Why YOU SUCK at TOP LANE (And How To Fix It) - League of Legends

Summary

In this guide, Hex, a multi-season challenger player, explains why many struggle with Top Lane in League of Legends and offers simple, effective strategies to improve. The key focus is on the importance of Wave Control over trading. Hex debunks the myth that trading is paramount and emphasizes the critical skill of managing waves. By understanding concepts like push leads, cheater recalls, and bouncebacks, players can dominate their lane and gain significant advantages early in the game. The guide also highlights advanced tactics for mid and late-game scenarios, ensuring a comprehensive approach to mastering Top Lane.

Takeaways

• 🎯 Winning your lane is the key to success in Top Lane.
• 🔄 Top Lane isn't just about trading; it's heavily reliant on wave control.
• 😬 Top Lane is the most unforgiving role, with high stakes for mistakes.
• 🌊 Proper wave control is crucial due to the melee vs. melee nature of the lane.
• 📈 Getting a push lead at level one is essential for early dominance.
• 🔄 Cheater recalls provide a significant advantage by letting you return to lane with better items.
• 📚 Understanding wave rebounds helps in planning aggressive or defensive plays.
• 🏰 Knowing when to crash waves and set up recalls can neutralize bad matchups.
• 🧠 Using slow pushes strategically can prevent opponents from gaining an advantage.
• 🔁 The game plan involves alternating slow pushes, crashes, and recalls to maintain control and gain leads.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the guide presented in the script?

The guide focuses on teaching players how to improve their performance in the Top Lane role in League of Legends, emphasizing the importance of wave control and providing strategies to win the laning phase.

Who is the presenter of the guide and what are his credentials?

The presenter is Hex, a multi-season Challenger player and a long-time teacher at Skillcap, who has created a popular course on climbing the ranks as a top laner.

Why is wave control considered the most important skill for top laners according to the guide?

Wave control is crucial for top laners because it directly impacts the ability to farm safely and contest trades without taking unnecessary damage, and it can completely swing a matchup based on wave positioning.

What is the significance of the 'cheater recall' strategy mentioned in the script?

The 'cheater recall' is an early game strategy that allows a player to gain an item advantage and full health/mana by recalling during the enemy's distraction with the wave, and then freezing the lane to force trades upon return.

What should a top laner do if they do not get the push lead at level one?

If a top laner does not get the push lead at level one, they should play safe, take minimal damage, and wait for the wave to crash at level two to start looking for potential trades once they are level three.

How can a top laner use the 'bounce back' concept to their advantage?

A top laner can use the bounce back concept to create a slow push in their favor after an enemy crashes a wave into their tower, allowing them to build up a big wave and look for aggressive trades or play safe depending on the matchup.

What is the recommended action for a top laner when they have a big minion lead and the enemy is pushing their wave towards the tower?

The top laner should crash the wave to build up a big wave off the bounce back, neutralizing the lane and setting up a potential recall timing to get an item advantage.

What is the primary goal for a top laner during the early game?

The primary goal for a top laner during the early game is to get the push lead on the first wave by auto attacking the minions, setting up potential level two all-ins or a cheater recall for an item advantage.

How does the guide suggest handling a situation where the enemy top laner has a stronger early game?

In such a situation, the guide suggests taking minimal damage, focusing on last-hitting minions until level three, and then looking to play aggressively into good matchups or maintain a minion lead in bad matchups.

What is the recommended strategy for a top laner when they have won the laning phase?

After winning the laning phase, a top laner should look to push waves into the enemy's tower, creating pressure and forcing responses from the enemy team, while also looking for opportunities to roam and impact other lanes or objectives.

What changes in the game dynamics around levels 7 to 9 that affect the strategies taught in the guide?

