How to Ping in LoL?

Pinging in League of Legends (LoL) is a vital communication tool that can significantly impact your gaming experience and team performance. By pressing the 'G' or 'V' keys and clicking on the game's map or directly in your field of vision, you can issue various alert types to your teammates, known as pings.

This guide provides comprehensive insights on how to use pings effectively in LoL, including a deeper dive into Smart Pings, their types and purposes, their use for objectives, towers, and players, and even for signalling cooldowns. By understanding and applying these techniques, you'll be well on your way to becoming a more effective and communicative LoL player.

What Are Smart Pings in League of Legends?

Smart pings in League of Legends are an enhanced form of the standard pings, offering players a more specific and efficient means of communication during gameplay. By pressing the 'G' or 'V' key and clicking and dragging the mouse in a specific direction, you can access the smart ping menu, enabling you to issue four different types of pings: 'Danger', 'On My Way', 'Assist Me', and 'Enemy Missing'.

Introduced by Riot Games in early 2013, the smart ping system revolutionized in-game communication by providing more context than the simple alert given by a standard ping. The update was warmly received by the community, as it allowed for faster, more precise communication, regardless of language barriers. It remains a key communication feature, and understanding its use is integral to mastering the game. As we delve further into this guide, we will explore the different types of smart pings, how they can be used effectively, and their impact on various aspects of gameplay.

Types of Smart Pings

In League of Legends, Smart Pings are categorized into four distinct types, each with its own purpose and corresponding ping wheel direction:

1. Danger Ping (Upward Drag): The Danger ping is utilized to warn teammates of potential threats. This could be an unseen enemy champion or a potentially risky situation in the game.
2. On My Way Ping (Rightward Drag): The On My Way ping indicates that you are moving towards a specific location. This is often used to signal your intent to assist a teammate or to engage an enemy.
3. Assist Me Ping (Downward Drag): The Assist Me ping is a call for help or backup from your teammates. It's primarily used when you're outnumbered by enemy champions or planning to secure an objective and need additional support.
4. Enemy Missing Ping (Leftward Drag): The Enemy Missing ping is used to alert your team when an enemy champion is missing from your lane, signaling that they could be headed elsewhere to aid their teammates.

League of Legends recently released new smart pings to help players better understand intentions and better explain themselves to allies. These are the ones added.

1. Push Ping: The Push Ping is used when you want to indicate to allies that you want to push the lane.
2. All-in Ping: The All-In Ping is used when the intention is to fight all together.
3. Hold Ping: The Hold Ping is used when you want to defend an objective, such as a tower or inhibitor.
4. Bait Ping: The Bait Ping is used when you want to play a scheme and deceive the enemy.

Understanding these types of smart pings in LoL and using them appropriately can significantly enhance your team's coordination and communication during gameplay. The following sections will offer tips on using these pings effectively and elaborate on their purpose.

Tips for Smart Pings

Smart pings are a powerful communication tool in League of Legends, but they need to be used effectively to maximize their potential. Here are some tips to ensure your pings are helpful and clear:

1. Be Specific: Rather than using generic pings, use smart pings to convey your message more accurately. Each type of smart ping serves a unique purpose, so use them according to the situation.
2. Don't Spam: Excessive pinging can lead to confusion and can also annoy your teammates. Keep your pings concise and relevant.
3. Timely Pings: Pinging at the right time can make a big difference. For instance, an 'Enemy Missing' ping after the enemy has already started an attack elsewhere is less useful.
4. Use Smart Pings for Objectives: Smart pings are not just for danger alerts or calling for help. Use them to coordinate attempts at major objectives like Dragon or Baron Nashor.
5. Ping for Cooldowns: You can smart ping abilities to communicate their cooldown status, helping your team plan fights better.
6. Communicate Intent: If you're planning to take a certain action like setting a trap or initiating a fight, use the 'On My Way' ping to let your team know.

Remember, effective communication via smart pings can significantly improve team coordination and increase your chances of success in the game.

What Is the Purpose of Smart Ping in LoL?

The purpose of smart pings in League of Legends is to facilitate more nuanced and effective communication among teammates. In the fast-paced gameplay of LoL, every second counts, and typing messages can be inefficient and distracting. Smart pings provide a quick, language-agnostic way of communicating important information during a match.

There are several reasons to use smart pings: to alert your team of danger, to call for assistance, to indicate your movement or strategic intentions, or to notify when an enemy champion is missing. They can also be used to coordinate actions around objectives and towers, or to share cooldown status for key abilities.

In essence, smart pings are designed to enhance teamwork and strategy execution, enabling better decision-making and potentially leading to a higher win rate. The sections that follow will further explore how to utilize smart pings effectively for various in-game elements like towers, objectives, players, and cooldowns.

How to Ping Towers and Objectives in LoL?

Pinging towers and objectives in League of Legends is as straightforward as pinging any other location on the map. Whether you're aiming for an enemy turret, signaling to capture the Dragon, or setting sights on the Baron Nashor, smart pings can significantly aid your team's communication.

To ping a tower or an objective, press the 'G' or 'V' key, then click on the tower or objective on the map. This will create a standard ping that alerts your teammates to that location.

For more context-specific communication, use smart pings. For instance, if you need assistance with a tower or objective, use the 'Assist Me' ping. If you're on your way to the tower or objective, use the 'On My Way' ping.

Keep in mind that smart use of pings on towers and objectives can influence your team's strategy and coordination, giving you the edge in matches. Read on to discover whether you should use smart pings for towers and objectives.

How to Ping Players and Cooldowns in LoL?

Pinging players and cooldowns in League of Legends is another strategic facet of the game that enhances team communication.

To ping a player, you simply press 'G' or 'V' and then click on the champion you want to ping. This could be used to indicate an enemy who is vulnerable or a teammate who needs assistance.

Pinging cooldowns provides valuable information about the status of your or enemy abilities. For instance, you might want to let your team know that your ult is ready, or that an enemy's key ability is on cooldown. To ping an ability’s cooldown, press the 'G' key and click on the ability in your hotbar. This will broadcast a message to your team about the ability’s status.

Knowing how to properly ping players and cooldowns in LoL can contribute to a well-coordinated team, improving your overall gameplay and success rate. In the next sections, we'll further discuss when it's most beneficial to use smart pings for players and cooldowns.