To ping a cooldown in League of Legends, hold Ctrl or Alt and left-click the icon you want to ping: an ability in your skill bar (Q, W, E, R), a summoner spell, or an item slot. The cooldown remaining or "Ready" status is broadcast to your team chat instantly.
This is a UI ping, which is separate from the smart ping wheel you open with G or V. The wheel sends directional callouts on the map (Retreat, Push, On My Way, and so on). UI pings share the live status of icons on your HUD: cooldowns, mana, gold, objective timers. This guide covers both, with a focus on cooldown communication. If you came looking for network latency, see how to show your ping in LoL instead.
How to Ping Your Own Ability Cooldown
Hold Ctrl or Alt, then left-click the ability icon (Q, W, E, R, or your passive) in your skill bar. The chat message format is:
[Your Name (Champion)]: [Ability] - [(Ready) / (Cooldown remaining) / (X Charges)]
For example, hovering over your R and Alt-clicking it shows your team something like Faker (Ahri): R - 12s or Faker (Ahri): R - Ready. The same modifier works whether you hold Ctrl or Alt, so use whichever is more comfortable.
Pinging your ult before a fight is the highest-value use of this. It tells your team in one click whether you can engage, whether they need to wait, or how long until you can follow up.
Ping Summoner Spells, Items, and Other UI Elements
The same Ctrl or Alt + left-click works on every interactive icon on your HUD. Pinging your Flash cooldown is the most common use after pinging your ult.
| UI element | What gets shared |
|---|---|
| Summoner spell icon | Spell name and cooldown remaining (or charges) |
| Item slot | Item name and cooldown or charges |
| Health bar | Current HP and percentage |
| Mana bar | Current mana and percentage |
| Gold display | Current gold amount |
| Champion level / XP bar | Percentage to next level |
| Epic monster icon (Baron, Dragon, Herald) | Alive or "Spawning in X:XX" |
| Buff monster icon (Red, Blue) | Alive or spawn timer |
| Server latency display | Your network ping in ms |
Ping a Teammate or Enemy Cooldown from the Scoreboard
Open the scoreboard with Tab, then click an ally's or enemy's icon directly. Scoreboard icons do not need a modifier key; clicking is enough.
Ally cooldowns: Click their ability, summoner spell, or item icon. By default these pings are visible only to your premade party (prefixed [Party]). They become visible to the entire team in two cases: when the cooldown is in its last 50%, or within 10 seconds after any ally scores a champion takedown or epic monster.
Enemy cooldowns: Click an enemy's ultimate indicator and chat shows [Enemy Champion] - R. You don't see the exact timer because exact enemy cooldowns aren't visible to you either. If you have sight of an enemy casting their ultimate or summoner spell, clicking the icon within 15 seconds of the cast broadcasts [Enemy Champion] used [Spell], which is how you confirm a Flash or Teleport burn for the team.
The 8 Smart Pings on the Ping Wheel
The ping wheel is a separate system for map callouts. Hold Alt, Ctrl, G, or V + left-click on the map (or anywhere in the world), then drag in the direction of the ping you want and release.
| Direction | Ping | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Center (no drag) | Caution | Generic warning at this location |
| North | Retreat (formerly Danger) | Back off, threat incoming |
| Northeast | Push | Shove this lane or wave |
| East | On My Way | Heading to this spot |
| Southeast | All-In | Commit to the fight |
| South | Assist Me | I need help here |
| Southwest | Need Vision | Ward this |
| West | Enemy Missing | Lane opponent isn't here |
| Northwest | Enemy Vision | Enemy ward spotted |
This 8-ping wheel replaced the older 4-ping system in patch 13.1 (January 2023). If a guide tells you the wheel only has Danger, On My Way, Assist Me, and Enemy Missing, it's describing the pre-2023 client.
For more on each ping and how to rebind them, see our general ping guide.
Ping Spam Limits and Penalties
Generic and Enemy Missing pings are rate-limited to 3 uses per 6 seconds. Exceed that and you'll see "You must wait before issuing more pings of that type." This is a per-type cooldown that's separate from the global ping cooldown.
Excessive pinging on its own is not bannable. Riot's penalty system (warnings, chat restrictions, temporary or permanent bans) targets reported abusive behavior, not raw ping count. Teammates can also mute your pings individually from the scoreboard, which usually solves the problem before it ever reaches a report.
The practical takeaway: ping deliberately. A well-timed cooldown ping is worth more to your team than ten map pings spammed during a death.