Around levels 7 to 9, champions typically unlock stronger wave clear abilities, freezing becomes less effective due to less punishing consequences of giving up CS, and players have more items and mobility to roam, making hard pushing and creating pressure more important.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Top Lane Mastery

In this introductory segment, the guide's host, Hex, a multi-season Challenger player, introduces the topic of mastering the Top Lane in 'League of Legends'. Hex has been an educator at Skillcap for over a decade and has created a course that teaches players how to reach the Diamond rank as a top laner within 30 days. The host emphasizes that winning the lane is the foundation of success in the game and dispels the myth that Top Lane is solely about trading, asserting that wave control is the most critical skill for top laners. The segment also highlights the importance of understanding wave control to avoid being at a disadvantage in melee matchups and to capitalize on opportunities when the wave is in a favorable position.

05:02

🛠️ Mastering Wave Control and Early Game Strategies

This paragraph delves into the specifics of wave control, explaining that it is more important than trading for top laners. It details the concept of 'double value spells', where a player damages both the opponent and the minions simultaneously, and the strategy of getting the push lead on the first wave by auto-attacking minions. The segment also introduces the 'cheater recall' strategy, which involves pushing the wave to crash into the enemy tower, recalling to gain an item advantage, and then using this advantage to force trades or freeze the lane. The importance of not over-pushing and understanding the bounceback of waves for safety and strategic plays is also discussed.

10:02

🏆 Advanced Laning Techniques and Bounce Backs

The third paragraph focuses on advanced laning techniques, particularly the bounce back mechanic, which occurs when a wave crashes into a tower and then pushes back towards the other side of the lane. It explains how to use bounce backs to create aggressive and defensive plays, emphasizing the safety they provide against bad matchups and ganks. The segment discusses how to build up a big wave during a bounce back, when to crash the wave, and how to use the resulting push to plan leads or stabilize a difficult lane. It also covers how to respond when not having the push lead at level one, including playing safe, taking minimal damage, and using the enemy's overextension to one's advantage.

15:04

🤺 Laning Phase Game Plan and Transitioning into Mid-Game

This section outlines a game plan for the laning phase, detailing how to handle various scenarios based on whether the player has the push lead or not. It explains the tactics for securing a level two all-in, using a delayed cheater recall, and transitioning into aggressive trading or tower dives. The importance of understanding when the laning phase strategies no longer apply, typically around levels 7 to 9, is highlighted. The segment also touches on the shift in strategy due to stronger wave clear abilities and the need to roam and apply pressure on the map.

20:06

🌐 Macro Play and Post-Laning Phase Strategies

The final paragraph discusses macro play and strategies for the post-laning phase. It emphasizes the importance of winning the landing phase by pushing waves into the opponent's tower to create pressure and force responses, which can be used to join team fights or secure objectives. The segment explains how to use teleport effectively and the concept of split pushing, which will be covered in more detail in the full course. It concludes by promoting the Top Lane Essentials course, which provides a comprehensive guide to mastering the top lane role, and offers a risk-free trial for players looking to improve their ranking.

🎉 Conclusion and Call to Action

In the concluding segment, the host thanks the viewers for watching and invites them to take advantage of the discount link provided to access the Top Lane Essentials course. The host reiterates the course's comprehensive coverage of strategies and tactics needed to excel as a top laner and assures a money-back guarantee if the viewer does not improve their rank while actively using the course materials.

Keywords

💡Top Lane

Top Lane refers to the uppermost of the three lanes on the Summoner's Rift map in the game League of Legends. It is known for being a solo lane where players typically engage in 1v1 matchups. In the video, the theme revolves around mastering the Top Lane, emphasizing its unique challenges and strategies, such as wave control and trading.

💡Wave Control

Wave Control is a critical concept in the video, which involves managing the positioning of minion waves to gain advantages in the Top Lane. It is essential for safely farming, avoiding ganks, and setting up favorable trades. The script explains that understanding wave control is more important than trading for Top Laners.

💡Melee Matchup

A Melee Matchup is a situation where both champions in the Top Lane are melee fighters, requiring them to get close to engage in combat. The video script uses this term to illustrate the importance of positioning and wave control when farming and trading in close-quarters combat scenarios.

💡Cheater Recall

Cheater Recall is a strategy mentioned in the script where a player pushes the wave into the enemy's tower, recalls to base to heal and buy items, and then returns to the lane with an advantage. This tactic is used to gain an early lead and force the opponent into a disadvantaged position.

💡Bounceback

Bounceback refers to the behavior of minion waves after they crash into a tower and then slowly push back towards the other side of the lane. The script explains that understanding bouncebacks is crucial for safety and for planning trades and recalls, especially in melee matchups.

💡Trade

A Trade in the context of the video is an exchange of attacks between champions in the Top Lane. The script emphasizes the importance of smart trading, such as double value spells where a player damages both the enemy champion and minions, and the timing of trades during wave control.

💡All-in

All-in is a term used in the script to describe a situation where a player commits all their resources and abilities to try to secure a kill in a short, intense burst of combat. The video discusses setting up level two all-ins in the Top Lane as a strategy to win the lane early.

💡Tower Dive

Tower Dive is an aggressive play where a player attempts to kill an enemy champion who is near or under their tower. The video script mentions setting up tower dives as a result of successful trades or when an enemy is low on health, using the wave control to pin them down.

💡Macro Play

Macro Play refers to the broader strategic decisions and actions in the game beyond individual fights or mechanics, such as map movement, objective control, and wave management. The script touches on macro strategies for Top Laners, including when to push waves, when to group with the team, and how to respond to enemy movements.

💡Teleport

Teleport is a summoner spell in League of Legends that allows a player to teleport to a target location after a channeling time. In the video, it is mentioned as a tool for Top Laners to join team fights or respond to map pressure, emphasizing its importance in the macro game.

💡Roaming

Roaming is the act of moving away from one's lane to other areas of the map to create pressure or find opportunities to engage in fights or secure objectives. The script explains that after pushing waves as a Top Laner, roaming can be an effective way to snowball a lead and impact the game.

Highlights

Winning your lane in League of Legends as a top laner is easier than you think.

Top Lane is the most unforgiving role in the game, with significant consequences for mistakes.

Wave Control is the most important skill for top laners, often determining the outcome of matches.

Understanding wave positioning is crucial for avoiding dangerous situations and capitalizing on opportunities.

The concept of 'double value spells' can help secure a push lead and gain an advantage early in the game.

Auto attacking minions to get the push lead is a primary goal at level one in the top lane.

A 'cheater recall' is a strategy to gain an early game advantage by recalling during a pushed wave.

Bounce backs in wave control can provide safety and opportunities for aggressive plays or recalls.

Playing around bounce backs requires careful management of wave positioning to avoid ganks and set up leads.

The 'cheater recall' tactic can be adapted to different situations for a guaranteed advantage in the early game.

Taking minimal damage and maintaining a minion lead is key when you don't get the push lead at level one.

Level two all-ins can win your lane if executed correctly with the push lead.

Pushing waves to set up tower dives can create significant pressure on the opponent.

Winning trades and zoning opponents from minions can snowball your lead in the top lane.

The transition from laning phase to mid-game requires adjustments in strategy and understanding of new dynamics.

Hard pushing as a top laner can create roam opportunities and help in snowballing your lead.

Placing control wards is crucial for setting up winning trades and avoiding enemy checks.

The importance of winning the laning phase to have more map impact and options in the mid-game.

Using side lane waves to create pressure and force enemy responses for team play.

The Top Lane Essentials course offers a comprehensive guide to mastering the top lane role.

