If you ever take the time to watch a professional or high-level game of League of Legends, you'll notice that (if it has casters) one of the most frequently discussed topics is how the players move during downtimes of the game and how the team rotates, or moves around the map together. For some, this concept is relatively easy to understand, but today I thought I'd just break it down a bit for those who hear it all of the time but just can't seem to get a solid grasp of it.

So, let's talk roams and rotations.

What does it mean to roam/rotate and why do you do it?

A rotation on the map is simply a transition from one place on the map to another, usually by an individual (or the entire team) in order to either apply pressure to a direct spot, take away pressure from a specific spot, or both. This can also include the coordinated moves by teams in order to acquire and remove vision in specific parts of the map and force the opponent to play "their game", making it a vital part of a team's macro gameplay. More often than not, you'll see the terms "roam" and "splitting" used when referring to an individual (roaming during laning phase and splitting any time after that) and "rotation" when referring to majority members of the team, as the primary center of focus for the team is changed during a rotation, whereas a roam is more short-term oriented. I'll cover the art of split pushing in a later article.

When is the best time to rotate/roam?

(Bard, the Wandering Caretaker, is an example of a champion that excels at making roams)

As a jungler, it's literally within your job duties to constantly be roaming around the map. Even if you're camping a lane, you have time in between attempts and/or camps to be roaming around the map, placing and denying vision in certain locations and capitalizing on the mistakes of others if they're in reach. A general rule of thumb here is if you aren't actively gaining gold, setting/denying vision, getting an objective, or killing/maiming a target, you're wasting time. Time is very crucial to junglers. That being said, keep your eyes open.

As an ADC, you generally don't want to leave your lane until one of the towers in your lane falls or unless you're reacting to a big teamfight somewhere on your half of the map. At this point, it's generally advised to catch the waves when possible in your respective lane (so as not to let pressure build up there and to keep the onus on your opponents to respond) and stick with the majority of your team.

As for everyone else? Do so when your minions are pushed out and either (a) when you've forced your enemy to recall and you know you won't lose anything for being away from your lane or (b) when your jungler can cover your lane for you during your absence. The only time it's wise to ignore the second caveat is if your team is diving a lane and you know that you losing your tower in lane is going to still net you a positive gain overall, such as a tower for two or a tower for a tower and dragon, etc.

(Dragons of any kind are usually the driving force behind most non-tower related rotations prior to the spawning of Baron)

As far as team-wide rotations with objectives, your rotations will generally follow a hierarchy system depending on the importance of the objective and whether or not you'll have to trade it for another. From highest to lowest, not including the Nexus and inhibitors (which would have the highest value automatically), it'll generally follow something like this:

• Baron Nashor (or just vision priority over it)
• Elder Dragon (or just vision priority over it)
• Towers or Dragon (Infernal, Mountain)
• Rift Herald
• Dragon (Ocean, Cloud)
• Jungle Buffs

Towers gain increasingly higher priority the closer they are to your base. It should also be noted that kills should be a means to an end as far as securing one of these in order to press an advantage, not the end itself.

What makes a successful roam/rotation?

(Things like vision, communication, and taking advantage of pressure and waves are the key to good rotations and roams.)

Not all roams and rotations have to net a kill to be considered successful. This is where many people get confused, especially in solo queue where people tend to overestimate the value of kills and tunnel in on them recklessly as a result. However, it is worth it to note that you always run the risk of not getting anything at all with rotations (usually called a bad roam/rotation). Blowing vital spells and cooldowns, forcing a recall, and generally just instilling fear into the target to alter their playstyle and throw them off is just good enough assuming your team makes use of that to capitalize on a later advantage or follow up immediately on the target. Small gains add up with consistency, so don't be afraid to just take victory in steps. Not every roam needs to be a flashy tower dive that nets a 3 for 1 kill scenario with a tower and dragon gain.

Conclusion

Roaming and rotating are integral parts of high-level League of Legends gameplay and, oftentimes, can lead to winning the game before any actual battles have to take place. There's always something you could be doing to put yourself ahead of your opponents and I hope you use the knowledge here to aid yourself in your games.

As Blitzcrank would say, "A rolling golem gathers no rust."

Best of luck out there, guys.

Like our content? Support us by getting our merchandise in our shop