League of Legends: What to do After Taking Baron Nashor

How to Make the Most of Baron Once You Have It

Taking the Baron Nashor in League of Legends is one of the hardest things a team can do. It usually requires the most cooperation between team mates, takes the longest time to kill, and is also one of the riskiest plays a team can make. This is why ensuring that the risk is worth the reward and you are able to make full use of the objective once you have captured it.

In a previous Baron related article, we talked about how to secure the objective in a much safer way. In this Mobalytics guide, we are going to discuss what you need to do after taking the Baron so you can further your dominance over the enemy with your clear buff advantage.

1. Back as soon as you can

In an even game, it is important that you back away and recall as soon as you take the objective. This reduces the chances of players on your team being picked off as well as your team being aced and losing all the Baron buffs.

As a general rule, you never want to team fight straight after taking Baron because you run the risk of losing multiple players and multiple buffs. It also reduces your income and snowball potential as you do not have as many players who can use it. So, it is important that you back away immediately to ensure that the buff can be utilized.

The Baron also provides a lot of gold for the team that takes it. If you back away, you can spend your hard-earned gold which can really make a difference in the next team fight or while sieging. If you decide to fight with several thousand gold and missing items, you may snowball yourself into a deficit and of course, waste the buff.

You should always recall when the game is even as you do not want to give the enemy the advantage. You should also recall and not fight if the enemy is nearby, and you should also back away if your team is low.

However, you do not have to go back if the enemy isn’t nearby (unless you want to spend your gold), or if the enemy are not alive. At the end of the day, it’s better to be safe than sorry, but the outcome of a game can be impacted if you choose the wrong move.

2. Split up and look for clues objectives.

Unless your team is a poke or siege comp, you will always want to split up and try to take multiple objectives in multiple lanes at the same time. This will mostly likely be in the form of a 1-4, or a 1-3-1 depending on your teams composition.

Although, splitting up does have its cause for concern. For example, your ally (or allies) in the side lanes have to be able to push quickly and be able to face anybody who tries to stop them. In addition, your 3 or 4 teammates in the middle lane cannot die or get caught out as this not only reduces their usefulness, but it also reduces what the split pushers can do as the enemy will be able to rotate and outnumber their push.

Synchronization and proper Baron macro are needed to siege in an effective way. Without understanding it, it is going to be very hard for your team to break into the enemy’s base, or take away objectives that are being defended.

If you have players pushing in the middle lane- or trying to take the middle lane tower, your split pushers should be almost in line or ahead of your side lanes. This ensures constant pressure on the enemy and reduces their chances of being able to protect every objective.

If you can synchronize your minion waves, you can apply pressure to two (or three) objectives at once. This will reduce the enemies ability to defend multiple towers and they will have to split up to protect each one of them. This reduces their defensive capabilities as less champions are there to defend the separate objectives. This allows you to either engageor pick off the defending player(s) and then take the objective afterwards. Or, it leaves vulnerabilities in the enemies defense as they do not have the players to defend each objective.

In this example, XL backed after taking the Baron. They then took the Dragon, and split up in two separate lanes to take the middle and bottom tier 2 towers.

On the other hand, if you do not have good wave management, the enemy may be able to walk from one lane to another to defend each tower- which is something you need to avoid by having the lanes in sync.

If you see that one lane is pushing faster than another (very common in the middle lane because it is shorter), do not fast push or kill the minions in that lane to slow it down. This should even out the push and make the minion waves be more coordinated.

Although, if your team is stronger than the enemies, then there’s no real reason to split up and prolong the game if you can just win team fights. Group up, look to siege and look for skirmishing opportunities where your team can pick off players of the opposing team.

In this LEC match between Vitality and G2, VIT had a clear advantage over G2 and they didn’t have to split up too much and could just force a team fight. They were able to do this because:

1. They were ahead in gold, items, kills and had higher map pressure. They could team fight even without Baron.
2. There team composition is very good at picking off and surprising the enemy.
3. Azir was towards the bottom side of the map and was not in a position to stop them from team fighting or sieging.

