Rakan periodically gains a shield every 40 – 14.5 seconds (scales with level), absorbing 33 – 245 (+95% AP) damage.

Damaging enemy champions with attacks or abilities reduces this cooldown by 1 second.




Rakan’s passive isn’t something you actively “use,” but it plays a key role in how you approach trades and skirmishes.

The most important detail is that the cooldown is accelerated through interaction. This means that in extended fights or repeated short trades, you will often get access to multiple shields if you are consistently applying pressure.

This creates small but meaningful windows where you can take slightly more aggressive positioning than expected, especially when your passive is about to come up.

At higher levels, this becomes less about the shield itself and more about understanding when you are effectively “safer” to look for a play, versus when you are vulnerable without it.

Rakan throws a feather in a line, damaging the first enemy hit. If it hits a champion or monster, Rakan gains a delayed heal that triggers the next time he touches an ally. Range: 900. Cooldown: 12/11/10/9/8s.



Gleaming Quill is primarily a sustain tool in lane. One successful Gleaming Quill at level 1 heals close to 100 HP split between you and your ADC. In a poke-heavy matchup where both sides are trading constantly, that value compounds quickly and can be the difference between winning and losing the lane attrition war.


The key to landing Gleaming Quill consistently is reading when enemies aren't fully paying attention. The easiest windows are when they're locked into an animation, such as last hitting, casting a spell, or walking in a straight line. Throwing Gleaming Quill from a bush or fog of war also significantly increases your hit rate since they have less time to react.


You can also use Gleaming Quill purely as a poke tool with no intention of landing the heal, but only do this if the enemy cannot punish you for whiffing. If missing Gleaming Quill means you take more damage than you dealt, it wasn't worth throwing.


Save Gleaming Quill for when you can extract the most healing value. Don't burn it carelessly just because it's off cooldown.

Rakan dashes to a target location, becoming briefly untargetable during the dash, then knocks up all nearby enemies for 1 second on arrival. Cast range: 650. Knockup radius: 250. Cooldown: 18/16/14/12/10s.



Every Grand Entrance you cast should have a clear purpose before you press it. Ask yourself two questions.


Is this trade obviously winning if I land Grand Entrance? And if the enemy uses a spell to dodge it, is casting Grand Entrance still worth it?


If the answer to both is no, don't cast it.


The most common Grand Entrance mistake at every elo is casting it without a safe exit path. After you land Grand Entrance, you need to be able to Battle Dance back to your ADC or reposition to safety quickly. If your Battle Dance is down and there's no reliable way out, a dodged Grand Entrance leaves you stranded in the middle of the enemy team with no damage dealt and no escape. That is one of the worst positions Rakan can be in.


Grand Entrance without meaningful follow-up from allies is also generally a losing play. You're not a solo carry. Grand Entrance is a setup tool, not a finisher. Casting it into a vacuum is wasted cooldown.


The default assumption: no Battle Dance, no Grand Entrance. There are exceptions, but they require you to clearly determine it will be safe. When in doubt, hold it.

Rakan dashes to an allied champion, granting them a shield. Holds 2 charges. Each rank reduces the cooldown per charge by 2 seconds. Has extended cast range when targeting Xayah specifically. Cooldown: 18/16/14/12/10s per charge.



Battle Dance is more than a repositioning tool. It is one of Rakan's most underrated defensive abilities when used correctly.


The shield it grants to allies scales with rank, which is a core reason to prioritize Battle Dance max in most games. Each rank reduces the cooldown by 2 seconds, which is significantly more cooldown reduction per rank than Grand Entrance or Gleaming Quill offer. More Battle Dance ranks means more shields, more frequent repositioning, and more consistent presence in fights.


Double dashing does not stack the shield. Using both charges of Battle Dance immediately does not double the shielding value. Be intentional with your charges. Use them to shield when it matters, not just to reposition for the sake of it.

Rakan gains a large movement speed burst and charms the first enemy champion he touches. Each unique champion charmed during the duration heals Rakan. Duration: 4 seconds. Charm duration: 1/1.25/1.5s. Cooldown: 130/110/90s.



