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Flash tracking is noting the game time when an enemy uses Flash and adding its cooldown, so you know when they have no escape. Baiting is applying just enough threat to make them spend it, without spending your own ultimate or risking your life.
What it is
Summoner spells have long cooldowns, so one use changes a whole stretch of the game. Flash has a base cooldown of 300 seconds, five minutes, and Exhaust, Ghost, Heal and Cleanse at 240, with Ignite and Barrier at 180. Teleport also has a base cooldown of 300 seconds, while the top lane's quest version has a longer one. That timer is the window in which that player cannot blink away from your engage, dodge your hook or dive out of a trade.
Haste shortens those times. Cosmic Insight, Ionian Boots of Lucidity and the Howling Abyss aura give summoner spell haste, so the exact return time can be earlier than five minutes. A rune called Hextech Flashtraption swaps in Hexflash while Flash is on cooldown, and Hexflash has a 20-second cooldown, so some players never have a fully empty window. Treat your tracked time as a good estimate, not a guarantee.
Baiting is the way to make them spend it. You step in until a good player feels threatened, force a Flash or a heal, and then step back, with your own key abilities untouched. The goal is not the kill itself; it is the information and the resulting window. Once their spell is down, the engage that was too risky a minute earlier is safe.
How to do it
- Decide which enemy spells matter and when
Track Flash first, because it is the one that decides skillshots and dives, and then the spell the opposing laner will use to win a fight, such as Ignite, Heal or Exhaust. Start tracking when you can act on it: in lane, before a trade, and before objectives.
- Write the time down the moment you see it used
When an enemy uses Flash, note the game clock and add the cooldown. A quick note in chat or on paper works. Because most players have haste from a rune or boots, assume it returns a little earlier than the base five minutes, and tell your team. The scoreboard shows the enemies' spells, so look there to confirm which one was used.
- Know what you are looking for in the game
Since patch 26.04 the Flash effect at the point you cast it is visible when an enemy Flashes into your sight. If you see the blink, note the time right then. If an enemy walks out of vision and reappears in a place that is too far to walk to, they probably used it.
- Bait with a threat, not a commitment
Step to the edge of your enemy's reach, or fire a cheap ability at them, so that they feel pressed. Stay far enough back that your own escape and your ultimate are untouched. If they Flash or burn another summoner, step away and record the time.
- Never bait with your own key resources
Keep your ultimate, your main escape and your own Flash out of the bait. A good bait costs you nothing you need in the next ten seconds. If the bait fails, you should be able to walk away.
- Spend the window
Plan around the time you have written. Engage, pick a fight, or take an objective inside it, and be conservative once it closes, since the enemy's escape is back. Call the window out to your team, because it is only worth something if someone acts on it.
Watch it
What to watch for: From 3:07 the video covers how to time summoner spells, after chapters on when to track and which spells matter at 1:48. A final chapter at 7:17 covers a pro support's strategy.
Video: How to Track Summoner Spells like KERIA (PRO Guide) — Coach K
Common mistakes
- You forget to write the time down. The knowledge is lost within seconds. Make noting it automatic.
- You count exactly five minutes. Runes and boots shorten it. Assume a little earlier.
- You bait with your ultimate or your own Flash. If it fails you are the one defenceless. Use low-cost threats.
- You keep tracking after the information stopped mattering. Track only what you can act on.
- You push for the kill inside a window without checking other summoners. An enemy with Heal or a second escape can still survive. Check their other spell.
Practice drill
- In your next three games, track the enemy laner's Flash with a written note each time it is used. Success is announcing to your team when it returns.
- In lane, make one bait per wave: step to the edge of reach and back, and see whether the opponent reacts. Repeat until you can predict how they respond.