Welcome to ModLegends's guide where we'll be giving you seven incredibly useful tips for Top Lane. Everything featured in this guide will immediately be applicable to your gameplay and are tips that you'll be able to use regardless of what Champion you're playing. Using these tips will help you consistently win more laning phases, so let's get right into it.
Tip 1: Leveraging Minion Aggro for Wave Control
For our first tip, let's talk about minion aggro because it's going to be relevant for some of our other future tips as well. Everyone knows that if you Auto attack or use a single Target spell on an enemy Champion, you will draw minion aggro. This is usually seen as annoying, especially because it punishes you for being aggressive. It sucks trying to trade only to lose a ton of your own HP to the enemy wave. However, drawing minion aggro onto yourself can actually be quite useful if used properly.
Top Lane is all about building wave control over your opponent. Since the lane is often a melee versus melee matchup, whoever has the bigger wave tends to win every trade during the early levels of the game, especially 1 to two. Most Champions don't deal that much damage on their own as you don't have most of your abilities or items yet, so you deal very little damage. Despite this, what most players try to do is just Spam Auto attack the wave to build a minion advantage. Instead, you should try to draw minion aggro. Doing so will typically help you push way more than if you just Auto attack the wave normally.
The best way of abusing this is by trying to draw way more minion aggro than your opponent can. For example, Camille exchanges Auto attacks with Or, but by trading here, Camille is taking aggro from Or's entire wave, meanwhile Or wasn't even in range to get aggro from the red minions. This is a huge pushing win for Camille and a big part of why she eventually earns the shove over Or.
You can also try to time your auto attacks whenever your opponent is last hitting. This is a good trading habit in general, but another big reason to do it is that it lets you get wave aggro while they're busy CSing. So not only are you winning the trade, but you're also winning in the push by getting creep aggro. What's important to keep in mind is that it doesn't even matter that you took some Minion damage in the long run if you use minion aggro to get the push. Being a bit down on HP won't matter. Having the bigger wave is the most important thing in Top Lane, and this is a great way of securing that push during those critical early levels.
Alright, now back to the guide.
Tip 2: Auto-Enhancing Abilities and Their Range Advantage
Did you know that almost every single auto-enhancing ability in the game actually gives you an extra 50 range on your auto attacks? To put that into perspective, that is the difference between Aelia's crazy 200 auto attack range and Fiora's average 150 range. This is important considering a ton of Top Lane Champions have an auto enhancer ability in their kit, such as Renekton's W, Malphite's W, Sett's Q, and so on.
Typically, these abilities are often used as auto-attack resets. Almost every single one of them will let you get in an auto attack and then reset for another quick auto. However, your opponents won't always let you do this, especially as you climb higher and higher. Players start spacing around these regular auto ranges to avoid taking damage. So, don't tunnel vision too much on the perfect damage rotation.
Good players often use the extra 50 range from their enhanced auto-attack to sneak in way more damage than the average player. This is a big reason why Champions like Jax or Camille tend to take the rune Grasp of the Undying. Once you're aware that this is something you can abuse, the extra 50 range makes it very easy to consistently get grasp procs on your opponent and be very oppressive during the lane phase.
This also pairs really well with our first tip. Remember how one of your goals was to land an auto without your opponent hitting you back? Well, using this extra 50 range on enhanced autos might let you do that in quite a few matchups, as we mentioned before.
Tip 3: Effective Harassment During Slow Pushes
Having the push in the Top Lane is crucial. However, when top laners have the slow push advantage, they often get overly excited, thinking they can win every trade without much retaliation. The problem arises when hitting your opponent during a slow push, which relates to our very first tip – hitting your opponent draws creep aggro.
If you've already got a slow push going and draw aggro on top of that, you'll push the wave very quickly. This issue is particularly noticeable when watching players on range Champions. For instance, there's a Diamond ELO player, Teemo, who's already shoving the wave. However, every time Kayle walks up, he hits her, drawing creep aggro. Consequently, Teemo not only takes a lot of damage but also pushes the wave even faster into Kayle, missing out on opportunities to punish her.
The whole point of getting a slow push going is to have complete control over the wave. Your opponent can't walk up and will feel miserable missing CS, giving you a gold lead. It also allows you to slowly build up the biggest wave crash possible, granting you advantages such as more time to recall, roam, or harass your opponent under the tower.
To solve this issue, when harassing, make sure to dip into a brush after every single auto-attack. This immediately drops creep aggro, allowing your slow push to last longer, giving you more time to harass and build up a big wave.
This disciplined approach can be seen in Quinn's gameplay, earning her more harassment on her opponent. Conversely, Teemo could have played near the brushes to avoid drawing unnecessary aggro and preserve the slow push. This mistake is common even among players up to the Master tier, so remember this every time you've got a slow push going.
This concept is particularly relevant in ranged matchups but is applicable to melee characters as well. It can be used to bait ranged opponents into pushing faster or to coordinate wave crashes with your jungler. Sometimes, not hitting your opponent might be the correct play to prevent pushing the wave too quickly and to coordinate plays effectively.