The Quickness is where Rakan's decision-making reaches its highest complexity. The core variable that determines how you use it is simple: does the enemy have Flash?


If they don't, your options open up significantly. A clean The Quickness into Grand Entrance, or The Quickness into Flash into Grand Entrance, becomes highly reliable. In less urgent situations you can even simply use The Quickness and run at them, using the charm duration to close distance before committing Grand Entrance.


If they do have Flash, the approach changes. The most effective option is a fast The Quickness + Flash + Grand Entrance from fog of war, moving so quickly that they don't have time to react before the knockup lands. This requires teammates ready to follow up. Otherwise the play is high risk for minimal reward.


If your goal is to stall as much time as possible, use The Quickness first and wait until the last possible moment before charm expires to cast Grand Entrance. This maximizes the window your enemies spend charmed, giving your team the most time to follow up.


The Quickness is not exclusively an engage tool. It can be used as peel in certain scenarios. The movement speed and charm threat alone can deter divers. Knowing when The Quickness is better used defensively than offensively is part of the decision-making this guide is built around.

My skill maxing philosophy differs from most guides. The standard Grand Entrance max is rarely optimal. I would estimate I go Grand Entrance max in less than 1% of my games.


The reason is simple: Battle Dance reduces its cooldown by 2 seconds per rank, which is the highest cooldown reduction per rank of any of Rakan's abilities. More Battle Dance ranks means more shields and more frequent dashes, which translates directly to more consistent impact in both lane and teamfights.


When ahead in lane: 3 points into Gleaming Quill first, then max Battle Dance, then max Grand Entrance. Early Gleaming Quill ranks increase damage and utility during snowball windows. Once you have 3 points in Gleaming Quill, Battle Dance max takes over.


When even or behind: Max Battle Dance first, then Grand Entrance, Gleaming Quill last. You don't need the Gleaming Quill damage if you're not snowballing. The Battle Dance cooldown reduction provides more consistent value.


Enchanter playstyle: 5 points into Battle Dance first, then Gleaming Quill, then Grand Entrance. When you're playing a shielding focused build and don't need to rely heavily on Grand Entrance for impact, maximizing Battle Dance as fast as possible is the correct call.


The skill order should always reflect the game state. There is no universal answer, only the right answer for the situation you're in.

Flash + Heal is your default and safest option in most games. Heal provides extra survivability during early skirmishes and gives both you and your ADC the tools to escape or turn fights. Because Rakan often engages first, Heal can allow your ADC to survive long enough to win extended fights after the initial engage lands.


Heal is especially valuable in lanes where both sides are trading frequently and burst damage is moderate rather than one-shot level.


Take this when: your ADC is not running Heal themselves, the enemy lane has moderate burst, or you expect longer early skirmishes where sustain decides the outcome.


When in doubt, default to Heal. It is the most consistently valuable second spell across the widest range of matchups.

Exhaust is strong against champions that rely on burst damage or diving into fights. It can completely shut down assassins or aggressive ADCs when they commit. Because Rakan often engages into the enemy team, Exhaust can protect your carries after the fight begins by reducing the damage output of priority threats at the exact moment it matters most.


This spell becomes especially valuable in mid and late game teamfights where stopping a single champion can decide the outcome of the entire fight.


Take this when: the enemy team has assassins or heavy burst damage, the enemy ADC relies on all-ins, or you expect significant dive threats throughout the game.


Exhaust is not just a lane tool. Its value scales into teamfights, making it a strong pick even when your early lane is relatively safe.

Ignite is the most aggressive option and increases early kill pressure significantly. When combined with Rakan's engage, it can help secure kills during early fights that would otherwise escape with low HP. This setup works best in lanes where you plan to play aggressively and look for early advantages.


The tradeoff is real. Ignite sacrifices defensive utility entirely, so it requires confidence in your ability to win early skirmishes. If your early aggression doesn't pay off, you will feel the absence of Heal or Exhaust later.


