League of Legends may be a 5v5 game, but on the Rift, only one team can win – and no one says you have to give your opponents an even fight. Ganks are a key part of any League player’s arsenal, so here are a few tips to make yours better!
Ganking – moving to another lane to assist your teammate or teammates there – has been a thing as long as lanes have existed in MOBA games. Done right, a gank can help your team create an advantage in a lane and get that much closer to winning the game. Both junglers and laners can gank to help their teammates.
Calculating Your Success
Where you should gank usually depends on the map state but you can often spot opportunities directly from the loading screen. If your team has good crowd control and damage, while the enemies have poor escape abilities, this is a lane that you should keep an eye on.
At the same time, it is important to keep in mind what you can get from a lane advantage. In a Vladimir vs Yasuo or a Vayne vs Draven lane, any lead can be crucial. Meanwhile, in an Ornn vs Malphite lane, either champion can be useful even if behind in gold.
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That said, there is more to ganking a lane than just deciding what lanes to focus on. A gank requires you to spend time and concede map pressure and you want that to pay off. If you have a teammate on low HP or if there is an enemy minion wave pushing, your teammate might not be able to assist you or will be too late. Plus, there are other factors to consider. Are the enemies exposed?
Can your opponents interfere or take an objective while you are in another lane? You will rarely have a perfect opportunity, but you should gank when you are reasonably sure it will be a net win for you.
Doing the Deed
As a rule of thumb, you want to have a vision advantage for a gank. The later the enemy sees you, the less opportunity they have to react. Ideally, you want to play around the vision and sneak in unnoticed. Your teammates can help you by warding and removing enemy wards in key places like the lane bushes, the pixel brush or securing the Rift Scuttler.
Champions that have invisibility or abilities to jump through walls have more ways to get into position. Sometimes, however, when the enemy is exposed, it is okay to gank even through a ward if it is close to the lane. In that case, attack first and clean their vision later when you have already secured an advantage.
The execution of the gank itself is mostly up to practice and coordination. It is important to make sure that any immobilizing crowd control abilities are used in succession to incapacitate opponents longer and that you take any escape abilities into account.
Kills are not the only thing you can get out of a gank, though. Blowing summoner spells, forcing a bad recall for the enemy or even allowing your team a good recall timing can all be worthwhile resources. Even preventing an enemy gank from succeeding can be a good investment.
The key is to build on your success. After a successful gank, don't forget to come back to that lane. If you killed the opponent or made them use summoner spells, they will be much more vulnerable. Repeat ganking can grow your lead and tilt an opponent.
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That’s it for now - we hope this will help you get some more victory screens in the future. For more information about the League of Legends preseason, esports and guides, check the rest of our coverage at earlygame.com.