General Laning Tips

The lane phase can be one of the most difficult part of the game for many players. The lane phase is also one of the most important stages of the game since it basically sets your team up for the late game. If you snowballed or outfarmed your lane opponent, then you should be more useful and impactful when it comes to late game objective control and team fighting. Here are some general tips to help make laning easier.

• Watch the HP of your minions - When their health gets low the enemy will try to last hit them, at this point they are vulnerable to being harassed with auto attacks or skills. They can either decide to take the free harass, or to miss the minion kill which both will give you an advantage in the lane.

• Know the cooldown of the enemy spells - if you see a Riven burn her stun or Q combo to farm the creep wave, take advantage of the cooldown time frame and force an exchange. If you kept all of your abilities up, you have a huge advantage in the trade since her main damage tools are still unavailable. However, don't over commit if you don't have the potential to burst them down since their abilities may be available again towards the end of the exchange

• Understand the match up - This may take a lot of time and experience to understand but generally, know what your champion is capable of, know what the enemy champion is capable of. Small things like knowing when to engage or how to harass can help you win an unfavorable match up or snowball a favorable match up even harder. Also, be aware of your kill potential and the enemy's as well. There should be no reason to die in a straight 1v1 or 2v2 scenario if you are both equally skilled. Worst case scenario, you'll have to play more passively and farm up for the late game rather than trying to bully your lane opponent.

• Watch the size of the minion wave - Minions do deceivingly high amounts of damage, especially when there is a large mob of them. If you have a large wave of minions that is pushing, and are aware where the enemy jungler is, don't be afraid to force the enemy to trade within the minion line. The enemy will have to retreat or face dozens of minion auto attacks which adds up. On the flip side, don't engage if the enemy has a huge minion line or you'll be at a disadvantage.

• Watch the enemy's movements - If the enemy laner is at low HP but still playing aggressively, there is a high chance that their jungler is waiting for you to take the bait. Get a feel of how your opponent acts in lane so you will be able to sense when something is up.

That is all for now but we will be updating the blog with more tips and content in the near future so stay tuned! Let us know in the comments if there is anything specific you would like to see. Also don't forget to follow our Twitter account @BacktoBronze as well as subscribe to our Youtube channel for potential giveaways and contests in the future!