To ping in League of Legends, hold Alt or Ctrl and left-click the map (or anywhere in the world) to open the ping wheel, then drag in the direction of the ping you want and release. You can also tap G for a quick Generic ping or V for a Caution ping without opening the wheel.
The current ping wheel has eight smart pings: Retreat, Push, On My Way, All-In, Assist Me, Need Vision, Enemy Missing, and Enemy Vision. This guide covers every ping, the exact keybind direction, what each one looks like in the world and on the minimap, and when to use it. If you're looking for your network latency (the other meaning of "ping"), see how to show your ping in LoL instead. New to terms like "shove," "deep ward," or "rotate"? The League of Legends terminology guide explains the macro vocabulary referenced below.
The 8 Smart Pings on the Ping Wheel
Hold Alt, Ctrl, G, or V and left-click on the map or terrain. The wheel opens at your cursor. Drag in the direction of the ping you want, then release. Right-click to cancel without sending.
Every ping plays an audio cue and shows up on both the world (where you clicked) and the minimap, so allies see it whether they're looking at the action or scanning the map.
Fast-pinging tip: hold the modifier (G, V, Alt, or Ctrl) and left-click, then flick the mouse in the direction of the ping and release. Keep the modifier held the whole time and you can chain pings by re-clicking and flicking. This is how high-elo players send three or four pings in the time most players send one.
Retreat Ping (Drag Up)
Use the Retreat ping when an ally is overextending into danger or when a fight is lost. It puts a flashing red triangle on the map and the world. This was previously called "Danger" before the patch 13.1 ping overhaul in January 2023, so older guides may use the old name.
Push Ping (Drag Up-Right)
Push tells an ally to shove the lane or wave. Use it when you can see a wave they should crash, when their opponent has just recalled, or when you want them to pressure a turret instead of rotating.
On My Way Ping (Drag Right)
On My Way signals you're heading to a specific location. The classic uses are calling a gank, rotating to a fight, or telling your ADC you're coming bot for an objective. The ping fades after a few seconds, so re-ping if your path changes.
All-In Ping (Drag Down-Right)
All-In calls for the team to commit to a fight or objective. Use it when you've burned a key enemy summoner spell, when you have ult and they don't, or to start a vote on a Drake or Baron (see Objective Voting below).
Assist Me Ping (Drag Down)
Assist Me is the dedicated "I need help here" call. The chat reads [Your Name] is asking for assistance. Use it when you're being dove, when you've spotted a gank setup, or when you need a jungler to come secure a kill that's about to escape. It is the correct ping for asking for help, not the Retreat or Caution ping.
Need Vision Ping (Drag Down-Left)
Need Vision asks an ally to ward a specific spot. Most commonly used by the jungler asking the support to deep ward, or by mid asking a side laner to drop a control ward in a river bush before an objective.
Enemy Missing Ping (Drag Left)
Enemy Missing warns the team that your lane opponent has disappeared. The chat shows a question mark and the ping shows as a yellow "?" on the map. Use it the moment you lose sight of an enemy, especially mid lane where roams are fast. There is no penalty for over-using this ping within reason, but you can be muted if you spam it.
Enemy Vision Ping (Drag Up-Left)
Enemy Vision calls out an enemy ward you've spotted. Use it before stepping into a bush you suspect is warded or when you've sweepered a control ward and want the team to know that area is now blind to the enemy.
Generic and Caution Pings (G and V)
The two regular pings don't open a wheel. They drop the moment you press the key.
- Generic ping (G or Alt + LMB): blue diamond. Use it as a general "look here" call. Pinging an enemy unit signals teammates to focus that target. Pinging an allied turret signals defend. Pinging the map is a quick "look at this spot."
- Caution ping (V or Ctrl + LMB): yellow no-entry circle. Use it to tell allies "do not engage" or "back off this spot." Pinging an enemy with Caution signals avoid them. Pinging an ally with Caution signals retreat away from them.
How to Ping Cooldowns and UI Elements
The ping wheel covers map and terrain communication. To share an ability cooldown, summoner spell timer, or item charge, you use a separate mechanic called UI pings: hold Ctrl or Alt and left-click the icon directly. The chat broadcasts the cooldown remaining or "Ready" status to your team.
The same Ctrl or Alt + click works on:
- Ability icons (Q, W, E, R) in your skill bar
- Summoner spell icons (most commonly used to ping your Flash cooldown)
- Item slots
- Your health and mana bars
- Your gold display
- Epic monster icons (Baron, Drake, Rift Herald) for spawn timers
- Buff monster icons (Red, Blue) for spawn timers
- The server latency display, to share your network ping with the team
You can also click an ally's or enemy's icon in the Tab scoreboard to ping their cooldowns directly, no modifier needed. For the full breakdown including how ally and enemy scoreboard pings differ, see how to ping cooldowns in LoL.
Objective Voting
Pinging a major objective like Baron Nashor, a Drake, or Rift Herald initiates a team vote. Each ally sees a TAKE or GIVE prompt, and the team's responses surface as a count, which is how five-player teams get on the same page during the 30-second windows when objectives matter.
If the objective hasn't spawned yet, you may need to use the All-In ping at the objective's pit instead, since you can't directly ping an empty objective. The wheel and the ping system together replace the typing you'd otherwise need to do during high-pressure plays.
Ping Limits, Mute, and Penalties
The ping system uses two separate cooldowns:
- Per-type cooldown: Generic and Enemy Missing pings are limited to 3 uses per 6 seconds each. Exceed it and the client shows "You must wait before issuing more pings of that type."
- Global cooldown: a separate, brief shared cooldown that applies across ping types. The per-type limit kicks in first when you spam one ping; the global limit is what stops rapid-fire mixed pings.
Teammates can also mute your pings individually from the Tab scoreboard by clicking the speaker icon next to your name. Muted pings still send to other teammates; only the muting player stops seeing them.
Excessive pinging is not directly bannable. Riot's penalty system targets reported abusive behavior such as toxicity in chat or intentional griefing. If a teammate finds your pings annoying, the mute system handles it without escalation. Repeated reports for harassment that include ping spam can contribute to chat or full-account restrictions, but raw ping count alone is not a triggering condition.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I rebind pings in LoL?
Open the in-game Settings (Esc), go to Hotkeys > Communication, and rebind any of the smart ping shortcuts (Generic, Caution, On My Way, Assist Me, Enemy Missing, Push, All-In, Need Vision, Retreat, Enemy Vision) to the keys you prefer. The default keybinds in this guide assume an unmodified setup.
Why can't I ping?
If pings aren't going through, the most common causes are: you've hit the per-type rate limit (wait a few seconds), a teammate has muted your pings (this only affects what they see), or your hotkey has been rebound. Check Settings > Hotkeys > Communication to confirm your keys.
What was the old 4-ping system?
Before patch 13.1 in January 2023, the ping wheel had only four directions: Danger (renamed to Retreat), On My Way, Assist Me, and Enemy Missing. Riot expanded it to eight pings to cover communication scenarios that previously required typing. Older guides describing a 4-ping wheel are outdated.
