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Sincere question

Mira Arya Enthe··2 votes·400 views

How do you meaningfully contribute to your team as a top laner?

For those that do not know me. I have played every single role in the game. I am not dedicated to any slot. I started in S2 as a mid/ADC main, moved into playing every role, then into every role plus ARAM once it was out. Only in S6 did I dedicate myself to jungle and Shyvana.

Now, everyone says support and jungle are the hardest roles. But as my most played roles I disagree. I have a harder time playing ADC or mid, partially because of last hitting, partially because of trading and such.

But top lane is illusive to me. I cheesed my way around top as Teemo in S2-3-4-5-6 but this season started using Riven top. My top laners are Riven, Teemo, Shyvana, Jayce and Quinn in total. I can win lane, or lose. But either way, beyond 'my lane'. I have no idea how to contribute to my team. What to do once the first tower falls in top. Or what role I play from there.

It is weird because as Jungle/support I have such clear direction, as Mid or ADC I can at least say "Farm, group, team fight". As APCs and ADCs. But as top laner, regardless of role I feel lost once the lane ends.

4 Comments

Elite4Runner2 votes

The meta would say that your job is to farm up and get tanky.

Your only other job/jobs are to stay safe, keep some vision in the top side river, collapse on the jungler (with your jungler) if they are invading, and keep an eye on bottom lane for a TP play.

Most top laners are "wet noodle warriors" during the laning phase. That is to say that they don't often deal a significant amount of damage to each other during trades, but trade often. For this reason, good top laners use control over the minion wave to their advantage.

I would imagine this is why you're having trouble because you mentioned issues with last hitting and trading as ADC and mid.

I think the top lane is actually the most important lane for wave management because they are not only a good source of damage to help you during trades, but they are an important source of gold and exp for your enemy, and your job is to deny them of it.

Learn when, where, and how to freeze and push the wave in order to best starve out your opponent and deny the enemy team a big part of their front line when it comes to the team fight phase.

TyrekGoldenspear1 votes

Hmm.

Well I am by no means an expert, but let me help you best I can, from one silver to another.

When the lane ends as a top laner, you have to take into account what your champ does best and play to their strengths.

For example, when I play J4 my goal is to join my team and help contest objectives and help out in teamfights. Once the teamfight starts my job is to drag myself towards their carry and explode them with my damage OR AOE nuke as many of the enemy as I can and trap them in a small area for a wombo.

When I play Garen, I... Well right now I can only chase villains and Spin2Win in teamfights moderately well. If my team can't provide damage or if their Villain is too protected I just splitpush as best I can. And sob tears of justice. Needless to say I don't play him often.

When I play Yorick I train my eye onto their nexus and the towers in my way, and eat them up. I suck in teamfights so I don't bother. I can 1v1 fairly well so I can draw attention away by being a massive threat to towers. My goal isn't to chase kills or be a damage sponge in teamfights. My kills are the towers.

So, while I haven't played many of your top laners, I'll see what I can offer.

Riven Well, you're as fed as crap if you won lane because you're Riven. So the thing you gotta do is join teamfights and wreck face. Focus their squishies and burst them to oblivion, then turn on R and burst the rest of them because you're Riven.

Teemo Um... I can't help you here. His method of contribution to gameplay is too unorthodox for me tbh.

Shyvana People toplane Shyv still? Well in this situation do what you do as a jungle Shyvana that is less fed. Focus on objectives, particularly dragon for those sweet armor/mr buffs.

Jayce "And then I drop an Acceleration Gate and blast 'em with a Hyper Charge! For the Future!"

When you're Jayce, you gotta teamfight. Poke them to death by dropping an Acceleration Gate and blasting them with Hyper Charges.

Quinn Recovers from melee top laner PTSD

Anyway, the Quinns I've seen go legendary are the ones that won't. Leave. Us. Squishies. The. Frick. Alone.

I swear, I can wander in the jungle and suddenly a Quinn shows up, blinds me, hits me, then vaults off me and does it again and kills me in less than two seconds.

If any of the enemy squishies decide to seperate from the group for any reason, track them down and kill them. Your short AA range relative to other marksmen mean that you won't be as useful in a teamfight, so you have to make sure that the enemy starts the teamfight with less members.

But if you want general advice, remember that League is a objective oriented game. So go for objectives. You won top lane and knocked down your turret? Great! Roam Mid and help them knock their turret down, then knock down Bot's turret. Take Dragon and take the secondary turrets.

Mid and Bot's order are situational. For example if mid is holding their own yet bot lane's stomping, you can go mid to knock down their tower, then as one force you take bot tower and then dragon. Or if Bot is getting stomped, you can go bot to help out your struggling bot laners. Depending on how fed the enemy is, they can't 2v3.

TL;DR, once the lane is done, do what you can to make sure the rest of the lanes are done as well. Chip your way to their nexus and you win.

Mira Arya Enthe1 votes

Thank you, this was a really good and detailed post :D!

DarkRitual1 votes

Splitpush and make solid teleport plays. Or pick a strong dive tank when you have a teamfight comp.

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