There truly is only one barrier between low elo and high elo in League of Legends – Macro. Macro game, or “big picture” play, is the foundation of higher elo games and divides the best from the rest. Macro game covers large scale movements such as securing objectives, rotating and being around objectives, and warding. Micro game, familiar to most players, revolves around CSing, skirmishes, and effective teamfighting. Macro game enables one player to lead their team to victory by intelligently adapting to different situations and executing upon higher level “macro plays”. Macro skills are most useful in the later stages of the game when objectives are contested by all five players. However, laning phase macro is not to be scoffed at, for it can enable you to gain significant gold and kill advantages. Here we go over some of the key parts of laning phase macro and how to properly execute them.

Wave Priority

Wave priority is a loosely used term to describe the situation in which the wave is pushing towards the enemy laner’s turret and you have sole access to the river. You should attempt to gain wave priority by slowly pushing the minion wave (killing the enemy minions very slowly) which will build a large wave that nets your team a decent chunk of time to roam, assist your jungler, ward, or go back to base. A common use of wave priority is to invade the enemy jungler’s camps along with your jungler. Seeing that the enemy laner cannot respond to the invade, your team comes out ahead while dragging the enemy jungler down. Wave priority should also be used to set up vision in the enemy jungle. Wards near your lane are by no means useless, but deeper wards in the enemy jungle enable you to plan for potential ganks and coordinate “countergank” attempts with your jungler.

Early Objectives

In the laning phase, you will have the opportunity to get both the Rift Herald and Elemental Drakes. For your team to come out stronger into the mid game, you must gather objectives by gaining wave priority, as mentioned before, and establishing vision control. The best time to gather objectives is after the enemy jungler or laner has died and your team is healthy enough to contest. The reasoning is that you have a man advantage which prevents the enemy team from contesting. Always make sure that your jungler has Smite and you have at least one Control Ward establishing vision control on the objective pit. Denying vision ends almost all chances for possible steals.

Roaming

Tying directly to wave priority, roaming is the epitome of laning phase snowballing. As a midlane or toplane carry, it is integral to roam to other lanes or to help your jungler. While it may seem counterintuitive to forgo CS, it is well worth the potential for kills, shutdown bounties, and ward/map control. A set of good roams can end the game before the 15-minute mark because of the snowball nature of most roaming carries. Roaming is best done when you have wave priority, vision of the enemy jungler, and knowledge of enemy cooldowns/wards. Before roaming, you should view chat or ask for enemy cooldowns to prepare your plan of action. Enemy wards will allow you to path without being spotted.

Jungling

As a jungler, early game macro is almost entirely in your hand. You must setup vision and map control intelligently in order to allow for your lanes to snowball. Before objectives spawn, you should be actively placing control and stealth wards behind and in the pit to fend off future objective steals by the enemy jungle. You should also try to get a gank off before the objective spawns so that you have a player advantage going into the impending team fight.

Warding

The vision game is what truly differentiates a good laner from a bad one. Laning phase vision for laners is entirely focused on wave priority, as mentioned before. When you have wave priority, it is vital that you attempt to get deeper vision that will provide you and your team an advantage. If the enemy jungler walks near your deep ward, you gain an inherent advantage over your enemy laner and you are able to track the enemy jungler’s movement. If you ever are left with 75+ gold after buying items, you should seriously consider Control Wards. The primary difference between Stealth Wards and Control Wards is that the Stealth Ward, as the name suggests, is hidden in most scenarios. Stealth Wards can only be revealed by the Scryer’s Bloom plant, a Control Ward, or the red trinket. However, Stealth Wards are temporary. Control Wards, on the other hand, are not hidden, but are permanent and have 4 hit points. Also, Control Wards reveal enemy traps and Stealth Wards, making them extremely useful for clearing enemy jungler and establishing control. Generally, it is best that you place Control Wards in bushes so that they are impervious to the enemy. Stealth Wards should be placed before objectives or to cover flanks before a teamfight.

Warding as a whole is useful for many scenarios. Warding allows you to dodge potential ganks from the enemy jungler by strategically moving backwards if the enemy jungler is nearby. Also, if you catch sight of the enemy jungler attempting a gank, you can setup a counter-gank with your jungle which will most likely net a double kill. Warding is also necessary when taking early game objectives like Rift Herald and the First Drake. If you have vision of the enemy jungler and laners, you can strategize as to which objective will be the easiest to take. A ward that many Higher Elo mid lane players use is the lane ward, where they place a Stealth Ward in the middle of the lane. This ward tracks your enemy laner and sees whether they are standing back, or if they have roamed. You can then ping your team and prevent your teammates from being surprised.

Conclusion

Laning phase macro can be difficult to keep track of considering that you need to manage minions and also deal with the enemy laner. However, if you can slowly integrate these tips into your laning phase, you will see success as time progresses and eventually improve as a player.

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