The Laning Phase is one of the most important stages in League of Legends, as it can determine the way the rest of the game progresses. Generally speaking, this phase lasts between the 1:05 and 14:00 minute marks, which coincide with the spawn time of the minions and the fall of the turret plates. During this time frame, a large series of events may occur depending on the lane that you play in, and the way your teammates decide to set up for certain objectives. Knowing what you should do in these situations should allow you to get an advantage over your opponents and have a better chance of winning the game.

On a regular Summoner’s Rift Map, you can notice the presence of three different lanes: Top, Middle, and Bottom. Although they share some similarities, the three lanes are different in a vast number of aspects, so dividing them into two categories - Side Lanes (Top and Bottom Lanes) and Mid Lane will make the comparisons between them much easier. This separation is made because the side lanes are different to the Mid Lane in many aspects, including the minions’ spawn time, the quickness to reach level 2, and the duties they are expected to fulfil.

Nevertheless, the side lanes share differences amongst themselves as well, since the Top Lane is expected to only have one player situated there at most times (the Top Laner), which will gain more experience and will be considered to be stronger earlier, whereas the Bot Lane is expected to usually have two players located there (the Bot Laner and the support), which share a large number of resources between themselves.

Having considered all of these aspects, it is necessary to understand the uniqueness and importance of each lane, but also the similarities and the ways they communicate with each other. Below is the most important information that you should apply in your next games to increase your chances of winning!

Top Lane

Minion Waves Spawn Time

The Top Lane minions spawn at 1:05 and reach the lane at 1:38. The first minion dies at 1:55.

During the first wave, 3 melee minions and 3 caster minions are going to spawn. They are different because of the range at which they can attack other units, as well as the amount of experience and gold that they provide. As a solo laner, you will be expected to receive +62 XP and 21 gold for every melee minion that dies around you, and +30 XP and 14 gold for every caster minion. Because you will need 280 XP to reach level 2, it is necessary for either 4 melee and 3 caster minions to die, or 3 melee and 5 caster minions. You can always keep track of the XP that you have by looking at the bar located next to your champion profile.

Reaching Level 2 First

There are several ways to reach level 2 first as a Top Laner, depending on the nature of the matchup (for example, ranged vs melee), or the necessity to help your Jungler clear the first camp (leash vs no leash, leash vs leash, or no leash vs no leash), as well as the amount of XP you gain before reaching the lane (due to local XP gained from units killed, such as wards or champions).

Depending on the nature of your matchup - It is a lot easier for a ranged Top Laner to zone away a melee opponent, therefore you can always try to poke your enemy early by using your extra range whenever they go to last hit a minion. Additionally, you can even use this advantage to zone them off the first wave completely if you manage to get a better position early. For ranged vs. ranged and melee vs melee matchups, reaching level 2 first usually comes down to the need to leash for your Jungler, or other factors, such as cooldowns, faster clear, AOE damage, etc., so they should be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Depending on the need to leash - If both you and your opponent mirror each other at this point, the details provided in the previous section should be applied.

If you have to leash and your opponent does not, then it will be almost impossible for you to reach level 2 first, so opting for a safer approach is recommended. Nevertheless, if your opponent has to help their Jungler and you do not, then you can always gain the level advantage by hitting the minions before the enemy reaches the lane. However, you want to make sure you do not end up pushing the wave so much that you make yourself exposed to early ganks or have to enter tower range if you use your level advantage to poke/all-in the enemy.

Depending on the local XP gained - Usually, killing a ward or a champion will provide you with extra XP. Therefore, if you and your teammates decide to invade and manage to get a kill, or clear a ward, you should gain enough XP to reach level 2 after the last minion of the first wave dies, whereas your opponent will reach level 2 at some point during the second wave. You can always keep this in mind to surprise your opponent who might not be expecting this!

Levels 2-5

For a better understanding of the different scenarios you are required to play during levels 2-5, please read this article which explains the following terms in more detail. This will allow you to better understand different wave management situations:

Slow-Pushing: Term used to describe a wave that has more minions than the other, which will eventually get closer to the enemy turret without any interference from the players.

