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Let's talk lane priority and why it's important

holystack·10/29/2019, 12:51:24 AM·2 votes·1,441 views

I feel lane priority is a concept that is often neglected. Now obviously, everyone on your team has to deal with a low priority lane, but I want to talk about why a laner may have low priority, as well as the role that probably has to deal with it the most during the first few levels : The jungler.

Most people have probably heard the term before, whether it is in a LCS match, or simply from playing the game a lot, but to have lane priority is to be able to roam or rotate first before the enemy laner.

If your mid laner is expected to be shoved under his tower for the first few levels, then you cannot expect him to roam and help you contest scuttle should a fight break out. One, because in doing so your laner would have to give up a large amount of CS in order to roam, while the other laner loses practically nothing. But also because your laner's champion is most likely simply weaker early game than the enemy laner.

For exemple, a Darius Top Lee Sin jungle would always win a 2v2 vs a Zac jungle Nasus Top.

Now to me, theres usually two reasons that a laner may or may not have lane priority.

1- The laner is simply outmatched by the other laner. They may be autofilled, taking suboptimal trades, be forced to recall more often than the other laner, not having good wave managements, etc.

2- The laner is in a disadvantageous matchup where he cannot contest the lane safely without putting himself in danger of dying. Good exemples of "low priority" champions would be Kayle top, or Kassadin mid. Kayle is melee until lv6, and Kass is immobile until lv6, as well as being extremely weak to AD laners. Neither of them have outstanding waveclear early on, and neither are their damage impressive should an early fight break out.

While it's hard to judge which laner is better than the other before minions have even spawned, any person that has played a variety of champions or is simply knowledgeable of the game can tell an advantageous matchup from a disadvantageous matchup.

If you know you cannot win a 2v2 fight because both your champions combined are weaker early game, then sometimes the best thing to do is simply play around it and avoid the 2v2 confrontation altogether. Jungle routes are often dynamic and must take many things in consideration, lane priority being one thing. As such, adjusting your jungle route or starting on the opposite side of the map can sometimes be the safer option.

The reason I wrote this post is because I feel even in higher divisions like Plat+, lane priority is too often overlooked if not downright ignored. This post isn't meant to put the blame on anyone, moreso simply sharing a laner's POV on the subject.

Playing relative to your team's strengths/weaknesses is your greatest asset as a jungler

Anyway, share your thoughts! And let's talk about it :)

4 Comments

Chainman310/29/2019, 12:55:37 AM1 votes

From a jungler's POV even when laners have priority they refuse to move.

Chainman310/29/2019, 1:38:24 PM1 votes

Dont know why you deleted your comment whatever it was. I didnt get to read it.

Chainman310/29/2019, 1:52:39 PM1 votes

"But also because your laner's champion is most likely simply weaker early game than the enemy laner." False- in the case of any melee assassin vs mage matchup assassins are usually the stronger early game champion but are also usually shoved in the early levels due to not having access to their gap closers while mages have access to their 1 long range spell to harass. Minion dmg is also a key factor in this due to melee champions drawing aggro but once level 2 for talon level 3 for zed level 3 for fizz level 3 for ekko (as examples) come into play the assassin has the gap closers needed to kill the mage. In a 1v1 situation with no minions if the assassin is able to get on top of the mage they win every time excluding minions so if we're talking about who is stronger than your statement is false.

"If your mid laner is expected to be shoved under his tower for the first few levels" the problem comes in, when what happens when your laner IS expected to shove the opponent under tower and still gets shoved in. Its hard to predict how a player you've never met before will play a champion, and how skillful they are at that champion.

"Playing relative to your team's strengths/weaknesses is your greatest asset as a jungler" Now let me reverse what you're saying: Playing relative to your jungle's position is your greatest assest as a laner. Yet many laners avoid to do this.

Where i understand you arent blame you're clearing pointing at junglers when there are many things laners do wrong as well which effect their jungler, which their jungler cant predict. A few that come to mind:

  1. Terrible Roams (roaming to the opposite side of the map when a fight breaks out on the other side. Ex: 3v3 happens bot mid laner roams top enemy mid laner roams bot clean wipe and turret gone which leads to drake being taken. Game pretty much becomes lopsided just off that one terrible roam.)
  2. Terrible Back timing (backing when drake is about to spawn).
  3. No map awareness.
  4. Not following roams when they can because theyre too busy valuing the cs in the middle of the lane.
  5. Not rotating for objectives when they can.

These are all things the laner CAN do and SHOULD do, but its chalked up to each individual player, which the jungler has no clue how that player will react. Just because something should happen doesnt mean it will happen and thats what makes jungling so volatile.