League of Legend’s champion abilities are very important to getting a W in the result column and how we choose to allocate the skill points we are granted to improve set abilities can be the minor difference that can alter the outcome of our endeavors, especially so in ranked games. So, in this piece, I hope to review how we should be allocating our points and things to consider when choosing which ability to max in game.

Choosing Level 1

Levels 1 through 3 have a huge amount of impact on the laning phase (especially in bot lane) and so the first three ability points we are granted have a huge amount of importance. Now typically you would take your most important and impactful ability at level 1 but remember to not skill anything until you need it, as this can be the flexibility that saves you from a level 1 invade. A great example of this can be found with support Morgana. Typically I would take Q (Dark Binding) first on her, but I held off on selecting anything and, lo and behold, a three man invade being led by a Blitzcrank. Since I hadn’t selected anything I was able to choose Morgana’s E (Black Shield) and was able negate the invade's effectiveness since Black Shield counters Blitzcrank’s Rocket Grab. As a result, we have a clear example of how holding off on choosing a level 1 spell until needed gave me (and my team) a better chance of winning the match.

Blitzcrank seeing his level 1 shut down by effective spell choice from Morgana with effective level 1 spell selection.

Statistical Analysis

For some champions in League of Legends, knowing what to max first is very obvious. Take Yorick. It is very obvious that maxing Q (Last Rites) is the best choice, seeing as to how it is his most used ability and has interactions with his entire kit. Empowering it by maxing it first is the best choice as you get more from this max than maxing an alternative spell. However, on other champions, it is not as obvious. It is at this point that looking at the gains of each ability point can be very useful. Look at Leona support, as with this pick there is no clear max that seems obvious. If you choose to max Q (Shield of Daybreak), you increase the mana cost in exchange for damage, which is not great. While if you choose to max E (Zenith Blade), you get reduced cooldown and damage, which is not as bad as Q but okay. (For context, back when I was in Silver I, just assumed this was the best choice and maxed it before I knew any better, again showing that the ideal choice was not obvious here). Finally, we look at W (Eclipse) which, when maxed, gives extra resistances and damage which are fantastic for Leona. Therefore, after looking at the options it is clear that a W max for Leona is the best choice and so, we have a clear example of how looking at the gains of spending ability points and making your choice on the information provided can give you the best chance of doing well in your matches and hopefully, as a result, net some sweet LP.

The skill max for champions like Yorick seem obvious but for others, such as Leona, it isn’t as clear.

The Three Point Semi-Max

Now for some champions, there are requirements for their laning phase but, at the same time, there is another skill that they would much rather be putting skill points into for a variety of reasons, whether it be to gain kill pressure in the lane, set up another carry to meet a team win condition, or otherwise. The best examples of this that come to mind are Morgana mid and Caitlyn ADC. In both cases they put three points into a wave clear ability to ensure they can meet their laning phase requirement of being able to shove the lane by killing the caster minions with one ability. For Morgana mid lane, this is her W (Tormented Soil) before maxing her Q (Dark Binding) for her pick potential while down in the bot lane with Caitlyn ADC, you would be putting the first three points of a max into her Q (Piltover Peacemaker) before then moving onto to the full five point max of her W (Yordle Snap Trap) which brings the headshots and objective control that allows Caitlyn the damage that she needs to fulfil her role as an ADC. So here we have two examples of how putting three points into an ability before a traditional five point max on another ability may be the option that gives you the best chance of winning a match by giving the user the strength they need in lane but the ability max to facilitate the overall game win condition.

Morgana mid and Caitlyn ADC are both examples of champions that can utilize a three point semi-max before setting themselves up to win the game with another ability max.

Conclusion

To conclude this piece, I want to leave you with this thought, that when selecting your main ability to max out with skill points, do it intelligently and do it with a strategy in mind and may you set up you and your champ with the best chance to win the game whether it be in normal games or for ranking in the pursuit of LP. GL, HF, and GG.

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