Transcripts

in this guide you're going to learn

exactly why you suck at Top Lane and

simple easy to apply ways to fix it my

name's hex I'm a multi-season challenger

player that's been teaching League of

Legends here at skillcap for over 10

years I even created one of our most

popular courses where I taught how to

get diamond as a top laner in just 30

days it documented my entire climb with

over 14 hours of content and if there is

one thing I've learned about climbing as

a top laner it's that everything starts

with winning your lane here's the good

news winning your lane is way easier

than you think it is and by the end of

this guide you're going to learn

everything you'll ever need to do just

that so here's the first big myth about

Top Lane that it's all about trading

this couldn't be further from the truth

it's actually the exact opposite and the

first video in our brand new Top Lane

Essentials course explains why better

than I ever could not a single Hulu

player will ever argue over two things

first is that Top Lane is without a

doubt the most unforgiving role in the

game if you make a single mistake in

this role it feels like you're unable to

play for the rest of the match the

champions in top are incredibly scary

and you're likely playing a melee versus

melee matchup so if you fall behind it

is impossible to walk up without just

instantly dying which brings us to the

second thing every High ELO player knows

that Wave Control knowledge is by far

the most important for top laners out of

every role and that it is probably the

most critical skill you can learn to get

better at it like we said you're likely

in a melee matchup where you don't have

access to range wave clear to try and

farm safely other worlds can often push

waves from really far away to avoid

danger but in top you have to get up

close and personal to farm so if your

wave is in a bad spot it is unlikely you

get out of it unscathed not only that

but a matchup can completely swing based

on where the wave is crashed as you can

see this Darius is struggling to trade

versus the enemy atrox while the wave is

here the lane feels unwinable at the

moment so you think that both players

are relatively equal in skill but when

the wave is in the middle of the lane

the darus instantly looks like a better

player he's just running the atrox down

and the matchup looks completely

different the point we're making is that

you cannot play Top Lane properly unless

you care about Wave Control and by the

way you can unlock this full course

through the discount link below it's

completely risk-free since if you don't

rank up while actively using skill

capped you get your money back no

questions asked all right so you now

know the real most important skill in

Top Lane is Wave Control does this mean

you have to learn a ton of different

Wave Control tactics and nuanced

positions to dominate well no not at all

check this out here's a high Platinum

Renekton notice how Renekton arrives in

Lane level one and is literally doing

nothing it's almost like he's waiting

for Darius to arrive so we can start

trading with him then once Darius comes

out of the brush Renekton gets that

trade but just gets destroyed which

eventually lets Darius hit level two

first and Zone him from renekton's

perspective he probably thinks Darius is

just overpowered I mean he literally

just ran at Renekton to out trade him

well here is what every top laner gets

wrong when you arrive in lane at level

one your primary goal is not to trade

with the opponent that's secondary your

primary goal is to Simply Auto attack

the minions to get the push lead and

here's why notice here how Renekton is

going to land a ton more Auto attacks on

the minions compared to Wukong then when

renekton's ability is off coold down he

can look to land it but the goal is to

get what's called a double value spell

you're looking to damage the opponent

and the minions at the same time now the

ability is on coold down so we're back

to spamming Auto attacks on the wave to

secure the push lead then once the

ability comes back up we can look for

another double value spell you repeat

this pattern on the first wave Auto

minions and look for a double value

spell when your ability is up as once

the second wave arrives the first melee

minion will Spike you level two this

sets up level two allins on the opponent

which can outright win you your lane in

the first 3 minutes of the game

basically the matchup won't matter if

you get the push lead since the level

two spike is so powerful and the

majority of top laners simply aren't

aware of this concept as we saw in the

Platinum replay where neither darus or

reneka knew they needed two Auto minions

and both just sat AFK at the start of

the lane so step one in Top Lane is

literally just making sure you get the

push lead on the first wave by making

sure you're autoing the minions whenever

you can great this sounds simple enough

you'll probably head into your next game

put this into action get that push lead

early land some double value spells hit

level two and then the opponent sits a

mile back not falling for the level two

Allin guess what this is still winning

when the opponent doesn't fall for your

level two Allin you then transition into

what's called a cheater recall Step 11

in our Wave Control course on our

website perfectly summarizes how to do a

cheater recall so let's watch it a

