I can pretty much get by laning phase without any problems, but during team fights I can hardly be useful. I mainly have two issues, first one being that usually team fights are so clumped up and crowded that I end up blowing abilities on tanks etc, my second issue is actually related to team-fight knowledge what exactly do specific roles be doing in team fights. I understand that carries should be focusing other carries and tanks should be protecting their carries, but what about other roles?
League-of-legends – What should each role be doing during a team fight
league-of-legends
Related Solutions
While this list doesn't cover every situation, it should give you a good idea of waht to keep in mind when looking to fight. I’ll cover the two most common times teams are looking to pick fights:
Laning Phase
During laning phase you have to be aware of a few variables before determining if you can go all in:
Which damage dealer (for bot lane the AD carry, for the other lanes your (usually) solo opponent) went to buy last? Don’t try to pick a fight if the Graves just shopped and now has two more Doran’s blades over what your AD carry has. This also applies to the enemy team having more money from global gold (dragon, towers) or earlier kills. Be aware of who has the better items.
Where are the junglers? If your jungler is waiting in the river bush and you just saw their jungle on the opposite side of the map then it is much safer to try to engage your opponent. Though, this often comes down to where are your opponents in lane.
Is there a huge enemy minion wave? Minions add a lot of damage during the early laning phases and by attacking an enemy champion you pull all of that agro. This extra damage can easily sway a fight one way or the other.
Who has their summoner spells? If the enemy looks low but is staying in lane still make sure that he isn’t baiting with summoner heal. Keep in mind that you can use this to your advantage. Ignite reduces heal effects so if you can ignite before they use heal then they are suddenly in a much weaker position. Also note when the enemy uses their offensive summoners exhaust/ignite so you can time your own attacks.
Did one of the laners just go buy? If the AD carry has just left to buy and the support is throwing bananas in lane, then it is much safer to attack (assuming you are the AD carry or you have two people in lane vs. one)
Where are they in lane? It is much safer to attack enemies that are pushed under your tower. If they attack you they take the massive tower damage and are much more likely to be ganked by your jungler. This is a good time to ping to notify you want to fight so your jungler can show up.
Team Fights
Who has more people? Be aware of where your team is, if the AD carry is off farming top and the whole enemy team is arrayed across mid, then you don’t want to engage. If their AP just went back to finish that Rabadon’s deathcap then you have a window to engage (just remember the teleport summoner spell and that the shop isn’t THAT far away).
Who is winning? Who came out of the lanes stronger, did your solo top go 6/0/1 and destroy their tower within 15 minutes? Then you have a big advantage assuming the other lanes went equal. However, if the enemy has knocked down 4 of your towers and gotten every dragon, then only try to fight when you have other odds in your favor due to the gold difference.
Does anyone have baron? Baron can easily sway fights, if you have it then be a lot more aggressive. If they have it then try to only engage under tower. Did someone just get out of position? Sometimes you can win a fight before it even gets started by punishing someone for bad positioning. In these cases it is best to target the AD or AP carries, that removes a huge amount of damage from the enemy team.
Is there an objective up? Sometimes it is more beneficial to group up around baron or dragon and force the enemy team to come to you or lose it. This allows you to control the field of battle (this is a great time to have all the wards cleared with an oracle).
Are they doing a risky baron? Attacking an enemy team during Baron (assuming near equal strength) adds Baron’s DPS to your teams. This can often sway fights, not to mention the fact that sometimes the enemy team will split their damage between baron and the attacking team.
Who has their ultimates/summoners? If you know the enemy Kennen has his ultimate, then it probably isn’t a good idea to group up in a nice tight ball (unless you have Janna who has her ultimate). Use the green dots besides your ally’s portraits to know when their ultimates are up. It is much easier to win a fight when you have 5 ultimates leading the way.
Will fighting make you lose an inhibitor or nexus tower? If you have multiple inhibitors down then it can cause you to lose the game to engage an enemy team outside of your base. Make sure there aren't super minions pounding away on anything important.
Of course, it mostly comes down to experience. Sometimes you will want to engage a 3 v. 5 because you know you have some super advantage. Maybe the enemy is low from completing baron or maybe you know the Mordekaiser is just insanely fed.
Last note, be aware of the good initiator and counter initiators. Janna can easily reset a fight that goes badly. Blitzcrank and Nautilus can end a fight before it even gets started. Kennen, Ammumu, and Morgana can all punish a team for bad positioning and win it for their team early.
Nocturne to me is an "anti-carry". Make sure to play him in a team that can handle you not being around them in a teamfight. After you dispatch their squishy carry, fear the most disruptive member of their team to minimize their impact and then focus on the next highest priority target.
Related Topic
- League-of-legends – How to do if I can’t fight the opponent
- League-of-legends – Mordekaiser’s role in team fights
- League-of-legends – Itemization for carries/assassins when I am ahead, but the team is behind
- League-of-legends – How to position as an ADC before a team fight if the team is scattered
- League-of-legends – Why is the marksman bot so firmly entrenched in the meta
- League of Legends – Does Each Role Have Its Own Separate Decay Timer
Best Answer
It depends on who you are playing and how you build them. A tanky champ with spammable CC(Udyr, Olaf) should be stunning or snaring as many people as possible, for instance.
A quick answer is whatever you do well in lane, you will do well in a teamfight. Importantly, you need to do SOMETHING in a team fight. There is nothing more frustrating or useless than someone that just spins around during a team fight without using their abilities.
Additionally, don't worry too much about attacking tanks unless you are very mobile with a reliable gap closer that can get you into the back line(Nocturne, Irelia.) It is way worse to die out of position, having done nothing, than it is to kill a tank and get out safely.
There is a mob mentality in normals and low Elo that "ur bad" if you attack a tank. However, if their front line is impossible to get past without dying, it only makes sense to hit what you can. Still, be aware of which enemy is the best target. Often you will have a choice between two or sometimes three tanky champs. Pay attention during the game to who is least farmed and punish them in team fights.
As a ranged carry, be aware that the enemies gap closers will attempt to engage on you. If this happens, do your best to separate and try to kite towards someone that can peel them off if you.
AP carries should know their best combo and only employ their long CD cults when a team fight is truly engaged. Blowing Brands ult early, for instance, could allow the enemy team to retreat safely, heal up, and reengage on better terms.
If you're playing an initiator(Amumu, Malphite, etc.) you have to understand when the enemy is in a disadvantaged position and take advantage of it.
tl;dr: In a team fight, do whatever your champ does best when not in a team fight. They are often the same thing!