Ever feel like your teammates are speaking a different language in League of Legends? Deciphering all the acronyms and jargon can be daunting, but mastering these league terms is crucial for effective communication and strategic gameplay.
At a glance:
- Learn common league terms to improve communication with your team.
- Understand strategic terms to make better decisions during the game.
- Identify champion roles and related terminology.
- Recognize common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Decoding the Communication Essentials
Effective communication is key to victory in League of Legends. Knowing these league terms will ensure you're always on the same page as your teammates.
- MIA/SS (Missing in Action/Stay Safe): This indicates that an enemy champion is no longer visible on the map. Use it to warn your teammates of potential ganks. Example: "Mid MIA" means the enemy mid laner is missing, and your teammates should be cautious.
- B (Back): Simply put, it means retreat to base, either to heal, buy items, or regroup. Example: "B, OOM" (Back, Out of Mana) indicates you need to return to base due to low mana.
- AFK (Away From Keyboard): Indicates a player is inactive, usually due to being away from their computer.
- Summs (Summoner Spells): Refers to character abilities like Flash, Ignite, Teleport, etc. Example: "Flash is down" indicates that your Flash summoner spell is on cooldown.
- CD (Cooldown): The amount of time before an ability can be used again. Example: "My ult CD is 30 seconds" means your ultimate ability will be ready in 30 seconds.
- Ping: Using the in-game ping system to signal locations, objectives, or enemy movements.
Understanding Strategic League Terms
Beyond basic communication, there's a whole vocabulary around in-game strategy. Knowing these league terms lets you understand and contribute to higher-level decision-making.
- Gank: An ambush, usually by the jungler, to surprise and kill an enemy laner. Example: "Gank top" means the jungler is headed to the top lane for a gank.
- Dive: Attacking an enemy champion under the protection of their turret. This is a risky tactic and requires careful planning.
- Push/Shove: Rapidly clearing minion waves to advance towards the enemy turret.
- Freeze: Manipulating the minion wave to stay close to your turret, making it difficult for the enemy to farm and opening them up to ganks.
- Split-push: Sending one or more champions to push a side lane while the rest of the team applies pressure elsewhere on the map. It's a good strategy to create map pressure but requires strong map awareness.
- Zone: Controlling an area of the map to deny the enemy access. A tank champion can often zone enemy carries in teamfights.
- All-in: Committing all available resources (abilities, summoner spells, etc.) to kill an enemy.
- Kite: Attacking while retreating to maintain distance from an opponent, often used by ranged champions against melee champions.
- Focus: Concentrating damage on a specific target, usually a high-priority enemy champion (like a carry).
- Peel: Protecting a carry from enemy threats, such as assassins or divers. Supports and tanks are good at providing peel.
- Trade: Exchanging damage with an opponent during the laning phase. Analyzing the effectiveness of trades is key to winning lane.
- Bounty: Additional gold awarded for killing a champion with a high kill streak or significant lead.
Champion Roles and Related Terminology
Understanding champion roles and their associated league terms will help you draft a well-balanced team composition and anticipate enemy strategies.
- ADC (Attack Damage Carry)/Bot Carry: A champion who deals high physical damage, primarily using auto-attacks. Typically positioned in the bot lane. Some ADCs are now played mid.
- APC (Ability Power Carry): A champion who deals high magical damage, relying on their abilities. Often played in the mid lane, but can appear in the bot lane as well.
- Support: The bot lane partner of the ADC, focusing on protecting them and providing utility.
- Mid Laner: The champion responsible for the middle lane, who often roams to assist other lanes.
- Top Laner: The champion who occupies the top lane, often playing a tank or bruiser.
- Jungler: The champion who farms the jungle camps and ganks lanes to create advantages.
- Marksman: A ranged AD carry champion.
- Tanks: Champions with high health and resistances, designed to absorb damage and protect their teammates.
- Assassins: Champions with high burst damage, designed to quickly eliminate high-priority targets.
- DPS (Damage Per Second): The amount of damage a champion can deal over time.
- Burst: A large amount of damage dealt in a short period.
- Glass Cannon: A champion who deals very high damage but is also very squishy (easily killed).
- Scaling: A champion becoming stronger as the game progresses, due to item purchases and level increases.
- One-shot: Killing a champion with a single ability or attack combination.
Common Mistakes and Misconceptions About League Terms
Knowing what league terms don't mean is just as important as knowing what they do. Here are some common pitfalls to avoid:
- KS (Kill Steal) vs. Kill Secure: The idea of "kill stealing" is largely outdated. Securing the kill is more important than who gets the gold. Aim for "kill secure" even if it means you get the last hit instead of a carry.
- Int (Inting): While often used casually, "inting" refers to intentionally feeding the enemy team. Accusing someone of inting should be reserved for genuinely malicious behavior.
- OP (Overpowered): This term is often used subjectively. Just because a champion is strong doesn't necessarily mean they are overpowered. They might simply be a good counter pick or well-suited to the current meta.
- Assuming Everyone Knows All League Terms: Don't be afraid to clarify terms if you're unsure whether your teammates understand them, especially when playing with newer players or in lower ELO.
Practical Playbook: Using League Terms Effectively
How can you immediately put your knowledge of league terms to use? Here's a quick guide:
- Prioritize Core Communication: Focus on mastering essential terms like MIA, B, and summoner spell cooldowns.
- Context is Key: Tailor your communication to the specific situation. "Push mid" is useful when you need to take a turret, while "freeze lane" is useful to setup a gank.
- Use Pings Effectively: Don't rely solely on text chat. Use pings to quickly communicate locations, targets, and danger.
- Learn the Meta: Stay up-to-date on the current meta champion picks and item builds.
- Watch Pro Games and VODs: Observing professional players and analyzing their decision-making will provide deeper insight into the strategic use of league terms.
Quick Answers: Common Questions About League Terms
Q: What does "ELO" mean?
A: ELO is a skill rating system used to rank players. While Riot doesn't officially use the term "ELO" anymore, it's still commonly used to refer to a player's rank or skill level. Low ELO generally refers to Iron to Platinum, while high ELO refers to Diamond to Challenger.
Q: What's the difference between "farm" and "CS"?
A: "Farm" is the act of killing minions and monsters for gold and experience. "CS" (Creep Score) is the numerical representation of how many minions and monsters you've killed. So, "farm well" means "get a high CS."
Q: What is "facecheck?"
A: "Facechecking" is entering a bush without vision, risking encountering an enemy champion. It’s generally a bad idea, especially without backup.
Q: What does "wombo combo" mean?
A: "Wombo combo" refers to a combination of abilities from multiple champions that synergize extremely well, leading to a devastating effect.
Actionable Close
Mastering league terms is an ongoing process. The game is constantly evolving, with new champions, items, and strategies being introduced regularly. By continuously learning and applying these terms, you'll improve your communication, decision-making, and overall gameplay. For a broader understanding of these terms and their origins, Understand LoL terms here.