The Laning phase in League of Legends is the first 10 or 15 minutes of the game where everyone is sitting in their lanes farming. During the laning phase, Top and Mid are 1v1’ing, Bot lane is 2v2’ing, and the Jungler is farming and ganking. There will not be much action beyond little fights or 3v3 skirmishes for Dragon most of the time.
In this article, I will give a little rundown of when the laning phase is usually considered over and what each lane should do after the laning phase.
When Does the Laning Phase End?
The laning phase in League of Legends ends when tier 1 turrets start falling. Once two turrets are down, it’s time to start grouping most of the time. This will usually be shortly after 14 minutes after turret plates are down, and turrets are weak.
For example, if you’re bot lane and take the enemy’s turret, and your Mid laner does the same, you should look to group Mid. Even if your Mid laner lost their turret and you lost yours, then it’s still probably time to start grouping up because the laning phase is over.
The laning phase ends when turrets start to collapse because after the turret is gone, pushing the next turret will involve over-extending. Over-extending will lead to getting caught and likely throwing the game. So it’s better to just group up with your team and start playing for objectives together.
Also read: How to Fix Bug Splat After Champion Select?
What To Do After Laning Phase
Now you know what the laning phase is and when it ends. But what should you do after the laning phase? It all depends on what position you play and what kind of Champion you’re playing that game.
The momentum of the game also matters. A Mid lane assassin won’t play the same every single game. Let’s take a look at the best thing for each role to do after the laning phase of each game:
Bot (ADC & Support)
After the laning phase, the Bot lane will typically head to the Mid lane. Sometimes, if the Bot lane is far ahead, they can continue to push for another turret. However, this can be dangerous, as the enemy team may collapse on them with four or five Champions.
Also note, that some ADCs, such as Vayne, may want to split push Bot lane for solo XP and extra gold. This is only recommended for ADCs with some kind of escape or very strong 1v1 potential. So a Champion like Jinx should be extremely careful if she decides to farm bot solo.
Whether the ADC split pushes or not, the Support will want to head Mid most of the time. This is because they will need to relieve some pressure off of Mid. As mentioned, if the Bot lane is very far ahead, then staying bot and pushing for Inhibitor may be an option, but a dangerous one.
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Mid
The Mid laner will have two options after the laning phase ends. They can either hard group with their team and look for team fights or split push. Which decision you decide depends heavily on which Champion you’re playing and how fed you are.
If you’re playing an assassin with a lot of wave clear potential, split pushing is a viable option. Champions like Zed, Talon, or even Yasuo can split push if they’re strong enough to 1v1 or 1v2. Now, these Champs can also group and are fantastic for getting picks on the enemy team. Getting picks is a great way to give your team an advantage in the next team fight.
Now, Mages like Syndra, Lux, Anivia, and Vex will want to group for team fights. The same can be said about assassins that do not have sound wave clear and split push potential (Leblanc, Ahri, Ekko). If your team groups while the enemy team is still stuck in the laning phase, there’s a high chance you’ll find some good fights which can snowball the game.
Top
Just like Mid, what you do after the laning phase as a Top laner will depend on your Champion. Some Champions were born and bred to team fight. Others were crafted to create infinite side-lane pressure and be extremely obnoxious all game (Trundle).
Champions like Malphite, Rumble, and Ornn will want to group as soon as possible. They have no reason to sit in a side lane and split push when their ultimates were built to win team fights. As soon as their tower falls (or the enemy’s), they should start heading mid and trying to beat the squishy Mid laner down.
On the other side of the coin, we have Champions like Tryndamere and Irelia. These Champions have excellent split push potential because they can win most 1v1s and 1v2s. Some Champs excel at split pushing and team fighting and will have to decide which they want to do in each game. These Champs include Jax, Camille, Nasus, Gwenn, etc.
Also read: Best Hard Carry Champions
Jungle
The Jungle’s job doesn’t change too much after the laning phase. During the laning phase, the Jungler will be looking for overextended lanes and trying to gank. After the laning phase, the Jungler will still be looking for overextended lanes and trying to get picks.
The significant difference is that there will be fewer lanes to gank and that your team will be with you most of the time. There will also be a lot more team fights, post laning phase. As Jungler, your job will be to keep track of objectives and corralling your team around the map to take favorable fights and transition to take objectives.
Many player’s do not understand when the laning phase ends, which can be detrimental to a game. I’ve seen countless players stay in their lane well after turrets have fallen. This leaves their team vulnerable to nasty team fights. It also allows the enemy to create insane amounts of pressure on turrets and objectives. So, knowing when the laning phase has ended and what to do afterward is critical to winning.
