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Skillshot threading is choosing the moment to throw your key crowd control so that the target's escape is already gone, or can no longer help. A hook or stun that lands decides a fight; one thrown into a ready dash, wall or shield is simply a missed cooldown.
What it is
Every champion has a handful of answers to a skillshot: a dash, a blink, a projectile-blocking wall, a spell shield, a moment of untargetability, or the summoner spell Flash. While one of those is ready, your best crowd control is easy to waste. Threading is the habit of finding out which answer the enemy has, making them use it, and only then committing your real ability.
There are three ways to do it. First, bait: throw a cheap spell, a poke or a basic ability, so that they spend the wall, shield or dash on it. Yasuo's Wind Wall destroys hostile projectiles for four seconds, and Sivir's and Nocturne's spell shields last 1.5 seconds, so your important ability should follow the cheap one, not come first. Second, wait: some escapes cannot be used again for a while. Ahri's Spirit Rush gives three dashes inside fifteen seconds, and Gangplank's Remove Scurvy cleanses crowd control, so a stun into either is wasted until they have burned it. Third, catch them in the act. A few dashes, including Yasuo's Sweeping Blade, are interrupted by immobilising and polymorph effects, and knockdown or airborne effects interrupt most dashes. A root or stun landed in the middle of such a dash stops it where you want.
The other half of threading is information. If they cannot see you coming, they cannot react, so casting from Fog of War or from a bush shortens the time they have to dodge. Both halves serve one goal: the enemy never gets a free answer.
How to do it
- List the target's answers before the fight
Look at the enemy champion and note what they can use against a skillshot: dash, wall, shield, untargetable moment, cleanse. Then look at the scoreboard to see whether Flash is up. Do this before you walk into range, so you know what must be spent first.
- Open with a cheap ability to draw the answer out
Throw a poke, a basic skillshot or a minion-hitting spell in their direction. If a wall appears or a shield flashes, you have learned that it is down for its duration and cooldown. Keep your key hook, stun or root on its cooldown meanwhile, rather than firing it immediately.
- Throw the key ability just after the answer is spent
When the wall has fallen, the shield has expired or the dash has been used, throw. For shields that last under two seconds, count to two. For a dash with several charges, wait until the charges are gone. In practice, most players commit as soon as they see the effect on the cheap spell, which is exactly when the shield is still up, so wait a beat after it.
- Catch dashes mid-motion
Against a champion who is known to dash into you, hold your crowd control and aim it at the point the dash must cross. If the dash is one of the few that immobilising effects interrupt, such as Yasuo's, an immobilise during it knocks the dasher down, and their engage ends. If it is not, a knockdown or airborne ability still stops it. Do not use it at range, where the dash has not started.
- Track Flash and throw into its absence
Flash cannot be cast while rooted or grounded, but it can dodge a stun that has not landed. If Flash is up, a pull or hook is a gamble. If it was used recently, you know the next hook or snare will not be flashed away. Prefer the moment their Flash is down.
- Cut their reaction time with the fog and bushes
When you can, cast from fog or a bush. An ability they cannot see coming gives them only the travel time of the missile to react, and nothing from your animation. Take the shot when your line to the target is clean, not when a minion is in the way.
Watch it
What to watch for: From 19:09 the video covers holding hooks and being patient, followed by bait hooks. The earlier section from 5:13 covers flashing and dashing targets.
Video: How to Hit '100%' of Your Thresh Hooks, and Other Skillshot Tips — CryoBeats
Common mistakes
- You open with your best ability the moment you are in range. It lands on a wall or shield. Throw something cheap first.
- You wait forever and never throw. Holding is only worth it until the answer is gone. When it is, commit.
- You throw at a champion with several dashes after only one has been used. Count the charges before you fire.
- You hold crowd control for a dash that never comes because you are standing too far away. Stay at a range where the dash is still a good idea for them.
- You forget the summoner spell. A perfect read on dash and wall is still dodged by Flash. Check the scoreboard.
Practice drill
- In your next lane matchup, write down on a piece of paper the enemy's dash, wall or shield before minute two. Throw a cheap ability first every time they have a wall or shield, and count how often the key ability then lands.
- In a custom game against a bot with a dash, use the Practice Tool or the bot to test your timing: wait until the dash is used before throwing, then try it mid-dash, and compare how often each lands.