team can take one or more of the potential routes, so we’ve gone ahead and labeled them for you.

One of the more common and obvious roaming routes in the game is straight through the river itself. This can be a good route to take as it runs directly to the mid lane. It can also be one of the safer routes on our list depending on the situation.

For example, if you’re pushing and have lane pressure, you could take this route to the mid lane. In a lot of cases, this will be the route you’ll take as it is the most time efficient with a high chance of success.

Each team can also roam through their own jungle if they’re unable to make it through the river. In most cases, especially if you don’t have a ton of vision control, you’ll only want to take a defensive route if you want to be safe.

For example, if you’re following the enemy Support and trying to match their roam, you would want to take a defensive route rather than follow them directly as they can just turn around and collapse on you. There are also some other reasons why you may want to take this route such as if you know that the Scuttle Crab has been taken or the river is warded.

Due to the architecture of the map, the Blue team will be ‘more’ overextended going through the river- which is why it’s favored for you to sometimes take a more defensive route through your own jungle.

For the Red team, it’s not uncommon to roam through the enemy’s jungle in order to dive or rotate to the mid lane. We’ve avoided displaying this route as you should only take it in strict circumstances such as if you’re winning lane or you’ve killed the enemy bottom laners.

Roaming from Top lane

Now let’s talk about the Top lane. Top laners generally do not roam unless they have an edge in the lane or they know that they can pick up a kill by roaming. Some champions have ultimate’s that are very good at ganking.

Due to this, roaming can be quite good for them as it will allow them to use their ultimate in an effective way. For example, Hecarim could run to the mid lane and cast his ultimate on the enemy and then return back to the top lane: the same goes for Sion.

Typical roaming routes for the Top laner

The roaming route you take from the top lane depends on where the current minion wave is as well as where you are playing the lane. If you’re playing aggressively, you will always want to take the route through the river. Or if you’re ahead, you can take the deeper route into the enemy’s jungle. This is because you’re stronger than the enemy and should have roaming priority.

Top laners are also the most likely role to take Teleport. This opens many more ganking options and will reward players with better map and game sense. Your routes after a Teleport depend on your location and game state so we won’t have a specific image for these instances – feel free to mix and match with other map routes and apply them to your TP.

As the blue team, if the enemy is pushing the wave towards you, you’ll never want to roam as the enemy will be able to get your tower. But you can take a more defensive route through your own jungle if you want to surprise gank another lane. Just like the suggestions with the bottom lane, if the river is warded or if you do not have roaming priority, you should take this route. This is also a good route to take if the enemy is freezing or denying you farm.

Here comes the tricky part to roaming: what angle should you approach the mid lane? You need to look at where both the Mid laners are and attack from the side that is closest to the enemy. If the wave is in the middle of the lane, you should look at approach slightly from behind the enemy to cut them off and make it difficult for them to escape.

You would never use the route closest to your ally as the element of surprise would be ruined. Depending on who you’re playing as well as what stage of the game you’re in, you may be able to dive the enemy. Before doing so, make sure that you’ve communicated to the Mid laner your intentions and make sure that the minion wave is under the enemy’s tower too.

Roaming from Mid lane

As a Mid laner, you can have some of the highest impact on the map. One way of having high impact is by roaming as often as you can. As the mid lane is located directly in the middle of the map, you have the opportunity to roam to either of the side lanes whenever you feel like it. With the potential to be anywhere and everywhere, much like a Jungler, they can solo win a game by winning their lane and snowballing their lead to help other lanes.

Unlike some of the other images we’ve shown you, as the Mid laner, no matter what team you’re on, you can take any route to move around the map. In some cases, if you’re ahead, you may even be able to even go into the enemy’s jungle to scout or hunt the Jungler as well as dive the enemy bottom lane.

Typical roaming routes for a Mid laner

While it’s important to take the most efficient route when possible, in some cases you may benefit from looping around the map by not taking a direct path. For example, if you’ve pushed as the red team, you could walk back and out of your own jungle entrance past the blue buff, cross through the river bush and into the enemy’s jungle behind the red buff.

From there, you could run bot to either dive or gank. You can also utilize the blast cone to escape and dodge any potential wards inside the blue tri-brush.

Using a non-direct route can work wonders if you’re playing a mobile champion that has a dash or a leap. Leblanc, for example, benefits heavily from this type of roaming technique as she can use your W to get over walls. Most of the top lane nor bottom laners have this advantage when it comes to roaming: so make sure to abuse it whenever you can!

Roaming from base

Roaming from lane to lane is a perfect habit to utilize once you’re in lane. Unfortunately, not every champion nor situation will allow you to roam once you’re in lane. This is where roaming directly from base can come in handy. More often than not, the only role that does this is the Support with the exception of a few Top laners such as Sion, Camille or Malphite.

This is why I recommend that whenever you’re playing as the Support, you always take one of these designated routes to lane rather than tabbing out and just mindlessly walking bot. If you were to walk bot and then decide that you want to roam, you would have wasted precious time and you may miss out on experience because of your negligence.

Examples of roaming routes from base.

As you walk through your own jungle, you should keep an eye on what is happening in the mid lane and around the map. In the image, there is an emphasis on particular areas of the map that are highlighted with purple. These are cross sections on the map where you need to make a decision to which you either continue roaming or return to your own lane.

This is where having an eye on what is happening in the mid lane is important. If the mid lane is in a gankable position, you could continue walking towards mid until you come to the next cross-section where once again, you’ll need to decide if you can gank or not.

If at any point the lane changes and doesn’t seem to be in a gankable position anymore, you can simply return to your own lane. In Solo Queue, you may see that the mid lane looks to be in a good position to gank, but when you start walking there- the lane may have changed

If you take this route, you will be in the best situation possible when it comes to roaming- even if you do not actually go to the mid lane.

We’ve only gone ahead and only created an image for the Support. This is because, generally speaking, unless you’re playing a specific champion who can roam like this – the Top and Mid laners should not take this approach to lane as standard.

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7. What to do While Roaming

To make the most of roaming, you’ll need to keep an eye on the map at all times and be prepared to do other things while you’re en route to another lane. Usually, you’ll roam to help other lanes out and pick up kills. But, as you’re not in lane anyway, you may as well try to make the roam more successful by achieving and doing as much as you can in a short space of time. From warding to map awareness, scouting, and fighting, there’s a lot that can be done while roaming.

Keep an eye on what is happening in lanes and around the map

Once you’ve left your lane, you’ll need to keep an eye on what is happening in your own lane and the lane you’re headed towards. If you do not look at what is happening in either lane, you can end up wasting your time which can result in you missing out on gold and experience as well as pressure in your own lane.

In a previous section, we suggested looking at what resources both laners have available to them. Resources such as health and mana are incredibly important when it comes to your teammate being able to follow up. If you see that your ally has taken a beating while you’re on your way, you may have to turn tail and head back to your own lane as the roam may be a lost cause.

This is because they may die in the exchange which is often not worth risking. If your ally has used all of their mana up before you get there, it will be difficult for them to follow up with damage – especially if they’re a mage.

Another thing to look at is what abilities both champions and yourself have available. If your ally has just used their main source of damage or crowd control before you get there, you may have to wait for it to be up again before going in. There would be no point engaging if your ally cannot follow up as it will reduce possible kill potential and essentially, the enemy may be able to survive because of the lack of damage. This is where communication and map awareness is crucial.

Your own lane is something that is often forgotten about once you’re roaming. As you’re no longer there, you can be giving the enemy laner an opportunity to pick up some extra farm and gold. This is natural if you roam when the enemy is in lane, and it cannot really be avoided, but keep this in mind when you’re gone. If you notice that the enemy is starting to get a good amount of CS, return as soon as you can so you can to ensure you do not fall behind.

If you notice that the enemy has started to push the wave back, you’ll need to return to lane and protect your tower. Towers are very fragile even with the armor plating. Destroying the tower or its armor grants the enemy bonus gold, which is something you can do without.

Unless you can get a tower first, or make a worthwhile trade such as the Mid lane outer for a side lane outer, you never want to give the enemy the opportunity to take a tower or destroy the armor plating.

This is because it will give the enemy laner gold, make your lane vulnerable and open up the map. To conclude, always have an understanding of how your lane is being played out when you’re not there.

When roaming, especially if you don’t have the greatest of kill threat, you’ll need to know where the enemy Jungler is at all times. If you run into them, they may blow your cover and the roam will fail. Avoid going into the enemies jungle and taking an aggressive route if you don’t know where they are.

Walk through every bush you come into contact with

Bushes are located throughout the map and these bushes can contain visible and invisible wards. If you were to not walk through a bush housing a visible ward, the enemy would be able to see you and they may be able to back off in time.

Control Wards, Zombie Wards, Farsight Wards, and Ghost Poros are all visible to the eye and easy to destroy. Avoiding them would mean that you would be wasting your time if you continue to roam. I recommend that you check every bush you walk past for visible signs of wards. Clearing one can open up more opportunities for your whole team.

Facechecking can be difficult though, so use at your own discretion. If you have a Sweeping Lens available to you, you would want to use that as a substitute rather than face checking bushes directly. If there is anything inside of the bushes such as a ward or champion, it will create a silhouette or outline of what is inhabiting them.

This will make it much safer to roam if you’re somebody who is squishy like Lux or Zyra. To maximize this technique, I would recommend that you path directly through the middle of the river so you give the Sweeping Lens the biggest area of effect.

When in doubt, always count the numbers of enemy champions on the map. If you count most of them, say four out of five, the likelihood of your path being safe increases. If you only see one or two, it’s probably better to avoid facechecking or roaming without more information.

Using a Sweeping Lens or placing a Control Ward while you walk through the river will also spot invisible wards such as ones that are placed through a champions trinket or picked up through Kleptomancy.

Ward while you roam

Warding is something that is incredibly important in League of Legends and players do not always utilize their Trinket or purchase Control Wards. When you’re roaming, you should try to place deep wards on your way to and from each lane.

Warding like this is incredibly valuable as it can allow your team to know where the enemy is and what camps the Jungler has available to them. With this knowledge, lots of things can be achieved such as the ability to take objectives more safely as well as pick up kills around the map.

Depending on who you’re playing, you may find more success at this. For example, Leblanc can deep ward very easily thanks to her Distortion (W), which can enable her to get over walls. This will reduce the time spent inside the enemy’s jungle which ultimately makes deep warding safer. Syndra may find it difficult to roam and ward as she is rather immobile and has no dashes or leaps.

Many players tend to just ward their own lane and nowhere else. If you’re able to, I would highly recommend that you ward like this whenever possible.

The Mid lane has more freedom when it comes to warding as many Mid laners are mobile.

For the Mid lane specifically, here are some suggested warding positions you can use while you’re roaming. Many of them are in the river or on the suggested roaming routes which come in handy as you will not need to take a detour. However, you may see some other wards that are much deeper in the enemies Jungle.

These wards will require you to venture into the enemy’s jungle, however, they can be very rewarding. If you’re ahead or you know where the enemy Jungler is, then warding here is rather safe. Beware though, if you’re unsure of where the enemy Jungler is or you are rather squishy or immobile, roaming into the enemies Jungle can be difficult.

When you’re ahead as the Support, you can often take routes that are not listed for your team. In this image, the Red team can take the blue route to make deep warding easier.

