Basic Laning Mechanics Part 1 - Last Hitting, Pushing, Harassing

Oftentimes I get asked how as a Diamond player, how would I carry a game in Bronze or Silver. Do I outpick them with counterpicks? Do I mostly use technique? Is there some sort of strategic knowledge I implement?

Well the easiest answer is probably yes to all of them if I'm trying particularly hard.

Generally speaking though, it's enough to win your own lane without ever dealing with the rest of it. As long as you can can get a gold lead, there's always time for the rest.

Laning Phase Basics

To break down the laning phase, there are a couple issues to address:

• When and how do I TP back to base?
• When do I roam?
• When/How do I all-in my lane opponent?
• When/how do I harass?
• When do I push?
• Last-hitting

Let's do them in backwards order.

Last-Hitting

Last hitting is what you'll spend most of your time doing during the laning phase. Every 15 cs is about equal to a kill, so it's a much safer bet to farm, rather than to risk dying to a jungle gank and lose all your CS to turret.

Note that there's a difference between simply last-hitting, and getting the last hit on a minion. Generally speaking, you'll want to wait until the last moment when when a minion is about to die before killing it, or else you'll push the lane. However, you should also note the position of the enemy champions, and if they happen to be farther away it's worth killing a minion before they get in range to harass.

Mana: I see a lot of people trying to be frugal with their mana and save it instead of using it to secure last hits at turret. Don't do this. Make sure you get all the last hits. Yes, even use your net if you need to.

Pushing

Pushing a lane should be done to relieve jungle pressure from other lanes, but you should also do it only in situations where:

1. You're relatively sure that your jungle is close enough to help;
2. Their jungle is going to be out of position; or
3. You think you can get away safely. 

It allows you to force your opponents to waste mana last-hitting under tower (they're dumb if they choose to just miss the minions), which can give you a slight edge. If you're able to harass them under turret as well, it will give you a medium level of advantage.

Harassing

Harassing can be done one of three ways:

1. When they're last hitting

While you're in lane, the minions generally die at a similar time and thus it's difficult to find a time where you can hit them and they can't hit you unless you're playing the support role. If you desync your minions though (which often happens after a few waves), then harassing them when they go in for a last hit is viable.

2. At their turret

At their turret they're very concentrated on last-hitting, whereas you're just waiting for your minions to die. This results in the perfect time for ranged harass. See link for maximizing harass range.

3. Wing it

Naturally, there's also the random nonsense harass that tends to happen. If you see this, just hit them back. Your minions will likely hit them harder.

All-in

After harassing, there's always the all-in in which you (and maybe your partner) try their best to kill one of the enemy champion(s). In a both lanes, there's always the ability to outplay skillshots (generally via flash). However in a duo lane, it's important that the person who's NOT getting targeted put as much damage as possible on their highest damage dealer to try and force them to back off.

Example: If Thresh hooks onto your Leona, this is a GOOD thing if there's no jungle gank incoming (otherwise run). If you're playing AD carry, this is the point where you dash in on their AD carry and burst as much as possible, since their support just used their main CC and half their damage on your support. If you run away, then they just put out free damage and you'll likely lose the lane. 

Always be aware of the following:

1. The number of minions nearby
2. Level advantage
3. Summoners that are up (or down).
4. Possible jungle assistance

These are generally the biggest reasons for success or failure, with "sick plays" trailing behind.

Although these aspects are essential for your in-lane technical phase, we'll move on to some more strategical tactics in Part 2 - Roaming and Map Control. (Coming soon)