Trading means exchanging damage with your lane opponent so that you come out ahead in health, mana or position. Choose the kind of trade from the situation: poke when you outrange them, a short trade when they use a key ability or walk up for a last hit, and an all-in only when you have the kill and know the enemy jungler is far away. Good trades come from timing, not from hitting harder.
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1. Know the four kinds of trades
Poke is damage from range that the enemy can't answer, like an auto attack or a long-range ability when you outrange them. A short trade is a quick combo followed by walking away before they hit back. A long trade is staying in the fight for several rotations of abilities, which favours champions with sustained damage or healing. An all-in commits everything, summoner spells included, to kill.
Most lanes are a mix. The question is never "should I fight" but "which trade does my champion win right now, and which one does theirs win".
2. Trade when their key ability is down
Almost every champion has one ability that wins its trades or lets it escape. When the enemy uses it, on a minion or on you, you have a window of several seconds where they are weaker.
Watch for that ability, step in as soon as it is used, and step out before it comes back. This one habit wins more trades than any combo.
3. Use the minion wave
When you hit an enemy champion near their minions, those minions start hitting you. Early in the game that minion damage can decide a trade. Trading inside a bigger enemy wave is a quick way to lose one.
Trade when your wave is bigger, or from a spot where their minions can't reach you. When they walk up to last hit, they stand still for a moment: that is the classic time for a short trade.
4. Trade on level and item spikes
The first champion to reach level 2, level 3 or level 6 often wins the trade that follows, because they have one more ability or their ultimate. The same goes for the first completed item, or coming back from base with gold spent while the enemy has not.
Count the minions in the wave to know when you hit the next level, and trade right as you get it. If they hit it first, give them space for a moment.
5. Know when to stop
A short trade becomes a lost long trade if you stay too long. Once you have used your combo, walk back, even if the enemy is lower than you.
Turn a won trade into a kill only when you know where the enemy jungler is and you still have the damage to finish. Otherwise take what the trade gives you: a recall forced, a wave pushed, or a few free last hits.
Review your trades in replays
Pick one lane phase and watch every trade. For each one, write down who used their key ability first, whose wave was bigger, and who had more health afterwards.
Most players find that their lost trades share one cause: trading into a big wave, trading when the enemy hit a level first, or staying too long. Fix that one cause first.
Practice trading as a decision
MOBA Trainer turns real game situations into puzzles: you see the map, choose the play, and learn what the best players would do and why. Trading has its own video explanation and training puzzles on the Pattern Map, made by top players and coaches, next to the other fighting patterns.
Frequently asked questions
- What is trading in League of Legends?
- Trading is exchanging damage with your lane opponent. A good trade leaves you with more health, mana or lane control than them, even if nobody dies.
- When should I trade in lane?
- When their key ability is on cooldown, when they walk up to last hit, when your minion wave is bigger, or when you reach a level or item before them. Avoid trading into a bigger enemy wave or when the enemy jungler could be nearby.
- What is the difference between a short trade and an all-in?
- A short trade is a quick combo and then walking away before the enemy can answer. An all-in commits everything, summoner spells included, to kill. Short trades build a lead; all-ins cash it in.
- How do I trade as a melee champion against a ranged one?
- Wait for the ranged champion to walk up to last hit or to use their main poke ability, then step in, take a short trade and walk back. Taking a little poke for farm is often fine; standing in range for free poke is not.
- 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, at $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year. MOBA Trainer runs on Windows, macOS, iPhone and Android, in the web app and as the Discord bot Moti, in 12 languages.