As the Support, you will be placing the most wards around the map. One way of increasing your vision score and lighting up the map for your team is by warding when you roam.

Unlike Mid laners however, it is probable that you will not have as much confidence to deep ward as many Supports are on the squishy side.

Usually, you will stick to warding the same roaming paths and not venture too far off track. However, if you know where the enemy Jungler is, then there will be no problem.

Make sure that you’re not walking into a trap by deep warding and always keep an eye on the map. Back off if the enemy starts to collapse.

Top laners should only take an aggressive route when they’re ahead. Placing wards while they’re moving through the enemy’s jungle is a fantastic way of gaining vision in the top side of the map. Unfortunately, the top side of the map often gets neglected when it comes to warding as only 3 players can really impact that part of the map.

This is where warding on the go is crucial. Having vision in the top side of the map will allow your bottom lane to play more aggressively if they know where the enemy Jungler is.

As always, you should use these suggested warding locations at your own discretion. In many cases, there are more locations where you can choose to ward and we’ve only listed a few of the more popular ones.

Take an unorthodox roaming route when ahead

Once ahead, you should try to make more aggressive plays around the map. Roaming and taking routes that you wouldn’t necessarily take from behind, can often increase your lead and put the enemy even more on the back foot. One such roaming route would be through the enemy’s jungle.

Denying the enemy Jungler safe haven from their own jungle will prevent them from gaining gold and experience. It may also prevent them from being able to step foot in one side of their jungle in particular which can relieve pressure on that side of the map.

Depending on what role you’re playing, there are a few different things that can be achieved by taking more aggressive roaming routes. Here are some things to keep in mind:

For solo laners:

You may be able to kill an enemy

While ahead, finding and killing the enemy Jungler will grant you gold and put the enemy Jungler behind as they will be unable to farm for some time.

It may allow your team to take major objectives such as the Rift Herald, a Tower or the Dragon. As the enemy Jungler is dead, you’d have a big Smite advantage or be able to siege since the enemy Jungler would not be able to defend the tower either, which may allow your team to take one with ease.

You can steal the enemy Jungler’s camps and buffs

If you have a lead and more damage, you may be able to take camps away from the enemy Jungler. This will waste the enemies time if they walk specifically for a buff or camp, and deny the enemy gold and experience while giving you a lot of free gold.

The enemy Mid laner may miss out on the Blue Buff which will give your Mid laner an easier time in lane. The enemy will be unable to spam abilities which can have a high impact in the later stages of the laning phase.

For Supports

You will be able to ward more aggressively

While roaming into the enemy’s jungle, make sure to leave wards to scout vision. If you know where the enemy Jungler is, your team will be able to play around it and gain kills or take objectives off the map without fear of the enemy Jungler showing up.

Usually, the Support would not be able to do as much compared to a solo laner when invading as many of them are squishy and lack damage. This is why the Supports wouldn’t necessarily hunt for the enemy as a solo laner would. Furthermore, some Supports would not be able to go as deep compared to other roles because they don’t have the survivability aspect that other lanes do.

Taking unorthodox roaming routes can often be more impactful in the northeast and southwest due to the architecture of the map. I find that the Red team Support specifically will have a much easier time at roaming aggressively through the enemies Jungle and the same goes for the Blue team Top laner.

For the Blue team, you’ll find more success when aggressively roaming if you’re playing as a solo laner.

Previously in the ‘Roaming Routes’ section, we suggested that you should take a safer route through the river in most cases. However, when you’re ahead, you’re able to take almost any route to another lane.

Red Team’s Support example roaming route.

For example, as the Red team Support, you can roam through the enemy’s jungle when ahead, where previously we suggested you shouldn’t. When you’re ahead or have priority, you can adjust your roaming route to suit any occasion.

Avoid warded areas

This goes without saying, but you should try to avoid any warded areas while roaming. If you walk through a bush that is warded, the enemy may be able to react and back off before you get there. This would mean that you’ve wasted your time and you will waste more if you continue to roam.

This is why it is important to avoid warded areas of the map when roaming. Taking advantage of the Jungle plants like the Scryers Bloom will allow you to spot any wards that are en route. Furthermore, you can use the Blast Cones to get over walls and avoid specific warding spots. For example, the bot lane tri brush which is a notorious bush that frequently houses wards.

If you know that the Scuttle Crab has been taken, you should avoid walking through the river as well and take an alternative route as the enemy will see you coming. Remember that the surprise element to roaming can make it more impactful and successful.

Take advantage of the jungle plants

Jungle plants are amazing in League of Legends and they can assist you in many ways. The two plants that directly help you in roaming are the Scryer’s Bloom and the Blast Cone. These jungle plants will enable you to adjust your roam pathing and increase the likelihood of gaining a kill and this is why I highly recommend them.

You can use the Scryer’s Bloom to scout for vision which can allow you to know if a part of the map is warded. For example, using it near the bottom side of the map will allow you to spot any wards that are in the Bot lane bushes. Any wards that are placed will show on the map which you can play around to ensure that you’re not spotted at any time by taking an alternative roaming route and avoiding these wards.

If you’re the Support, you can shoot the Scryers Bloom into the enemy’s jungle to make deep warding and aggressive roaming more successful. If you know that the enemy Jungler is not on one side of the map, it will be safer for you to go and walk through their jungle. As suggested, this will be more surprising and safer for you.

Some of the images we’ve shown throughout this guide have directly discussed the Blast Cone. You can use the Blast Cone to get over walls and dodge warded areas. It is a fantastic plant that truly enables the person using it. Whenever you’re roaming and come across this plant in particular, try to use it to your advantage. If used correctly, you will be able to increase your success rate at roaming as the enemy will not see you coming until it’s too late.

There are a bunch of things you need to keep in mind while you are roaming and if you neglect or do not think about some of these things, then you may end up getting yourself killed or you may start to fall behind. If you see that a roam is going to fail or looks to be going wrong, just return to lane and do not waste any more time.

After Roaming

Once you’ve roamed to another lane, you need to think about what you are going to do next. Your next decision needs to be quick and also be decisive- if you delay or back track on your decision, you may waste precious time that can cost you a tower, an objective or just farm and experience. Either way, there is an emphasis on how quick you need to make your next decision.

Return to your lane

Returning to your own lane is often required after roaming. In many cases, you will return to your own lane to either respond to what the enemy is doing or to continue farming. If you were unable to get a kill through roaming, or you do not have enough gold to recall, you can return to your own lane assuming that you will not die. For Supports specifically, you will have to return to lane no matter what.

Supports (in most cases) will have to return to lane after roaming as they will need to protect the ADC. If the Support chooses to recall, their ADC may get zoned off the minion wave and get denied gold and experience. Obviously, this is something you want to avoid, so if you have the health – it is important to return to your own lane and stick to your ADC.

If the enemy didn’t decide to follow you when you roamed, they will most likely still be in the lane where you left them. A smart enemy would have pushed the wave while you are gone, which would need to be addressed. If the wave is an immediate threat to the tower, you should return to lane and clear the wave to prevent the enemy from getting free damage down on your tower. Towers are incredibly important and you do not want to give the enemy the opportunity to deal damage to them.

Furthermore, if your tower is in immediate danger of being destroyed – you need to get your ass back to your lane as soon as possible. With Riot’s recent changes to towers, they are now a little bit stronger, so they won’t be destroyed in one push. However, you do not want to give the enemy the opportunity to take a tower for free or let them whittle away at it. This is especially true if the tower is in the Mid lane or if it is the first tower of the game. I highly recommend that you protect your mid lane tower at all costs as once destroyed, it opens up the whole map for the enemy.

Recall

If you have got a lot of gold, it is important that you recall and spend your gold wisely. Even though you may be rich, if you do not invest it and spend it in an efficient way, you will have no advantage. Recalling can allow you to pick up the next item you need which can help you in your own lane.

Backing also allows you to reset your resources: specifically, your health and mana. After a roam or any exchange, you may have used some of your mana or you may have lost some of your health which may result in you being slightly vulnerable. It is smarter to return to base rather than go back to your own lane if you are missing a good portion of health so you do not get killed.

Take the tower

Staying in lane to take a tower after roaming is a very good way of gaining more gold. Destroying the armor plating or outright taking the tower can grant you and your allies a reasonable amount of income. As each tower grants gold, it would be beneficial if you can try to destroy it. In addition, the armor plating can also give you a nice amount of gold which is why it’s important to try and destroy it. Gold mined from these towers will allow you to get your next item quicker in comparison to the enemy.

Taking towers is very dependent on the in-game situation though. For example, if the enemies tower is rather low, you may be able to take it. Whereas if the tower has armor plating, it can be quite difficult to take in one push. Another thing to keep in mind is what is happening in your own lane. If your enemy laner is pushing, you may have to return to your lane and defend your own tower. However, it may be worth staying in the lane to take the first blood tower and trade towers instead. Realistically, you will only want to do this if you are able to get more out of it. For example, the first blood tower or a more important tower such as the mid lane tier 1.

Taking towers will allow you to open up the map. Unfortunately, while gaining kills is nice, they rarely win the game. Instead, you will need to take towers to destroy the enemies Nexus. If you are able to take a tower, it can open up the map for your team to conquer certain areas. The mid lane towers are by far the best to take as they open up each side of the enemy’s jungle. This can also help increase your roaming potential, because it may allow you to roam through the enemy’s jungle.

Rotate to another lane

Rotating to another lane is very dependent on the situation. If you are ahead, you can rotate to another lane to continue applying pressure. However, in many cases, you may not be able to do this as the enemy will try to take your tower. Let’s suggest that you are a Top laner who has rotated to the middle lane and killed the enemy. You could then rotate to the bottom lane after- if there is nothing happening in your own lane. Some players do not necessarily react well when somebody roams – i.e. they do not push their lane and force the enemy to come back. You can use this to your advantage by continuing to snowball and help other lanes out. As suggested, this can be quite difficult, so you may only be able to do this if you have won your lane or have taken the tower prior to roaming.

Rotating can allow your team to get more kills and earn more gold as well. As you will be able to kill the enemy and possibly take a tower, you will be gaining a nice amount of gold that can allow your team to get their next item. As League of Legends has a snowball effect, putting the enemy behind and gaining gold for your team will create a noticeable advantage in terms of items and levels spikes.

Furthermore, taking a tower will also open up that part of the map which can allow your team free reign over certain areas. For example, if you’ve previously taken the mid lane tower, you can rotate to the bottom side of the map- kill the enemy and then take the tower. This will make it extremely difficult for the enemy Jungler to farm in their bottom side jungle, which may create a level disadvantage. It will also give your team priority over the Dragon. As well as deny the enemy their bottom side buff.

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8. Conclusion

Remember that in an ideal situation, there will be no repercussions from roaming. Unfortunately, as League of Legends is far from ideal, you will find yourself roaming in bad situations where you either roam to early or too late. As suggested, no matter what happens, try to make the best out of a bad situation. With that in mind, thank you for reading, and I hope this guide has helped you improve at roaming.

If you have any questions or want to learn more, check out PicklePants stream.

Watch live video from PicklePantsLOL on www.twitch.tv

Another Everything guide for the books! We hope you found this comprehensive guide useful and educational. Let us know if we missed any concepts or tricks related to roaming in the comments below. As always, you can find Picklepants in our Discord if you have any questions!

The post Everything You Need to Know about Roaming in League of Legends appeared first on Mobalytics.