cheater recall is a really famous early

wave strategy and one of the deadliest

tactics you can pull off for a big lead

if it's done properly here's how it

works on the first wave get the minion

Advantage by damaging the wave more than

the enemy as the second wave arrives

look to maintain your minion Advantage

as much as possible don't make the

mistake of over pushing though as you

don't want to crash just yet that's

because you want to crash precisely on

the third wave so once it arrives push

as quickly as possible to crash it into

the tower now you can take a free recall

while your opponent is distracted with

the wave now you'll have an item

Advantage with full health and mana on

top of that so walk back to Lane the

wave will have rebounded back to you so

you can now freeze and force trades with

your item advantage and play the lane

normally from here you can use a cheater

recall in all three lanes to get a

guaranteed Advantage right at the start

of the

game great so what you're going to see

is Renekton follows that advice gets the

level two Spike transitions to only last

hitting to not over push the wave third

wave arrives so we hard push it to set

up your recall timing and then you head

back to Lane with an item advantage

while the wave pushes back to you

letting you set up a freeze you'll see

how this one tactic wins Reon his Lane

so Now Zed is being zoned from Minions

as he can only last it with his Q due to

renekton's item lead at the same time

whenever Zed gets to close Renekton can

go in for a trade this pattern of

denying minions and engaging for winning

trades continues until eventually the

enemy jungler tries to gank to relieve

pressure but it's a waste of time since

Z is so low and speaking of which once

an enemy gets low enough you just push

to set up a tower dive we'll talk more

on this later for now though Z has been

zoned a ton of Cs ended up dying and

losing the wave to the tower all from

this one cheater recall tactic so this

is your very simple game plan get the

push level one and either get a level

two all in to win your lane or you

transition into a cheater recall if you

don't get the enemy low enough in health

at which point you come back to Lane and

start forcing winning trades so this

will work against the majority of

players you face but what about when you

don't get the push lead at level one

whether it's due to the enemy knowing to

fight for it or the matchup just sucks

for you or you have to give a leash like

in this game well here's what you do

your goal is to take minimal damage

level one you don't try to fight against

the push you're actually hoping the

enemy over pushes and crashes a wave

level two so they can't cheat or recall

this does mean at some point you're

going to be giving up CS especially once

the enemy is going to spike level two on

you once the wave crashes into your

Tower you're just focusing on last

hitting until you're level three as once

you're level three you're equal in

levels with the opponent and can begin

to start looking for potential trades

this is because when an enemy crashes a

big wave into your Tower like this it

creates what's known as a bounceback or

rebound the third step in our brand new

Top Lane Essentials course explains this

concept way better than I can when you

crash a wave at Tower it will often

stall like so this causes the wave to

eventually slow push back the other way

the major reason it's so important to

understand bounce backs is because slow

pushes have far more trading value in

Lanes where both Champions are melee but

another key factor that bounce backs

provide is safety Top Lane is also the

most vulnerable role to multiple factors

for starters it's the counterpick role

if you're in a bad matchup you will

absolutely feel it way more than any

other lane you all know how awful it

feels to be counterpicked here not only

that but it's a very snowbally role if

you fall behind the game is unplayable

so you need to be able to avoid ganks

Dives and allins as much as you possibly

can bounce backs are not only your best

friend for getting leads but also to

keep you safe from Bad matchups and

ganks let's break down all the

aggressive and defensive plays you need

to know how to play around bounce backs

properly let's start at the beginning

after your opponent crashes a wave it

will eventually bounce as a slow push in

your favor your goal is to build up as

big of a wave as possible slowly pushing

it to your opponent's side of the lane

during this time you can be very

aggressive looking for trades especially

early on into the game like we said

before more minions gives you an easier

time to harass that's the simple part

the push is both the most aggressive

part of a bounceback but also the most

vulnerable the problem is that although

you have a slow pish going you're

pushing towards your opponent's side of

the lane this means that you can get

ganked or if you take a bad trade the

wave can be frozen against you and so on

so if you're in a bad spot you're low on

HP or you're in a bad matchup then when

you've got a bounceback slow push going

only focus on crashing the wave don't

focus on trading or anything like that

if you play on your bigger wave during

the early levels your opponent probably

doesn't have the wave clear to fight you

with so many minions around as long as

you crash the wave you will be able to

neutralize the lane this is because of

