Maximizing the Baron Power Play – Securing and Getting the Most Out Baron
This guide aims to show you ways to safely secure Baron and how to get the most out of the Power Play!
As we all know, Baron Nashor is a very powerful Epic Monster on Summoner’s Rift who should not be taken lightly! However, because this Monster is so hard to slay, the reward for doing so is ever so worth it! Baron will grant a teamwide buff that will give you a huge power boost and a potent edge to either get back into a game or to secure a lead you already have! That being said, you will always want to go for and secure the Baron with as little risk as possible, and, once you have it, you definitely do not want to waste it!
That being said, this guide will provide tips for when you should be looking to take Baron, as well as what Baron actually does to make you so strong. We will also be looking at how to play around the enemy team if they take Baron and you will have to defend against them! The Order these will be discussed will be: The Actual Effects of Hand of Baron (Baron Buff), Securing the Baron, and How to Get the Most out of the Baron Power Play. So, let’s talk about the actual effects of The Hand of Baron!
The Hand of Baron
The Hand of Baron is a buff that is only granted to those who are on the team that has slain Baron Nashor and will only be granted to those who are alive. This buff only lasts for 210 seconds or until you die.
The Hand of Baron also does more than just buff your overall AP and AD for the duration, which it does do, but it also grants powerful buffs to minions that you are nearby as well. This makes you much better at shoving lanes into the enemy base, making it easier to siege and take enemy objectives!
Although most people understand that Baron Buff, well, buffs you and your nearby minions, many people do not realize just how much this buff does, especially to your minions! The Hand of Baron will not only increase the damage that your nearby allied minions will deal, but it will also increase their Attack Range, Attack Speed, and grant Damage Reduction from both enemy Champions and Minions!
Needless to say, this is a very potent buff that can make it extremely difficult for the enemy to handle. Another important note is that the Siege Minions that are buffed by The Hand of Baron will never go into enemy Turret range and will instead sit right outside of it while attacking the enemy Turret.
This is yet another obstacle that the enemy team will have to deal with should your team possess the Hand of Baron! After seeing how powerful this buff really is, it is no surprise that this buff can turn a game around for a team that is behind and can mean certain victory for a team that is already ahead!
This makes this buff very desirable and highly contested in games, so let’s now take a look at how you can make moves to secure The Hand of Baron for your team efficiently and effectively!
Securing Baron
The key to taking Baron safely is to set up properly for it. This is not a buff that you will want to go for on a whim, and you will very likely need your team with you to take it, especially in the earlier stages of the game!
There are a few ways that you can look to set up for the Baron. A common but effective method is to set up a push in the Bottom Lane! This will allow a wave of minions to build up and shove their way down the Bottom Lane.
This wave will have to be dealt with by one on the enemy Champions, which will remove potential pressure from Baron Nashor and will make it safer to attempt to take as a full team of 5. Another option you can try is to send one of your teammates down to the Bottom Lane to split push. If they are strong enough or play safe enough, this can be even more effective than setting a minion wave to push!
The reason for this is that the enemy team will most certainly have to send at least one Champion to deal with the split, if not more. This will give your team the edge at Baron by either getting you a 4v4 or even a 4v3.
This is not a foolproof plan, however, and is honestly the better option if your team already has a decent lead over the enemy team. If your team is behind, it can be rather risky to attempt to split up.
There is more potential for your team to get picked off when splitting up already, and if your team is not strong enough to fight alone, then you will all become easier targets for the enemy. Now, it is true that sometimes you will have to take some risks to get back in the game if you are behind and that is fine so long as you are warding and playing smart and not splitting up recklessly.
Now you can look to set up a split push in another lane if you would like, or if there is already a rather large wave building up in the Bottom Lane as it is. However, the reason you would want to start a push in the Bottom Lane first is due to the fact that it is the farthest distance from the Baron Pit.
This makes it harder for the enemy team to balance their resources to handle the split and contest the Baron at the same time, and even if the whole enemy team comes to contest the Baron, that means you have an opportunity to take some Turrets or Inhibitors, or even win the game off of the split pressure!
Remember to always manage your minion waves and to always keep vision on Baron to make sure that this does not happen to you! There are some key spots to look to keep vision of around the Baron Pit as shown in the images below!
By keeping vision around Baron, you will increase your team’s ability to respond to the enemy team looking to take Baron, giving you more of a chance to contest the objective when the time comes! Now let’s say you pick off an enemy Champion. This is a great time to rush the objective and secure it if you can!
Take advantage of numbers any time you can when it comes to securing Baron. This is especially the case if the enemy Champion that you pick happens to be the enemy Jungler. By removing the Smite potential from the enemy team you increase your chances of securing the Baron by quite a large margin! Now after you secure the Baron, what is the best way to proceed in order to get the most out of the Buff before it runs out?
Getting the Most Out of a Baron Power Play
Now that you have secured Baron, it is important that you get the most out of the 210 seconds that you have the Buff. Since the Buff provides so much to your team the best thing to do is to group up, more often than not. There will be exceptions to this. For example, if you have a very good split pushing team, then it would be better to opt for something closer to a 1-3-1 strategy; sending your 2 best split pushers to the Top and Bottom Lane and the other three down the Mid Lane. This can be very difficult to deal with, even without Baron! The enemy team will have to match the pressure that you are putting on them if they want to stand a chance against you!
If your team is better suited for team fighting, then you will definitely want to group up as 5 and apply pressure to the enemy Lane that is weakest. This will be difficult for the enemy team to handle, especially if the Lane that you are shoving down as a team has a large wave of minions. The key to getting the most out of this Buff is to ensure that you are near a large number of minions!
There is no limit to the number of minions that you are able to buff by being near, thus, the more the merrier! If the wave of minions is large enough, then the pressure from the minions alone, even without the Champions together with them, can be enough to overpower and overtake the enemy base! If you are playing a tankier Champion and you want to add even more pressure to the table, you can look to purchase a Zz’Rot Portal and spawn minions of your own with the item’s active ability, making it more overwhelming for the enemy team!
Remember that the second you take the Baron; you are on a timer! Maximizing the potential from the Baron is important, and by forcing your way down the weakest Lane as 5 players or by splitting up and spreading pressure across the map you are on your way to getting the most out of the Baron.
Another key tip is to not play dangerously, and do not look to trade kills! If you die with The Hand of Baron, you will not respawn with it, thus it is more worth it for the enemy team to trade 1 for 1. Now if you are trading 1 for 2 or even 1 for 3, that is a different story, but either way it is almost always more worth it for you to live for the duration of the buff to get the most out of it! By just staying alive and buffing minions, you are applying a decent amount of pressure to a lane! This is more important than chasing down some kills across Summoner’s Rift, so keep your eye on the prize: The Enemy Nexus!
Hopefully this information is useful to you in your coming games, and allows you to play around Baron more effectively, as well as set up plays to go for Baron more effectively! Remember to keep vision of the Objective and look to set up plays that will lead to your team gaining an edge in taking the Objective! Best of Luck in your coming games Summoners and we hope to see you out there on Summoner’s Rift!
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