Wave Management is one of the most beneficial subjects to learn in League of Legends thanks to it being required in every single lane. Everybody has heard of wave management, but not everybody knows how to use it the right way. There are so many guides out there, but they all lack information that is crucial to understanding the subject fully.

In this Mobalytics guide, we will teach you how to manage minion waves like a pro and help you understand what is needed for effective wave management in its entirety.

This guide is aimed at anyone who wants to learn about wave management at a ground level, and anybody who wants to expand their knowledge on the subject. Wave management takes concentration and dedication to perfect. You will need to stay concentrated when managing the waves as one slip up can cost you the wave.

This can make all your efforts of wave manipulation go down the drain, however, one way of improving at wave management is by messing it up completely.

If you understand where you went wrong, you can improve on it for future games. At the end of the day, wave management is all about learning and improving- so don’t get disheartened if you struggle with it to start with. Our goal is to make you understand how to use wave management in your games and use them to your advantage.

Before we begin, let me introduce myself. My name’s Picklepants, I am a former Diamond 1 Support main on the EUW server. I have been playing League of Legends since Season 3 and have been Diamond for the last 6 of them. If you have any questions or feedback about this guide, feel free to contact me on Twitter.

Do note that this guide is huge and may be hard to properly consume in one sitting. Feel free to skip around as needed by clicking on the chapters in the selection below:

Chapters

1. How Minions Spawn

2. Minion Targeting System

3. How to Freeze

4. Matchup Examples

5. The Slow Push

6. The Fast Push

7. The Ideal Lane Phase for Each Role

8. Important Laning Phase Tips

9. Cheatsheet

1. How Minions Spawn

Minions start to spawn on the map from both sides at 1:05 and continue spawning every 30 seconds after until the game has ended. In the early game, they take 32 seconds to reach the middle of the lane after spawning. Depending on where the current wave is in lane, they may take longer or less time to get to the middle of the lane. Because the middle lane is shorter in length, minions arriving will only take 22 seconds to reach the middle of the lane instead of the 32 seconds in the side lanes.In every standard wave, there are 6 minions and in every cannon wave there is 7. For terminology purposes and to make it easier to understand, let’s say that there is only 1 block of minions (up until 20 minutes.) The first and second wave consists of 3 melee minions and 3 caster minions which is considered a standard wave. On every third wave up until 20 minutes, there are 7 minions: 3 melee minions, 1 siege minion, and 3 caster minions. This block of minions contains 3 waves before resetting. For each block of minions on the rift, there is a replacement block that is even stronger than the previous one. Every 90 seconds, aka 1 block, the minions become stronger and increase in health, survivability and damage.

Up until 20 minutes, each third minion wave will be a cannon wave which includes one siege (cannon) minion. The first siege minion will spawn in at 2:05, and get to lane at around 2:37 in the side lanes and 2:27 in the mid lane. After 20 minutes, one will spawn every 2 waves. Instead of there being a block which consists of 3 waves, every block after 20 minutes will consist of 2 waves (1 standard wave and 1 cannon wave). After 35 minutes, there will no longer be any blocks and instead, every minion wave will be a cannon wave.

If you’ve taken down an enemy inhibitor, every 30 seconds for 5 minutes (the length of the inhibitors respawn timer). there will be a super minion that will spawn with the wave. Each super minion will only go down the lane with the missing inhibitor. If you’ve destroyed all three of the enemies inhibitors, 2 super minions will spawn on each minion wave. While you take down an inhibitor, no cannon minions will spawn in that lane until it’s resurrected.

All waves outside of the standard waves have one additional minion added to them. This will aid you in taking down the enemies defenses and achieving victory. Did you know that The Baron also empowers minions and makes them faster as well as deal more damage? When you’ve killed the Baron, everybody who is alive on the slayer’s team receives the “Hand of Baron” buff.

This buff gives your allies and your minions a plethora of bonuses which can allow your team to siege and take objectives with ease. One of the best buffs is the bonus movement speed that champions can give the minions when near them. This will speed them up and allow them to get into the action quicker. If you want to know exactly what bonuses your minions receive, here’s a preview:Minion pushing advantage

This section here isn’t necessarily super important to know the exact detail inside and out, but here’s a summary if you want to skip this part of the guide. Basically, if your team is ahead, your minions will be stronger than the enemies – it’s as simple as that.

There are 3 types of bonuses that your minions get if you’re ahead. The bonuses they obtain revolve around having a larger average level on your team than the enemies, as well as having more turrets down in any specific lane.

The way this is worked out is: the average level of your team, minus the average level of the enemy team. Which is always capped at 3.0.

If your team has the level advantage, your minions will deal bonus damage to the enemy minions equal to 5% + 5% per turret advantage in a specific lane. This is then multiplied by your teams level advantage.

For example, if you’re two towers ahead of the enemy- it would be: (5% + (5% x 2)) x team level advantage. = bonus damage. We cannot answer this mathematical question because A, I’m no good at maths and B, it’s a very situational answer that changes from game to game depending on in game factors which would make knowing the answer useless.But hey, that’s the bonus damage your minions will do to enemy minions.

Your minions will also receive less damage from the enemy minions equal to 1 + 1 per turret advantage in lane.

For example, if you’re two towers ahead of the enemy- it would be: 1 + (team level advantage x 2) = damage reduction.

If the difference between average team levels is 3 or higher and the leading team has destroyed two or more towers than the enemy in a single lane, the minions on that team will become enraged which gives them even more bonuses. The minions bonus damage is increased by a further 90%, and the flat damage reduction is increased by 7 more points per auto attack.

We’ve tried really hard to make this section understandable, but it’s still quite complicated. If you’re struggling to grasp this concept, Riot’s Dev Corner has got you covered with Riot Axes’s description on this topic if you want to learn more.

You do not really need to know what the exact numbers and bonuses your minions will receive because it is constantly changing and really hard to check- and not necessary. Just remember that if you’re ahead, the minions will receive reduced damage and deal extra damage.

Wave timing

Here’s a very basic rundown of when and where you should expect minions to be at any given time around major objectives. The reference timers are just as the first minion passes each objective. Please note that this is a reference and the numbers might be slightly out depending on in-game factors or user discrepancy. How can this help me?

While knowing the exact timers is not going to be of much use to you, having an understanding of when and where the minions will be on the map at any given time can help you to improve your back timing. If you know when and where the minions will be, you can back at the right time to miss out on minimal farm and experience. This will allow you to stay even with the enemy and not fall behind. Backing at the wrong time or being killed and missing out on CS is devastating in a snowball heavy meta.

Another way of knowing the location of the minion wave is looking at your own minion wave on the map. This is a favored method commonly used by players. As every lane is mirrored, you should expect all minions to get to certain areas of the map at the same time. If you see that your cannon wave is approaching, the enemies cannon wave will also be coming shortly.

Unless you’re forced to back, you should try to never Recall on a cannon wave. A cannon minion gives more gold and experience than any other minion during the laning phase so you need to try and get it to avoid falling behind. If the enemy gets the cannon minion and you do not, they will gain the lead. If a cannon minion wave has already started making its way across the map and has left the base, you may miss out on it if you decide to back. Ideally, you should back before the cannon wave gets out of the base.

It takes roughly 25 seconds in the mid lane and 30 seconds in the side lanes to get back in the action (without boots.) This means that in the early game, you should not be in the fountain when a minion wave is approaching the tier 2 towers (in the side lane) as you may miss out on them. In the later stages of the laning phase, you have a little bit more leniency.

We’ve made an infographic to help you understand and have a visual image on travel times in League. You should try to back after shoving the wave into the enemies tower as quickly as you can. This will slow down the enemies minion wave allowing you to return to lane without missing much in terms of farm and experience. If you push the wave under the enemies tower, the wave will start pushing it back towards you and stopping either in the middle of the lane or closer to the enemies tower.

If the wave resets, that’s good for you as it will stay in the middle of the lane and not push in either direction. However, if the minion wave is on the enemies side, then it will start pushing towards you- allowing for a big wave to form and it giving you a ton of CS as we can see in this video.

If you cannot push the wave quick enough, you want it to start freezing near your tower instead. To do this, leave alive 2 or 3 ranged minions outside of your tower range and then Recall as soon as they come into contact with your minion wave.

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2. Minion Targeting System

Minions will continuously walk down a lane until they seek out an enemy and keep focusing down the chosen target until the target dies or another, higher priority target approaches them. The minions have a priority order that they will follow if there is more than one potential target in the area. They re-evaluate their focus every few seconds, so if a higher target approaches them, they will stop focusing on that target and switch.

The minion priority system works as follows (from the perspective of a minion):

1) Enemy champions attacking an allied champion

2) Enemy minions attacking an allied champion

3) Enemy minions attacking an allied minion

4) Enemy turrets attacking an allied minion

5) Enemy champions attacking an allied minion

6) The closest enemy minion

7) The closest enemy champion

The priority system is pretty straightforward, except for their highest priority target and their number one nemesis – the enemy champion who is attacking their guardian. Many may think that it’s only auto-attacking that makes the enemy minions focus you. Congratulations, you’re half correct! But, it is not the only way the minions will start focusing you down. If you have target spells and use them on the enemy, then the minions will also focus you.

Check out this video by Rafizz, one of our Discord Honorable Community members to see this in action:

Things that are considered target spells are abilities that you point and click on an enemy champion. These include,- but are not limited to: Annie’s Q, Brand’s E, Pantheon’s Q and Janna’s W. Skill shots are not considered target spells and you will not draw minion aggression from priority 1, however you may still draw aggro if you’re on the minions hit list. Abilities that are also auto attack orientated like Dr. Mundo’s E, Darius’s W and Camille’s Q will also draw agro.

If you accidentally auto attack the enemy or use one of your target spells on them, then the enemies will focus you. They have a range of 350, and they are not afraid to chase you down. Keep this in mind when laning as it can often interrupt and mess up your desired management tool. If the minions start focusing you, you need to run out of sight and out of range of them. You can drop minion aggro by running into un-warded bushes as well as leaving the localized area.

The minions priority never changes and they follow this strict ruling for every attack that they do. They will continuously look for higher priority targets and you will see this in your gameplay. For example, if you’re the only target in lane with no friendly minions nearby, the enemy minions will focus you. When your reinforcements arrive, the minions will switch aggro to your minions instead. This is because (if you’re not attacking them) you will be the lowest priority of the minions and when your minions arrive, they will be higher up in the chain.

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3. How to Freeze

Freezing is one of the more complicated types of wave management to perfect in League of Legends because you have to manipulate the enemy and keep a constant eye on what they’re doing. Using the technique in Solo Queue is best done when you’re ahead of the enemy or if you’re even with them. It is quite difficult (but not impossible) to freeze when you’re behind. When freezing, you want to be able to zone the enemy off the farm and make them overextend if they want to get any farm.

If you want to freeze the wave, all you need to do is last-hit the enemy minions at the last possible second. Sounds simple right? Well…it’s going to get a bit more complicated. Whenever the enemy damages a minion through either auto attacks or ability use outside of last-hitting, you will need to match their damage.

This is because your allied minions will die quicker as they have less health and as a result, the enemies wave will be pushing towards you. Because you would be matching the damage, all the minions (both allied and axis) will die at roughly the same time which prevents the wave from pushing in either direction – thus creating the freeze.