Take this when: you are playing an aggressive kill lane, the enemy lane has low sustain, or your ADC wants to fight early and often.


Only take Ignite when you are genuinely playing for early kills. Taking it as a default without a clear kill lane plan wastes its value and leaves you without defensive tools when you need them.

Most support matchup guides focus on who wins lane. This guide focuses on something more useful: identifying the one ability in each matchup that controls whether your engage succeeds or fails, and learning to play around its cooldown.


Almost every matchup Rakan faces follows the same pattern. The enemy support has one key ability that either stops your engage, punishes your positioning, or negates your crowd control. When that ability is available, forcing a fight is almost always losing. When that ability is down, a window opens. The entire matchup revolves around creating or waiting for that window.


This is not a passive playstyle. It is a precise one. Knowing that Morgana's Black Shield needs to be down before you engage, or that Poppy's Steadfast Presence completely shuts down your dashes while active, or that Lulu's Whimsy needs to be baited out before you commit, turns every lane into a decision tree rather than a guessing game. The window always exists. Your job is to find it.


Before every engage, ask yourself: does the enemy have the ability that stops me? If yes, wait. If no, go.

Matchup difficulty is rated across five tiers. These ratings reflect how much the enemy support restricts your ability to find successful engages and control the lane, not just who wins a straight fight.


Tiny - The enemy support has minimal tools to stop your engage or punish your positioning. Examples include Trundle, who lacks reliable hard crowd control and becomes easy to play around once Pillar of Ice is used.


Minor - The matchup has manageable threats that are easy to play around with patience. Examples include Blitzcrank, where the entire matchup revolves around one ability. Once Rocket Grab is used or missed, the lane opens up significantly.


Even - The matchup requires respect and cooldown tracking but does not heavily restrict your gameplan. Examples include Alistar and Nami, where patient play and waiting for key abilities to be used creates consistent engage windows.


Major - The enemy support has strong tools that significantly restrict when and how you can engage. Examples include Lulu and Janna, as both can directly deny your engage or protect their ADC with minimal counterplay until their key ability is unavailable.


Extreme - The enemy support has abilities that can completely shut down your kit if used correctly. Morgana's Black Shield removes the value from your crowd control entirely, and Poppy's Steadfast Presence directly prevents your dashes. These matchups require significant patience and very precise cooldown tracking.


A higher difficulty rating does not mean the matchup is unwinnable. It means the window to engage is smaller and the punishment for engaging at the wrong time is higher. Every matchup has a window. Extreme matchups just require more patience to find it.

Synergy ratings reflect how well an ADC or APC can take advantage of what Rakan does. His value in any pairing comes from creating the conditions for his lane partner to deal damage safely, whether that is through engage, crowd control, peel, or disruption. Synergy ratings are not a measure of how easy the lane is. They reflect how much your lane partner benefits from what you bring.


None / Low - The pairing has limited natural synergy. Either the ADC prefers a playstyle that conflicts with Rakan's engage-heavy approach, or their kits do not create natural follow-up opportunities. Xerath falls here because his preferred range and poke-based playstyle does not align well with close-range engages.


Ok - The pairing works but requires more coordination or has situational limits. Ezreal is a good example. He can follow up on engages, but his preferred playstyle is safer and more passive, which means the lane often plays slower than Rakan would ideally want.


Strong - The pairing creates natural synergy where both champions benefit clearly from each other. Jinx, Jhin, Draven, and Kalista all fall here. They deal high damage into crowd control, create natural follow-up opportunities, and benefit directly from Rakan's engage windows.


Ideal - The pairing has exceptional synergy where both kits are designed to complement each other. Xayah is the clearest example, since Rakan gains extended Battle Dance range when she is present. Kai'Sa, Samira, Draven, Zeri, and Yunara also fall here, as their kits naturally convert Rakan's engage into consistent damage and kill pressure.


