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Spacing is standing one step outside the longest range an enemy can hurt you from, then stepping in only to fire and out again. Knowing each enemy's threat range lets you make them waste their key spells without ever being hit.
What it is
Every enemy has a threat range: the distance at which they can damage or lock you down. It is not only their auto-attack range. It is the longest of their basic attack, their skillshots, and the reach of any dash or leap that ends in crowd control. A melee support whose sword flies out and then pulls them to the last champion hit threatens far more than their auto range suggests.
Ranges are measured in different ways. Basic attacks use edge range, from the edge of one champion's hitbox to the edge of the other's. Skillshots usually measure from the source's centre to the target's edge. So the circle you see around your champion is not the whole story when you compare yourself against an enemy ability.
The goal is a trade where you spend nothing and they spend something. You stay a step outside their reach until a key spell has been thrown and has missed, then you move in and hit them while that spell is on cooldown. This is why a bot lane player is never standing at a random distance: you should always know which spell you are keeping out of range of, and what it takes to make it miss.
How to do it
- Read the enemy kit before the game starts
On the loading screen and at the first level-up, note for each enemy champion their auto range, their longest skillshot, and any dash, hook or leap that sets up a lock. Rank them by what kills you: the engage tool matters more than their poke.
- Turn on your own range indicator
The Show Attack Range option in Settings displays your range when you use attack-move. