Has this ever happened to you? Well, for me, when I was a newbie In League, I admit I didn’t know how I should respond to this. Especially when I play support and tank roles. Just what is this that I am talking about?
When your team says to you to “peel“ for them. I mean I know what peel means, but where is the banana in this game? Yes? Did that ever happen to you too? Well, that is what we are going to discuss in this article.
Also read: Best Peeling Abilities in LoL
Role Differences
Since you’re here, I assume that you’ve been playing LoL for quite some time. I also assume that you already know your roles when playing this game. Anyways, let’s do a quick review of the roles you play in League.
First and probably the most famous is the ADC, also known as the marksman. Basically, this role is the core physical damage, from behind.
The second one is the support. This role gets hand in hand with the ADC at the bottom lane, but should also work efficiently with the whole team during a clash.
Third, the jungler. For me, this role is the most technical. The Jungler will devote significant amounts of time between the lanes in the jungle portion of the map. The major goal of having a Jungler is to spend as much gold and XP as possible on the Summoner’s Rift at any given time. Junglers are also responsible for the ganks.
Then we have the solo/top/bruiser. It goes by many aliases but they are basically the lone wolf. They protect the top lane single-handedly. Sometimes, they also do surprise visits at mid-lane.
And finally, the mage/APC. Like the ADC, they deal huge amounts of damage, but with their ability power. They can usually be found at the mid-lane.
Now we’ve reviewed the roles played in League, what does it have to do with peeling?
What Does Peeling Mean?
You must have realized that in the game, there are damage-dealing roles, and support roles. And from that, you can see who will be prioritized during clashes by the enemy team. That is when you “peel”.
Let’s define peeling. Peeling allows your team’s primary assets to move freely throughout team fights and do damage. While you may be tempted to run in and kill the opposing carry, remember that it is frequently more valuable to sit back and be your carry’s backbone—someone they can trust with their life to ensure your team wins the game.
It simply implies that you must keep high-priority players on your squad protected. Your ADC, for example, is 10-0. But the enemy team has champs like Rengar, Zed, Master Yi, or other champs that can leap behind and one-hit combo your ADC.
Then, if you just lost your damage-dealing champ, you’ll lose the clash. When you peel, you are attempting to keep the Zed, the Rengar, and the Yi from killing your 10-0 ADC so that your ADC may deal some damage before dying.
Peeling can also be used in different types of action…
Also read: LoL Blue Side vs Red Side
Offensive Peeling
You can peel offensively, one example of offensive peeling is when an APC one hits your ADC. You may want to counter that APC. I personally think that Zed is the best champ for this one since he has the ability to engage and disengage easily.
Defensive Peeling
Of course, if there is offensive peeling, there is defensive peeling. This is usually done by players whose champions have shield skills and healing skills. If you want to try this action, you might want to purchase support champs such as Soraka, Nunu, Braum, Nautilus, Leona, and those that fall in that category.
In addition to defensive peeling, aside from the skills your champions have, you can also build items that offer protection not just for you, but for the whole team as well.
One of those is the Face of the Mountain Item. Though this raises some discussion. Some say that shields don’t really count as peeling because you weren’t able to drive the enemy away, like FotM.
But for me, as long as you kept that ally safe, no matter what you did, no matter what items or skills you used, you did a good thing for the team. That deserves a commend.
Jungler Peeling
There’s also the jungler peel. From the name itself, this occurs when the enemy team tries to gank your jungler during the early game. This one is also pretty technical. But my best tip for this one is to communicate well with your jungler.
It’s always crucial to make the most of your equipment. Use everything in your arsenal to safeguard your carry, whether it’s a slow, root, or shield. You can succeed and win games if you use it all in the right manner and execute that perfect combination.
I’m sure everyone can agree that peeling is a good strategy. This works well especially if you have proper teammates. Better yet, if you have your duo playing with you. That way you can play in sync and do your combos properly.
But, what would you do if you are in a solo queue and you find yourself between newbie players as well?
You might want to learn to self-peel.
Also read: How to Get More Tokens in LoL?
Self-Peeling
Self-peeling is beneficial in some scenarios as mentioned earlier. But you’ll have to be very skilled in order to do it properly. Also, I must warn you, you must not do it unless you’ve really mastered the champ, or else, you’ll be called selfish during the game.
Like what you know, ADCs are usually with the support but if you want to Self-peel, you might find yourself in solo lanes. There are only quite a few champs who can pull this off.
Of course, during champ select, you’ll never know the capabilities of your team, unless you are a five-man team. So, the better thing to do during this scenario is to improve yourself. Learn some champs that are great in self-peeling.
You might want to learn to use Tristana. She can easily outrun enemies with her Rocket Jump or push them out with her ult. There is also Vayne. She is obviously a given especially with her tumbles comboed with her ult. Oh, you should also try, Corki. Very easy to use to micro enemies.
And if you believe that you’re quite the skilled one, then use Lucian. These champs are just my biased suggestions but I’m pretty sure you have your own lineups as to who are the proper ADCs that can protect themselves.
These are just suggestions if you want to try self-peeling. But also, always keep in mind that every champion is different and you should analyze the strengths of each champion’s arsenals. Every player is also different from the other. Some tips may work for others but not for you.
Find your tempo and be a good player. Only by learning your champion’s kit will you be able to comprehend how to peel for your carry. If you master this talent, you will be able to attain your goal of reaching a higher level.
I should have probably said this from the beginning since we are talking about peeling. But anyway, let me leave this to you. As the saying goes, sometimes “the best offense is defense”.
Check out this list of the best blind pick ADCs in LoL.
