Trading & the death zone

Ah yes, how could I forget! Obviously one can't control a lane when is one is getting fragged like a little nablet. I'm what my friends call "nen aggressieven duvel" or in English, "An aggressive devil". I love to push other people around in lanes, especially solo lanes. Let me break down how it's done.

Basically, you need to be very aware, punish any mistakes your enemy makes, and avoid short term thinking. In particular, you need to be aware of your own range(s) and the enemy range(s). See, in most MOBA games there's something that can only be described as a "death zone". If your positioning is off at any time, you will most likely pay for it, and the worse your positioning, the harsher this punishment. Crossing a certain point results in entering the death zone, which - you guessed it - results in you dying. It's as simple as that. Extremely concrete example:

Midlane, playing versus Annie. Both level six. When Annie has a stun charged up, the death zone for you is Summon: Tibbers cast range (600) plus Flash range (400) = 1000 range. If you come within 1000 range and Annie knows what she's doing, you are dead. Luckily, the amount of Champions that require nothing other than the facerolling of four buttons in order to score a kill is relatively limited in League of Legends.

When facing most other Champions, the details become a little more subtle, and it's really more of an elegant ballet where Champions dance in and out of ranges. In this case it's all about being pragmatic. When facing a good enemy, the only "mistake" they will make is swiftly stepping in and out of range of your main nuke/disable/auto attack, in order to last hit minions. Unless you're blind (in which case, mad props for getting 2k Elo, Daredevil!), you can see when your enemy will come closer in order to last hit. When this is about to happen, you can reposition aswell, and punish your enemy for last hitting. You accomplish this by dealing as much damage as you possibly can in the small window of time where your enemy can't retaliate, because he's stuck in his last hitting animation. Good players will immediately realise that losing some minions is preferable to taking a good amount of damage every time. Bad players will go for the last hit again, and take further damage. At this point they can't win an all-in situation anymore, and they effectively lose the lane for the next few minutes. Two last hits in the short run end up costing them a lot more last hits in the long run, because they have to play super safe or go back to base and heal.



Great players are a different matter, because they will put the hurt right back on you. See, when one player harasses their enemy as he/she is last hitting, there's nothing to really stop that enemy from returning the favour when the original aggressor is last hitting. When two great players are facing each other, it typically doesn't take long until both of them realize that trades and battles will almost always be about even. Hence, going all in is pretty much a 50/50 toss-up, and never worth it. They'll just safely farm, give each other respect, and wait for a friendly jungler to swing 'round before they try to do any killing. In spite of the mutual respect given, every small mistake made by either party will be ruthlessly punished, without any hesitation.

Extremely important point, when you know that an enemy can kill you, always assume that they will try to actually do it. If they can burst you in one go, buy more health and resistances. If your health is too low from (poorly) trading damage, push your lane out as much as safely possible and go healing. If the enemy team has a Malzahar and he's missing, don't facecheck brushes. If every damage trade costs you more health than your enemy, stop trading damage until you can purchase more sustain. Farm from maximum distance or even under your tower to achieve that goal. It's all about being pragmatic. Better to lose some minions in the short run than to get killed and lose a lot more in the long run. More than anything, keep that overview, and keep victory in mind.