Tip 4: Understanding Tower Fortification and Demolish Rune
It's essential to know that Towers have an effect called 'fortification,' which blocks an extra 50% of damage taken before the first 5 minutes in the game. Lower ELO players can often forget about this effect. For instance, there's a scenario with Quinn overstaying to get a turret plate, not realizing that dealing that much damage before the fortification wears off is nearly impossible. This leads to poor recall timing, causing her to miss an entire wave as a consequence.
However, there's a way to actively play around this effect with a rune many top laners tend to run – 'Demolish.' You might have noticed that trying to proc Demolish on a tower before 5 minutes results in fairly inconsequential damage. Typically, you can get a full turret plate with this rune's proc, but you won't get much value before the fortification is gone.
So, if you find yourself trying to push a tower around the 5-minute mark, you should avoid activating your Rune before the resistances have fallen off. Instead, try doing something else, like clearing the incoming wave or removing a ward. This way, you get a full-value Demolish proc on the tower, providing you with an instant turret plate and significantly more Tower damage than you would have otherwise.
Tip 5: Leveraging Healing Items at Low Health
Tip number five focuses on the use of items like Doran's Shield and runes like Second Wind. Both the item and the rune provide healing based on the damage you take in relation to your missing health. This means that the regeneration becomes significantly stronger as your health drops lower.
The mistake often observed among players is their hesitation to drop to lower health values while using this setup. The power of these items and runes is most effective when you're very low on HP, effectively granting you near-infinite sustain.
Lower ELO players tend to pop their potions even when they're not below half health yet. This is a mistake because it diminishes your overall health regeneration. Higher-ranked players, especially in Challenger tier, consistently play around this regeneration mechanic.
You can see examples like Renekton, who, despite a bad trade, refrains from using their health potion until it's actually necessary. The key is not to use your potion until it's truly required, as doing so maximizes the sustain you can potentially obtain.
Tip 6: Handling Unfavorable Lane States
Tip number six addresses the frustrating situation of being stuck in a bad lane state in the top lane. If your opponent freezes the wave or builds a massive slow push that could lead to a dangerous dive, it can be detrimental to your gameplay. Avoiding this scenario is crucial for top laners. While there's no simple solution, a small tip can assist in such situations.
Aelia, leveraging a previous mistake made by Quinn, capitalizes on her lead to secure a quick 1v1 victory. Post-fight, she looks to push the wave for a turret plate. The common approach here is to hit the tower a few times, step back to the bush, and begin recalling. However, this lengthy process can give the opponent time to return, disrupting your recall timing and putting you in a bad spot.
An alternative tactic is to recognize when minions can secure the turret plate without your direct intervention. Aelia opts for this smarter approach, channeling her recall while her own minions handle the plate. This is particularly effective against opponents who can swiftly return to lane or have rushed Tier Two Boots, where time matters significantly.
Additionally, this quicker recall allows Aelia to return to lane before the opponent can crash the wave, enabling her to freeze the lane against them, nullifying Quinn's attempts and securing her another victory.
Tip 7: Smart Strategies for Low HP Situations
In the seventh and final tip, we've got something a bit more fun that will make you feel pretty clever when you successfully execute it in the top lane. Oftentimes, you'll find yourself in situations where, after a 1v1 or a gank, you manage to kill your opponent but are left really low on HP, just like when Renekton gets eliminated but Aatrox is quite low.
Usually, you've got two choices in these scenarios: crash the wave and then reset, or keep the wave frozen and teleport back. The crucial thing to remember here is that healing in the fountain at this stage of the game is slow, and death timers are relatively fast.
Suppose you've killed your opponent and are crashing the wave. In that case, it might be a smart move to bypass your own minions and, instead of recalling, intentionally die to the tower. Not only will you resurrect instantly at full HP, but you'll also benefit from the Homeguard effect upon respawning, enabling you to walk back to lane even faster.
Conclusion
Mastering the top lane involves understanding the nuanced strategies beyond champion selection. Implementing these seven tips can significantly elevate your gameplay, irrespective of the champion you play. Each strategy offers an advantage that can be the differentiating factor in securing victories in the top lane.
FAQs
Are these strategies effective for all champions in the top lane?
Yes, these strategies are universally applicable and can be utilized across various champions in the top lane.
How do these tips impact gameplay in the early stages of the game?
Implementing these strategies in the early game can provide a significant advantage, shaping the pace of the entire match.
Is it necessary to use all the tips simultaneously, or can they be applied individually?
While combining these tips can be powerful, each strategy can independently impact your gameplay positively.
How do these tips apply to different playstyles in the top lane?
Regardless of aggressive or defensive playstyles, these strategies offer advantages adaptable to various approaches.
Can these tips assist in climbing the ranks?
Absolutely. Mastering these strategies can significantly contribute to climbing the ranks by enhancing your performance in the top lane.