The mid lane has always been an incredibly important part of the League of Legends map, which is why the best players in the game typically appear in this position. The most famous is Faker, who has been performing at a high level in this role since 2013. Throughout many patches and metas, he has maintained a top position, and the adaptability of the “Demon King” is always exceptional.
Recently, a rare video of Faker providing basic tips for playing mid lane has appeared. The remarkable aspect is that he doesn’t just teach how to farm, trade skills, or secure kills; he emphasizes roaming as the most crucial aspect of playing mid. In fact, the “Demon King” even compares not roaming in mid to a jungler who doesn’t gank, meaning it’s completely useless.
The simplest way to roam is to push the wave quickly and then move to attack a vulnerable enemy position with low health. To do this, you must ensure that your champion has good wave-clearing ability and can deal burst damage in a short period.
Possessing strong wave-clear skills will undoubtedly enhance your pushing ability, and high burst damage allows you to save time attacking enemies since you need to return to lane as quickly as possible.
The second, slightly more advanced roaming method involves observing the health and mana of your lane opponent. Particularly in mid lane matchups, these two stats are extremely important; if your opponent is low on health or mana, they won’t dare to go up and continuously use their skills. This means you can push the wave more easily, and they won’t be able to clear the wave quickly or follow you.
To do this, your champion must have strong dueling capabilities or simply be tankier than your opponent. It’s no coincidence that many players are bringing Ornn to mid lane at this time; while he may not push waves quickly, his skill trades are excellent.
The third roaming method that Faker teaches is quite similar to his name – “Fake roaming”. This is a tactic used to bait opponents into moving to dangerous areas and getting killed while trying to follow you. This tactic is used to dominate the lane completely because you can push the wave, force the opponent under tower, and potentially secure kills, thereby greatly widening the gap between the two players.
This method is more complex than the previous two; you need to create a false impression for the opponent that you are roaming, leading them to follow you and ultimately get killed in the process. You can do this by intentionally revealing your movement direction to bait the opponent into your trap.
Those are the basic roaming strategies that Faker guides. What makes a successful gank is another story. There are two factors that create a good attack: one is the gank opportunity and the other is the approach to the attack. As mentioned in the first method, the opportunity arises when the opponent is at low health in the side lane, and another opportunity arises when the wave is pushing towards your teammates, making the opponent more likely to come up and easy to attack from behind.
Once the position is chosen, the next step is the method of attack; champions with crowd control are always great allies in attack scenarios. Mobility skills like dashes, blinks, and movement speed boosts are also extremely important, as they create surprises that the opponent cannot react to in time. However, think carefully before attacking; if the opponent has more mobility than your team, it’s best not to waste time trying to force the issue.
Above are the basic roaming methods that Faker teaches. I hope fellow gamers will have successful matches with these small yet useful tips.