Backline: What is the Backline in League of Legends or Dota 2?

In the world of MOBA games like League of Legends and Dota 2, the concept of the “Backline” is a fundamental element influencing team dynamics and strategy. Whether you find yourself in the Summoner’s Rift or within the lanes of Dota 2, comprehending the role of the backline and its vulnerabilities is essential.

What is the Backline?

The backline in MOBA ^[1] games typically consists of champions or heroes responsible for dealing substantial damage. Ranged attackers, mages, or other high-damage heroes fall in this category, contributing essential firepower to team engagements. As the name suggests the backline fights from a certain range from the back of the frontline. 

Why do enemies target the backline?

The backline’s ability to eliminate opponents and secure objectives makes them integral to the success of team fights and alternatively results in team failure when compromised. 

While the backline is crucial for offensive capabilities, its vulnerability is a strategic challenge. These damage dealers are usually squishy, having lower health pools and less defense, making them a prime target for the opposing team. 

Finding the right balance between maximizing damage output and minimizing the risk of being picked off requires high skills in coordination and positioning.

How to eliminate the enemy backline?

Assassins ^[2] play a pivotal role in these MOBA games by specializing in infiltration and eliminating the backline. Armed with high burst damage and exceptional mobility, assassins aim to bypass frontline defenders and engage directly with vulnerable damage dealers. Their mission is to disrupt the enemy’s backline, swiftly eliminate key targets, and create openings for their team to gain a strategic advantage.

Even if you are not playing an Assassin, there are many other ways to compromise the enemy backline. The key element to target the backline effectively is the element of surprise. As the backline is always focused on maintaining a safe distance, players will always struggle to access the backline if they are aware of your movements. 

Therefore, players need to catch the backline with unpredictable maneuvers. These can include setting up an ambush in bushes, dashing over a wall behind the backline, assessing potential flanking positions and paths, or even baiting the squishies with low-health targets out of their safe zone. 

How to protect your backline?

Teams must deploy diverse strategies to counter threats like assassins, targeting the backline. Support characters, crowd control abilities, and strategic positioning become vital tools in safeguarding damage dealers. Maintaining vision control and map awareness is also critical to anticipate and respond to potential assassin threats effectively.

The main role of the support characters is to ensure the survival of their damage-dealing carries. Supports are either tanky, that peel the incoming damage instead of their carries, or enchanting, that provide utility like shields, movement buffs, or healing to sustain the carries.

References

1. [1] "MOBA Wikipedia page". en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved August 06, 2024
2. [2] "Assassins page". leagueoflegends.fandom.com. Retrieved August 06, 2024