Pushing: Hitting the enemy minions, usually using autoattacks, to gain a positional advantage over your opponents, which allows you to poke/get plates and towers, or roam without losing a large number of resources.

Shoving: Killing enemy minions as fast as possible, using both spells and abilities, to help them reach the enemy turret immediately.

Freezing: Only last-hitting the enemy minions at the latest possible stage without using any basic attacks/spells in-between. This is usually described when a wave has more minions than the other, but the players want to maintain its position as close as possible to their own turret.

If you reach level 2 first and your wave is in a position that does not leave you exposed to ganks/tower shots, you can always try to use that towards your advantage by attacking your enemy. This will usually lead to your opponent ending up with lower HP than you, or you could even get a kill if the situation permits.

It is important, however, to keep in mind that if you both end up low HP, you can be exposed to ganks since the wave will be slow pushing during the fight, which means that you either have to push/shove the third wave completely or recall immediately and use Teleport. This scenario will mean that you are down a summoner and need to be careful, as the temporary advantage of having recalled and being healthier than your opponent can lead to a completely losing lane if the Jungler ganks you right afterwards, leaving your enemy with Teleport advantage.

In a different scenario, if you have decided to play passive before reaching level 3, you can always try to gain priority for the Rift Scuttler, as you might be able to catch the enemy Jungler in a 2v1 fight (if your Jungler is nearby), or if that is not the case, you can try warding the Scuttler area, as this will provide you and your team with useful information about the enemy Jungler’s location and the path they are likely to follow.

Objectives

The Top Laner has two objectives to worry about during the laning phase: the Rift Scuttler and the Rift Herald. These should only be contested with the help of the Jungler and should require a rotation that minimizes the loss of resources in lane.

As previously mentioned, getting the wave in a good state before these objectives is crucial, as it allows for a better rotation than your opponent’s. Since the Rift Scuttler spawns at 3:30, this usually means that you will have a minion wave that includes a siege minion to deal with before you can effectively rotate and help your Jungler. The Siege minions are more powerful minions that provide +60-90 gold and +93-116 XP based on their level and can be used to manage waves more effectively than melee minions. It is important to remember that by getting rid of your opponent’s Siege minion, your wave will push faster towards the enemy turret and you will have the possibility to rotate more effectively.

The same step should be followed for the Rift Herald too, therefore allowing you to rotate and get an objective with minimal loss of resources.

Mid Lane

Minion Waves Spawn Time

The Minions Spawn at 1:05 and reach lane at 1:28, being the fastest minions to reach the Tier 1 Turret. The first minion dies at 1:44.

Although having the same types of minions as a side lane (melee, caster, siege), the Mid Lane minions provide different gold than the side lane ones, with melee minions providing +20 gold per last hit and casters providing + 13 gold. You need 280 XP to reach level 2,

Reaching level 2 First

For one of the best guides explaining how the Mid Laner should play the laning phase, please watch Exil’s video:

As a Mid Laner, you will usually reach level 2 after the first minion of the second wave dies.

In ranged vs. melee matchups, you can try to poke your opponent whenever they attempt to last hit their minions, which would leave you with a small HP advantage by the time you reach level 2. Ranged vs Ranged and Melee vs Melee matchups are more skill dependent but will usually result in both of you reaching level 2 around the same time if everyone plays correctly.

A useful tip you can remember is that you can get level 2 after the last minion of the first wave dies, if you had previously received XP from a ward or champion kill. Therefore, if you see the enemy team placing a ward and you have time to reset and get Oracle Lens, you should definitely do it, as you can surprise your opponent with a fast level 2 engage.

Levels 2-5

During levels 2-5 you should attempt to communicate with your Jungler to prioritize getting objectives and kills. You can do so by rotating together, or by invading the enemy Jungler if you have priority in lane. The most important aspect during levels 2-5 is not falling behind in XP and allowing the enemy Mid to rotate freely. Every attempt to do so should be communicated with your team, and an appropriate response (getting plates/vision in the opposing side of the jungle/roams) should be expected.