If you didn’t match the damage, or you start randomly auto attacking the minions, then the wave will not freeze and instead start pushing in a direction you may not like. Attack too little, and the wave will push against you. Attack too much, and it’ll push harder.

How To Execute The Freeze

Depending on where you would like the freeze to occur, you will need to manipulate the enemy minion wave in order for it to stay there. The closer you are to your tower, the more enemy ranged minions you need in lane. This is because your reinforcement minions will get to lane quicker compared to the enemies.

If there was no minion advantage for the enemy, your minions would start pushing, however leaving alive some minions will prevent the wave from pushing towards the enemy. To make the concept super simple, count how many full health (or healthy) enemy caster minions there are in lane.

In the image below, we can see how many enemy minions you will need in different parts of the lane for the minion wave to freeze. Please use this image as a guide and at your own discretion as the image may be slightly off. Please note that this works for top and the bottom lane. We will discuss mid lane later on. If you do not want the minion wave to push against you and you don’t want to push it, all you need to do is make sure that the minion wave stays in the yellow zone. For this to happen, there needs to be no additional extra minions left alive in the lane (on either team.) If you have 3 minions alive, you want the enemy to also have 3. Most commonly, you will find 0 minions against 0 minions in this area for the wave to stay here – this is because around this area (the white line) is the middle of the lane where minions traditionally meet. At the start of the game, if the minion wave is not contested or pulled in any specific way, the minions will start forming here and fight in the middle of the lane.

If you want the minion wave to be slightly closer to your side of the lane, you need to have 1 extra healthy (100% or close to) enemy ranged minion alive. If you have 3 caster minions here, you will need the enemy to have 4. The closer you get to your tower, the more extra minions you will need the enemy wave to have. In the purple area you will need 2 extra minions, and in the green, you will need 3 extra minions.

Once a minion waves start building up, they can very easily and very quickly take down your minions and your tower. They can also force the wave to bounce leaving you in an unfavoured position. You do not want them to start attacking your tower and instead, you want them to focus you. If you’re healthy or have a reliable source of regeneration, you need to walk up to them and start tanking the minions. Pull them away and out of position of the tower. Forcing them to focus you either standing still or making them walk slightly back on themselves is highly beneficial for the freeze to stick.

Be careful not to walk too far away from them as you may drop minion aggro, and avoid tanking them for too long. Just do so long enough so they can start attacking your minions again outside of your tower range when they arrive.

As you can see from the video, if you have your Support nearby, they can tank the wave for you. Depending on in-game factors, they may be able to tank larger waves. If they cannot tank large waves, then you will need to thin it down.

When your minions die, start tanking the wave again and pull it away from your tower. Rinse and repeat, and you will indefinitely freeze the enemy out of gold. However, if you cannot freeze like this due to health or items problems, you may need to thin the wave down to an easier number to tank.

Be Prepared To Thin The Minion Wave

At the beginning of a game, champions are incredibly weak. Until the laning phase gets underway, you will not have much damage and no real way of protecting yourself. This is what can make freezing difficult and tanking them rather risky. If there are too many minions left alive and you’re not able to tank them, kill all the melee minions, and all of the ranged minions but leave 3 caster minions alive. Don’t forget to kill any cannon minions if possible.

You need to avoid tanking for extended periods of time because it may allow the enemy to engage on you or kill you. You also need to make sure that there are not too many minions coming at you because they will overwhelm you. If there are more than 4 additional minions in a wave, it will always be pushing no matter what. If you’re unable to tank the bonus minions, you will have to thin the wave down.

Mid Lane Wave Management

So far, we have only really talked about the side lanes and how you can use wave management in them. Since the middle lane is much shorter and as the minion waves arrive much quicker, wave management is less effective in some aspects.

In the middle lane, most champions lack the ability to hold and freeze waves because many of them do not buy defensive items until later on in the game and neither are they tanky enough to hold the minions in place. Another reason for this is that many mid lane orientated picks have damage and have high kill potential that makes freezing quite risky. With that said, you can still freeze in the middle lane and you should do so when you need to.

The zones are much smaller in the areas where it is safe to freeze and use other wave management techniques. The issue with this is that many champions can often break all your hard work and ruin what you’ve done. This makes wave management in the mid lane not useless – but very situational and quite difficult to work with if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Compared to the side lanes, the mid lane has the exact same features of freezing except the zones are smaller. Beware when holding or dragging the minion wave as the enemy may be able to engage on you.

Wave management in the early game in the middle lane is all about where you have the wave and what the enemy can do to you. As the middle lane is the most gankable lane in League, you need to have the wave in a favorable position where you can avoid cheesy ganks.

Recalling

Recalling is something that every lane needs to do and should all look to do at the best time to prevent missing out on farm and experience. In the middle lane, the best time to back is when the wave is approaching your inhibitors. When you Recall, the wave will just be outside of the inhib tower and your tier 1. This is a great time to Recall to minimize gold lost. Before backing, make sure you shove the wave into the tower as this will either delay the enemies Recall, or make them miss out on gold. Also, when you return to lane, the wave would’ve reset in the middle which will allow you to start your wave management technique again.

Another very useful technique that some pros use is where they kill all the minions in lane, but leave 3 caster minions alive. They then hold the wave until their allied minions arrive and then they Recall. This is a good thing to do as it will allow the wave to freeze as soon as you return to lane. This only works if the enemy is not in lane, for example, they’ve backed or have died. This wave technique is really good if you have a cannon wave approaching as the enemies wave will kill the cannon minion before they return to lane.

There are some variations to this method. Some players leave 1, some leave 2 and some leave 3. Each has its pros and cons so you should leave the amount that is more applicable to you.

Early Game Freezing

Here are some good techniques you can use in the early game to help you get the most out of the early levels and start getting an advantage:

Level 1

If you want to start to freeze as soon as the game starts, you can just last-hit the enemy minions at level 1 and have the wave slightly push towards you. This will set you up for a closer freeze. Keep in mind that you will need to match the enemies auto attacks and damage outside of last-hitting to prevent the wave from pushing too far or bouncing.

How to control waves to prepare against early ganks

In some lanes, you may benefit from an early push if you’re subject to ganks at level 3. What you do is push the wave level 1 by only killing 1 or 2 of the back minions fast which will make the wave start pushing. You then proceed to last-hit the remaining minions. This will make the wave push to the enemy, but not so fast that you’re making yourself vulnerable.

Then on the second wave, you push the wave as hard as you can to the enemies tower and let it reset so on the third wave (the cannon wave) it is in the middle of the lane which will prevent ganks from the enemy. You can then choose to allow it to push towards you (prevent ganks, making it safer for you etc) and then deny the enemy.

This is a very good technique to use if you’re a ranged champion against a melee champion who has no all in potential early or any form of sustain. If you’re a melee champion, you may also be able to do this. However, if you’re playing a champion without sustain, you may struggle.

Mid Lane

If you’re playing a champion with early pushing power such as Azir or Taliyah, you would benefit from using a pushing technique that can keep you safe from enemy ganks. At level 1, you want to push the wave and try to get it moving. You can do this if you have AOE abilities that make it quicker. With that said,you do not want to hard shove. On the second wave, it will bounce off the tower and start slow-pushing towards you.

On wave three and the cannon wave, it will continue pushing towards your side that will prevent enemy ganks. This is super helpful as it can stop cheesy ganks from the enemy. It will also give you early lane dominance and allow you to help the Jungler if they start to skirmish with the enemy over a Scuttle Crab.

Where To Freeze

You should get the wave to freeze on your side of the lane, just outside of your tower. You need to keep it outside of your tower range so your tower does not take free damage from the minion wave. You should avoid letting the enemy have pressure on your lane which you can do if you keep it outside of the tower.

Because of the way minions spawn and work, if you freeze in this area, you can pull off a harder and harsher freeze because your reinforcement minions will arrive to lane quicker compared to the enemies.

Why You Should Freeze Close To Your Tower

Freezing in this area is good for a number of reasons:

1) It can stop you from getting ganked by the enemy Jungler.
2) You will not get denied farm and experience by the enemy champion.
3) The enemy laner will have to overextend for farm and gold.
4) You will be able to set up ganks for your Jungler.
5) The enemy may be unable to trade with you effectively.
6) You will not be putting yourself in a position where you have to overextend for farm and experience.

When To Freeze

Freezing is incredibly situational and you should not use this section as a rule of thumb. Instead, use this as an example of what you could potentially do in this situation. Every game is different and just because you could freeze at a certain time, it doesn’t mean that you should be. You should only be using a freezing in the laning phase.

• If you’re receiving constant attention from the enemy Jungler
  • If the enemy Jungler is providing you with their utmost attention, you should consider freezing on your side of the lane. If you blow a Summoner Spell, the enemy Jungler may be able to exploit that and repeat gank and put you further behind. To respond, freeze on your side of the lane to be able to continue to farm safely without fear of being ganked. This will also prevent you from being camped and tower dove if you keep it just outside of your tower. If the enemy Jungler comes to your lane, they will be wasting their time because you will not be in a position to be killed.
  • If you notice that the enemy laner is premade with the Jungler, you may want to freeze from the get-go since there’s a high chance you’ll get camped. We’ve all done it when playing with friends and you know how bad it is to experience first hand. You can sometimes tell if someone is premade by their names and their clubs.
• If you’re behind in lane.
  • If you’ve died and are slightly behind the enemy where you’re unable to trade with them, freezing in this situation is good. This is because you will be able to continue to farm without sacrificing health for farm, nor will you be able to be chased down by the enemy. You will also be able to stay alive with no real fear of being ganked or being put further behind by the enemy Jungler if the wave is on your side.
  • We did say earlier that it is slightly harder to freeze from behind and in this situation,- you have to freeze. Do not put yourself in a position to far up in the lane to protect the freeze or zone them as the enemy will be able to fight you.
• If the enemy has Recalled, and the wave is not going to crash into your tower and reset or bounce
  • Before Recalling, you generally want to push the wave to the enemy tower so it can bounce and reset allowing you to Recall without fear of the enemy attacking your tower. Pushing will allow you to walk back to lane without wasting your teleport and neither will they miss out on too much CS.
  • However, not everybody does this properly. This is because they didn’t push quick enough or they didn’t push it to tower. If somebody does this to you, do not push it back to them. Instead, hold the wave just outside of your tower and let them over extend for farm and experience when they return. In the early game, death timers are short and many champions lack wave clear, so you cannot push it quick enough back. Why give them a juicy amount of farm to return back too?

Pros and cons to freezing

Pros:

1. Freezing can deny the enemy CS which will give you the gold advantage. This means that you will have more gold than the enemy and be able to get your items quicker.
2. The enemy will have to overextend for farm and XP. Depending on the location of the wave (if it’s closer to your tower) this may open them up to gank opportunities for your Jungler which ultimately, can put the enemy further behind.
3. You will not die to Jungle ganks. If the wave is on your side of the lane, assuming you have good ward coverage, you should not die to ganks because the wave is further up in the lane which makes any ganks rather risky.
4. If you’re behind in lane, you can freeze to catch up in farm and gold without getting killed or denied by the enemy. If you do not freeze and start to push, the enemy will be able to freeze, zone and deny you.

