Bruce Dias 
The evolution of our beloved game abandoned the old times when mechanical skills and reflexes were enough for you to carry a game. As the League developed over the years, the game started rewarding teams that cooperated well and secured neutral objectives on the map.
No matter your current rank or skill level, securing Baron and Dragon should be one of your priorities as obtaining them increases the raw power level of your team. That being said, playing well in these situations is a difficult task that requires an advanced understanding of the game’s macro
Vision control
Ward placement
This positive habit is a collaborative effort that the entire team must participate in, as every champion needs to frequently use their trinket when available. By placing wards in key positions that provide the most vision in these locations, you will be aware of the opponent’s position before the fight kicks off.
Control Wards are also very effective in these areas as they provide permanent vision, often completely uninterrupted until the objectives spawn. It’s also recommended that at least one champion on the team has a farsight trinket at all times that can be used to see the opposing team starting an objective from the distance.
Last but not least, it’s important to ward off the jungle entrances that lead to an objective right before it spawns, allowing you to get a strategic advantage over the opponents.
Sweeping
Since vision is such an important factor when it comes to securing objectives, it should come as no surprise that removing the opponents’ vision is equally important.
When preparing for an objective, every team needs to have at least one champion that has a sweeper equipped or a few control wards in an inventory. When you arrive at an objective before it spawns, it’s always a good idea to sweep the territory in order to clean any leftover wards.
In addition, you should pay attention to your sweeper’s cooldown and the presence of enemy control wards potentially shutting down your vision.
Teamplay
Objective timing and positioning
Positioning before an objective spawns is one of the main factors that determines who wins it in the end. It’s extremely crippling when someone is on the wrong side of the map when the objective is spawning.
Being aware of the objective’s spawn timer at all times is essential when it comes to this, as you should never be late for the start of the fight in these situations. By constantly tabbing and checking for objective timers, you will significantly increase your odds of winning.
Recall timing and cooldown management
Timing recalls is a very important concept to understand as well, as you need to recall on time in order to make the purchase and return. In addition, it’s crucial to load up on gold and purchase big items that could swing the favor in these big fights.
There are also other things you should consider before fighting on an objective, such as your cooldowns. If you’re fighting in a skirmish somewhere on the map, you should try to preserve your ultimate if an objective is about to spawn soon after.
On top of that, managing cooldowns of your active items and wards is also essential since you want to be as powerful as possible before contesting an objective.
Communication, cooldowns, and coordination
It’s important that all of the players are on the same page when the objectives are about to spawn and that everyone has the same intentions. What this means is that the players on your team want to contest the objective or trade it for something else on the map.
In addition, everyone should use pings and messages in order to declare the route they’re taking since it’s important to be grouped up and on the same page. Even in solo queue, it’s good to have somebody as a shotcaller in the team in these situations so the pings don’t get overwhelming.
However, the method of communication that stands out above the rest is voice chatting and it can be only achieved by duoing with someone and being on a voice call. Having a duo in these situations helps a lot and if you’re someone who usually plays solo you should pay a visit to duo finders like Turbo where you can hire high-level players to make it easier and more efficient.
Jungler’s duties
Jungle Control
It should come as no surprise that the jungler is very important when it comes to these objectives given that they’re inside of the jungle’s key spots.
Securing the Scuttle Crab is of crucial importance as it provides his team with movement speed and vision around the objective. This vision is non-interruptible which means that the opponents cannot sweep it or get rid of it in any way making it impossible for opponents to sneak an objective.
On top of that, the jungler should always look to kill the opposing jungler before the objectives spawn or at least try to set up vision control for the entire team.
Smiting
There are very few feelings that frustrate more than seeing your jungler ping that his Smite is on cooldown before an objective is about to spawn.
Managing Smite and paying attention to the cooldown is extremely important for any jungler as the team without Smite available is at a great disadvantage when it comes to securing objectives.
Furthermore, Smite timing is also an essential skill that a jungler needs to master because baron steals are very dangerous, especially in the late game.
Understanding the buffs
In order to get a better perspective of the importance of neutral objectives, it’s crucial to be aware of the buffs they provide and how they can boost your champion’s performance.
Baron buff
Certainly, the most important buff in League is Baron which is a complete game-changer when secured. It empowers your entire team with the Hand of Baron buff that significantly increases your damage output stats as well as provides you with an empowered recall.
That’s not all though, as the Baron also increases the power of minions that are near champions who are bestowed with the Hand of Baron. The buff is generally designed to help a team get an enormous boost with a focus on game-winning temporary stat increases.
There is a risk factor when it comes to Baron though, as you lose it when you die which allows players to counterplay it appropriately.
Dragon buffs
Upon slaying the Dragon your entire team gets the stacking Dragon Slayer buff which lasts permanently. The effects of that buff depend on the elemental of the Dragon your team slain and they can stack up to four times, empowering your team throughout the game.
These are the buffs your team receives after slaying a dragon:
- Infernal Dragon – attack damage and AP
- Hetech Dragon – ability haste
- Mountain Dragon – armor and mr
- Ocean Dragon – passive healing
- Chemtech Dragon – tenacity and shield power
- Cloud Dragon – slow resist and out-of-combat movement speed
Additionally, there’s Elder Dragon that provides you with the Aspect of the Dragon, instantly killing any enemy champions you damage that are below 20% HP as well as granting your attacks a burn effect.
It’s worth noting that if you’re continuously slaying dragons, they will get gradually stronger over time, receiving bonus damage and damage resistance for every Dragon Slayer buff your team has.
Rift Herald
Rift Herald is a buff that only spawns twice in the early-mid game after which it gets replaced by the Baron.
Unlike Dragon, Herald will often attract fewer champions on the map due to its top lane isolation and it can be often done with only 1-2 members. After this monster is slain, it drops an active buff named Eye of the Herald that can be picked up by a champion whose team slain the buff.
The Eye provides the user with empowered recall while it’s equipped, consumes a trinket slot, and can be activated to summon the powerful Rift Herald to your side. The Herald will slam the first opposing turret he encounters which will provide you with great strategic and pushing advantage.