3. Speed up your Minions

Something that is often forgotten about is that the Baron buff can speed up nearby allied minions and provide them with some benefits. To increase the usefulness of the Baron power play, you need to make sure that somebody (usually the Support or a carry) walks away from their team to the incoming minion wave to speed them up.

With the minions coming in hot, you will be able to deal more damage and have a higher chance of destroying an objective in one major push. This is because your minions will make there way to their intended target quicker which allows you to spend more time trying to take the objective.

It only takes one champion to provide the whole minion wave with the buff, so it is always recommended that one ally slips away to buff up the minions: preferably while your team doesn’t get caught out and die.

4. Protect the Cannon Minion

While chaperoning the minions towards the objective is one thing, keeping them alive for as long as possible is another key element to increasing your Baron power play. If they stay alive for longer; they will be healthier, able to take more tower damage, dish out more damage and help you take down objectives.

Depending on the champion you’re playing, you may be able to body block some of the incoming damage to keep your Cannon Minions alive. Whether you are a tank or somebody with lots of sustain or a shield, it can often be worth taking a little extra damage to ensure that your Cannon Minion stays alive for longer.

This seems like a very minute thing and while it is- without the minion wave, your chances of taking a tower are less and far riskier. If you cannot tank the tower (which is generally advised against), you will be standing around doing nothing while you wait for the next minion wave to come in. This downtime could be less or non-existent if you can keep the previous wave alive for longer.

5. Be Patient

The Baron buff doesn’t have the longest timer in the world, but it can be the deciding factor between closing out a game or prolonging it. You do not have to act immediately when something arises, but you shouldn’t be too cautious either.

There’s no need to fight straight away or as soon as you see the enemy. You can just wait for the minions to do their thing so you can take an objective. By protecting the minion wave, they will be able to whittle away at the tower while you poke the enemy down.

A common mistake players make is by trying to team fight as soon as they spot the enemy. This isn’t the wisest of ideas unless you win team fights or have a team fighting comp because you risk losing all your Baron buffs.

Another thing that players tend to force is objectives or the action of taking objectives. While true, the buff doesn’t last forever and you need to make use of it, it does last long enough for multiple minion waves to attack one structure. If you can continue to apply pressure, the minions will chip away at the tower and allow you to siege over the course of a few waves.

It is better to siege slowly through multiple minion waves rather than attempting to force an objective- team fight and lose- then lose all the Baron buffs. Instead of trying to team fight immediately after the Baron (or after recalling), try to siege and not force anything. Play it slow while giving no breathing roam for the enemy.

6. Do not make risky plays

Games can be thrown without you even realizing it and sieging an objective can turn sour very quickly. This is why you shouldn’t be making any risky plays as the likelihood of succeeding is less than you’d imagine. While there are many different forms of risky plays, anything that is 50/50 is not worth taking as a shutdown on a key target can end the siege completely.

For example, if a fed assassin makes a mistake while waiting in a bush or when moving in between lanes, or trying to 1v1 someone, your team might not be able to prevent the enemy from pushing you back and sieging your towers. This is where a negative Baron power play can be formed, and it can be very difficult to play against.

The ol’ switcharoo

It is recommended to never go for the play that is uncertain to work out in your favour. This includes trying to 1v1 an enemy, start a team fight, tower dive an objective or even just attempt a siege at a certain time. It’s better to use your buff to its fullest and get the most out of it rather than try to make a play that can backfire and cost your life.

Closing Thoughts

Furthering your lead and making use of the Baron is key to winning the game. One mistake can cost you your buff, and even if the game if your team is aced. There are so many little things that look minute on paper that add up to make a real difference in game and that can further your lead. Try to be patient and keep a constant eye on your surroundings: where the enemy is, what your team is doing and where the minions are. With the constant awareness your Baron macro will improve and be more consistent.

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