In solo queue recently, I have been struggling to figure out what is the best time to roam for plays.
Even if I’m able to get a successful roam off one game, I struggle to replicate the same quality roams in the next game.
I found myself saying things like…
“Why do I get nothing every time I roam”
“Why does my enemy always get kills when they roam”
What I realised is I needed to break down the factors that I should consider before roaming which I’ll get into in this post.
Firstly, let’s break down what is roaming?
Roaming is a term we use in League for moving out of your given lane. Generally it is done to either…
A) Back up your teams jungler so he can invade the enemy camps
B) Look for dives/ganks on both the side lanes to help push the leads of your winning lanes
C) Lean out of vision on pinks or swept areas to put pressure on the enemy laners/jungler
In order to weigh up the effectiveness of a roam you need to analyse what you are both…
1. Losing or gaining in your lane
And
2. Losing or gaining in other peoples lanes/roles
As a solo queue player you must go into each game with the intention to dominate your opponent as well as help those around you dominate there given counterparts. But here lies a fine balance between helping yourself versus helping others.
This is an example from one of my games in which I choose not to move and roam at all:
In this frame I have built a big wave into my counterpart (Fizz). I know that punishing the Fizz for being a melee champion and not having all in threat on me is important. I also know that I can put a lot of pressure on Fizz to either take damage for hitting the CS or miss all the creeps.
But at the same time there was a jungle 1v1 in the river. I quickly panned my camera over the river and see this.
Now at this moment what I needed to do was answer these questions:
In this situation I decided not to move.
I saw that Jayce has to back out and bot is still in lane.
Even if I was to move to the fight, it would be over and I would be letting Fizz back into the game by giving him all the CS under tower for free.
Now, I know what you’re thinking…
Curtis this is ridiculous!! How can you expect me to answer all these questions in a matter of seconds during a game!?
And you’re right, it’s a lot to ask…
But hear me out, I have a proposition to make.
After your next ranked game, load up the replay and take a look over all the opportunities you did or didn’t roam.
By answering the above questions I can guarantee that YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND INSTINCTUAL DECISION MAKING SPEED WILL INCREASE OVER TIME.
Eventually your situational awareness will improve and you will be able to make the best decisions to roam in each situation on the spot.
Try this for your next games and let me know how it goes!