So, you want to be a better laner , huh? I have a question for you. What is your job as a carry? Carries are usually squishy heroes who can be easily deleted but have the capability to deal massive amounts of damage. Coming back to the question, it becomes clear that your job as a carry is to stay alive for as long as possible and deal as much damage as possible. How do you do that? I’m going to tell you how. Here’s what you need to know to become a really effective carry.

1.Farm

That’s right. Farm. Generally, many people are really excited to play carries and can’t wait to murder other heroes but completely forget the basics .That’s right : farming. In lower tiers, players chase each other all over the map for kills . This may work in lower tiers, but as your skill tier increases, players won’t give up kills easily. Rather, they will outfarm you, get massively ahead of you in items and completely murder your team. So, you need to get good at farming. Practise your last-hitting. Here’s one simple tip that can improve your cs: keep auto attacking the minions at the back. Once the minions at the front ( the minions that attack the enemy minions ) are at low health, last hit them. This way, you can get the minions at the front and those at the back too.

2. Rotating to help your team

Let’s say that you are playing vox. You are sitting in lane, farming happily. Your jungler and captain are in the jungle farming away too when suddenly ,wild enemy heroes appear. Oh no! Your jungler and captain are getting attacked by the enemy jungler and captain. What do you do?

a.Say “screw them” and continue farming.

b.Rotate down to the jungle before the enemy laner does and help your team.

If you answered b , you were correct. Yay! (No prizes for you though) .

When you rotate down to the jungle before the enemy laner and help your team, you make the initial 2 v 2 fight into a 3 v 2 fight and give your team a numbers advantage. This will almost always help your team win the fight and get ahead. Which brings me to my next point. Always keep an eye on the minimap. Being aware of what is happening on the map can help you react quicker than your opponent. Small details like these can have a big impact on the game and these are often the small things that separate the lower tier players from the higher tier ones.

3. Mechanics

This is the part which has less to do with strategy and more to do with practice. As a carry, you have to do the maximum possible amount of damage . This can mean different things for different heroes. As a mage like celeste or skaarf , you want to practise landing those spitfires and supernovas. As a weapon power carry like ringo, vox or kestrel , you have to stutter-step ( cancel your auto attack animation while autoattacking) to maximise your damage. This can take a bit of practice, but trust me it’s worth it. Another important skill to have as a weapon power carry is blocking atlas. In lower tiers people don’t buy atlas (or any defense for that matter) but as your skill tier increases, blocking an atlas can often mean the difference between winning and losing a teamfight. So, try to become better at it. As they say, practice makes perfect.

4. Positioning

As a carry , there is a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. You are the “carry” after all. You are supposed to carry your team . How do you do that? That’s right, by not getting deleted at the start of every teamfight.

When the laning phase ends ( that’s usually when the first turret falls on either side) , that’s when the so-called “teamfight phase” begins. In this phase, you want to stick with your team or at the very least , be near them because one death at this point can mean the loss of multiple objectives and even the game. During teamfights, always try to position safely and deal damage to the highest priority target that you can reach. If you can reach the enemy jungler and enemy captain, attack the enemy jungler and so on. Don’t rush into a teamfight all on your own. You are supposed to “carry” not “throw” . Remember, the entire enemy team is gunning for you. Keep yourself safe.

5. Defense and item choices

Ah , finally we have to address the elephant in the room , defense. Captains constantly rage ping their carries and “recommend” that they buy defense. And I completely agree with them. But should defense really be your top priority ?

As I said in the beginning, your job as a carry is to deal as much damage as possible while being alive for as long as possible. If you are a celeste with a metal jacket , aegis and a crystal bit , you are literally tickling the enemy team. Prioritize defense against threats first. If there is an enemy taka constantly diving your ass , build defense against him. On the other hand, if there is a reim on the enemy team who can’t even reach you, a reflex block should be enough until you complete your offensive items. So, in short , prioritize your offensive items. Build enough defense to survive. Complete your offensive items. Now complete your aegis or metal jacket.

When I started playing Vainglory one and a half years ago, I made all of the mistakes mentioned above and much, much more. But after I read some guides , watched some pros play and recognized my mistakes, I gradually started improving. Playing as a carry can be really exhausting if the enemy keeps focusing you , but with practice and experience, “carrying” can be a really rewarding and enjoyable experience. If this guide was helpful and if you want me to make more guides, let me know. Good luck on the fold and happy grinding!