No matter what lane you are in, it is important to know how to play from behind and how to catch up to your opponent. In this article, we’re going to go through the different lane and describe how you should play when you’ve had a bad start and fell behind in lane.

Falling Behind in a Solo Lane

Being in a solo lane, whether it is top or mid, can often leave you alone to deal with any problems that may arise throughout the laning phase. It is ultimately up to you to keep tabs on your enemy laner, especially if they gain the advantage and start to affect other lanes. If you are facing an opponent who counters your champion, you must be able to play passively to avoid giving your enemy free kills. Keep in mind that when playing passively and allowing the minions to get close to your turret, it gives your enemy a window of opportunity to leave the lane and assist their allies. When this happens, you want to immediately notify your team whenever your enemy laner is out of sight so that they can avoid being ganked. Following your enemy laner is another good idea, but always be sure to push out your minions enough to keep them away from your turret while you are gone.

If your enemy laner has already begun to pick up kills and complete items long before you do, following them when they rotate can be dangerous if you are not careful. Never follow enemies into areas without vision, and always prioritize routes that either have vision or are on your side of the map. This makes it harder for your opponent to catch you by surprise during the rotation, which can easily happen if they notice you following them, especially if they are a lot stronger than you. Keep in mind that denying your enemy an advantage, whether it be minions or kills, can be just as effective as having the advantage yourself.

In order to catch up to your enemy laner, take advantage of any ganks that your team offers you, or even any ganks that you may be able to offer them. Rotating to grab kills or assists in other lanes or during objectives can easily increase your gold income and allow you to get stronger. If you are far too behind to offer much assistance in these situations, use this opportunity to catch up in farm and damage against the enemy turret. Always be sure to return to your side of the lane as soon as you notice that enemies are missing, since they could be on their way to stop you, which will only increase their advantage if they defeat you.

Falling Behind in the Jungle

It can be fairly easy to fall behind as a jungler, especially if your monster camps are getting stolen or you are having to constantly assist your allies. In this situation, it is best to communicate with your team to work together to regain the advantage, whether it be to group up to secure objectives, or to rotate to shut down the enemy jungler. There is only so much you can do on your own, so it is important to ask for assistance if you are having your jungle constantly invaded, or if the enemy jungler has been consistent on ganks.

You can start standing your ground by keeping vision placed as much as possible, allowing you to see the enemy jungler before they come out to surprise you and your team. Keeping Control Wards in the brush around your jungle will help catch out the enemy long enough to counter them; you will want to purchase multiple Control Wards throughout the game, and place them in as many different locations as necessary. If you can not stay ahead of your enemy jungler, you should try your best to at least match them wherever they may be, following them to ganks and objectives when possible.

Be sure not to make risky plays like invading the enemy jungle alone without vision, or to try and gank a lane that has an extremely fed enemy laner that could easily defeat both you and your ally. Always communicate with your team before making a decision to move against the enemy jungler, whether it be for an objective or even a counter gank.

Falling Behind in the Bot Lane

Having a disadvantage in bot lane is similar to having one in solo lanes, but it can have a very different impact on the game since there are more individuals involved. Whether you are the ADC or the support, it is important to look out for each other throughout the laning phase, since you both rely on each other for success. If one of you is falling significantly behind, it affects the other severely, and will often lead to losing the entire lane. When this happens, it is a good idea to avoid fighting the enemy opponents until you at least have a number advantage in players, like a two versus one or a three versus two fight. When you are at a large disadvantage, it is important to only engage when you have an uneven fight with the amount of allies weighing in your favor, which will lessen the amount of risk the fight will have.

When the enemy ADC has a large advantage, it usually gives the enemy support an opportunity to gank other lanes and leave their ADC behind. Whenever this happens, be sure to always communicate with your team that the enemy support is missing, since your own support may not have the same opportunity to follow them. Keep in mind that now the enemy ADC is alone, you have a less risky chance to fight them and shut them down; however, you still may require assistance from your jungler, depending on how fed the enemy ADC really is, since a powerful enemy champion can easily defeat an underfed ADC and their support. Another thing to keep in mind is to always have vision of the surrounding river and brush, since an enemy champion could be hiding and waiting for the perfect opportunity to ruin your planned attack.

Teamfights and Objectives While Behind

It can be a lot more difficult to win fights and secure objectives if you and your allies are falling behind. Even though you should not participate in fights while having a disadvantage, you also should not just ignore objectives; you need to be constantly communicating and trying to formulate a plan to help regain the advantage. As long as you and your team are working together, you have a chance to turn the tables on your enemy and secure victory. You will need to keep up with vision wherever possible so that you can keep track of where the enemy is at all times. Having this information allows you to move against enemies who are caught out alone and away from their team, giving you an easy opportunity to shut them down if you and your team are moving together. As silly as it might seem, teamwork in League of Legends is one of the most key factors to winning, since you can only do so much by yourself.

Staying as a team makes it less dangerous when moving through the jungle and rotating on objectives, since it reduces the risk of being caught out alone. It is much easier for the enemy to defeat a single champion than an entire team of them, allowing you to work together to regain an advantage. Before an objective spawns, you want to try and catch an enemy champion off guard and shut them down, especially if they are an ADC or other fed member of the team. This will allow you to secure kills for your team as well as enter a fight with less risk than before, making it more possible to secure an objective. As long as your team is working together and finding opportunities to gain objectives, minions, and kills, there is still a chance for you and your allies to win the game.

If you are not able to find ways to secure kills or objectives, be sure to farm up as many minions as possible so that you can start finishing items and build up a stronger defense against the enemy team. Throughout the course of the game, you will naturally get stronger and stronger due to scaling and item completion, so never give up hope until the very end. If one of your allies is a lot more behind than the rest, be sure to split the minions and kills whenever possible, since you are only as strong as your weakest link.

To Summarize

You may find yourself at a disadvantage when playing League of Legends, no matter what role or lane you are playing. It is important to optimize on any mistakes your enemies may make, and to communicate with your team to act on these opportunities. Keeping up with vision will help you keep track of whatever your opponents may be planning, allowing you to avoid surprise attacks and ambushes. If you are unable to find advantages during team fights and objectives, be sure to work together to build up your items to get stronger for the next chance at fighting the enemy team.