Over the years, League of Legends players have come up with various different methods and strategies for it, some of which we doubt even Riot Games could have imagined. Of course, seeing as how wave management is a core part of the game, there are a lot of strategies related to that as well, and one of the most useful ones is called freezing, but not everyone knows how to permanently freeze a lane.
To permanently freeze a lane, you have to ensure both your and the enemy minion waves don't go too close to either of the two towers. This is done by matching the damage output the enemy champion in your lane deals to your minions. If both champions deal the same or similar damage to each other's waves, then the lane will be frozen.
We'll be going through everything you need to know about freezing your lane, including why players (especially high level players) do this, as well as how to do it for yourself.
Why Freeze The Lane
Freezing the lane means exactly what it sounds like. Making it so neither your minion wave nor your enemy's wave is able to get too close to either of the towers. This has many advantages to it and can be used both offensively and defensively, although most players tend to use it defensively.
Defensive Advantages
Say, for example, you know a gank from the enemy jungle is coming. If you freeze the lane then position yourself close to the tower, then the only options the jungler would have will be either to run away or risk it all by tower diving you, something that when countered properly, can very easily be shifted to your favor.
Additionally, if you feel like you're underleveled when compared to the champion in front of you, then it's possible to freeze the lane in a position where you're able to successfully deny any farm to the enemy. Since you essentially create a 'safe zone', neither you nor the enemy will be able to push the tower without having to tower dive, so you'll be able to farm to your heart's content.
Offensive Advantages
Even though players mostly freeze lanes as a defensive strategy, that isn't to say there aren't any offensive advantages to it either. For example, if you freeze the lane closer to your tower, then the enemy champion will have to venture closer to your area and further from their own tower. In this scenario, if you're able to cooperate with either your jungle or any other teammate, then the enemy can very easily be taken out with a properly done gank.
Just like this, if you're playing a marksman champion, and the enemy in front of you is a melee champion, then you'll be able to put the enemy in a dilemma. If they try to farm minions, then you'll be able to get some cheeky poke shots in, effectively lowering their health. However, if they don't farm and instead wait it out, then they won't be able to get the necessary gold to be useful in the match while you'll continue to get stronger.
Basically, the trick is to properly determine when you should freeze the lane and when you should allow it to push the enemy tower. Several factors decide what the best step to take is.
How to Freeze the Lane
Now that you know the advantages to freezing a lane, let us go through how you can do it in the first place. It's pretty straight forward, honestly:
- First, determine the specific spot where you want the minion waves to be frozen, as you'll have to manipulate the waves to reach that spot first.
- Then, when the minions are in that general area, what you want to do is wait until some of your minons are dead so the enemy wave is bigger than yours.
- After that is achieved, take out the enemy melee minions first.
- Now, you want to ensure that your minions don't end up killing the remaining enemy caster minions, at least until the next wave spawns and reaches that area.
- At this point, the enemy wave should most likely be bigger than your wave, so continue to manipulate the minions in a way that neither wave is ever completely obliterated, all the while ensuring you're able to get in as many last hits as possible.
As mentioned above, however, don't continue to freeze the lane indefinitely, as you'll eventually have to push or pull back depending on the circumstances.
There are multiple variations to freezing the lane. For example, some players prefer tanking some damage from the enemy caster minions until the next wave comes around. However, this is risky, as if the enemy champion chooses to push you while you're already taking damage then that might spell trouble for you.
How to Perma Freeze Lane
Perma freezing, or permanent freezing, is pretty much the same as freezing, but it means to freeze the lane for a long period of time. Just continue keeping the lane frozen and you'll be perma freezing it.
This is mostly done so the player freezing the lane can farm enough gold and xp to combat the enemy champion, who's usually initially stronger. For example, if you pick an Ash top, and you're up against a Garen, then freezing the lane and farming will be the best course of action as directly combating the Garen when you're both low or equally leveled in the early game will almost always result in you losing.
Learning How to Properly Freeze Lane
As with any other gameplay mechanic or strategy, the best way to perfect lane freezing is by practicing it as much as possible. However, if you want to get it down even quicker, then it's possible to hire a professional LoL coach from Eloking to show you the ropes, allowing you to get the basics down even quicker.
This has the added benefit of allowing you to better determine which variation of lane freezing is the best one for you. If you want to learn more about this, then here's everything you need to know about Eloking League of Legends coaching.
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