Players generally consider the game divided into three phases: early-game, mid-game, late-game. You might not notice it in your early games, but for each of these phases the game-play is totally different.

The game is preceded by a “warmup” phase. During this time, summoners can purchase one (or more) items for their hero with the initial gold stack they have. If you don’t know what to take, choose from the list of recommended items; they are good for beginners. Keep in mind that item can be upgraded; if you purchased the prerequisite for an item, you don’t need to pay that part of the new item (the cost is subtracted from the full cost of one item).

The first phase, also called laning phase, begins with two heroes in the top lane, one in the middle lane, and two in the bottom lane. This is the standard configuration and you shouldn’t try to change it unless you have good reasons. Having one person in the middle serves two purposes :
1.That player gains more experience as he do not share it. (So choose a hero with the best useful ultimate skill)
2.If he dies, two lanes can provide a backup player.


Some variants include a jungler who is not placed in a lane, but kills the neutral monsters to feed from a different source of experience, making the team accumulate more experience than the enemy team.

Death is important in the first phase, because for each death the killer gets money, which lets them buy more equipment. The better they are equipped, the less you’ll be able to fight them off.

The second phase is the mid-phase. It’s a transition; heroes are around level ten at this point. The teams begin to gather to push towers. In this phase, you want to know everything the enemy is doing. Use your summoner skills, or wards, to reveal their units and surprise them. It’s critical to avoid getting caught, as the time before revival increases. You need to push some lanes, but you can’t ignore defence.

By last phase, late-game, the team should be forged. If you’re not playing as a team, the other side will win. Even with less equipment or levels, a good team is generally better than five individuals. Revival time is about one minute at this point, so if the entire team gets wiped you’ll lose at least two towers.

Beware: some heroes are still good solo-ers. They can backdoor you to destroy towers or inhibitors to make super minions spawn. Once one has been broken, you should tighten your defence. If more than two get destroyed, it’s bad for you, and should the last be knocked out, it’s almost the end. Fortunately, if you are a good team, inhibitors re-spawn.