what happens after you crash the wave

your opponent is now stuck in Lane

unable to move not only that but you now

know for certain that the wave will

bounce back to your side of the lane

eventually you canuse use this

information to plan around building a

lead or stabilizing a bad Lane so for

example cion knew that this was a bad

lande state so he focused entirely on

crashing the wave one of the best things

you can do off of any crash is simply to

base and heal up while buying items this

is how you can neutralize a lot of bad

Lane matchups the reason this is so

effective is because you won't lose

almost any Farm while you're gone

because the wave is pushing back into

you you're going to come back to a wave

either close to or at your Tower which

you can Farm up easily then if your

opponent based you'll be alone like cion

is here and you can crash again and if

you crash again you can play safe and

even repeat this process or as a

hypothetical if the garant had stayed

Canan would have had a massive item lead

either option was good for him in this

rough early Lane okay so that was a lot

of info and we're not even halfway

through the video so let's stop it there

basically when this wave crashes the

first step is hitting level three to

equalize with the opponent you'll then

have that bounce back so if you're

stronger at this point you can look for

aggressive trades as the enemy is so

overextended that you have a ton of room

to run them down in a trade if instead

you felt weaker due to the matchup you

simply focus on maintaining a minion

lead and building up a big wave off your

bounce back instead regardless both

scenarios will usually result in you

being in this exact spot you'll hit

level four before the opponent due to

your minion advantage and have a big

wave built up it's worth noting a lot of

the times the enemy will actually just

die to you overextending during this

time we'll cover this later however if

instead you get an enemy really low but

didn't kill them like you saw in the Z

clip then this is a great time to Tower

dive like we taught you earlier if

instead the enemy is too healthy well

you just push this wave into setting up

a recall that probably sounds familiar

and yeah it's pretty much the same game

plan as the cheater recall which is why

I like to call this a delayed cheater

recall so we now have the item advantage

and the enemy is pushing back into us

and so whenever they overextend we can

look to trade with our item advantage

and you can see how this once again sets

up a solo kill for us so let's quickly

recap our game plan early on level one

we look to get the push lead if we do we

either get a level two Allin on the

opponent or they play safe and so we

cheat a recall get back to Lane with the

wave pushing into us with an item

advantage and look to trade on on the

opponent and Zone them from CS if an

enemy gets low enough we always break

the freeze to push and set up a tower

dive if we don't get the push lead level

one we look to play safe and take as

little damage as possible even if that

means giving up CS once the wave crashes

we'll hit level three that's our signal

that we can start to look to play

aggressive into good matchups that means

looking to trade while the enemy is

overextended up the lane and into bad

matchups that means focusing on

maintaining your minion lead as you

build up a big wave if the enemy doesn't

get themselves killed during this time

you'll end up in this spot level four

while the enemy is level three with a

big wave built up if an enemy is low

enough in health we of course always

Tower dive but if they're healthy enough

to survive we turn it into a delayed

cheater recall head back to Lane with an

item advantage and look to trade

aggressively as the enemy overextends

with the wave pushing into US often

setting up solo kills for us great so

you now know how to play the early part

of the laning phase but what about the

rest of it well lucky for you there's

really only one concept you need to

understand and it's that Top Lane is

effectively just taking turn slow

pushing into each other for example here

Wukong is building up a slow push off a

rebound with such a big minion Advantage

it can be quite hard to win any trades

into him unless you have some sort of

big Advantage so often you'll just sit

back let the wave crash into your Tower

and then you start setting up your own

slow push back into the enemy off that

rebound when the wave crashes the enemy

will often use it as a recall timing to

get an item Advantage this is incredibly

important we'll explain why shortly your

response to this is to slow push so you

build up a big wave to counteract that

item Advantage then once the wave is big

enough and far enough up the lane you

crash it to set up your own recall

timing to get your own item advantage

the enemy will respond by once again

building up a slow push off the rebound

crashing that wave to set up their own

recall timing you then respond by

building up another slow push off the

rebound and crashing a wave to set up

your recall timing well hold on you

might be thinking didn't you just teach

me that after you cheat a recall you get

an item advantage and when it bounces

back you can go aggressive so why is it

that you're letting Wukong push the wave

into your Tower and not going aggressive

off the rebound well let's look at the