Synergy is not the same as lane strength. A Strong or Ideal pairing does not automatically mean you win lane. It means your kits create natural follow-up opportunities. Execution and matchup awareness still determine the outcome.

The single most common mistake players make when reading matchups is evaluating only the support versus support matchup and ignoring the full 2v2. The support matchup is one input. The ADC matchup is equally important and often more decisive.


A lane that looks even on paper at the support level can be heavily losing or winning depending on the ADC matchup. Kai'Sa Rakan into Draven Nautilus is a losing lane not because Rakan loses to Nautilus, but because Draven wins the ADC matchup so decisively that the overall 2v2 favors the enemy. Accounting for both sides of the matchup is what separates players who understand lanes from players who memorize them.


For specific matchup details, breakdowns, and deeper discussion on individual lane pairings, check the individual matchup tabs and join the Discord server linked at the bottom of this guide.


Always evaluate the full 2v2. The support matchup alone tells you half the story at best.

Level 1


90% of the time you will level Gleaming Quill first. It keeps the lane neutral, maintains a healthy HP state for both you and your ADC, and avoids creating volatility when you do not need it. Rakan's level 1 is underwhelming compared to most viable supports, so forcing a volatile lane at level 1 without a clear advantage is one of the fastest ways to fall behind early.


The exception is leveling Grand Entrance first when you are certain the extended trade after landing it will be decisively winning for your side. This requires your ADC to be significantly stronger than the enemy laner. Examples include Draven vs Senna, Kalista vs Seraphine, or Kai'Sa vs Smolder. The ADC advantage needs to be significant. A slight edge is not enough to justify the risk.


Level 2


Always take Battle Dance at level 2 regardless of whether you started Gleaming Quill or Grand Entrance. If you leveled Grand Entrance first and take Gleaming Quill second instead of Battle Dance, the trading pattern becomes hard losing. You will take too much damage with no reliable escape. The same applies in reverse. Never skip Battle Dance at level 2.


Once you have Grand Entrance, look for situations where the enemy ADC or APC steps too far forward without proper support positioning behind them. The best windows are when they are locked into a last hit animation. Getting as close as possible before casting Grand Entrance increases your hit rate significantly. However, walking too far before casting gives the enemy time to auto attack you before the engage lands. Finding the right balance between closing distance and minimizing pre-engage damage taken is one of the core mechanical skills to develop on Rakan.


A missed Grand Entrance that did not force a mobility spell or Flash is one of the worst outcomes in lane. A single missed Grand Entrance on a bad timer can single-handedly lose the lane. Do not throw it carelessly.


First Back


There is no fixed first back timing on Rakan. He is not reliant on any specific early item spike, so your recall timing should be dictated entirely by wave state and what your team needs from the map. A common misconception is that you should always base with your ADC. At higher levels of play, supports frequently delay recalls to maintain a freeze or break one coming in, even if it significantly delays their own back. The small advantages from smart basing compound over time and are worth prioritizing over a synchronized base with your ADC.


When you do base, prioritize Dark Seal first. After that, Kindlegem builds into Locket of the Iron Solari and Mikael's Blessing, and Fiendish Codex builds into Redemption. Buy Oblivion Orb first item if the matchup demands it.

The default approach in most lanes is to avoid making the lane volatile unless you have a clear reason to. Volatile lanes are easy for the enemy jungler to exploit via ganks or dives, and Rakan scales well enough that he does not need to force early leads to stay relevant. Before committing to any engage, always check where your jungler is relative to where the enemy jungler could be pathing. If your jungler cannot hover your side of the map, do not create a volatile situation. The worst case scenario is a lane that becomes volatile on either side with no jungler available to respond.


It is always better to not engage than to make an indecisive one. An uncommitted Grand Entrance with no follow through is often worse than not engaging at all.


Gleaming Quill can be used for poke if you are already at a significant HP advantage and the wave state is not heavily imbalanced. Otherwise, prioritize using it for sustain. Landing Gleaming Quill consistently in lane is one of the quietest ways to build and maintain a HP lead without ever needing to fight.


