Tendencies of the Rift - Taking Advantage of Player's Habits

Habits are one of the easiest things to take advantage of in League of Legends. From the most beginner of players all the way to the pro scene, each individual has their own tendencies and habits. Some habits are more unique, while others are practiced by a vast majority of the player base. Understanding how to identify and how to correctly take advantage of these habits can greatly improve your gameplay.

Unique Habits

In order to correctly identify a player’s individual habits you must actively be doing more than just playing the game. You have to be in a state of mind to watch and learn while you are playing your own game. For example, while some players might just throw a Ziggs bomb to harass, others will throw them to take note of which way a player tends to juke in order to increase their effectiveness of later bombs. This gives the active player a distinct advantage. I know that if I throw a bomb my opponent likes to walk left and therefore will predict it and throw it to the left of him. It is simple things like paying attention to habits the can take a small lead and balloon it into a huge one.

Another examples of an individual habit that can easily be taken advantage of is positioning in lane. In lane you learn very quickly what somebody’s playstyle is. Someone more aggressive may tend to take that extra step forward in order to gain that little bit more of harass. This is easily taken advantage of by a timely jungle gank right as the player takes that extra step. Similarly a passive player may sit back and allow you to freely push the wave. This creates and opportunity to roam and effect other lanes. Professionals also have position habits. For example an LCS mid lane player will typically do what is called a lean towards the strong side of the map. When this is done a player will stay close to the top or bottom brush depending on which side their jungler and support are located. By doing this they give themselves a chance to call in back up if they get ganked. However this is also a double edge sword as it telegraphs to the other team which side their team is on and where any possible threats could come from. While this positioning habit is harder to take advantage of directly on the mid laner, it may cause the opposing jungler to seek out a gank on the other side of the map knowing they will not get counerganked.

Popular Habits

While some habits are unique to a players play style, some habits are practiced by many if not all players. These are ones that you can take advantage of without any knowledge of a player’s tendencies.

The first, and my personal favorite, of the popular habits is the level two jungle invade. In almost any rank of game a jungler will start on the bottom side in order to get a leash on the first buff from their support and marksman. Typically they will use smite in order to gain that buff and help them clear the other camps. This leaves them vulnerable. By doing your first camp smiteless and heading straight to their second buff, you can normally find their jungler at both low health as well as the buff in smite range. What you do next is entirely your choice. Whether you smite the buff and walk away or go in for the kill, you will effectively set the other jungler behind while propelling yourself forward.

The second of the two popular habits I will address in this guide is farming. Many times we hear pro players say that their lane opponent will put pressure on every cs they go to get. But what does this actually mean? How do you pressure your opponent while they are going to farm? The answer is simple, pay attention to your minion’s health. By doing this you can effectively see what creep your opponent will go for next and where in lane they may position. You can then counter position and look to take a favorable trade while they step up to auto a minion. My favorite champion to abuse this with is Lucian. I watch for the lowest health minion and position around that. As the laner steps up to auto I immediately dash forward, procing light slinger, followed by a piercing light and another light slinger. By doing this I can get off two sets of my passive as well as an ability before my opponent gets the chance to reset their auto off of the minion and onto me. This creates a favorable trade in my favor, chunking them, and giving me the lane advantage. This tactic is a popular one in professional play and used in almost every lane. Most notably, I learned this move from the former EU LCS MVP Forg1ven in his numerous games on both graves and Lucian in his time with SK. An example of this tactic can be seen here. In this clip we see CW Freeze step forward to auto and is immediately punished Forg1ven. While Forg1ven is then punished back by a good tibbers, it is this tactic that can push you forward in your laning presence.

These are just a few examples of habits that are used every day on the rift. It is important to note that while you may use these particular ones to gain an advantage, you also must always be on the lookout for others. Everybody has their own particular playstyle and sometimes even the popular ones do not apply to them. Being attentive and looking for your own way to gain an advantage off of your opponent’s habits is a key component to higher level play.

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