How to Baron

TL;DR: What are you, sophophobic?

Step 1: Seeking Baron

Baron is an important objective that forces map pressure in your favor, but it is also sort of a last resort to pierce into the defense of a turtleing team. If you actually intend to kill Baron, and not bait to instigate a fight, the enemy jungler or at least 2 of their other teammates should be accounted for. When I say "accounted for", that means that they're either dead or clear on the other side of the map. Teleports should be accounted for also, since it makes it possible for someone like Malphite to arrive and occupy your whole team long enough for someone else to come and stop the boss fight altogether, or for the entire team to clean up. "Accounting for them" can be accomplished by catching someone out or pushing a lane hard enough to keep them occupied. Taking an inhibitor, for instance, can keep one or more of them out of the fight since they have to push back the lane.

Step 2: Taking Baron

When that is said and done, it also matters how capable your team is at killing Baron: If you're too under leveled, it could very possibly be a waste of your time. If a squishy is low, they'll have to be in and out of the boss fight to make sure they don't die. If you don't have a proper tank, you'll have to be able to switch aggro between teammates. He constantly debuffs his target's resistances and damage.

A DPS is necessary. This is usually your ADC, but can also be someone like Kayle or Azir. Melees are less suited for this task because they will likely be taking aggro and having their damage reduced. % health damage goes a long way. Brand, Varus, Vayne, etc tend to shred the boss. Healers are recommended. Sona, Taric, or even Janna can accomplish this task. Soraka has to consider her health costs.

Step 3: Using Baron

When you've won the boss fight, you now have a buff that grants the following effects:

• Up to 40 AD and AP.
• Improved Recall time and "Homegaurd".
• Minions receive massive buffs that vary based on their type, but generally have more range and damage.
• Minions also take significantly less "indirect damage", like AoE and DoT.

When applied to minions, the presence of more Baron buffs does not stack the effects. This means that split pushing is usually more effective than grouping. By the time that one person finishes splitting a lane, the rest of the team can rotate and take out more towers and inhibitors while splitting the enemy forces. It's very important to consider what'll happen if they force a fight. Having Baron does not mean that you can turn around a curb stomp, so if they can still win team-fights, you must play safely and focus on uncontested objectives more than contested ones.

Thank you for reading, and good luck.