Rakan's passive shield is not something you need to actively track when deciding to engage. It provides general durability throughout the lane and occasionally gives you a slight edge in close trades when it is about to come off cooldown, but it should not be the deciding factor in whether you commit to a fight.


When in doubt, do not fight. Rakan does not need to win lane to win games. Staying neutral and scaling is a completely valid and often optimal lane plan.

How close or far you play from the enemy depends entirely on the matchup, and understanding the correct positioning requires knowledge of the full 2v2, not just the support matchup in isolation. This is covered in more detail in the matchups section.


Bush control is one of the more impactful tools available to Rakan in lane and more valuable on him than on most other supports. Throwing Gleaming Quill or engaging with Grand Entrance from fog of war makes it exponentially harder for enemies to react and counter properly. Even simply sitting in a bush without acting maintains a threat that forces the enemy to give up farm or play further back than they want to.


There are two important reads to make around bush control. If the enemy is playing more aggressively and greedily than the matchup warrants, it usually means one of two things: their jungler or mid laner is offering presence to the bot lane, or they are simply being disrespectful. When unsure, give them the benefit of the doubt and play with proper respect. On the other hand, if the enemy is giving you obviously free Grand Entrance windows when it should clearly be winning for you, that is often a tell that their jungler is nearby. This pattern becomes more common the higher elo you go.

Different ADCs want different things from Rakan in lane, and there is no single approach that applies to every pairing. The synergy tree is complex and takes significant practice to internalize fully. The simplified version is this: understand what your ADC's goals and strengths are, then play to support those strengths rather than playing your own independent lane game.


If your ADC is aggressive with strong level 1 or level 3 power spikes ( Kai'Sa, Draven, Kalista, Caitlyn, Samira, Tristana), align with them and try to establish lane dominance as long as the overall matchup allows it. There are exceptions, and determining them requires understanding which side of the 2v2 is actually stronger. For example, Kai'Sa Rakan into Draven Nautilus is very difficult to have priority in, and the correct response is to shift into a scaling and passive lane rather than forcing fights you are unlikely to win.


It is very uncommon to be in a lane that loses both priority and scaling. If that happens, something went wrong in draft and the game should be considered a dodge in champion select.


If your ADC prefers a neutral farm lane ( Smolder, Senna, Jinx, Zeri), do not look to make the lane volatile at all. One of Rakan's greatest strengths is his ability to control whether a lane is volatile or neutral. He is equally capable of creating fights and avoiding them. That control is what makes him so decision-heavy, and it is what separates players who understand the champion from those who simply press buttons.


Supports like Soraka or Janna often usually react to trades instead of being able to engage reliably. Rakan decides whether trades happen at all. Use that control deliberately.

Wave management on Rakan follows the same rules as any other support. The principles do not change based on champion. What does change is how the wave state interacts with your engage decisions.


Engaging when the enemy has a minion advantage is generally a losing play. A stacked wave at your tower is not a fight timer unless your jungler is specifically coming to gank on that wave. Push waves out when looking to base and maintain freezes when it benefits your lane state. These are not Rakan-specific concepts, but they are concepts that Rakan players often ignore because they are focused on looking for engages instead of reading the map.

Roaming is one of the harder concepts to master on Rakan, but there are clear principles that make the decision easier.


When to roam and when to stay:


+ Your ADC is inting and there is no benefit to staying in lane. Do not feel pressured to remain with your ADC if you cannot rely on them to carry. Find value elsewhere on the map.


+ Your ADC is the strongest player on your team. In this case, almost never roam unnecessarily. Look for rotation windows during wave downtime, separated base timings, or moments when your ADC pushes a wave out and has a brief tempo gap.


+ You have stronger 2v2 or 3v3 skirmish synergy with your jungler or mid laner than with your ADC. Play towards your strongest champion combinations on the map. Identifying these power combinations before the game starts is one of the most underrated habits you can build.