previous examples to learn why yoro made

two mistakes he over pushed and crashed

on the second wave so he didn't have

enough gold to cheat a recall and since

he didn't recall it meant he had no item

Advantage when the wave rebounded at the

same time he overextended instead of

playing safe off of the rebound

resulting in a trade during renekton's

slow push or renekton's turn this put

him low in health so once Renekton

crashed the wave and recalled he came

back with a huge item lead and a health

lead this is why Renekton could go

aggressive and kill him despite yoro

having a rebound Zed on the other hand

made one simple mistake Renekton crashes

the wave and recalls to get the item

lead notice how once Renekton gets back

in Lane Zed is level four while Renekton

is level three Zed also has a big minion

lead what Zed needs to do is use the

small timing window to push the wave to

try and crash it and set up his own

recall timing instead Zed plays way too

scared and so Renekton is able to set up

a freeze and start thinning out minions

this results in Zed missing his timing

window and now being in a horrible

position compare that to Wukong in the

exact same position he's going to fight

in this spot to make sure the wave

crashes so we can get out of this and

actually recall basically if everyone is

playing perfectly the laning phase can

result in just taking turns slow pushing

crashing the wave and recalling into

each other on repeat however the vast

vast majority of your opponents will not

be playing perfectly the most common

mistake is they'll trade into your slow

push timing basically when it's not

their turn setting up a Checkmate

position for you if they recall you push

the wave and they lose all the Minions

to the tower if they stay you Tower dive

them like we taught you getting a kill

and denying all the Minions to the tower

anyway the second most common mistake

they'll make is they won't recall after

they crash their big wave this means

they didn't get to recall to spend their

gold on it it so once you finish your

slow push into a crash into recalling

you're back with an even bigger item

lead letting you break the rules

fighting back on their turn to slow push

and the third most common mistake

they'll make is they don't use their

slow push to then crash the wave if they

get too scared you can end up thinning

out the wave and setting up a freeze

with your item advantage and suddenly

with you having an item advantage and

the wave in front of your Tower they can

no longer crash the wave to set up a

recall to buy items of their own great

so you're now pretty much ahead of 99%

of the top laners you'll face and have a

game plan for the entire laning phase

well almost the last thing you need to

understand is that everything we just

taught you will no longer apply from

around levels 7 to 9 this is for several

reasons First Once A Champion is level

seven they'll have four points in an

ability which is usually their best wave

clear ability at level 9 they'll have

five points in it so these are the

levels where Champions unlock very

strong wave clear second as the game

gets later freezing is simply no longer

as strong this is because the whole idea

of freezing is that you're denying

minions from the opponent as their

minions kill yours forcing them to move

up to last hit or give up the CS the

problem is later on giving up CS like

this isn't as punishing minions don't

scale they give the same amount of XP at

level 1 or level 18 at the same time it

requires more experience to level up the

higher in level you are what this means

is that level one giving up two waves

could be the difference between being

level one or level three at level seven

though giving up two waves could have no

impact on your level at all players also

have access to more items their

ultimates and boot upgrades letting them

roam faster while also hitting roams

harder so while you're freezing and

they're losing a wave or two you're

getting kills and objectives elsewhere

long story short hard pushing will pin

the opponent down preventing that

scenario and third by pushing it gives

you a roam timing which is often the

best way to snowball your lead and top

this is because the majority of the

roster and Top Lane are melee Champions

so often when you get a lead the enemy

top laner will just turtle at their

Tower if you try to damage the tower

they just get to trade on you from

safety from under their Tower and

they're usually bruisers or tanky

Champions so it's not like you can just

Tower dive them from 100 to zero an

important trick when doing this though

when you implement this push into Rome

you need to place a control ward in the

river brush this is because even if you

end up not getting anything done on the

ram it often sets you up to get a

winning trade if the enemy face checks

the brush or they just assume you recold

or are roaming and so we'll move up the

lane to push so when you get back to

Lane lets you get behind them without

them knowing and forcing a winning trade

with your lead which again can get them

low enough to set up a tower dive on

them on the next wave and if they just

play Passive avoiding this well that

means you'll get to any fights in the

river first combine that with your lead

and it's an Easy Snowball from the

winning fights and of course you can

always look for a midlink gank off your

push into Roam if you see a good

