How to make win in Mid Lane.

Since back when DotA was first conceived by IceFrog and his nerd compadres, being able to solo in the mid lane was a privilege and an honor. Now in the League of Legends world, it is home to the greatest AP Casters of our time. Even though in my opinion the outcome of the bottom lane is what truly shapes the outcome of the game, the mid lane has the most impact in the earlier stages of the game. Top lane is an island where the junglers stop by from time to time to say hello, while bottom lane is a constant back and forth where in very top level play, the 4 players alone won't be able to do much to really "own" their opposing lane partners. Mid on the other hand, has the potential of ganking either of these lanes, harass the enemy jungle, while also outplaying their opponent in a 1v1 scenario. With all this mind, we need to learn how to dominate our mid lane and give our team the edge while going into the mid-game.

Starting Buy: 99% of all AP's in today's meta-game will start with Boots and 3x Pots. This gives you the opportunity to be mobile in an aggressive or defensive manner while also being able to take some damage and be able to recover. NEVER start with Dorans Ring as it insures that you will lose your lane.

Early Game Posturing: Early game in the way I would describe it, would be the back and forth poking that happens at levels 1 through 6. This is the back and forth mind game that is played between two players that face-off in mid. Posing a confident position in the lane by faking aggression, moving forward and back while constantly moving side to side to avoid any aimed spells are key in establishing your early game play. Check if your opponent is scared of you, once you smell fear, in a mental sense, you've already won the lane.

Creating Lane Dominance: Lane dominance is not something that happens suddenly. It is built over the course of time by good decision making, coupled with personal skill, and well-rounded knowledge of your hero. There are many ways to create lane dominance aside from the obvious of having your jungle gank for you.

• Last Hitting like a God. It is important that for the first few creeps, you get into a rhythm where even if the world was ending, you would still be able to get the last hit on the minions in front of you. Why does this create dominance? It's because it allows you to purchase a strong buy such as 2x Doran's, Catalyst, etc. on your first trip back home as well as a ward and perhaps a couple pots. It's simple math, if you last hit better than your opponent, you will have better items. Better items = easier laning phase.

• Harassing & Landing Skill Shots. This is quite possibly the greatest tip you will ever hear in for any DotA type game. Are you ready? Here it is: Wait for the last hit. This is taking what is mentioned above and using it against your enemy. Every half-decent player from normal games to ranked to tournament level play will want to get the last hit on a minion. Plain and simple. However, when the enemy is going for a last hit, they will be standing still and will be forced to be within a certain area for a few milliseconds before they attack a minion. That is your opportunity to take. When the enemy goes to attack the minion, you throw your spell. Any skill-shot oriented ability's chance to hit your opponent goes up an incredible amount if you wait for this timing. Now you don't always have to use an ability, if you have a fairly large range on your right click, you just simply hit your opponent a few times while they are going for the last hit. It's the repeated usage of this tactic that will give you the edge in the laning phase. If you're lucky and your opponent is bad, you might just out right kill your opponent.

• Pushing your minions to their tower. This is also somewhat of a play on the first mentioned tip. This however, is a good yet, risky tactic. If you can't out-harass your opponent, you can always push the hell of the creep set and force him to last hit at his tower. While last hitting at the tower is certainly doable, the success rate of it drops and some creeps just won't ever see money popping up over their heads as they die. Only problem with this is that it will force you to play pushed up in the lane making you more susceptible to getting ganked by the enemy jungle. It's best to use this tactic sparingly when you have good information on the whereabouts of the enemy jungle.

Wrap-up and Polish: Now that you've gained the edge in the lane, how do you push that even further? When you feel like you have control over the lane and your opponent, you should be positioned by their range creeps constantly threatening them with the possibility of casting on them. Make it known that you are dangerous and should not be messed with. Move and up and down lane while last hitting to keep them out of experience range. This is called "zoning". 2 things happen if you are zoning successfully. Once again the creeps will be pushed to the enemy's tower making it difficult for him to get last hits if not impossible if you push your presence towards his tower. Another thing is after pushing the set to his tower, you disappear. Take the enemy wraiths, take a blue buff, go shop, gank a side lane or just stay out of sight until his next wave comes. Without the enemy having vision of you, this creates an uneasy feeling on the other 2 lanes and the jungle as well as your opponent mid. Since all these are very real possibilities, everyone on the enemy team will have to play more carefully.

EXTRA TIP: If you have planned to leave the lane in the near future, make sure you push the creep set to your enemy's tower before you do so. You should also push the lane if you find that your opponent has left the lane. This pressures the tower while also denying them of experience while they are gone. If you suspect your opponent has left to buy/heal. You should probably do the same as if you stay, their purchase will make them stronger than you are.

WORST CASE SCENARIO: You've done everything you can and you just can't win the lane. League of Legends is a bit of Rock Paper Scissors in the sense that some heroes just beat other heroes. The absolute best thing you can do while waiting for a gank, is to play safely. Last hit at your tower and do your best not to be in range of their abilities. If the match-up is that bad, you won't even be able to last hit a majority of the enemy minions. But it is important to remember: NO MATTER WHAT YOU CAN NOT DIE. If you die, even playing safe and creeping from a distance will no longer be an option. Dying in a 1v1 scenario is the absolute quickest way to lose your lane.