"Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the lane or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."
-Arthur C. Clarke
Showing posts with label laning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label laning. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Thought: Freezing Lanes
Freezing lanes is an important lane-control skill, one heavily dependent upon a knowledge of lane control in general and the state of the game. Unlike last-hitting, where the majority of the time it's a good idea, freezing a lane for more than a brief period is most often a mistake.
Freezing the lane is the art of holding a minion wave outside of your tower for an extended period of time. This is primarily accomplished by having you or an ally tank a wave of enemy minions just outside of tower range until your own wave arrives, and then by keeping the waves delicately balanced through last-hitting. Generally there should always be a slightly higher number of enemy minions than allies in order to keep the wave from pushing out, although special adjustments are necessary due to siege minions. By doing this you put your opponents in a situation where farming is dangerous, as they're likely to be ganked.
However, freezing the lane is not always a correct action. Just as how losing an inhibitor isn't a big deal so long as there are no objectives the enemy can take, so too is freezing the lane only safe when the enemy has nothing else they can safely accomplish. If you freeze the lane when dragon is available, when your lane opponent(s) can use the time to make plays by roaming, or when your jungle will become more vulnerable, then you are weakening your team's position considerably. Freezing the lane is the same as eliminating your presence on the map.
This technique mostly applies when you or your opponent have already lost a tower. While you can hold a wave outside your tower for a brief time during early laning, it's fairly simple for your lane opponents to upset the balance and cause the lane to reset. Lane freezing is also uncommon in the mid and top lanes because it carries greater risk; allowing higher level solo lanes to roam is dangerous.
Learning this technique is difficult, as is learning when it's safe to use it. Properly applied freezing a lane is a powerful tool for denying your opponent farm and taking an advantage. If you take or lose a turret early be sure to try this technique, and call in your jungler for some easy ganks.
Freezing the lane is the art of holding a minion wave outside of your tower for an extended period of time. This is primarily accomplished by having you or an ally tank a wave of enemy minions just outside of tower range until your own wave arrives, and then by keeping the waves delicately balanced through last-hitting. Generally there should always be a slightly higher number of enemy minions than allies in order to keep the wave from pushing out, although special adjustments are necessary due to siege minions. By doing this you put your opponents in a situation where farming is dangerous, as they're likely to be ganked.
However, freezing the lane is not always a correct action. Just as how losing an inhibitor isn't a big deal so long as there are no objectives the enemy can take, so too is freezing the lane only safe when the enemy has nothing else they can safely accomplish. If you freeze the lane when dragon is available, when your lane opponent(s) can use the time to make plays by roaming, or when your jungle will become more vulnerable, then you are weakening your team's position considerably. Freezing the lane is the same as eliminating your presence on the map.
This technique mostly applies when you or your opponent have already lost a tower. While you can hold a wave outside your tower for a brief time during early laning, it's fairly simple for your lane opponents to upset the balance and cause the lane to reset. Lane freezing is also uncommon in the mid and top lanes because it carries greater risk; allowing higher level solo lanes to roam is dangerous.
Learning this technique is difficult, as is learning when it's safe to use it. Properly applied freezing a lane is a powerful tool for denying your opponent farm and taking an advantage. If you take or lose a turret early be sure to try this technique, and call in your jungler for some easy ganks.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Thought: Remember the Mid-game
One of the most common problems I've seen when a player is attempting to figure out an unfamiliar champion is a failure to consider the mid-game. For whatever reason they forget that there's a period of transition between laning/jungling and the late-game. This leads to some very interesting, and misguided, ideas.
A good example is the odd decision by a number of players to max Hecarim's E first. The concept is to utilize E's strong burst and flat mana cost to harass opponents in lane or crush opponents during ganks. Regardless of whether or not this works, the concept is fundamentally flawed because it doesn't account for the mid-game. A Hecarim whose primary damage tool is on a 16 second cooldown essentially has no role in a teamfight beyond his ult. By focusing only on the early-game these players overlook how useless they will be during the crucial mid-game.
Another example is are Galio players who max E second rather than W. For laning this makes sense, as it makes it easier to clear creep waves, but for team fights it's incredibly wrongheaded. The power of 90 Armor/MR on an otherwise squishy ally far, far outweighs slightly more damage and positional movement speed, and that's without considering the self-healing. Again, these players are losing sight of the big picture in their quest for a perfect laning phase.
This is not to say that early-game considerations are insignificant, they are important, but you always need a strategy for the mid-game. The transition from your early-game skill order and item build into your late-game is as crucial as the either of those two phases.
A good example is the odd decision by a number of players to max Hecarim's E first. The concept is to utilize E's strong burst and flat mana cost to harass opponents in lane or crush opponents during ganks. Regardless of whether or not this works, the concept is fundamentally flawed because it doesn't account for the mid-game. A Hecarim whose primary damage tool is on a 16 second cooldown essentially has no role in a teamfight beyond his ult. By focusing only on the early-game these players overlook how useless they will be during the crucial mid-game.
Another example is are Galio players who max E second rather than W. For laning this makes sense, as it makes it easier to clear creep waves, but for team fights it's incredibly wrongheaded. The power of 90 Armor/MR on an otherwise squishy ally far, far outweighs slightly more damage and positional movement speed, and that's without considering the self-healing. Again, these players are losing sight of the big picture in their quest for a perfect laning phase.
This is not to say that early-game considerations are insignificant, they are important, but you always need a strategy for the mid-game. The transition from your early-game skill order and item build into your late-game is as crucial as the either of those two phases.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
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