Lanes and classes
This can be seen obvious – there are 3 lanes and 6 classes in the game. This classification best fits for new players, since it is simple for understanding. But when it comes to practice – these classifications are not that effective. Lets start with classes.
I would recommend 3 types of dichotomous classifications:
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- Magic & Physic
- Frontlane & Backlane
- Cores (pushers+gangers) and Supports
For being effective team must have each of this classes in their composition.
Magic & Physic
This is the most easiest for understanding – one deals magical damage and others deals physical damage. Meaning that you need cores from bouth of this classes. Why this is important – it’s more complicated to build up defence stats against this kind of teams, especially for cores. In example if you are up against full magic damage team – just build as 2nd or 3rd item Athena Shield even if you are core – this will make you much harder to kill, while you will have much more time to deal damage.
Frontline & Backline
Quite easy to understand aswell – you need some “meat” in frontlines, so backlines could survive longer and do more damage. Frontlines are thouse who can sustain damage or protect backlines from gangs from behind and usually initiate in a team fights. Usually they are Tanks and Fighters. Backlines – main damage dealers and very squishy. Usually they are Mages, Marksmans and Supports. Assasins are backline heroes, even if they are melee type damage dealers, because they can’t protect others and are squishy. Usually 1 frontline hero is not enough, even a tank will melt quite fast. 2 or 3 heroes in frontline is best.
Cores and Supports
Supports are tanks and support type heroes – there main role is not to do damage, but to aid their teammates and help damage dealers to be most effective. Cores should be divided in 2 subclasses – pushers and gangers.
- Pushers & Gangers. Now this is what many doesn’t understand, yet this seperates bad compositions from good. Gangers are the ones who wins early-mid game, pushers wins mid-late game.
- Gangers. High early game impact, mobile. Usually these are midlaners and turtle laners, because they have to rotate, do early game objectives, win teamfights, help sidelaners.
- Pushers. Weak early game. Good wave clear potential. Lategame potential. Their role is to protect sidelane turrets from other pushers and to push and destroy turrets and farm to get their core items ASAP. They are always sidelaners.
It also should be noted that not only hero itself defines who is he – pusher or ganger, the lane where he goes defines his role for the early-midgame. I.e. Lunox goes Mid and Harith goes top. In this situation Harith becomes a pusher – he pushes and protects his towers, even if he is a better ganger than a pusher.
Composition
As it has been already stated – your team should consist all of the classes – cores and supports, frontline and backline, physical and magical cores. The best composition consists 3 cores and 2 supports. This is a best compositoin because of the game ecomonics – the resourses (sourses of your farm) are limited and supports usually can give more CC.
There should be mentioned that the specification of each heroe and what it does. In example there are good secondary tanks, but they aren’t very good when they are main tanks, these are Akai, Balerick, Tigreal, Johnson, Franco, Khufra, Grock. Yes, these heroes can be the only one tank in a team, but they are much more effective when there is a main tank in the team aswell. Mainly this is because this tanks are gangers, and shouldn’t be babysitting sidelaners, but instead helping midlaner.
There are disablers in the game like Chou, Kaja, Nana. There main role is to disable specific targets. There are support type mages, like Kadita, Eudora, Aurora – they aren’t best as a magic core and basicaly they do the same thing – single target high burst instant damage, meaning that there is not point in having two or more of them in one team. There are more of this “similiar heroes” in a game, just think about what the specific heroe does, and don’t duplicate them in a team composition, if you do so, you can end up in disadvantage vs balanced team composition. There always should be someone who has retribution spell and someone who has AoE dmg skills for anti-heal equipment.
Lanes
Effectevly there are 3 lanes in the game:
- Mid lane
- Solo lane
- Turtle lane
Mid lane. Is the most important lane in early game. Performance of this lane dictates your team’s performance in mid game. It is essential that this lane is objective aware. Struggle between team’s midlaners will decide who will have advantage in mid game. More about this in Objective section.
Turtle Lane. Usually this is a duo lane. Turtle lane is a lane where the first turtle will appear. The composition of this lane is very important, because usually heroes from this lane and midlane will fight for the first turtle, while Solo laners stays on their lane, which is on opposite side of the map.
