ADC is the BEST role to teach you everything about this game.

I understand that people have plenty of problems with the ADC role, and I understand why. Crit items are very powerful right now, and ADCs can easily abuse things that are clearly meant for other champs.

I get the frustration surrounding them.

However.......despite their strengths, there is still plenty of both mechanical prowess, and game knowledge required in order to play the role at a good level. Allow me to explain.

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#Pure Damage

The ADC role is the one responsible for dealing the most damage in the game.....I'm certain that this is clear to everyone. In order to be useful at all, we need to build the items that give the most damage in the game. The tradeoff is that we have very little to no survivability. Yes, I know there is lifesteal , reviving items , and a "get-out-of-jail" free card . Not to mention our newest friend that helps us survive early engages . However, despite all of this we can still be so easily killed.

won't save you from a Zed diving you. won't keep Lux from evaporating you from a mile away. won't keep Garen off of you. can only cleanse one CC. can't help you if you revive in the middle of the enemy team. and is a one time use.

Despite the tools we have at our disposal, we still have to be fully aware of our surroundings unless we are stupidly fed. Only then, can we strut around, and mow down everyone in our path.

We are the teams damage. We are meant to make sure that after every teamfight, the other team comes out worse for wear. But because of this, literally anyone has the capability to screw us over. Sure, a tank may not have the damage to outright kill us, or we may have enough damage to outright kill that assassin before he even gets close to us. But that never means that we should ever stop being cautious, because just 1 misstep by us likely means a lost teamfight, Baron, or even the game.

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#The Perfect Mindset

Any of you out there assassin players? Well....of course there are some of you out there....some of you are the most vocal on game changes, especially now, since assassins have been having trouble as of late. However, despite this, I would like to ask you........isn't there a certain mentality that goes into playing an assassin?

The reason why I ask this is because I have never been an assassin player. The only 2 champs that I have played to some degree that can be called assassins are and .....and I just recently picked up Kass. I have never had the mentality of an assassin. In a game that becomes so hectic, so quickly, you need to have a certain amount of patience.

You need to be patient enough to be able to sneak around an ensuing teamfight, and get to that backline. You simply can't dive in, and expect to kill everyone. You have to wait for that one little misstep.....that one little lapse in judgement......recognize it.......and jump on it immediately. 1 moment too soon, and you'll likely find yourself caught in the middle of the enemy team. 1 moment too late, and you may find yourself without a team of your own.

ADCs also require a very specific mindset. Whereas an assassin needs a patient mind in order to operate cleanly, an ADC needs a cautious one. You have to be aware of your fragility.....and just how important you are to the team. You have to take note of the entire battlefield........where are you? Where is your support? Where is the enemy ADC? Where is that assassin? Is your front line holding up? Are you still dealing damage effectively? Who are you damaging? How much damage are you taking? All of those questions need to be racing through an ADC's mind during a teamfight. Now, I'm not saying that questions race through everyone's mind during a teamfight, but every role requires a different mind set, and thus, every role requires different questions to be asked.

And this cautious mentality can easily butt heads with other mentalities.....likely those of tank players. Say you're playing WW, and dive onto the enemy Vayne, only to be killed shortly after. You notice that your team was nowhere near you when you dove, and you wonder why that is. Did you happen to notice the enemy Azir creeping up behind your team, and your team had to deal with him so your carries wouldn't die? Well guess what......your ADC was likely VERY well aware of that Azir, and due to his cautious mentality compared to your reckless one......he switched targets from that Vayne you dove onto, and dealt with the Azir. Despite this, according to your mind, your team needed to follow you up on your successful ult, and cause as much chaos as possible.......a reckless mentality.

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#Positioning is Key

If you ever talk with an ADC main about the outcome of a fight, 8 times out of 10, you will hear them mention something along the lines of "positioning".

"I was in such a bad spot." "I couldn't reach the fight." "There was no good position for me." "Zac dove onto me."

More so than ANY other role in the game, the exact spot where you fight as an ADC can make or break a fight.

Here is an example of good positioning:

https://youtu.be/imCX2QaQO3k?t=109

In this fight, the Nautilus engages, and lands a pretty massive knockup onto the entire team. During this knockup, LeBlanc comes in and puts everyone to half health, forcing the Vayne's team into full retreat mode. The Vayne has to flash out of the chaos that is going on in order to get a better a footing, but she has to act quick since an Irelia is right on her tail. She has to keep kiting back while dealing damage to not only turn the Irelia away, but also kill her. During this time, both the Nunu and Kog tunnel in on the Vayne, but forget that she still has 2 other teammates helping her. Nunu starts his ult channel, only to have it instantly interrupted by the Rek'Sai knockup, and due to Vayne being in just the right position, impales Kog into the wall, and stops his damage from coming in. Nunu is then useless and dies, and due to Vayne's good positioning earlier, she is able to get away from the Kog passive explosion.