If there is an extremely volatile lane anywhere on the map, including bot lane, look to roam and impact it as soon as possible. This applies to lanes with champions that need to snowball, can fall behind quickly, and have limited escape options when ganked.


Examples of volatile lanes to prioritize:


+ Irelia mid or top


+ Katarina mid


+ Yasuo mid or top


+ Most double melee bruiser matchups in top or mid with minimal escape routes


+ Natural bot lane volatility from champions like Draven, Kai'Sa, or Samira on either side


The habit to build: before every game starts, identify which lane on the map is most volatile and make a mental note to prioritize it when safe to leave your ADC. This single habit is one of the highest-value adjustments you can make for climbing in solo queue.

Warding is one of the most complex subjects in the entire game, and one of the hardest to cover in a written guide format. The correct ward placements change depending on the stage of the game, the wave state, which objectives are relevant, where the enemy jungler is pathing, what your team composition wants to do, and dozens of other variables that shift from game to game. Covering all of that meaningfully in a single section is not realistic without turning this guide into something twice its current length.


What I can say is this: warding on Rakan is one of the areas where his mobility gives him a genuine edge over most supports. Grand Entrance provides a reliable escape from deep ward placements that would be too dangerous on a less mobile champion. That mobility should be used to establish and maintain vision in spots that other supports cannot safely reach.


Beyond that, the full depth of warding strategy is something I cover in my Discord server. If you have specific questions about ward placement at any stage of the game, matchup-specific vision control, or how to approach warding as a support at a higher level, that is the right place to ask.


JOIN THE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/HZjuxNzSVy

+ Making the lane too volatile unnecessarily. Rakan scales better than most supports, including most enchanters. He does not need to force early leads to be relevant. Overextending into fights that are not clearly winning is one of the most common ways Rakan players lose lanes they should be neutral or winning in.


+ Wrong ability sequences. Not having Battle Dance up before committing to Grand Entrance is one of the most punishing mistakes you can make. Always check your Battle Dance cooldown before engaging.


+ Careless Gleaming Quill usage. Whiffing Gleaming Quill on bad timers wastes sustain and poke value. Only throw it when you have a reasonable chance of landing it.


+ Only considering the support matchup instead of the full 2v2. Lane decisions should always account for both ADC matchups together, not just how your support compares to theirs. Generalizing based on the support matchup alone leads to incorrect reads on who actually has lane priority.


+ Roaming when you should not. Leaving your ADC at the wrong time, especially when they need you to maintain pressure or survive, gives away free objectives and kills. Roaming has to be justified by clear map logic, not just opportunity.


+ Not having a lane goal before the game starts. Going into a game without a clear plan for how the lane should play out leads to reactive, indecisive play. Before the game starts, identify your lane win condition, your strongest map combinations, and which lane on the map is most volatile. Having that clarity before the first minion spawns is one of the most underrated habits you can build.

During the laning phase, Rakan often plays as a neutralizer, managing volatility and waiting for the right moment to create an advantage. As the game transitions into mid and late game, that changes. You gain more agency over the natural flow of the game and can more easily dictate how fights develop.


Your role is not always the same throughout the game, and it is not always the same from game to game. In some games, your role as Rakan will stay consistent from laning phase to late game. In others, it will shift as win conditions become clearer and team compositions evolve. Knowing what role you need to fulfill at any given point requires critical thinking and constant re-evaluation, not a fixed plan decided before the game starts.


The core question to ask yourself as the game progresses is: am I the one who needs to start fights, or am I the one who needs to make sure my carries survive them? If your team needs you to engage, look heavily for engage opportunities. If your team needs you to peel, do not look for engages unless every enemy dive threat is spotted and accounted for first. Engaging when your carries need peel leaves them vulnerable and is almost always suboptimal, regardless of how good the engage opportunity looks.


As the game reaches late game, the tempo of fights increases significantly. Damage output and mobility rise across the board. Targets die faster, ADCs deal more damage, and Rakan himself becomes squishier and can be burst down quickly if he positions carelessly. Death timers are longer, meaning a single good or bad fight can directly snowball into major objectives or end the game. Staying focused and disciplined in the later stages of the game is not optional. It is where games are decided.