Cons:

1. Because you’re freezing the lane, the enemy laner may be able to roam and get gold and XP by getting kills in other lanes. You should try to avoid this happening by pinging your enemy missing and trying to follow them if it’s safe to do so.
2. It’s important to not freeze the minion wave too close or under your tower as it can get you killed. During the laning phase, having it under your tower may allow the enemy Jungler to dive you. It will also not freeze here. Because a tower is assisting the suicide of the minions, the wave will bounce and end up further up the lane.
3. Freezing is not the easiest thing to do in the early game if you’re against champions who can quickly clear waves. This is because they may be able to poke you and fight you if you try to freeze. Freezing (in some cases) is best done after your first back when you have items and damage to protect yourself with.

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4. Matchup Examples

In this section, we will discuss some real matchups and what you could look to do during the laning phase to have a better start in the game. Please remember that everything in this section, including the example matchups is highly situational and you may disagree with some of the suggestions that are presented. A lot of matchups and wave choices rely on the enemy Junglers pick as well. Example Matchup: Camille vs Gnar (reference timing: Levels 1-4)

Camille: Needs the wave close to her tower, but outside of tower range

• Gnar has the range advantage when he is not in mega form and he is able to poke or deny Camille if she decides to push.
• Camille is not very strong early, but she does have burst damage thanks to her kit. If the wave is in the middle or pushed up, she would be unable to go onto the Gnar if he mispositions.
• Camille would like the wave to be close to her tower so she can use her Hookshot (E) on a wall and then bounce onto Gnar to deal damage to him.
• As Camille is a very snowball heavy champion and as she can take over the map, having the wave close to your tower will prevent early game ganks while also being able to yourself up for ganks. Thanks to Camille’s ability to follow up, having the wave just outside tower is perfect for her early.

Gnar: Needs the wave close to his tower, but outside of tower range

• Gnar is quite immobile even with his jump and he can easily be jumped on by the Camille if she uses her Hookshot on him.
• Having the wave near the tower will prevent Camille from being able to play aggressive and kill the Gnar because she will not be able to dive him early. If she does jump on the Gnar, he can just hop away and prevent any more damage.
• Keeping the wave here will allow Gnar to deny and poke down Camille when she comes to farm as she will be overextended. This is also good because he has the range advantage and can poke her for free.
• If Gnar pushes the wave, he is giving Camille the best start to the laning phase. As many know, Camille is not incredibly strong early, so giving her a good and safe start to the lane is something Gnar wants to avoid.

Example Matchup: Darius vs Teemo (reference timing: Level 1-6)

Darius: Would like the wave either in the middle of the lane, or slightly closer to his tower

• Darius is a melee champion is quite immobile. This means he can easily get kited by ranged champions and poked down if he overextends.
• Thanks to Darius’ unique kit, he is able to deal lots of damage to squishy champions if he can get in range of them. With his Passive and Q, he is able to poke down enemies in extended trades if he can get in range of them to use his pull. To utilize and get the most out of his kit, he needs the wave to be in a position where he can farm and play aggressive whenever he wants.
• Darius needs to be very careful when it comes to using his abilities. His Q has an AOE indicator that can push waves. He wants to avoid using this ability unless he can get on the enemy.
• Avoid pushing in this lane because Teemo would be able to zone and deny Darius’ ability to get any farm which would put him behind.

Teemo: Wants to keep the wave close to his tower until 6, and then keep pushing after 6

• In the early game, Teemo is immobile even with his Quick Move (W.) This means he can get caught out and put behind if he gets caught out by Darius’ E or by a gank by the enemy. Teemo is quite squishy as well, which means he needs to not be in a position where Darius or the Jungler can get to him.
• Teemo is ranged and able to poke the enemy if they overextend. Teemo is also able to use his Blind on them if they try to auto attack him.
• At level 6, Teemo wants to start pushing and abusing his kit to the maximum. By placing shrooms around the lane, he can constantly get the wave pushing and take the First Tower.
• Having good ward coverage and placing his shrooms in the river will prevent Jungle ganks. Also, because Teemo can also go invisible, he can juke the enemy Jungler and Darius if they try to find him.

Example Matchup: Renekton vs Maokai (reference timing: Levels 1-4)

Renekton: Wants the wave to be even and close to the middle of the lane

• Renekton wants to be able to all in the enemy whenever he gets the level up or whenever he has a slight advantage over the enemy. Because of this, he needs the wave in the middle of the lane.
• If Renekton pushes the enemy to their tower and the enemy freezes, he will be unable to engage on the enemy and push his advantage in lane.
• Maokai is quite an immobile champion. If you let him push towards you, or if you let the wave stay in the middle, you will be able to engage on him as he would be overextended.
• As Renekton’s kit includes a stun and a gap closure, keeping the wave here lets you set up your Jungler for ganks to kill the Maokai.

Maokai: Needs to keep the wave on his side of the lane

• Renekton’s early game damage and kit is far superior to Maokai’s and he is able to kill him if Maokai miss positions or overextends.
• If Maokai pushes the wave, Renekton, just by using his E on the minions, will be able to get incredibly close and engage on him and may even be able to kill him. This means that Maokai needs to keep the lane in a safe place where Renekton will be unable to do this.
• Maokai has good sustain and good trade potential, however, he is much weaker compared to the Renekton.
• Maokai can set up his Jungler to gank with his W and his E. His E is a slow and the saplings do a lot of damage when they’re in a bush. If Renekton overextends near your tower, he will be unable to escape. One of the reasons for this is because he will be only allowed to use his E once and not twice as there would be no minions to get away quicker and let him use it twice.

Example Matchup: Twisted Fate vs Zed (reference timing: Level 1-3)

Twisted Fate: Needs the wave close to his tower, but outside of tower range

• Twisted Fate does have the range advantage and the means to poke Zed down, but he cannot effectively do it unless he is in a good position.
• If Twisted Fate has the wave near his tower, Zed will be unable to utilize his kit or early game damage. This is a good thing as it will prevent Zed from using his abilities to poke Twisted Fate down.
• Twisted Fate can set up cheesy level 2 and level 3 ganks thanks to his W. If you have a twitch Jungle or a Shaco, or anybody with a strong level 2 or 3, you can stun Zed and get an early kill.
• Zed is one of the hardest matchups for Twisted Fate so he needs to not overextend and let Zed be a threat to him.

Zed: Wants the wave to be even or closer to his side of the lane

• Zed is an assassin who does very well in short-burst exchanges which means if he gets on to Twisted Fate, TF will suffer.
• Zed wants the wave to be equal so he can get onto the Twisted Fate. If Zed pushes the lane under Twisted Fates tower, he would be unable to engage or fight him because of the tower.
• As a champion that relies on burst damage, Zed does benefit from going frequent trades and all-ins. One of the most common early all-ins is at level 3. If Zed pushes or gets pushed in, he would be unable to go in for a fight at level 3 as he would either A be unable to go on the Twisted Fate as there’s a tower there and B he would miss out on lots of minions knocking on his tower.
• The mid lane is the easiest lane to gank. If Twisted Fate is kept in the middle of the lane, it gives Zed’s Jungler a range of ways to gank him early.

Example Matchup: Kog’Maw and Lulu vs Twitch and Janna (Reference Timing: Levels 1-6)

Kog’Maw and Lulu: Keep it even in the middle of the lane

• Lulu can buff up her ADC making him fast and attack quickly. This gives you a lot of chase potential in the lane. Keeping it in the middle of the lane will allow them to chase the enemies down.
• While they do not have much kill potential early, they do have poke thanks to their abilities and auto attacks. If they push the enemy under their tower, they may be unable to be able to trade with the enemy.
• These two champions need to scale, they must not get put behind nor pushed under their tower and lose it. This means they need to keep it out of range of their tower and in a position where they can be aggressive- like in the middle of the lane.
• As stated, they need time to scale and not get put behind. If they push, they will be susceptible to ganks from the enemy Jungler. They do not want this obviously as they will be unable to scale efficiently while the enemy will be able to.

Twitch and Janna: Keep it closer to their side of the lane or close to the middle

• They do not want to overextend as they might get surprise ganks from the enemy Jungler. While Janna can keep her ADC alive, Twitch is rather squishy in the early game with no real way of protecting himself.
• They want to have the wave in the middle or close to their tower but out of the towers range so they do not lose their tower early. Kog’Maw and Lulu do a lot of damage over time thanks to the items they get. They can easily get first tower if you let them push you in.
• While Twitch has his Q, Janna will not be able to follow up if their Jungler ganks them. They need the wave to be in a suitable place where they can get ganks and be able to follow up if their Jungler comes.
• Twitch is not very strong unless he is ahead. It would be good to have the wave in the middle or closer on their side so he can farm without fear of ganks and the ability to set up ganks for his Jungler. As the enemy are quite immobile (even with Lulu’s E) they can set up ganks for their Jungler

Example Matchup: Miss Fortune and Zyra vs Vladimir and Soraka (reference timing: Levels 1-3)

Miss Fortune and Zyra: Need to push the enemy under their tower OR near their own tower

• This is a very strong lane duo with lots of poke. They want to push the enemy and have get them as low as possible.
• Because Miss Fortune and Zyra have insane damage and poke in the early game, they are able to zone and deny the enemy CS by freezing near their own tower. This is good against squishy enemies or enemies with sustain.
• This is a very good lane for the two of them and it’s going to be a fun one to play. You need to poke as much as possible and try to get them as low as you can. In this matchup, they will want to focus their main efforts in getting Soraka killed as Vladimir can dodge Zyra’s root and knock up with his W.
• Zyra is able to hug the bushes and launch her Root (E) at the enemy Soraka and try to lock her down. While this is happening, Miss Fortune can use her Q on a minion and make it bounce onto the Soraka to deal damage to her.

Vladimir and Soraka: Keep the wave even and in the middle of the lane

• This is a frustrating matchup for the laners because they have to constantly be able to dodge and disengage from the enemy. For the laners to succeed in this matchup, they need to not get caught out or over push the wave.
• If the enemy are pushing, you need to not let them take your tower early. Miss Fortune and Zyra are very good at snowballing their lead if they get one. One way of preventing them doing this is by keeping the wave outside of your tower range and ideally in the middle of the lane.
• Vladimir needs time to scale, so he must be able to get as much farm as possible. If you push, you will get denied by the enemy and get zoned of farm. It is crucial that they keep the wave in a position where they will not be denied nor will they have to use all their sustain to survive in lane.
• They lack any form of real damage in the early game. While they do have poke, they will not be able to match MF’s and Zyra’s or kill them without assistance. It would be beneficial if the two can try to farm it up until later on in the laning phase where they can get items and deal damage. It’s important for them to just farm up and try to dodge and not die.

Example matchup: Caitlyn and Fiddlesticks vs Kog’Maw and Lulu (reference timing: Levels 1-6)

Caitlyn and Fiddlesticks: Push, push, and push. Push the enemies tower and get kills

• This bot lane is one of the most frustrating to play against because of their early game damage and poke. Keep pushing and dealing damage to the enemy.
• Caitlyn outranges Kog’maw and can keep auto attack him whenever he tries to farm. Fiddlesticks also has a lot of damage and poke thanks to his ability to continuously poke the enemy down with his E.
• This bot lane duo can quickly push and keep it pushed thanks to their abilities and overall early game damage. They have great wave clear and should be no match for the enemy.
• Because they will be pushing frequently, they need to make sure that they have sufficient ward coverage around the lane to spot the enemy Jungler.

