A Beginner’s Guide to Split Pushing in LoL

Split pushing is one of the most technical things to do in League of Legends. It is something that requires attention to a lot of minuscule things that players often ignore and in turn, get killed for i, hence we’ve put together a comprehensive Guide to Split Pushing in LoL.

But, in our opinion, split pushing is entirely worth it. Its high risk and high reward because split pushing can help you claw your way back into a tough game. We’ve all faced games where we’re down a bunch of towers and our team hasn’t really been able to secure any objective. That’s where split pushing can come into play. We’ve personally seen insane comebacks just because the wit of one carry made him take objectives on his own. So, do you want to become that carry? Our descriptive guide to split pushing will teach you everything you need to know to rat tower and eventually, win games.

When to Split Pushing in LoL

Before we get into anything, we’ll let you know exactly when you should abandon your team to secure objectives. This is the most important part of this guide; make sure you read this one really carefully.

Enemy Heroes are down

You should know that this only works in the late game where the respawn timers will be close or over a minute. But, you have to make sure their carries are down and you’re not solo pushing. You need some help in case someone decides to take you out.

Undefended Lane

So, the first thing you need to split push is an undefended lane that is already being pushed a little bit by your minions. If there are 2 or 3 heroes lurking anywhere nearby, you’re utterly screwed. Try to push when you have vision of at least 4 heroes in other lanes. Otherwise, just retreat, because a tower won’t be worth your life.

Your Team is Self-Sufficient

If the other team is even slightly good, you won’t be able to kill them all with one or two champions down. You need all 5 to be able to contest them in team fight (7 or 8 champions if your back is against the wall). You can only split push when you know that your team can sustain enemy pressure 4v5. It’s not necessary that your team can get kills without you; they should just be able to drive the enemy team back if they decide to take advantage of your absence.

Champions with AOE Abilities

Primarily, those champions are considered good pushers that have AOE abilities. AOE abilities can help your team clear minion waves much easily and in turn, push towers. You don’t even have to push the lane yourself. Just stay close enough to clear waves and your minions will do the job for you.

Enemy Team Lacks Teleport

In higher ranks, this probably won’t be entirely true. But, in early ranks, champions often don’t carry TPs. You can exploit this very greatly. As soon as you have vision in the opposite lanes and enemies don’t have teleport, you can push without any fear of the team defending their objectives.

When You Shouldn’t Split Push

Mainly, there’s only one reason why you shouldn’t push. That’s when your team doesn’t have the survivability to endure a 4v5 team fight. Taking a tower won’t be any use when your team has four heroes down and the enemy is looking to end. Make sure that you’re pushing at a moment when your team won’t require instant support.

Before You Split Push

There are a few vital things that you need to do before you actually start split pushing. Doing any of these things will at least secure you one objective on the map.

Communication

Split pushing can only work if your team works as a team. People randomly going wherever they want will screw up your pushes and allow the enemy to gank you quite often. You need to be able to reach through to your teammates and make sure that they realize the importance of your split pushing. A few reminders about a loss might also be good idea.

One more thing; do not try split pushes with teammates that don’t communicate or coordinate their actions. You’ll just constantly keep dying without securing the objectives you were looking for. If you also get matched up with cancer teammates that would rather just keep farming, then try to do the same and contest every tower so the other team doesn’t get an advantage you don’t have.

Warding

Warding is one of the most crucial things that can make or break split pushing. You’ll constantly be aware of all enemy movements and you will be able to teleport out in case the situation becomes too hot to handle.

 Using Rift Herald

Rift herald is a great companion to go along with your split pushing adventures. Pushing with Herald guarantees an objective even if you get ganked early. However, the lane will need to be pushed a bit earlier so the Rift Herald can wreck the tower. Another benefit of pushing with Herald is that you can abandon the push in the middle and join your team. She’ll be able to take the tower by herself.

Proxy Farming

Proxy farming is an early game technique to taking towers. You go between the tier 1 and tier 2 towers and take out entire lanes of minions. However, this is only possible if you have a significant lead as compared to your enemy laner. It can also work if you have AOE abilities and can take out waves quickly.

Picking the Right Heroes for Split Pushing

Almost every hero in the game can split push really well. But, the only think that varies is your knowledge about the technique. However, if you’d like some champions that are exceptionally good at doing this, then we’ve listed them below:

• Top: Jax, Fiora, Trundle, Renekton, Lucian, Maokai and Tryndamere.
• Mid: Ahri, Zed, LeBlanc, Corki and Galio.
• Jungler: Master Yi, Nocturne, Udyr and Hecarim.

You Can’t Split Push Every Game

Sometimes, it is impossible to split push no matter what you do. It could either be the fact that the enemy is ready with rotation to defend their turrets, you got left way behind in levels, your team is getting pummeled without you, or the enemy could have better ways to clear out waves. Whatever the case might be, if you find yourself enable to split push, don’t do it over and over again. There comes a time when it just becomes predictable and you’ll die off too easily. Just focus on farming and team fight and try to fill the experience deficit to catch up to your opponents.

The Bottom Line

What we would like to say at this point is that split pushing isn’t easy. Our guide might make it sound pretty straightforward. There are a lot of variables that your push will depend on. It’s hard to predict them all but, with enough practice, you will be able to natural determine whether it is time to split from your team and push. If you die a couple of times, don’t worry. Securing objectives at the cost of your life a couple of time isn’t that bad a thing…