ADC in League of Legends — A Full Guide
Fancy learning the ADC role? Here's all that you need to know.
In League of Legends’ Summoner’s Rift, five players delve into a virtual 30-minute challenge that tests their teamwork and strategic cooperation skills. ADCs are responsible for dealing sustained damage in team fights and taking down objectives, making them a key factor in securing victories. This guide will delve into the intricacies of playing ADC, covering everything from champion selection to laning and positioning.
Champion Selection
Your first step at having a good game as an ADC is choosing a fitting champion that proves to be a good combo with your Support and has a good chance of standing against your matchup. Of course, you can win or have a good game without picking a ‘fitting’ champion, but it definitely translates into better chances at having a good game.
Each ADC brings a distinctive set of strengths, weaknesses, and play styles. Some champions excel in burst damage, while others focus on sustained damage over time. Consider factors such as range, mobility, and crowd control when selecting your ADC. Furthermore, while you’re still in the process of selecting your champion, factor into your choice how well they go with the Support’s champion.
Laning Phase
The laning phase is where ADCs start to build their foundation for success. You usually have 14 minutes before the laning phase ends, so make the best out of it. How? Farming. Farming is your number two priority behind surviving in lane, which should be your first priority. To farm properly, you need to last-hit minions effectively to accumulate gold and experience. Last hitting minions also is a way of wave-control which slowly pushes the wave against the enemy tower, while giving the enemy bot lane the chance to push against you to maintain a balance that doesn’t waste minions.
Speaking of balance, farming, and harassing the enemy bot lane should be equally important. However, getting to level 2 (or level 3, depending on your combo) should be a priority before you start trading damage. Additionally, pay attention to the map. Proper positioning and map awareness are critical during the laning phase to avoid enemy jungle ganks. Also, never underestimate the enemy Jungler’s capabilities of crippling your performance by a good gank, so you better watch out where you’re standing at all times and whether you’d be able to outrun the enemy Jungler in the case of a gank. However, if your team’s Jungler is close and idle, you can extend further in the bot lane knowing that your Jungler can countergank if things go down the hill.
Farming & Wave Control
Farming efficiently is a cornerstone skill of playing in any lane, and ADC is no different. Controlling the minion wave guarantees a competitive edge over your opponents since you effectively deny them the resources they need to scale. You should practice last-hitting under the turret and freezing the wave near your tower to deny the enemy ADC farm. However, beware of getting overwhelmed by enemy minions because they can and will deal a ton of damage to you during the laning phase.
If you’re playing with a rather strong early champion make sure to assert your dominance by punishing the enemy whenever they come near the wave. Pay attention to the overall flow of the game. Moreover, after the laning phase ends, rotate to other lanes when necessary to accumulate additional gold and experience. Also, depending on how well your Jungler is performing, you can shove off some jungle monsters.
Support Synergy
The bot lane is the only lane which two allied players occupy. Consequently, it requires a lot more cooperation and communication than the top lane, for example. Effective communication and synergy with your support can significantly impact the outcome of the game. Coordinate engages, disengages, and vision control with your support to create a strong bot lane presence that can intimidate even the enemy’s biggest and thickest bruiser. Moreover, pay close attention to your support's abilities and play style to capitalize on opportunities and possibly mitigate threats that could arise from ignorance.
Positioning
We briefly mentioned positioning above. Naturally, we couldn’t do it justice in just a couple of sentences. Proper positioning allows you to deal damage while minimizing the risk of being caught overextending or terribly out of position. In the laning phase, make sure to be cautious in the following situations:
- Your Jungler isn’t close.
- The enemy team Jungler recently ganked the mid lane.
- The enemy team recently slayed a dragon.
- The enemy team Mid-laner is absent from the mid lane.
- The enemy ADC and Support are notably absent from the bot lane.
On the other hand, you can assume more aggressive positions if you’re in the following situations:
- Your Jungler is close.
- The enemy team Jungler recently ganked the top lane.
- The enemy team Jungler recently slayed the Rift Herald.
- The enemy team Mid-laner is dead or present in lane.
- The enemy ADC and Support are out of position.
- The enemy ADC and Support are very low on Health or Mana.
- The enemy ADC and Support are dead or are present in other lanes (for some reason).
Moreover, learn to kite effectively; attacking while constantly repositioning to avoid skill shots and incoming damage. Kiting is pretty different from one champion to the other, so practice to kite with your favorite champion and focus on understanding and remembering your limits. Finally, never make yourself an easy target by standing in the front. This is especially important in team fights, stay behind your frontline during team fights and be aware of enemy threats. Always keep your tank or fighter or bruiser teammates the first targets—it’s in their job description.
Map Awareness
Map awareness is something that you should have while playing any of the five roles in League of Legends, but it is especially vital for ADCs due to how fragile they are. Keep an eye on the minimap to track the enemy jungler's movements and anticipate potential roams from other lanes. Ward key areas to ensure early warning against ganks, and communicate with your team using pings to alert them to potential threats or opportunities. More on wards, never forget to buy a Control Ward, it’s a game-changer to map awareness because it doesn’t only give permanent vision (as long as the ward is up), it also blocks enemy vision which helps your Jungler in ganking your lane.
Objective Control
As an ADC, your role extends beyond merely dealing damage and participating in team fights. Objective control is all about dealing damage to towers and inhibitors, but that’s the most basic level of objective control. Since you will always play on the bottom side of the map, you’ll usually be around the Dragon when it spawns. Make sure to communicate with your support to provide vision around the Dragon and ping for your Jungle when it’s appropriate to take the Dragon.
Final tip about the Dragon: never underestimate its ability to completely turn the tides of the match. The bonus buffs aren’t exclusively important for your Jungler, it’s important for the entirety of the team. The faster and closer you are to slaying the four Dragons and the Elder Dragon, the closer you are to ending the game.
Teamfighting
Teamfighting is where ADCs shine, but also where they are most vulnerable. You should distance yourself safely from any enemy assassin and position yourself safely at the back of your team. Optimally, prioritize the closest opponent, however, it’s not always efficient, especially when the enemy frontliner is a Tank/Bruiser champion. In that situation, you should seek the second most vulnerable target, which is usually the enemy ADC or the assassin. Whenever it is possible to target the enemy ADC from a safe distance, don’t hesitate to do so.
Obviously, you won’t be standing still. So, practice kiting as much as you can. That way, you’ll give champions with CC and/or skill shots a hard time at killing you. And finally, reiterating the most important aspect of this game; communication. Communicate with your team to coordinate engages and disengages, and be patient in team fights and wait for the opportune moment to unleash your damage. Rushing a team fight doesn’t usually yield great results, as you’re catching your teammates off-guard as much as the enemy.