Team fights progress through distinct phases, each requiring specific positioning adjustments and strategic focus. Understanding these phases enables superior timing and coordination.
Pre-Fight Phase (10-15 seconds)
The pre-fight phase involves positioning, vision establishment, and ability preparation before combat begins.
Positioning Setup: Establish formation with tanks forward, carries protected, and supports positioned for optimal utility delivery. Maintain spacing to avoid AoE abilities while staying close enough for coordination.
Vision Control: Clear enemy vision and establish your own to prevent flanking attempts and gather information about enemy positioning.
Ability Management: Ensure key abilities are available—avoid using crucial cooldowns on minions or poke attempts before major fights.
Initiation Phase (0-3 seconds)
The initiation phase determines team fight success through engagement timing and target selection.
Engagement Timing: Initiate when you have numerical advantages, ability advantages, or positioning advantages. Avoid fighting when enemies have superior positioning or key abilities available.
Focus Fire Coordination: Coordinate initial target selection through pings and communication. Focusing damage on single targets creates faster eliminations and numerical advantages.
Cooldown Sequencing: Use abilities in optimal sequences—engage abilities first, followed by damage abilities, then utility abilities for follow-up or protection.
Sustained Combat Phase (3-8 seconds)
The sustained phase involves continuous damage trading, positioning adjustments, and ability rotations.
Dynamic Positioning: Continuously adjust positioning based on enemy movements, ability usage, and threat changes. Maintain optimal spacing while adapting to combat flow.
Ability Cycling: Rotate through ability cooldowns efficiently, maximizing damage output while maintaining defensive capabilities.
Target Switching: Adapt target priority based on accessibility changes, health states, and positioning shifts throughout the fight.
Resolution Phase (8+ seconds)
The resolution phase determines fight outcomes through cleanup, disengagement, or objective securing.
Cleanup Execution: Pursue low-health enemies efficiently while avoiding overextension into enemy reinforcements or defensive positions.
Disengagement Timing: Recognize when fights turn unfavorable and disengage before suffering additional losses. Preserve resources for future engagements.
Objective Transition: Convert successful team fights into objective advantages—push for turrets, secure neutral objectives, or establish map control.