Ultimates are usually the strongest ability a champion has, and many fights are won by the team with more of them ready. Know which enemy ultimates can change a fight, notice when they are used, and tell your team. Fight when the enemy's key ultimates are down and yours are up, and play safe when the opposite is true.
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Which ultimates to track
You don't need to track all ten. Start with the ones that decide fights: big engages that hit several players, ultimates that deal huge damage, ultimates that save an ally, and global ultimates that let a champion join a fight from far away, such as Twisted Fate, Shen or Karthus.
Look at the enemy team during loading and pick the one or two ultimates you are most afraid of. Those are the ones to watch all game.
How to keep track
Your own team is easier: the champion portraits show when a teammate's ultimate is ready. For the enemy, you have to notice when they use it. When you see a key ultimate go off, note the game time and tell your team in chat or with a ping.
Ultimate cooldowns are long, but they get shorter with ability ranks and ability haste. Treat your timer as an estimate and play safer as it gets close.
Fight when their ultimates are down
The best time to force a fight or take an objective is right after the enemy used an important ultimate, for example after their engage missed or their carry used a defensive ultimate in a small skirmish.
In lane, an enemy who just used their ultimate is much weaker for a while. That is a good moment to trade, call your jungler, or push and take plates.
Play safe when their ultimates are up
When an enemy global ultimate is ready, a fight anywhere on the map can get one more enemy. When an enemy engage ultimate is ready, avoid standing grouped in narrow spaces like the jungle and river.
At level 6, assume every enemy has their ultimate. Many early deaths happen in the first minute after level 6, when the player forgot the enemy can now do much more damage.
Don't waste your own ultimate
Using your ultimate to finish one low-health enemy, or on a minor target, can leave your team without it for the next big fight. Ask what the ultimate gets you and what fight is coming next.
If the next dragon or Baron is close, it is often better to hold the ultimate and arrive at the objective with it ready.
Find the fights decided by ultimates
In a replay, pick the fights you lost and check which ultimates each team had. Often the fight was lost before it started, because the enemy had their key ultimates and your team did not.
Then find a moment where the enemy used a key ultimate and your team did nothing. That window is the habit to build.
Practice reading the fight before it starts
Tracking ultimates is one of the 51 patterns on the MOBA Trainer Pattern Map. MOBA Trainer turns real game situations into puzzles: you see the map, choose what to do, and then learn why the best players choose differently. The pattern has a video explanation and training puzzles made by top players and coaches, so you can practice the decision in a few minutes a day, outside of ranked games.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I know if the enemy ultimate is on cooldown?
- Notice when they use it and note the game time. Ultimate cooldowns are long, so if you saw it used recently, it is very likely still down. Tell your team in chat so they know too.
- Which ultimates should I track in League?
- Start with the ones that decide fights: engages that hit several players, high damage ultimates, ultimates that save an ally, and global ultimates like Twisted Fate, Shen or Karthus.
- Should I use my ultimate to get a kill?
- Only if the kill gets your team something, like an objective or a shutdown, and no bigger fight is coming soon. Otherwise holding it often wins the next fight.
- How can I practice tracking ultimates?
- Review lost fights and check which ultimates each team had. MOBA Trainer has a Tracking ultimates pattern with a video explanation and puzzles built from real game situations.
- Is MOBA Trainer free?
- The daily puzzle and the first lesson are free. The full campaign with every pattern is part of the Season Pass. MOBA Trainer runs on Windows, macOS, iPhone and Android, in the web app, and in Discord through the Moti bot.