Solo lane. Usually this is a duel between 2 adc. This is the lane that should be ganged most of the time by both of the teams, because if one team’s ADC got heavely pressured, mid game can become 5 vs 4, putting one of the team in big disadvantage forcing them to play defencevly, what can end up in big global gold disadvantage.
Objectives
Actually there is only one objective in the game – Destroy the enemie’s Base, but first things comes first. So by the Objectives we mean making the best decisions in chosing between current avaible targets, to get us closer to destroying the enemie’s base (my typo sucks, lol). This targets are:
- Turrets
- Turtle/Lord
- Heroes
- Buffs/Crabs
- Packs
It should be noted that this targets can be offencive or defencive. Every each of this targets has it own purpose and these purposes differce on each of the game stages (early-mid-late).
More detailed about the objectives of each lanes in early game, because more or less they are always the same.
Mid Lane objectives
As mentioned earlier – this is a lane of gangers, meaning that it is essential to get level 4 ASAP. This is the reason why common routine of this lane is: Central Green => Pack => Top Buff => Top Green => Crab => Top Pack = MidLane Pack. Again – all this is to get level 4 for Mid Lane Core ASAP, this is why Hunter Sword is essential for a midlane core. After gettin lvl 4 youd should try to fight and kill someone, especially if you have reached level 4 before other midlaner, at this point you must force a teamfight. This will allow you to have an advantage when fighting for the first turtle, but also remember not to lose anything in this fight, or you can lose the First Turtle. Turtle is very important because it gives global gold advantage and it’s buff is really effective for gangers. After the Turtle (killing it, defending it, losing it) you should start to focus on enemie’s heroes, and the best option is their MM, because it is weak early game and if don’t let him to farm early game, it could lead to a 5 vs 4 in mid game, which is a huge advantage.
Ganging. Midlaner should always gang (roam). Midlaner should always have must have a goal in his mind when he goes on a gang – what does he plans to acomplish with that gang and what is success rate of this gang. There could be different gang goals – kill, force to recall, take crab, destroy the tower, take jungle, force enemie to move towards that lane, defencive objectives, etc. In early game kills are more important because it gives the most gold and you mostlikely won’t be able to destroy the tower or it will take too long for you. But be carefull when ganging your mm’s lane, because by going there you can force your enemie to counter gang or protect that lane, which can lead to some teamfights on that lane or just trading damage for some time, what leads to a gold lose for a pusher from that lane. So when midlaner is deciding where to go – choice your best option.
Turtle Lane
Your actions depends on your lane – top or bot, because usually midlaners go for their top (your top is enemie’s bot). If you are top – Pack => Top Green => Crab => Pack. After this not Core from top lane can go help midlane for teamfight in Mid Lane and getting ready for the Turtle. If enemie’s Top Lane doesn’t have hard pushers (Zhask, Kimmy, Bane, etc.), then both Top Laners can go Mid Lane for that moment. After the first turtle, usually Turtle Lane becomes Solo lane by switching lanes with sololaner or just because only core stays on that lane while support from that lane joins midlaners. After sucefull ganging it happens that you are behind the enemie turret – don’t block the pack and leave this lane’s pusher without a gold from that pack – let the pack to pass the turret.
Solo Lane
Your first objective here is to destroy enemie’s T1 and not to lose your own – this is very important because you are responsible for turrets on your lane, don’t go further than midlane if you aren’t forced too. Usually you can go to midlane to clear a pack and go back to your lane. Remember that usually for you destroying and protecting towers is more important than teamfights in early-midgame. It’s very important not to die to your opponent on this lane, because it can usually ends up in losing your lane (losing T1). Solo laning gets complicated when you have to lane vs hard pushers like kimmy, gord and other long-rage with high early game damage, at this point you can help yourself by buying 2-3 red necklases. It’s very crucual to always keep an eye on mini map, because solo laners usually are the main targets for ganging. If you are starting to lose your lane, you always can ask support from duo lane to assist you after the 1st turtle, but remember that he can’t babysitt you forever, so use that time while he is with you to obtain and advantage on your lane, or mostlikely it will be a lose decision. Remember that you can always ask for a swap lanes after the 1st turtle. If you are pushing and don’t see enemie on the mini map for longer than 3-5 seconds – recall, or go under the tower (depends on the game’s stage), remember that you are always an easy target for a gang.
