A gank is an ambush — one or more players leave their lane or jungle to create a numbers advantage in another lane and score a kill or force the enemy out of position. The term is short for "gang kill," borrowed from MMORPGs where it meant jumping someone who couldn't fight back. In League of Legends, ganking is the jungler's primary tool for influencing lanes, though mid laners and supports can gank too. A gank doesn't have to end in a kill to be worth it.
What Counts as a Successful Gank
Most players think a gank failed if nobody died. That's wrong. Ganks exist on a spectrum:
- Kill — best outcome. The enemy loses gold, XP, and lane pressure.
- Burn Flash — Flash has a 300-second cooldown. For the next 5 minutes, that laner is gankable again with no escape tool. A Flash burn often leads to a kill on the return gank.
- Burn a key ability — forcing a dash, shield, or defensive ultimate (like Zhonya's Hourglass) leaves the enemy vulnerable to your laner even after you leave.
- Force a recall — the enemy loses CS, the wave pushes into tower, and your laner gets a free back or plate.
If you burned the enemy's Flash and walked away, that gank was successful. Come back in two minutes and finish it.
When to Gank
The single biggest factor is wave position. If the enemy is pushed past the halfway point toward your laner's tower, they have a long run back to safety. If the wave is on the enemy's side, don't bother — they'll just walk under tower.
Before committing to a gank, check four things:
- Wave position — is the enemy overextended?
- Summoner spells — is Flash down? Tab to check or ask your laner. A flashless target is roughly twice as easy to kill.
- Your laner's state — do they have HP, mana, and at least one CC ability available? If your laner is at 20% HP with no mana, they can't follow up and you're walking into a 1v1.
- Enemy jungler location — if you don't know where the enemy jungler is, there's a countergank risk. If you saw them on the opposite side of the map, the gank is safer.
Don't force ganks on a timer. Farm your camps, watch the lanes, and go when the conditions line up. Wasting 30 seconds walking to a lane that isn't gankable costs you more than just staying in the jungle.
How to Execute a Gank
The most common mistake junglers make is burning their abilities too early. Here's the pattern that works:
Hold your gap closer. If you have a dash or leap (Lee Sin Q, Vi Q, Jarvan E-Q), don't open with it at max range. Walk at the target first. If they panic and Flash, you still have your gap closer to follow. If you open with the dash and they Flash, you're stuck.
Walk at them before using CC. This applies especially to skillshot CC — Amumu bandage, Elise cocoon, Sejuani ult. Closing the distance on foot before throwing makes the skillshot harder to dodge and forces the enemy to decide: do they Flash now or hold it? Either choice is good for you. If they Flash early, your CC is still available. If they hold Flash, you're close enough to land it reliably.
Make the play easier on yourself. The goal is to reduce reliance on hitting a max-range skillshot. Get close, cut off the escape route by positioning between the enemy and their tower, and then use your abilities. A point-blank Amumu Q is nearly unmissable. A max-range one from river gives them time to sidestep.
Exception: if the enemy is already all-inning your laner or diving under tower, speed matters more than patience. Use your gap closer immediately to join the fight.
Common Gank Mistakes
- Ganking a pushed lane — if the enemy is under their own tower, you're not ganking them. You're diving, and that's a different (much riskier) play.
- Walking through wards — if you cross the river through a warded bush, the enemy sees you coming and backs off. You've wasted time and shown your position. Check for wards or take alternative paths (behind dragon/baron pit, through lane bushes).
- Repeatedly ganking a losing lane — if your laner is 0/4 and two levels behind, the enemy can probably 1v2 you both. Gank the lanes that are even or winning to build advantages elsewhere.
- No objective follow-up — you got a kill bot lane. Now what? If Dragon is up, take it. If tower plates are available, push. A kill that leads to nothing but the jungler standing in lane soaking XP isn't converting the advantage.
Setting Up Ganks as a Laner
Ganking is a two-person play. If you want your jungler to gank your lane, you need to give them something to work with:
- Keep the wave on your side. Don't perma-push. A wave near your tower means the enemy is overextended and has a long run to safety.
- Save your CC. If you're Leona, don't E onto the enemy the instant your jungler appears on a ward. Wait for the jungler to engage first, then chain your CC after theirs. Layered CC is far more effective than blowing everything at once.
- Ping ward locations. If you know the river bush is warded, ping it so your jungler takes a different path. A 2-second ping saves a 30-second wasted gank.
- Follow through. When the jungler goes in, go in. Hesitating or walking away turns a 2v1 into a 1v1 and gets your jungler killed.
Ganking is one piece of getting better at League — it combines map awareness, timing, and mechanical execution. If you're learning jungle, focus on reading lane states before worrying about flashy plays. The best ganks are the ones where you show up at the right time, not the ones where you hit a max-range skillshot. For builds that help you convert those ganks into kills, LoLTheory's in-game overlay updates your item recommendations as the enemy team builds — so you spend your gold on what actually works in that game.