Objectives

As a Mid Laner, you need to be proactive and attempt to provide a quick response to your Jungler’s needs to contest both Rift Scuttlers, Rift Herald or Drake, but this should be done whilst you do not lose resources. If attempting to rotate will result in you losing a lot of minions, it may not be worth rotating then, therefore letting your Jungler know about it could be crucial to avoid losing the early game.

Bot Lane

Minions Spawn Time

Similar to Top Lane, the minions spawn at 1:05 and reach the lane at 1:38. The first minion dies at 1:55.

Nevertheless, because you are a duo lane, you will receive less experience than a Top Laner usually does. Therefore, you will receive +38 XP and + 21 gold for each melee minion and +19 XP and +14 gold for each caster minion. This means that you will reach level 2 after 6 melee and 3 caster minions die, or any other variation that will result in more than 280 XP received.

Reaching Level 2 First

Similar to Top Lane, the need to leash is a very important factor towards reaching level 2 first. However, since this is a duo lane, the local XP gained before reaching lane, or the nature of the matchup (because both ADCs are ranged and can last hit effectively), do not carry that much weight here.

Therefore:

If you leash: Leave the camp at 1:40 at the latest. Try to reach level 2 by telling your support to autoattack the minions at the same time as you.

• If it is not possible to reach level 2 first, retreat towards your tower and only last hit whenever you can do so safely.
• If you reach level 2 first, communicate with your support to engage on your opponents, as the level advantage will usually lead to a beneficial Summoner’s trade, or even kills.

If you do not leash: You can make sure the enemy laners do not reach level 2 before you by resetting aggro from the minions during the first wave (detailed in the video below):

Levels 2-5

Similar to Top Lane, if the wave is too close for comfort to the enemy tower by the time you reach level 2, shove the next wave and reset, as you will have time to buy an item + potions/wards, and reach lane when the wave bounces back. This forces the enemy to go back to base to match your items after pushing the lane. If this does not happen, you can freeze the lane and have an item advantage until they decide to reset.

If you manage to get level 2 first and the wave is in a slightly neutral position, feel free to engage, as this will usually result in burnt summoners or kills. If you do manage to get a kill, you can try to reset immediately to gain tempo over your opponent, or you can shove the wave and reset. The first one is a safer option, whereas the second one will result in getting yourself even more ahead. So, based on your HP and enemy Jungler location, make sure that you choose wisely!

You should try to keep an eye out for your Jungler. If they decide to contest Rift Scuttler early, you can always try to gain priority in lane by pushing the wave and rotating first. Although this will leave your wave in a slightly unfavorable position, your Jungler will be covering the bot side of the map and can always intervene if you need help.

Objectives

The Bot Laners have two objectives to worry about during the laning phase: the Rift Scuttler and the Dragon. These should only be contested with the help of the Jungler and should require a rotation that minimizes the loss of resources in lane.

As previously mentioned, getting the wave in a good state before these objectives is crucial, as it allows for a better rotation than your opponent’s. Since the Rift Scuttler spawns at 3:30, this usually means that you will have a minion wave that includes a siege minion to deal with before you can effectively rotate and help your Jungler. The Siege Minions are more powerful minions that provide more gold and XP based on their level and can be used to manage waves more effectively than melee minions. It is important to remember that by getting rid of your opponent’s Siege minion, your wave will push faster towards the enemy turret, and you will have the possibility to rotate more effectively.

The same step should be followed for Dragon too, therefore allowing you to rotate and get an objective with minimal loss of resources.

Summary

In conclusion, the Laning Phase requires a good understanding of the structure of the game and the way most components interact with each other. Whether it is knowing that you can reach level 2 first, knowing exactly how many minions you need to last hit before you can reset and buy a new item, or knowing how to set your lane up before an objective, this guide shows that even the smallest piece of information can win you the lane if used correctly.

Nevertheless, you should remember that League of Legends is a 5v5 game and even if you get ahead in lane, it does not matter unless you are able to work alongside your teammates and secure the victory. While this may not always be possible, bringing the best version of yourself regarding both your game knowledge and your attitude will win you more games than not. This being said, the next time you press the ‘Play’ button, make sure that you are prepared for any challenges that you may face during your next game, and be confident that you are a better player than you were before. Best of luck on the Summoner’s Rift!