opportunity to do so and now you have a

simple but effective game plan to win

and snowball your lane next is what to

do once the laning phase ends and to

prove just how good our new Top Lane

Essentials course is on our website

let's give you a sneak peek into the

macro section if you've watched any

macro content before you'll know that

macro basically boils down to pushing

minions and playing around the pressure

of those waves so what it simply if no

one pushed in any Sid Lane waves

everyone would just group in mid and 5v5

team fight all the time if that was the

case the only skill needed to climb

would be learning how to team fight

which is obviously not the case as a top

laner you are likely the most

self-sufficient champion on your team

you're probably a durable tank a great

dualist or a mobile carry you're also

likely running the Summoner spell

teleport this means that you are usually

the most suited player on your team to

push inside Lane waves and by pushing

those waves you give you or your

teammates the ability to play around the

pressure being created which brings us

to the most important macro concept you

can learn winning the landing phase you

have to remember that both top laners

are usually going to be the ones Sid

laning in the game typically against one

another who stronger is going to be able

to push waves into the other player's

Tower so one player will have a lot of

pressure while the other will have very

little impact on the map this is why

winning early is so important as a top

laner you will have infinitely less

options than your opponent if they're

stronger than you here's what you can

expect if you're losing the enemy top

will likely push waves onto your side of

the map your job will be to catch the

waves they push and to prevent them from

just pushing your Towers because they're

stronger they will be able to move first

on the map so if they push a wave and

then rotate towards your team you will

always be late that's why you need to

try to save teleport to react to their

plays so you can join the fight as well

we're not saying that's all you can do

when you're losing but that's what you

should expect your job to be from behind

you may be thinking what if I don't have

teleport well that sucks that's like

asking what if my opponents have Baron

Elder Dragon and are 20,000 gold ahead

we're exaggerating but sometimes there's

nothing you can do when you're behind

especially as a top laner you just have

to pray your opponent make a mistake and

throw just do the best you can which is

why you want to have ideally won the

laning phase or at the very least be

capable of pushing waves after you push

a side lane there's two options you can

either group with your team or remain in

the side lane we'll discuss split

pushing in a later video but let's talk

about what grouping with your team

should look like here pushing a wave to

your opponent's Tower forces a response

if the enemy does literally nothing then

they are losing farm and taking Tower

damage they must do something as a

response or they fall behind let's take

a look at an example jayon and his team

are all calling that they'll be

contesting dragon in 50 seconds time

jaay even pings that he's on his way

while pathing to the complete opposite

side of the map this will be one of your

bread and butter macro plays you want to

push Sly waves before the objective has

spawned it's important you do it 20 or

30 seconds in advance at the very least

now that Jace has crashed this wave the

enemy team is feeling the pressure they

either have to force a dragon fight

immediately or they respond to J Jace's

push and send someone to defend in this

case the enemy top laner chooses to

defend and teleports up here the second

that he does jaay counter teleports to

join the dragon fight and helps turn it

around and just like that he helps

secure his team a dragon despite them

playing from behind this will be your

basic macro rhythm in most games push a

wave Force someone to respond and join

up with your team let's be clear this

won't always yield a positive result but

the point is that you keep trying it

over over and over again so for example

Sani pushes the wave and forces the

enemy Gwen to respond then she recalls

and pass mid to join up with her team

achieving nothing at all that's fine by

pushing wav so aggressively you don't

lose any Farm while you're trying to

group with your team you just have to go

back to a s Side Lane before your

opponent pushes away to your Tower this

is a lowrisk high reward strategy if you

get nothing all you have to do is go

back to the S Side Lane and try try

again by the way we're only halfway

through that video and we also cover how

to use teleport and how to split push so

if you want to learn how to climb ranks

fastest Top Lane then this is the course

you've been looking for as it covers the

A through Z of everything you'll ever

need to know to rank up as a top laner

it's completely risk-free to try since

if you don't rank up while actively

using skill cap you get your money back

no questions asked you can get all of

this through the discount you can only

unlock through the link below so what

are you waiting for click the link in

the description below to get the rank

you've always wanted this season all

right and that will do it for this one

we here at skill cap want to thank you

for watching and we'll catch you in the

next

one