This is what I like to call "The Pocket". In American Football, during a passing play, the Quarterback is in a "pocket" made up by his linemen. This pocket needs to remain standing long enough for the receivers to get into position, and have the Quarterback throw the ball to them. A very similar concept applies to ADCs, and their positioning. A "pocket" is formed around the ADC, made up by their other teammates. When in this pocket, the ADC can fire away as much as they like, so long as the pocket remains standing. Irelia, Nunu, and Kog tried to force their way into the Vayne's pocket, and paid the price for doing so, instead of trying to collapse the pocket around Vayne, and force her to either make a very risky play, or retreat completely.

Now, here is an example of bad positioning:

https://youtu.be/O4fIkPNr258?t=47

Right at the start of the clip, you should realize that IBoy should be trying to get the hell out of this situation. Not only does he have a Trundle practically right on top of him, he also has the rest of SKT behind him, and closing in. However......he instead chooses to flash over the wall, and try to blow up Faker. This doesn't work.....at all......and all he is left with is the CC of both Sej and Trundle, locking him down, and rewarded with nothing but a slow death.

IBoy could have made it out of this situation, though, and possibly even taken a kill with him. Since both he and Meiko had everything up (ults, summs, and mana to boot), he could have ulted Huni, flashed or W away from the Sej ult, land onto Bang (who was coming from behind as Twitch stealthed), blow him up with the help of Meiko, and thanks to Lulu's slows, make it out alive before the rest of SKT could catch up. Instead, he went for a risky play against a team with great survivability, plenty of cc, and his own support unable to reach him over the wall.

I can not count the number of times that I simply walked away from a fight because everything is just falling apart. My frontline melts, I'm being zoned by one of the opponents, one of my teammates dives in too much, or we get wombo-combo'd. A good ADC should be able to read the entire battlefield, and make sure that they are in the right position at all times. If they're not, then they need to move the correct position, or get out of the fight before they too die. For they are likely the best source of wave clear for their team, and need to protect their turrets long enough for their teammates to respawn.

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#Arms Race

Of course, the ADC can't do it's job unless it has the tools necessary to do so......and those tools are quite expensive. Now, farming is important in every role in League of Legends, for you simply can not keep up with your opponents unless you have a steady flow of gold coming in. However.......this is amplified in the ADC role, since our only job is to deal damage. If we can not farm effectively, and keep a steady flow of gold pouring into our pockets, we can fall behind so quickly, that we will become just as useful as a minion.....if not less so. Someone like a tank or a support can live without a steady source of gold for a period of time (the support role is actually designed to live without that flow of gold), since they have enough utility to remain relevant throughout all stages of the game.

And ADC, however, is only relevant if it is constantly dealing damage, and in order to deal that damage, you need to farm effectively. You need to learn how to last hit......how much damage will each auto of yours deal to that minion? How much damage is it taking from other minions? Can you clear part of a wave with an ability?

That said, a good ADC will not only know how to farm for themselves effectively.....but also know how to keep their opponent from farming. Can your opponent clear effectively under tower? Freeze the lane, and force them to walk up to you. Is your opponent someone who has trouble farming under tower? Push them in, and chip away at their tower.

The ADC role is an arms race......and whoever wins the arms race has a pretty damn good chance of winning the battle. Both you and your team need to be aware of this, and need to figure out exactly where you stand in this arms race.

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#There is no "I" in "Team".

Bot lane is not just the ADC, of course......there is also the support. A 2v2 lane is far more dynamic than a 1v1. Sure, there could be some flashy plays in a 1v1, and such, but in a 2v2, you and your teammate have to make a certain connection in order to operate smoothly and effectively. The two of you need to keep each other alive. If your support starts taking alot of damage, you need to do everything in your power to keep them alive. Return damage, use your heal, use any CC you may have. As stated earlier, the ADC is an arms race....and if your support dies, that gives your opponent a step up in the arms race that you can't lose.

This dynamic in the bot lane can change people.....I'm serious. You see, first hand, just how important teamwork is in this game. If you cannot come together, and work as one, well oiled machine, than you're never going to get anywhere. Eventually, the enemy team will just walk into your base, because no one is on the same page on your team.

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#So....what can I learn?

By now, I'm sure you're wondering "How does all of this teach me everything about the game?".

Well......I just answered you, did I not? The ADC role has the capability to teach you how to farm, how to position, how to move around a fight, how to know when to go in, and when to retreat. It can teach you how to read a teamfight, and understand exactly what is going on at any given moment. ADCs like and can actually teach you map awareness due their global ults (double so for Ashe due to her hawkshot). was designed with the intention of teaching people how to kite, and how work more closely with their supports (granted....that's not exactly what happened). Hypercarries, such as and can teach you the importance of farming, and especially early game play in that they are more reliant on items than most other champs.

I made this post to try and have people understand exactly what goes on in the mind of an ADC main.....and to ask those of you who are unfamiliar with the role to try and take a step into out shoes.

If you're mostly a tank player......that's fine. However, there have likely been several games where you say "What the hell is my ADC doing?" Well, to answer that.....play a few games of ADC in normals, and then rewatch those games......and you will hopefully come to understand exactly what we have to go through in order to make sure we are an effective member of the team.

To some of you, the role may seem very easy........and on the surface, it does. "Oh, just sit in spot, and auto attack all day long!" But I assure you, there is far, far more that goes into playing ADC.......and you stepping into our shoes will help you realize that.