Between pings and typed explanations, communicating in League of Legends is an important habit to pick up. At times, this communication can be toxic or tilting, so it is important to remember that you should always try to work with your teammates, rather than against them. Using pings are quick and efficient ways to communicate your actions, whether you are pinging that you are coming in for a gank, or pinging that your enemy laner is missing. Without this crucial information, your allies could easily run into trouble. For instance, if you do not ping that you are coming in to gank, your ally may back off and return to base and you both miss out on the opportunity. The same goes for missing enemy laners, as they can easily rotate to a different lane and catch your allies by surprise.

While it is important for everyone to pay attention to their mini map, it is just as important to help your allies with a simple ping. Spamming pings is usually not necessary, but it can help if you ping at least twice, just in case your ally missed the first one. Let's take a look at which pings we use, and when it is the best time to use them.

Enemy is Missing

This ping is easily identified as a question mark and is usually used as the name implies. You will want to use this ping when your enemy laner is not to be seen, and you will want to ping it in the lane you are in so that it is easy to identify exactly which laner is missing. You can also use this ping when enemies appear on the map on your wards, to signify someone was recently spotted here. If you think the enemy jungle may have started an objective, you can also ping the location of that objective to bring attention to it. Try to refrain from using this ping against your teammates, for example, when they made a mistake or did something questionable. It is important to remember everyone makes mistakes, and spamming Enemy is Missing over their head can only make things worse.

Danger

This ping has a sharp, sudden tone to it and appears as a red exclamation mark. Using this ping is helpful in getting your team mates away from a particular location on the map that is dangerous, usually when an enemy was recently spotted in the area. This ping is good to use when your ally may have originally missed your enemy is missing ping, or if they are approaching an area without vision that the enemy may be hiding in. You can also use this ping if you spot an enemy coming in to gank and your ally does not appear to have noticed them. It is also a good idea to use this ping to avoid coming in for a gank or pursuing an enemy too far, for example, if your mana and health is too low to help them, if more enemies could be nearby, or if the enemy has vision of your ally. You will want to use thing ping on the location that is dangerous, or on the ally who may be in danger. Everyone can make mistakes or bad calls and giving your ally a simple ping can help deter them from dangerous situations.

Asking for Assistance

This ping is pretty straight-forward, but it does not mean everybody listens to it or knows how to use it. You will want to use this ping when you believe you may be in danger from a gank or a turret dive, and a nearby ally could be alerted to come in and help. This is also useful when you see the enemy jungler coming to invade your jungle camps, when you need help with an objective, or you need to request a gank. It is important to try your best to respond to these pings, as a simple rotation can make a huge difference for your team. You can use this ping on the area you need help in, right on your champion, or on the champion you are requesting help from. Again, it is important to avoid spamming any particular ping; once or twice should be enough to alert your teammates without annoying them.


On the Way

This ping is not very commonly used, but is just as important as any other ping. Pinging that you are on your way lets your allies know they are receiving assistance, or that they should follow you. This allows your ally to prepare for what may happen when you arrive, whether it is a gank or a rotation towards an objective. Be careful not to use this ping and then go the opposite direction without pinging again to signify you have changed your mind, as this can lead to many issues and miscommunication. If you decide to change your mind, simply ping that you are going a different direction, so that your allies can be aware of the change. You can also use this ping to signify you are staying in lane for another wave of minions, usually important when you are botlane and would like your support to stay with you until you finish. Supports should also use this ping when they are going to ward a specific area, so that their ADC does not attempt to make any plays when they are alone.


Pinging Health and Mana

It is just as important to ping your resources as it is to ping around the map. This keeps your allies updated with what you are able to bring to the fight; if you are very low on either of these, you will not be able to make the same impact as you normally would for ganks and team fights. Your allies may try to go through with such engagements without keeping track of your resources, and this can lead to very punishing results. Yes, it is important for your allies to pay attention to this information on their own, but a helpful ping is not an issue for you and can prevent a lot of trouble for you and your team. You can accompany this ping with a danger ping to help get the urgency across to your allies, since pinging your resources does not make any sounds.


Pinging Cooldowns and Other Targets

Whether it is your own cooldowns, or a cooldown an enemy may have recently used, pinging these can make a huge difference. If you see an enemy use a Summoner Spell or one their Ultimate ability, you can ping this using the Tab interface to let you know it has recently been used. This can help your team make decisions on what to do in regard to ganking and teamfights. If you do not know the cooldowns off the top of your head, you can reference your own Summoner Spells to see what the cooldown is. It is a good idea to turn on the time stamps in your chat log through your settings interface to help track when enemy abilities will be ready. Pinging your own cooldowns will let your team know exactly how long it is until your ability is ready, so they know when they can make the next play.

It is true that your allies can see your Ultimate timers above their mini-map and your item cooldowns in the Tab interface, but they still may need a quick reminder. You can also ping your warding totems to help notify your teammates when you can use your next ward. Pinging when the next objective spawns is also helpful information, as you and your team can help prepare for it. Pinging specific enemy targets is also useful during a teamfight, as it can help choose an enemy for you and your team to focus on, whether they are doing the most damage, or are incredibly easy to shut down first.

To Summarize

You will want to prioritize using pings over typing out words, as they are quick and to the point. Avoid using long sentences, as it takes time away from the game for you to type them, and for your allies to read them. You want to keep words short and to the point just like a ping, whether you are planning for your next engage on the enemy, or you want to emphasize on crucial information to help your teammates. Using words and pings to harass your teammates or continuously point out their mistakes, can hurt the outcome of the game for everyone. You do not want to communicate in a negative or toxic manner, as it is no help for anyone involved. Instead, try to focus on helpful pings and information, and use encouraging words to boost the morale of your allies. It may sound silly, but if your teammate makes a mistake, you should try to refocus them and give them positive feedback for their next play. It is important to never dwell on past plays and mistakes, and to focus on the next play and what can be done differently.

At the end of the day, if your teammate ignores your pings and other forms of communication, it is not your fault, but you also should not harass them over it. Harassing a teammate will only lead to more and more mistakes, and can easily tilt you and your entire team. If you are finding it difficult to say the right thing, get in the habit of muting a teammate you are struggling to get along with, as this will have a much more positive effect on the both of you. Communication is incredibly important, as League of Legends is a team-oriented game. However, if this communication will only be negative, it simply is not worth it.