This ultimately depends entirely on how far you're behind and which matchup you are playing. In some matchups, you might still be able to win trades (or a straight up all-in) despite being a little behind, while in matchups in which you got countered you obviously won't. In those cases, maybe it's not too late for your jungler to help, or maybe the champion you're playing is a decent ganker and you could roam to other lanes and help them out (getting yourself assists and kills to make up for being behind in the process). Again, this is pretty situational stuff, and it's hard to give you much feedback beyond pointing out that making the right decision comes with knowledge/experience.
The choices, in short, are as follows:
There's one final thing I simply have to point out. I know your post specifically says you're interested in knowing what to do after you have "somehow" fallen behind, but I would argue it's a lot more important to understand how you got into that situation in the first place. Did you get ganked after you forgot to place a ward in the river? Did you choose a bad moment to trade because, for example, you assumed the enemy
Ignite was down when it wasn't? If you ask yourself this every time you fall behind, you may notice a pattern (e.g. the same answer coming up way too often) which indicates you have something specific to work on. That can then lead to the same situation not coming up as often anymore, meaning you'll also have to worry less about being behind in the first place.
I think that just about sums up what I have to say about this problem though, let me know if you have any questions :)
The choices, in short, are as follows:
- Outplay your opponent to win trades or all ins despite being behind (generally unlikely)
- Manipulating the minion wave to force a freeze on your side of the lane: though there is some RNG involved, minion waves don't just randomly start pushing one way or the other, it isn't something which is set in stone. There are several actions influencing the state of a wave, and using the right one at the right time can allow you to manipulate the wave in a way which is beneficial to you. If you're unfamiliar with the concepts of this, this video might be helpful. In some cases, the wave might be in an awful spot after your death and there's not much you can do about this, but understanding the concept is still important imo. Also, it should go without saying that it is generally more efficient to make use of this in top lane than in bot lane (where both parties have to play along for it to work) or mid lane (which is generally too short for a freeze to exist in the first place).
- Asking for a gank (should be straightforward)
- Roaming to other lanes / joining your team: this is generally a last resort measure (if staying in lane simply isn't an option because all you will do is die more or get zoned completely), but can easily be the most effective of all. For example, as a top laner, a good Teleport to the bot lane can net you a quick double kill + bottom tower, which can then transition into your team getting the Dragon and suddenly being well ahead in gold overall. Obviously, it's not always this easy (and it is, once again, situational), but you get the idea.
There's one final thing I simply have to point out. I know your post specifically says you're interested in knowing what to do after you have "somehow" fallen behind, but I would argue it's a lot more important to understand how you got into that situation in the first place. Did you get ganked after you forgot to place a ward in the river? Did you choose a bad moment to trade because, for example, you assumed the enemy
Ignite was down when it wasn't? If you ask yourself this every time you fall behind, you may notice a pattern (e.g. the same answer coming up way too often) which indicates you have something specific to work on. That can then lead to the same situation not coming up as often anymore, meaning you'll also have to worry less about being behind in the first place.I think that just about sums up what I have to say about this problem though, let me know if you have any questions :)
Wayne said pretty much everything, but I want to add some information that could help you overcome those cases.
1- Champion powerspikes. This is a really underrated concept and very hard to grasp even when you get it, but you should try to know when every champion gets a sudden boost of damage. Finishing a big item and getting to level 6 are the obvious ones, but you should also try to know the small spikes in uneven levels, the early 3 point wonders and some items being more power-spikey than others in some champions. This can be helpful to avoid getting in XP range when the enemy gets their burst, or trying to all-in if your champion is outscaling the enemy.
2- Champion scaling. This is one of the most obvious ones, but some champions have really powerful early game, whereas others only shine after they have one or two items (think Caitlyn and Vayne, or Nasus and Garen). You can use this when you're behind to wait and farm until you can outscale your opponent, or maybe you're just falling behind because the enemy is outscaling you, and the best choice there is to ask for help or gank other lanes.
3- Playing passive. I guess this is the thing you'll do anyways, so it's what you should practice the most. Learn to farm undertower, try to force your enemy to use their AoE in the minion wave so it gets pushed, try to freeze right about turret range to farm calmly, read a Nasus/ Vayne guide, they always have early game freeze strategy sections that you can apply to other champions.