Gold
There are 2 type of gold that should be considered – global and individual gold.
Individual gold is amount of gold that each player has farmed. Basically it shows how each players performs in terms of farming. The only difference comes when someone is “fed”, meaning that he outfarmes all other players. Usually that happens because of snowballing – early game kills from early-mid game core. Snowballing doesn’t happens just by few kills early game, it also requires killing jungle creeps and packs more faster leading to a higher gold income per minute. This is why duo/trio mid is more preferable, because it allowes to snowball. On other hand it gets very dangerous to die to a midlaner early game, that can lead to his snowballing forcing your team to play defencevly, and give up turtle, coins and some of your jungle. Again – snowballing isn’t just kills early game, it’s also effective usage of extra gold and levels you get, by clearing waves, engaging in jungle, clearing your jungle more faster, followed by more sucessfull gangs.
How to use this infromation. Build defence items against snowballer’s damage. For cores it doesn’t mean that you have to buy complete item, you can just buy 1-2 Magic Resist Cloak or Leather Jerkin or buy Drednaught Armor or Silence Robe, they are not very expencive but helps a lot. For a tank it gives information which item to prioritize. Obviously you should focus the snowballer in team fights. Pusher is on the free farm. There is an opposite of early snowballer – farmed pusher. This happens when on of the team leaves other team’s pusher (mm) for free farm. Meaning that he can farm on anything that he wishes to, and no one kills him or forces him to recall to base and/or miss packs.
Global gold is your team’s total gold. This shows which team will have an advantage in team fights. Advantage in Global gold you get from turtles and towers, or noticeble kills advantage. Don’t start teamfights if you are behind in global gold – play defencevly and fight only under your towers or set up traps and try to obtain kills by number advantage.
Teamfights
Teamfight is every fight that consists 3 or more players from each side. Important factors in teamfights:
- Positioning of back and frontlanes (mistakes that can lead to a good initiation or bad if baited)
- Team positions in terms of space (which team has wider space and thinner) which can lead to a bad players positining (heroes are positioned closer to each other) and can lead to a fewer reposition options or escape routes. So if one team is in jungle and other is on a lane – usually team in jungle will be in a disadvantage. Opportunity to hide in bushes.
- Global Gold – don’t start head on fight if you are in global disadvantage and if you have an advantage – force the enemie for team fight away from a towers.
- Number of players in each team at current moment. Starting a fight 4 vs 5 isn’t smart – always look at the map if there is someone pushing from your team, or when is someone pushing from others team. If you see that you being pushed you can try to counter push and start a teamfight – you will have a number advantage and if you suceed you can push much further than 1 enemie, but there is also “but”, like yours T3 is more important than enemie’s T2, etc.
Entering enemie’s base
Most of the time you won’t be able to destroy tower 3 without high risks of losing a teamfight, what can lead to a comeback. Most efficient way to enter the base is by killing the Lord and attacking the tower with him, by using his ability to deactivate towers. If the lord is not avaible then your objective is to split push so the minions little by little will damage the towers and clear enemie’s jungle. Don’t initiate the fights, just split push. This will allow you to keep effective gold advantage for as long as possible (eventually the global gold difference will become not relevant). You should avoid going back to your jungle, because this can gives an opportunity for enemie’s team to farm and gain map vision.
Turtle and Lord
Before starting to attack the Turtle you should put yourself in an advantage for a teamfight by killing someone, depleting their HP, having number advantage. Don’t start killing the turtle if there is a good risk that you will lose a teamfight if enemie comes or if you don’t have a retribution and they have (except for the moments when you have heroes with massive burst damage). Killing a turtle is more effective than conterganging. Always move the Turtle from it’s “Cave”. Same applies for a Lord.
Teamfight conclusion. After winning a teamfight you always should take something from your enemie.
Priority are like this: Base > Lord or T3 > your towers > Turtle > T2&T3 > Jungle.