Kog’Maw and Lulu: Close to their tower, but outside of the tower’s range

• This scaling duo is going to have an incredibly hard time in the early game. They need time to farm and become strong, but they don’t want to be put behind by the enemy and get pushed under tower.
• They will be able to farm without fear of being ganked by the enemy or put behind by a cheesy Jungler.
• It’s important to keep it close and outside of tower range to prevent losing first tower while also being able to farm and not get denied or zoned by Fiddlesticks or Caitlyn.
• Avoid pushing at all costs and don’t let them push you into tower. Try to keep it outside of the tower range to prevent it from bouncing or resetting.

Tips and Tricks

• If you’re ahead of the enemy and you’re freezing, you can position yourself in front of the minion wave to deny the enemy farm and gold. If they overextend in attempts to get the farm, you will be able to engage on them. Make sure you check the map before you engage on them though because they may be baiting you into a 1v2 skirmish. For this to work, you will need sufficient warding and not fool for the enemies tricks.
• If the enemy doesn’t have any all-in potential in the first few levels, you can try a certain wave management technique for the first couple of waves and then start to freeze. You should only do this technique if the enemy Jungler won’t level 3 gank you and the enemy has no kill potential early. All you have to do is kill a couple of minions on the first wave quickly, then kill the second wave of minions as quickly as possible and make them bounce on the tower which will result in the minion wave being in a favorable position on wave 3 and level 3.
• If the enemy is trying to make the wave reset, you can meet it before it hits your tower and thin it down while taking it and then dropping aggro when your minions arrive. This will create a freeze and will allow you to deny.
• Cannon minions are jerks. They’re very trolly in lane and it feels like their sole purpose is to mess up your wave management! Freezing on a cannon wave is 50/50 and it can work in your favor, but also against you. Keep this in mind when you try to wave manage when they’re in lane – no seriously, these guys are dicks don’t trust them.

How to break the enemy’s Freeze

Freezing is a great way of achieving a lot of things and you will find yourself being frozen against often if you do not take advantage of the things we’ve said in this guide – like the Shrunken Head said in Harry Potter “It’s going to be a bumpy ride!”

There are two things that you can do to break the enemies freeze. The first is to overwhelm the enemy minion wave and the second is by requesting your Jungler to help break the freeze. The first option is much more viable than the second because it doesn’t require assistance. If your Jungler comes to help, your team might be losing pressure around the map and this could put your Jungler and other lanes behind.

In order for you to break the freeze on your own, you need to clear the minions and shove it into the enemies tower. This will make the tower reset or bounce the wave and let it end up in a much more favorable position. You do this by using your auto attacks as well as abilities to kill the enemy minions faster. If you’re in a poor matchup, this is going to be a very hard thing to do and you will need your Jungler to come and help you.

Another way of doing this is by forcing the enemy out of lane. Ideally, you will be able to push the wave and deal damage to the enemy as well, but if you do not have sufficient wave clear through AOE abilities and damage output, then you may have to go for the latter and try to fight the enemy. Beware, if you cannot either push the enemy out of lane or clear the waves quickly, you will need to request Jungle assistance.

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5. The Slow Push

Compared to freezing, slow pushing is something that is done in the later stages of the game. However, in the mid lane, it is more commonly used during the laning phase so you can roam. Slow pushing is used to create big waves and apply pressure while you’re away doing something different.

This technique will allow your minions to take less damage, and as a result, your minions will be able to slowly push the wave to the enemies tower. This is because your minions will last longer and not die quickly because they will always have the numbers advantage over the enemy.

Slow pushing is a term that is used in this sense of gameplay because your minions will – even with the numbers advantage, still take some time to kill the enemy minions.

How to Slow Push

Slow pushing is very simple to understand and perfect. To slow push a wave, all you need to do is kill the caster minions in the enemies wave. You can do this with your basic attacks as well as using your abilities to take them down faster. Another way of setting up a slow push is just by having a minion advantage. Whenever you have a minion advantage over the enemy, the wave will slow push.

If the minion wave is crashing on your side of the map, you will need to have around a 2 or 3 minion advantage over the enemy, whereas if it’s crashing on the enemies side, you will need a 4 or 5 minion advantage. Basically, if the enemy has a total of 2 minions alive in lane, you want to have 5 if it’s on your side. If it’s past the middle of the map and on the enemies side, you want to have at least 6 minions alive for the enemies 2.

Why You Should Slow Push

Slow pushing achieves something while you’re not in lane and when you’re unable to do something yourself. You should slow push a minion wave so it can draw the enemies attention which will allow you to take an objective or be somewhere else on the map.

A slow-pushed wave can take down multiple towers if done correctly and if it is left unattended by the enemy. Sometimes, a slow pushed wave will not achieve much in terms of overall damage, but in some cases, it can. The pressure the slow pushed wave achieves is more than enough for the fact that it didn’t take anything.

Because the Baron and the Dragon are highly contested objectives are not usually sneakily taken after the laning phase, you need to set up a minion wave to be slow pushed which will allow you to apply pressure in one lane as well as the objective.

When To Slow Push

Slow pushing is a great tool to use in the later stages of the laning phase and during the mid and late game. Generally, you want to avoid using slow pushing in the laning phase (the early stages) because it will mess up your laning and it can make you miss out on CS and gold. It can also put yourself in a bad spot in lane where you will be denied CS, opening yourself up to ganks and overall, have an unpleasant laning phase except in the mid lane when it can be beneficial.You should look to set up a slow pushing wave when you want to:

• Roam And Help Other Lanes
  • Before you go to help other laners, you need to have the lane slow pushing. This is a must do before leaving your lane as it will stop the enemy from pushing quickly and taking down your tower while you’re missing. Roaming is a very nice and effective thing to do and it can help your laners out, but leaving your lane in a less than adequate state will leave you in needing assistance.
  • While you’re gone, make sure to frequently check back at your lane to see what the minions are doing and where the enemy is. If they are pushing it back quickly, you will need to return to lane as soon as you can.
• Recall to Pick Up Items
  • In the mid and late game, if you want to Recall, you should slow push the wave in order for it to start forming a big wave which will eventually start applying pressure to the closest objective. You only want to slow push to back if you’re in the later stages of the game and not in the early game, in this case, you want to fast push, not slow push.
  • It’s a good idea to slow push the wave before leaving rather than leaving the wave to do as it pleases. If you leave the lane to slow push, it will get big and continue growing while until it is cleared by the enemies. If it’s left unattended, then the wave can take down a tower and will continue to do so until it’s contested. You do not want to slow push in the laning phase to Recall and pick up items.
• Make Plays Around The Map
  • If you’re looking to pressure objectives like the Dragon, Rift Herald or the Baron, you need to set up a slow push before leaving your lane. Slow pushing in this situation is good because you will be able to catch the wave and continue applying pressure when you return.
  • In the early game, you need to make it less obvious that you’re taking an early game objective (such as Rift Herald or the Dragon) which you can do by setting up a slow push and then leaving for the objective.
  • Once you take Baron, you need to catch the wave and apply pressure to the closest tower. If you do not slow push the wave before leaving to take the objective, the enemy may push the lane and start taking your towers while you’re busy being occupied. This could also swing the advantage in the enemies favor and give them a chance to get back in the game.
• Set Up Large Minion Waves
  • We’ve said it already, but here it goes again. The huge minion waves that you see in the LCS and in Solo Queue are all started by a player slow pushing the wave or a minion wave having an advantage.
  • If a slow pushed wave has been growing in numbers, it will need an enemy to go and clear it once it gets to the tower. During this time, your team could pressure the objective and try to take it why the enemy goes to clear the wave. A good time to do this is as soon as it starts attacking the tower.
  • Fighting like this will make any fight 4v5 as an enemy will be missing trying to clear the tower.

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6. The Fast Push

Fast pushing is a term that is used in League of Legends to create immediate and attention seeking behavior that needs to be addressed quickly by the enemy. Without this, enemies could take liberty and be gone for a long time without missing much. Fast pushing is used to force the enemy to return to lane.

There are two types of fast pushes in League of Legends. The first, and something we won’t really go into detail about, is clearing the minion wave. This is what most people do when they hear the term “push.” It is a very useful thing to do when you want to clear a minion wave quickly and make your minions move around the map. It will allow your minions to get to the objectives quicker as well as they will not be stopped by a minion wave.

The second type of fast push is used when you want to Recall or leave lane. We will go into more detail about this subject briefly. The two types of fast pushing are both really good at denying the enemy minions and force them to come back to a lane.

How To Fast Push

To fast push a wave you need to kill all the melee minions (the front minions) as quickly as you can as well as any cannon minions in the lane. You should use your auto attacks as well as your AOE abilities to make the wave clearing quicker.

Fast pushing requires one thing – more minions. The more minions you have compared to the enemies, the faster and more powerful the push will be.

When To Fast Push

Fast pushing is a good tool to use when you want to achieve something quickly. It is good to have at your disposal to grow a minion wave quickly which can allow you to get certain things done fast.Here are situations where you’ll want to fast push:

When you want to dive the enemy under tower

• When you want to dive the enemy, you should have as many minions around you as possible to help tank the tower shots and also help you deal damage to the enemy. Because of the way minions work, if the enemy auto attacks you once, they will also start taking minion damage which works in your favor.
• If the enemy lacks wave clear, you can pressure them heavily with just the advantage of minions by itself. If they do not respect you and are greeding for minions, then you can threaten to dive. If you have your Jungler nearby, you will be able to dive them.

If the enemy has left lane to base

• If the enemy has been forced to Recall or has died after a fight. You should fast push the wave so it pushes to the enemies tower. Doing this will allow you to deal damage to the enemy tower and apply pressure to it. Also, letting the wave bounce will leave it in a good place for when you finally come back to lane after Recalling. This can also draw the enemy Jungler to the lane which will potentially relieve some pressure on the other lanes.
• Generally speaking, in this situation you want to bend the rules to fast pushing and instead, fast push but continue auto attacking the remaining minions to make the wave move quicker. If the enemies back, you want the wave to go push under their tower so it resets.
• If the enemy has Teleport, a short death timer, or if you lack any form of wave clear then you will struggle to push the wave quick enough. Your goal is to make the wave bounce or reset in the middle of the lane. Depending on how many minions your wave has, the longer the tower will take to kill them and this may make the wave bounce and not fully reset.
• If your minion wave has a few minions, pushing is good and the wave will fully reset. If you have a lot of minions, your wave will not reset and instead, it will bounce.
• Before you think about pushing the wave in this situation, think about these things:
  • Do I have time to push? Can I push quick enough? Is the wave too big?
  • If the answers are no, no and yes, then you have one option on what you can do. You should make the wave slow push towards you.
  • To do this, thin the wave down, kill all the enemy melee champions, and leave a few enemy ranged minions and then Recall. It will slowly push towards you but not quick enough for the tower to clear them. The number of remaining minions depends heavily on where the wave is; the closer to your tower, the more enemy minions you need alive.