All in all, you either avoid being behind by getting better in early levels (this can't be done in some games for most champions) or master the arts of playing behind. I recommend you do both.
1- Champion powerspikes. This is a really underrated concept and very hard to grasp even when you get it, but you should try to know when every champion gets a sudden boost of damage. Finishing a big item and getting to level 6 are the obvious ones, but you should also try to know the small spikes in uneven levels, the early 3 point wonders and some items being more power-spikey than others in some champions. This can be helpful to avoid getting in XP range when the enemy gets their burst, or trying to all-in if your champion is outscaling the enemy.
2- Champion scaling. This is one of the most obvious ones, but some champions have really powerful early game, whereas others only shine after they have one or two items (think
Caitlyn and Vayne, or Nasus and Garen). You can use this when you're behind to wait and farm until you can outscale your opponent, or maybe you're just falling behind because the enemy is outscaling you, and the best choice there is to ask for help or gank other lanes.3- Playing passive. I guess this is the thing you'll do anyways, so it's what you should practice the most. Learn to farm undertower, try to force your enemy to use their AoE in the minion wave so it gets pushed, try to freeze right about turret range to farm calmly, read a
Nasus/ Vayne guide, they always have early game freeze strategy sections that you can apply to other champions.All in all, you either avoid being behind by getting better in early levels (this can't be done in some games for most champions) or master the arts of playing behind. I recommend you do both.
Interesting question and the two responses so far are informative. I am a Bronze player, so I do not have a lot of great advice.
What I have told people related to this topic is that coming out of laning phase 0-3 is loosing lane. Coming out of laning phase 1-12 is loosing game. Laning phase is just one part of the game. You need to do what you can to stay relevant for team fights and you need to avoid giving so much gold to the enemy team that your teammates do not stand a chance.
What I have told people related to this topic is that coming out of laning phase 0-3 is loosing lane. Coming out of laning phase 1-12 is loosing game. Laning phase is just one part of the game. You need to do what you can to stay relevant for team fights and you need to avoid giving so much gold to the enemy team that your teammates do not stand a chance.
This probably stems from a lack of understanding of both champion's power spikes and item spikes.
A good point to start at is to understand your own champion's power spikes and item spikes. You can either do this through damage calculation from a pure mathematical perspective or you can estimate your damage done through visualization. I personally do the latter - I generally know how much my full combo will do to the enemies when their HP bars reach a certain point and know the general damage that will be done to both sides in trades. You also have to take into concern the level of both you and your enemy, skills / cooldowns, the position of enemy supports / junglers / top in case they gank, and minion damage. So if you fall behind early, you'll want to play safe and try to avoid most disadvantageous trades until you reach a certain power spike. EG: if you're playing Ahri mid and you die to a gank early on, you probably want to try to Q poke / EQ when the opportunities surface, while also primarily focusing on farming, until a point where you think you can kill the enemy without dying.
Also, think actively when playing. When you go in and fail at something, try to analyze why that happened and draw some information out of it. Did I lose a trade because I misplayed or should I have not gone in at all in the first place? You can draw out information from this to analyze your own play and learn what parts you need to improve on.
A good point to start at is to understand your own champion's power spikes and item spikes. You can either do this through damage calculation from a pure mathematical perspective or you can estimate your damage done through visualization. I personally do the latter - I generally know how much my full combo will do to the enemies when their HP bars reach a certain point and know the general damage that will be done to both sides in trades. You also have to take into concern the level of both you and your enemy, skills / cooldowns, the position of enemy supports / junglers / top in case they gank, and minion damage. So if you fall behind early, you'll want to play safe and try to avoid most disadvantageous trades until you reach a certain power spike. EG: if you're playing
Ahri mid and you die to a gank early on, you probably want to try to Q poke / EQ when the opportunities surface, while also primarily focusing on farming, until a point where you think you can kill the enemy without dying.Also, think actively when playing. When you go in and fail at something, try to analyze why that happened and draw some information out of it. Did I lose a trade because I misplayed or should I have not gone in at all in the first place? You can draw out information from this to analyze your own play and learn what parts you need to improve on.
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and I guess it's mostly part of my ignorance though. I try to take jungle where I can. but outside of that I don't know how to catch up.
thoughts? comments? random insults of decent to low caliber?