League of Legends Beginners Guide: What are the Lanes?
By Josh Tyler
We break down all the lanes so that beginners can understand, looking at the mid lane.
Mid lane
In contrast to the top lane, the mid lane does not run along the border of the map but instead cuts it in half diagonally. Running from the southwest corner to the northeast, this lane represents the only straight, direct path from one nexus to the other. As a result, this is the lane that people will tend to congregate around in the mid to late game when trying to take towers.
This is where the game mode (and meme) “ARAM” comes from, meaning “all random all middle,” because it describes the propensity for players in the mid-to-late game who don’t know where to go to all gather in the mid lane, knowing it’s the shortest path to the enemy Nexus.
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The mid lane is flanked on both sides by the river, the top part we already discussed and the bottom half we will examine shortly. The lane is therefore situated in such a way that the player in mid lane can roam to objectives on either side of the map, or to other lanes to assist their teammates.
Because of its positioning, there are two main types of champions that are played in the mid lane. The first is control mages, typically ones with very strong wave clear. Since the mid lane is the shortest lane, and therefore the one focused most often, having a mage in the lane who can do a lot of damage in an area, clear waves of minions, and deny the opportunity for the enemy to damage towers is crucial.
The second type of champions in mid are assassins, who love the central location on the map and being able to roam. Since they typically move quickly to the other lanes, they can run up (or down) the river for a quick gank, then get back to their own lane without losing too much pressure. They also tend to do very well into the squishy, immobile mages that specialize in wave clear and negate the advantage the mage brings. After all, you can’t clear the wave if you’re dead!