The enemy has left lane to help another lane out*

• As fast pushing is used to apply immediate pressure and to punish the enemy, it is highly beneficial to start fast pushing when the enemy has left lane. If the enemy has gone to roam, or has Teleported to another lane, you should immediately start to fast push the wave.
• After you’ve started the fast push, you have 1 of 2 options. The first is to continue pushing in attempts to get the tower. This is a good thing to do as it will allow you to get something out of it and it may also make the enemy return back to lane quickly, or it may make the enemy Jungler come and stop your push.
• Alternatively, you can follow the enemy as the soon as you’ve started the fast push. This can be good as you can make any trade even but is also quite dangerous as you may not be able to follow the enemy when they leave your lane. The enemy may also be baiting you- so keep that in mind.
• *Before starting to fast push, make sure that the enemy has not baited into you ruining your wave management technique. Before choosing to fast push, leave it for a few seconds to make sure they’re not baiting you.

• When you want to help another lane
  • During the laning phase, you may notice that one of your laners is having a rough time and is losing lane. One gank can help them out, but many Junglers feel obligated to help them.
  • In the current meta, which involves a lot of skirmish and snowballing, you should try to help out your other lanes when applicable. It is important to note that you should not put yourself behind while you try to help out an ally. If they are a “lost cause” then just keep applying pressure and win your lane.

Wave clearing

When you’re trying to get a lane pushing, you can do something that is called “wave clearing” or “killing the wave.” It has many terms and they all mean the same thing – kill all the minions as quickly as possible.

If you are wanting to back but also want the wave fast push quicker, you can leave the 3 minions alive, and then proceed to walk up to the next reinforcement wave and completely destroy all the minions. This is best done when you’re ahead of the enemy or when the enemy is either dead or out of lane and nobody is able to contest you.

This will allow the wave to get deeper into the enemy’s territory meaning that somebody needs to stop it which gives you time to move around the map after Recalling. This is also giving your team time to take an objective or achieve other things.

Pushing like this is best done when you’re full health and not subjectable to ganks or likely to get killed. It is a relatively risky thing to do because you will be overextended and over staying in lane to make the wave start pushing.

Fast pushing is something you need to do to punish enemies and create a noticeable difference in gold and experience. When the enemy is not around, you need to abuse the fact that they’re not there and get yourself as much gold and experience as you can.

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7. The Ideal Lane Phase for Every Role

We’ve talked a lot about all the different types of wave management there is in League and we’ve already given you some examples. Playing and finding matchups and knowing what you can do during the laning phase is key to understanding wave management fully. In this section, we will talk about what you can be looking to do during the laning phase to help you achieve more in terms of wave management.

Top lane

All of the wave management techniques we’ve listed in this guide are applicable to the top lane. There are many reasons why the top lane is the best lane and most successful lane to use wave management methods on. One of the main reasons is that there are mostly fighters and tanks played there. Another reason is that you’re usually isolated – there’s only one champion to worry about outside of the occasional gank.

• When trying to make a Teleport play or when you’re trying to help another lane out, you need to apply a fast push to the lane. This will benefit you in a few ways. First of all, the Top laner will have to respond to the wave otherwise he will miss out on gold and experience that may put him behind in lane. If the enemy laner does stay in lane to pick up the CS, he will be unable to contest your teleport or roam that makes your side have the numbers advantage.
• If you want to take the Rift Herald with your Jungler, you should set up a slow push. This will allow your lane to be pushing and doing something while you’re gone. If you do not push and instead have the wave frozen (for example) the enemy will be able to apply pressure to your tower whilst you’re gone to take the objective.

Jungle

While knowing how wave management works directly for Junglers isn’t going to help you too much, it can, however, impact you as a player by knowing when you can gank an ally. One of the most frustrating things any laner can experience, and Junglers too, is when the lane is not in a position to be ganked or when the Jungler doesn’t come or comes at the wrong time.

• Unless you can dive the enemy, you may be unable to gank any lane that is pushed up. Instead of wasting your time, you should spend it farming or looking to take other objectives. If a lane is even, you may be able to gank it and if your allies are freezing, you will also be able to gank them.
• If your ally is being pushed under their tower and is having a hard time when they try to farm, you will need to help them out. You will probably be unable to kill the enemy unless you can 1v1 them because your laners may be unable to follow up. Try to relieve pressure, and do not expect to get the kill – so don’t flame them if they can’t follow up!
• After a successful gank, you should help push the wave and apply pressure to the tower. Depending on the length of the enemies death time, you may be able to take the tower. A tower in the early game is more important than most drakes, so try and get the first tower when you can. With that said, if your ally doesn’t want the lane to be pushed- do not push it. It may ruin their laning experience and might make them mad. Unless they specify not to push, push the wave if you can.

Mid lane

As the middle lane requires a certain different type of wave management, you need to be prepared to adapt to each situation. The middle lane is by far the easiest lane to gank and the most difficult to manage the waves in.

• Before going to help any lanes out, you need to shove in the minion wave. Like the top lane with TP plays, you need the lane to be pushing so it doesn’t push against you while you’re gone. This will also prevent the enemy from following you until they’ve cleared it
• If the enemy team has a champion who is notorious for level 2 ganks, be prepared for it. Do not push or overextend as they will gank and continue to camp you if they know you’re behind.
• Because the mid lane is arguably the easiest to gank and snowball, most of the time you will want the wave to be closer to your side of the lane rather than the enemies. Doing so can prevent enemy ganks, it can set up your Jungler to gank you, and it can prevent the enemy from engaging on you.
• When playing as a champion who shoves in early, have good map awareness and ward coverage to prevent any cheeky ganks from the enemy.

Bottom lane

The bottom lane can find huge success in the laning phase when they manage waves properly, such as by getting early objectives and snowballing their lane. In the bottom lane, there are at least 4 champions at all times. This makes wave management more difficult to control so keep an eye on what all the players are doing and where they’re positioned in the lane.

The bottom lane has many different champions and many different play styles which makes describing what to do in every situation slightly more challenging. At champ select, try to choose a lane where you have good synergy between the ADC and Support. In a lane with little to no synergy, you will find yourself struggling to control waves as efficiently.

For example, if you have a Support who needs to hard engage, you should not be playing somebody who wants to push the enemy under tower as it will make them relatively useless in the early stages of the game.

When playing, you need to find an area to have the wave that benefits both the ADC and the Support. That means you need to not put each other in a position that will put them at risk. With that said, there is a sort of risk vs reward with wave management. If the reward is worth the risk, you may be able to push the lane to the limits.

ADC

As an ADC, you will usually be dictating the lane in the laning phase. This is because you will have more control over what you want to do. As the Support is all about engaging, protecting and fighting, you will need the wave in a more favorable position which allows them to do what they need to do, and you to do what you need to. In every matchup, you need to play your lane to your advantages.

• If you have a poke Support, it would be beneficial if you pick a champion that can also poke the enemies. This will allow you to make any lane a kill lane and allow you to apply high amounts of pressure to the enemy laners which in turn, will allow you to win lane and snowball your advantage.
• If your Support dies, try not to push the wave. Instead, let it come towards you and try to freeze it outside of your tower. Letting the wave freeze near your tower will allow your Support to pick up XP and CS that he missed. This will prevent them from falling too far behind.
• When your Support is missing in action, you have to keep the wave frozen outside of your tower. If you push, the enemy will be able to deny and zone you. Look to keep the wave outside of your tower though so they cannot dive you either.
• When behind and having an unlucky laning phase, you will need to catch up in farm. To do this, keep the wave frozen on your side of the map near your tier 2 tower. Avoid pushing at all costs because you will get denied and not be able to catch up. With that said, be prepared to roam and group.

Support

As the Support, you have to act fast and be able to know what your ADC is thinking when it comes to wave management. As the ADC usually dictates the laning phase and where they want to keep it, the Support needs to help them in order to make it easier.

• If the ADC wants to freeze near their tower, your job as the Support is to hold the wave outside of the range so it doesn’t get pushed under your tower and reset. You need to hold it until the next minion wave comes. Alternatively, if the ADC wants to thin it down, you should help and if they want it to reset- you need to also help them.
• If the ADC wants to back and Recall or he wants to push the wave, you need to also help him do that. Continue auto attacking and (when possible) use your abilities to get the push going.
• Before you roam to help other lanes, make sure your ADC is going to be safe and not get killed while you’re gone. In most situations, if you’re not ahead but are even, he will want it froze outside of his tower. If you push the wave, the enemy will be able to deny your ADC which will put him behind as he won’t be able to farm. If the ADC stays under tower, the enemy may be able to dive him or take the tower.
• Roaming is super situational and going at the right time is key. You need to be on the same page with your ADC and not leave them alone if they’re going to die. To prevent them from getting killed, leave them in a good spot where they won’t get killed or denied.

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8. Important Laning Phase Tips

We’ve talked a lot about techniques and when to use them, as well as what you can do to help yourself get a better start in game. Now we’ve come to a section that is slightly out of the usual context of wave management, but nonetheless, it has a significance to the subject.

Leashing for your Jungler

In most games, the Jungler requires some assistance in order for them to have a healthy clear. It is usually left to the Bot laners to help them out. Whenever you leash for your Jungler, you have to keep in mind that you need to get to lane as soon as you can in order to start farming and getting experience.

You should aim to leave no later than 1:37/1:38. If you leave later, you may miss out on some of the minions which will give the enemy the experience advantage over yourself which can allow them to hit level 2 and level 3 before you.

If you’ve invaded and stolen one of the enemies buffs, you will need to leave slightly earlier in order for you to not miss out anything. The latest you should leave is 1:33. This still gives you some time to help your Jungler out, but you really need to get back into your lane so you can start getting XP and gold. Just because your Jungler stole a buff and you put the enemy Jungler briefly behind, you do not want to end up being the weak link of your team.

Levels 1 to 3

Throughout the game, you need to keep an eye on your experience bar and have an understanding of whereabouts you and the enemies are in terms of experience. You will benefit from knowing roughly at what times you will be hitting major level such as level 2 and 3.

In the top and middle lane, you hit level 2 after the first 7 minions have been killed. This is the first minion wave followed by 1 of the melee minions on the second wave. If you kill one of the ranged minions first, you will not hit level 2. In the bottom lane, it’s slightly more as there are two players. For the Support and ADC to hit level 2, they will need to kill the first 9 minions in lane which is the first minion wave followed by the next 3 melee minions. If you kill 2 melee minions and one ranged, you will not hit level 2.

There are exceptions to this rule though. When playing as or with a Mordekaiser, realize that his passive grants him solo experience so he will hit level 2 as if he was in a solo lane. But for the Support, you will hit level 2 with 9 minions.

In the solo lane, you need to kill the first two waves and then the next 3 melee minions on the third wave. In total, this is the first 15 minions in the game. To hit level 3 in the bottom lane, you will need to kill the first 3 waves of minions (the first block) and then the next 3 melee minions on the fourth wave. In total, this is the first 22 minions in the lane. Note that you do not have to last-hit any of the minions- but it would be better if you did!

Ideally, you will be able to hit level 2 and level 3 before the enemy. Having the level up over the enemy champion also benefits your Jungler. With Scuttle Crabs needing to be taken as soon as they’re up and frequently being contested, having the level advantage over your enemy laner will allow you to rotate and help your Jungler out if they need it. Wave management in this situation is also important because you do not want to be pushed under tower where you’re unable to follow and help your allies.

Why a level advantage is important

Whenever you have a level over the enemy, you’re giving yourself an advantage in lane that can help you get a multitude of things. Firstly, the enemy has to respect you otherwise you will be able to engage upon them and hurt them. Secondly, you will be able to zone the enemy of off farm, and thirdly, you will be able to have more abilities than the enemy champion – especially at levels 2,3 and 6.