The principles stay the same throughout the game. The consequences of ignoring them just get larger the later it goes.

The most common mistake Rakan players make in teamfights is defaulting to a single positioning style regardless of the game state. Most players assume they should always be hiding in fog of war looking for an unpredictable Flash engage with The Quickness and Grand Entrance. This is often correct, but it is not always the right call.


The general rule of thumb is this: if the enemy team is primarily dive-oriented, peeling is the obvious choice. If the enemy team is range-heavy and prefers a front-to-back or siege playstyle, diving onto their backline is often more effective than sitting back and waiting for them to come to you. For example, if the enemy has a hypercarry who can simply sit in the backline and win the fight by out-damaging your team, eliminating that target as early as possible will produce a better result than peeling your own carries through a fight you are losing.


There are also fights where both teams prefer a front-to-back dynamic, and that is fine. If you believe your team can sustain a front-to-back fight better than the opponent, committing to that approach is completely valid. When playing front-to-back and peeling, this does not mean you should never use your CC aggressively. It means you track where the enemy dive threats are at all times, and only use abilities offensively when your backline is safe and threats are accounted for. Warding flanks and potential entry paths for enemy divers is a critical part of executing this correctly.


When timing engages: always track enemy Flash timers. When you see an enemy use Flash, note the timestamp in chat and add roughly 300 seconds (5 minutes) as the approximate cooldown. If they are running Ionian Boots of Lucidity, the cooldown drops to approximately 268 seconds. Cosmic Insight alone brings it to approximately 254 seconds, and both together bring it to approximately 231 seconds. Add 10 to 20 seconds as a margin of error if you think the ping was delayed.


Tracking flash timers in chat is an advanced technique used at the professional level. The method works as follows. When you see the first flash used, type the timer into chat (for example: 900sup,), then press Ctrl+A to select all text in the chat box, Ctrl+C to copy it, then Enter to send it. When a new flash timer comes up, type the new timer first in the chat box (for example: 1030mid,), then press Ctrl+V to paste the previously copied timers after it. Your chat box will now read: 1030mid, 900sup. Press Ctrl+A to select all, Ctrl+C to copy, then Enter to send. Repeat this process for every new timer: type the new one first, Ctrl+V to paste the old ones after, Ctrl+A + Ctrl+C + Enter to send. The result will look something like this: 1200adc, 1030mid, 900sup. More recent timers stay at the front of the message, making it easy to delete outdated ones as they expire. Sharing these timers in chat also benefits your entire team by giving them precise windows to form plays around.


This technique takes significant time to master and should not come at the cost of your general gameplay. Even without exact timers, maintaining a rough mental note of whether an enemy's Flash is available or in a general cooldown window is enough to meaningfully improve your engage decisions.




In this clip, Malphite initiates as the primary engage. The key detail is what happens before he goes in: the enemy team has already burned important CC abilities, which means their tools to respond to a follow up engage are spent. Once those cooldowns are committed, I enter with The Quickness and Grand Entrance to extend the lockdown on targets that can no longer escape or counter engage. This is the correct sequencing. Patience before the fight starts is what creates the opening. If you enter before the enemy has spent anything, they have the tools to answer both engages and the impact of yours is cut in half.

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Your Team Jax Jarvan IV Taliyah Jinx Rakan

Enemy Team Ambessa Nidalee Galio Kai'Sa Nautilus

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Your Team Rumble Jayce Twisted Fate Samira Rakan

Enemy Team Ryze Xin Zhao Syndra Aphelios Lulu

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Your Team Malphite Viego Ahri Zeri Rakan

Enemy Team Aatrox Nocturne Orianna Kog'Maw Milio

There will be times when it is obvious you should engage, usually from a flank or out of fog of war. These cases are typically when the enemy team prefers front-to-back, lacks dive tools, and cannot punish you for going onto their backline. When those conditions are met, do not hesitate.