The concept of lanes is used to describe the unique and mutually distinguishable spaces where most of the fighting takes place in League of Legends. Each lane has different kinds of objectives, roles and tasks. All of these lanes are a part of the map that is called Summoners Rift.
In this article, we are gonna go over each lane, outlining all the key stuff you need to know about each of them!
What are the Lanes in League of Legends?
Top lane
The top lane is the first role we are gonna cover. It’s conveniently located at the upper corner of the map. The main characters picked in this role are tanks and bruisers, whose goal is to play the front-line role in the later stages of the game.
The top lane is quite isolated from the rest of the map and it generally has the least interaction with teammates. The key objectives located at the top lane are Grubs, herald, and Baron. The first two objectives are taken in the early game and mid game, while Baron is the final buff that’s taken to close off games.
Mid Lane
As one might suspect, mid lane is located in the middle of the Summoners Rift. It’s usually the most important role as it has access to both top lane and bot lane, as well as the enemy and ally jungle. Mid laners can use their position to roam around the map, or help the ally jungle in skirmishes.
Mid lane is the home for AP mages and Assassins. The role of mages is to dish out damage to the entire enemy team, while Assassins are more specialized in taking down single carries.
Bot Lane
Bot lane is the lane found in the lower corner of the map. It is connected with the mid lane by the river that stands between them. In the close proximity of this lane rests the dragon, one of the key objectives in League of Legends. The dragon objective is contested quite often, and it’s the key objective you will be fighting for.
Bot Lane hosts 2 players in each team in every game. In this setup, one player plays the carry role and collects all the resources, while its ally plays the supporting role. The carries are usually playing attack-damage (AD) champions, and they are looking to collect lead for late game strength.
Supports in this lane can play a variety of champions. They will usually play a tank, enchanter (shielding & healing champion), or a poke champion. All these work and the optimal choice will depend on the game.
Jungle
Jungle is easily recognizable on the map. It’s the location found between all lanes. The jungle lane is made exclusively for junglers who carry smite. The smite spell is used to clear jungle monsters, and it should be picked by only one person on the team.
The smite carriers (junglers) are tasked with helping all the allies around the map. They are also the key to taking objectives such as baron, and dragon, since doing these is much easier with the smite possessed by junglers.
Final Thoughts
League of Legends is composed of 4 different lanes. All the lanes have their unique perks and challenges. For beginners, it’s best to start with the top lane, as it’s the most chill place to learn fundamentals of the game. From there, it’s also nice to practice a little bit of jungle. Finally, after getting familiar with all the lanes, the player can choose which role to pursue actively!