Whenever you hit a level advantage over the enemy, you should be prepared to engage on them or at the very least, put yourself in a position where you might be able to attack them. Hitting level 2 and level 3 first can also allow you to deny the enemy the level up for some time in some cases – especially when you’re against a scaling champion as an early game champion.

Every champion also has level power spikes, and each is different for many champions, but researching and having good knowledge on your champions logistics and dynamics will allow you to know when they are strong and when they are weak. Playing around your strengths and playing through your weaknesses builds character and makes you a better player. Many people don’t know when there champion peaks let alone how to abuse their strengths. Check out our article on power spikes for more on this.

Zoning in Lane

Our main focus has been on how to perfect wave management and how you can use it in every game. Unfortunately, we haven’t really talked about zoning and how you can win lanes just by zoning the enemy off a wave.

Zoning is where you stand in-between the minion wave, or in an offensive position in the lane where you could potentially poke or fight the enemy. Zoning is not just fighting the enemy, it’s also about applying mental pressure on them and making them respect (or even fear) you.In this picture, we can see that I have the advantage in lane. If Gangplank wants to be able to farm safely, he has to avoid pushing the wave. As he has been pushing the wave, I can proceed to walk up and put myself in a position where I can poke him down and try to fight him if he tries to farm.

If I was to not put myself in a position such as this, he would be able to continue pushing the wave and I would be unable to freeze the wave myself. Also, as he would want to stop my freeze by clearing the wave quickly and letting the wave bounce – I was preventing this by standing in an offensive position. In this specific example, I was receiving unwelcomed pressure from the enemy Jungler and was finding it very frustrating laning against the Gangplank because he was playing so passive.

When you try to zone an enemy champion, you need to keep a few things in mind. Firstly, you must have the advantage or the ability to out-trade them if they decide to fight you. If you do not have this advantage, you can’t really zone them. Secondly, you need to have good ward coverage so you do not get caught out while you’re overextended.

Zoning as a whole is a great way of getting poke down on the enemy and denying them CS.

The Level 1 Pull

You may have seen a level 1 pull in some of your games where one player goes into lane early and pulls the wave slightly towards the enemies side of the lane. This allows the minions to be slightly further up in the lane. The technique is good to manipulate the wave and have it start of pushing towards you on the following waves. Check out how the Jhin, in this video by Andrew VII, pulls the minions to have his wave start close to the enemy turret:

This will help you set up early ganks for your Jungler when they are level 3. For example, if your Jungler started bot side and your bot lane leashed for him, doing this method will make sure the minion wave is on your side of the map when the Jungler hits level 3 which can help you get your lane snowballing.

Split Pushing

While not strictly for the laning phase, we’ve decided to include it here as this guide is getting pretty big and we needed to touch upon the subject of split pushing.

Split pushing is a helpful tool to use when attempting to take objectives while your team is doing something else. Working with a slow pushed wave can allow you to take down towers and apply pressure to objectives. Having a slow pushed wave also has the added benefit of growth so even if you do not catch it and apply pressure with it, it can still grow in size and take an objective on its own.

Split pushing is a very big subject and we’ve already made a guide on it beforehand. If you want to check out our Split-pushing guide, click here.

6V6 Minions

Having an idea of what all your waves are doing and where they are on the map is very beneficial in learning about wave management. Here’s a good tip for you…

Because of the way minion reinforcements work, if a wave is even on any side of the map, it will eventually start slow pushing towards the enemy. This is because the reinforced minions will arrive quicker compared to the enemies. This means that, if a wave is 6 minions versus 6 minions fighting to the death and they’re past the halfway point of a map, it will start pushing for that team and it will grow in size.

If you don’t want this to happen, make sure that you always have a 4 minion advantage over the enemy in lane so it will keep pushing while you’re gone.

Warding

We haven’t really touched on warding in this guide because it wasn’t our main aim. However, when you are pushing at any point of the game, or when you’re using any type of wave management technique for that matter- you need to have efficient warding.

Pushing, freezing and trying to deny or zone the enemy is done at great risk without proper ward coverage. Make sure that you have wards around your lane and around the map when you try to use wave control techniques. Vision is super important and without it, you will end up killing yourself or getting yourself killed which then will make you farm drop and all your efforts of wave manipulation go to rest.

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9. Cheat sheet

There is a lot of in-depth and highly detailed information that we have presented in this guide and we are not sure if everybody understands all the terminology that we’ve mentioned. As this wave management guide is aimed at everybody, we needed to have a sort of “cheat sheet” where we can give you some extra information about the terms we used in this guide to help you have additional understanding or use for review.

Slow Pushing: Slow pushing is when you make the wave slowly push towards the enemies objective by killing just the caster minions (and the cannon minion if there is one) in the wave. This will make the wave slowly push towards the enemy. As the melee minions are hard to kill, it will take time for your minions to kill them – this is how the slow push is formed.

When a slow push is not contested by an enemy champion, the wave will grow very large and take down objectives.

Pro Tip: Slow pushing is best when it’s set up a few minutes before a major objective is about to spawn. Depending on the starting point of the slow push, it will start pushing into the enemies side when the objective spawns giving your team time to take the objective or fight the enemy 4v5 or 5v5. If you fight the enemy and lose, they will only be able to take the objective and you will not lose any towers as the minion wave will not be in the enemies favor.

Fast Pushing: Fast pushing is when the wave quickly moves forward towards an objective. The wave needs to be answered by the enemy for it not to deal damage to the tower and reset the wave. To start a fast push, you need to kill all the melee minions in the lane. Ranged caster minions are easy to kill, so the wave will push quickly as your minions will not have to kill tankier enemy melee minions.

If a big fast pushing wave is being pushed against an enemy objective, the enemy will have to answer it or they will lose an objective.

Pro Tip: If the enemy has grouped and you’re split pushing, as soon as they are all shown on the map, fast push the minion wave in order for the enemy to answer you – then proceed to escape.

Freezing: Freezing is where you only auto attack the minions as soon as they’re about to die at the latest possible moment. To effectively freeze, you need to also match the enemies damage on the minion wave: if they auto attack a melee minion, you also auto attack a melee minion. For a successful freeze, you need to have an even number of minions in lane in order for it to not push in either direction.

The number of bonus enemy minions in a wave is the number of waves you can successfully freeze for. If there are 5 bonus minions in a wave, you could potentially deny the enemy at least 35 minions from the enemy.

Pro Tip: In the early game, you may be unable to zone or tank the minion wave. If you cannot tank the enemy minion wave, you will need thin it down to make it more bearable. You may also be unable to zone the enemy champion from the minion wave in the early game as you lack damage and sustain. Keep these in mind when you try to freeze in the early game.Holding the wave / Tanking the wave: This is where you or an ally holds the minion wave in a certain place to prevent it from pushing in either direction. Holding a wave can be done by Junglers and Supports when helping their laners out.

The only time you want to hold a minion wave is when it is outside of your tower’s range. The bigger the wave, the more damage they do and the harder you will need to tank. Keep this in mind and try to not hold a huge wave for too long. If you cannot hold a wave for long, you will need to thin the wave down to make it easier to tank.

Pro Tip: Do not stand around tanking minions for too long. If holding them reduces your health by a good portion, you will be putting yourself at added risk from the enemy which may allow them to dive or fight you and break your freeze.

Zoning / Denying: When you deny or zone an enemy champion, you put yourself directly in front of your minion wave or in the middle of it to prevent the enemy from last-hitting or being able to farm. When you zone an enemy champion, you need to be a threat and be prepared to engage and fight the enemy champion if they try to farm.

Pro Tip: Only zone if you can contest and fight the enemy if they try to farm or break your Freeze. If you cannot fight the enemy or deny them when the freeze is happening, you will be unable to zone them efficiently and it may get you killed.

Resetting the Wave / Bounce: Making the wave bounce is when you push the wave to the enemies tower. The wave will be killed by the tower, and then it will bounce off of it and then reset itself. The minion wave will either land close to the enemies tower or reset itself in the middle of the lane.

Depending on how many minions you push under the enemies tower, the longer it will take for them to die by firing squad. If few minions are pushed, then the wave will reset. If there are many minions, the tower will most likely bounce after some time.

Resetting a wave is a good way of forcing the enemy to miss out on farm and experience after they’ve Recalled or died. You will usually use this wave management technique just before backing.

Pro Tip: A wave will usually bounce off a tower first time around, if you kill and push the wave after it bounces,  it will then reset. Trim the Wave: Trimming a wave is where you kill off some of the enemy minions to make the wave more bearable and prevent it from spiraling out of control. You will need to trim a wave down to use any sort of wave management technique; from fast pushing to slow pushing, to make any wave management tool work you have to trim down a wave.

Unless you can tank a minion wave without losing a good portion of health, you will need to trim the wave down to make a lane freeze. Remember that you need to keep extra enemy minions alive when freezing closer to your tower for it to stay there.

Pro Tip: When trimming down a wave, make sure to take the cannon minion. This will prevent the wave from pushing if you want to freeze, and it will also prevent the wave from taking to much damage.

Wave Reinforcement: Wave reinforcements are the next waves coming to lane. Every 30 seconds, a minion wave spawns and starts running it down. After a period of time, they will catch up and get into the action.

Pro Tip: If you don’t know where the enemies wave is, look at your map to see where your minion wave is – their timings are identical.

Clearing a Wave: Clearing a wave is where you kill all the minions in the lane. If you kill a minion wave in its entirety, your wave will keep walking until it’s met by a tower or another enemy wave.

Pro Tip: You can use your abilities to clear a wave to make it quicker.

Pull the wave: Pulling the wave is where you have no minions in lane and you make the minions focus you. While they are focusing you, you can start walking into them and around the lane to prevent them from walking under your tower and killing themselves.

You will usually pull a wave into the start of the river, or into the bushes. You want to keep the hold for as long as possible until your minions arrive where you can then drop the pull and let the minions start focusing your minions.

You can drop minion aggro by leaving the minions range or running out of site: such as running into an unwarded bush.

Pro Tip: When pulling a wave, you may have to thin it down and kill a few of the minions if you’re unable to tank them. Make sure that you do not pull the wave for too long as you will take a lot of damage from the minions.

Even Minions: When a minion wave is equal in numbers. Typically in a 6v6 or a 7v7 setting.

Pro Tip: If a wave is even on your side of the map, it will eventually start slow-pushing towards the enemies tower. This is because your reinforcement minions will get to their friends before the enemies will as they are closer to them. This also works for the enemies side- if they’re on there, it will push towards you.

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Conclusion and Finale

Wave management is a frustrating and complex subject to learn and teach because everything in this game is super situational and everything is very subjective on what you can do and when. Every situation has a million different factors that make any decision difficult to pinpoint and say, “Do this every time when XYZ is possible”. This is caused by many things such as champion choice, enemy laner, enemy Jungler and your allies. League of Legends is a very situational game, and you should try to adapt to every game.

With that said, we hope that we provided you with a little light and helped you understand what wave management is, when and why to do it, and how. Do not beat yourself up if you’re unable to grasp the concept of wave management in its fullest – experience plays a huge part in learning how to lane effectively on every champion.

If you have any questions or want to learn more, check out PicklePants stream.

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Wow, well that was epic. We hope you found this article helpful for your climb, let us know if we missed any wave management techniques in the comments below. As always, you can find Picklepants in our Discord if you have any questions!

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