How to Dodge Skillshots in League of Legends (5 Tips)

5 Tips to Help You Dodge Skillshots in League of Legends

Learning to dodge skillshots in League of Legends is very important. If you are constantly hit by them, you’re going to find yourself dying more frequently and having to recall often. Furthermore, getting hit by damage over and over again forces you to play a lot safer.

One way of improving at League of Legends is by learning how to play against certain champions, and learning how to dodge incoming skillshots. In this Mobalytics guide, we break down 5 tips to help you dodge incoming damage and skillshots.

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5 Tips to Help You Dodge Skillshots in LOL

1. Get Early Boots
2. Avoid Using Dashes
3. Avoid Standing in Chokepoints
4. Don’t Stand in the Minion Wave
5. Stand Behind Minions

1. Get Early Boots

If the enemy laner has tons of skillshots that are easy to land thanks to their enormous range and radius, buying a pair of boots on your first back could be very beneficial. This is because the additional movement speed that these boots provide will allow you to get out of the way faster than before.

For instance, Xerath’s W can be tough to dodge; however, you might be able to dodge it and get out of the way quickly with the additional movement speed.

You don’t necessarily have to upgrade these boots to tier 2 early, but spending 300 gold on a pair of boots can be the difference between life and death, surviving ganks I picking up farm and XP. I recommend you buy boots early if you are up against the champion who has multiple skill shots.

2. Avoid Using Dashes

This one seems obvious, but I see it time and time again. When laning against a champion who has a hook or any skillshot that can CC you, such as Blitzcrank, Nautilus or Thresh, don’t use your dash tool when you know that their ability is up.

Your dash is an ability that can save your life, and if it’s on cooldown when the enemy throws out their skillshot, you are going to find it hard to dodge this ability because you have to rely on your movement alone to get out of its way. Having something to fall back on will prevent you from getting hooked.

Now you can use your dash if you find good trading opportunities, but a reasonable basis to go by is not to use your escape tool when the enemy is still a massive threat to you, just in case you need it.

On another note, make sure you always have enough mana to use said tool. You don’t want to be caught out of position without it!

3. Avoid Standing in Chokepoints

Chokepoints are powerful in League of Legends. If you stand in a chokepoint, you’ll find it hard to dodge skillshots. During the laning phase, chokepoints differ from lane to lane, but a common one in the side lanes is standing too close to the walls.

You have less room to manoeuvre when near the wall, and you can only run in specific directions. Due to the limited number of directions you can run, you have a harder time dodging incoming skillshots.

Instead of standing near the walls when playing against a poke champion, try and stand in the open as you have a lot more room to dodge the incoming skillshots. It makes the enemy have to work extra hard to try and land these abilities, which give you a slight advantage. Stand near the wall and let them hit you for free if you want to provide the enemy with an easy time in the lane!

4. Don’t Stand in the Minion Wave

Many champions with AOE abilities will use their abilities on the minion wave to quickly push it into your tower. This often happens, especially after the enemy has built their first component item. Champions who do this include Syndra, Zyra, Leblanc.

You can directly counter them by forcing them to choose between poking you and pushing the minion way. If you stand away from the minion wave, they will either forfeit a push or lose the poke on you. You should try to get them to choose between hitting you or pushing instead.

Whilst not strictly a tip that will help you dodge more skills shots, it’s something to keep in mind to help you take less damage from enemy abilities.

Try to stand outside the minion wave as much as you can throughout the laning phase.

5. Stand Behind Minions

We just talked about standing outside the minion wave to prevent incoming damage from skillshots. This is 100% true. However, you should stand behind the minions and consistently pivot to ensure one minion between you and the enemy to prevent incoming damage.

Many skillshots in League of Legends will damage the first target they hit. For example, Ezreal’s Q, Blitzcrank’s Q and Morgana Q. By standing behind at least one minion, you can prevent the enemy from landing the skillshots on you as they will take the damage instead. If you stand in the open, it increases the chances of the enemy hitting it as there are no obstacles between you and them.

Although, some champions have the abilities that go through the minion wave, such as Leona or Sivir. Against these, you want to stand as far back as possible to make it harder for them to land those skillshots.

Summary

Dodging skillshots can be difficult. After all, even the best players in the world eat a lot of damage. We hope these tips will help you reduce the damage taken from enemy skillshots and help you stay alive in the lane for longer.

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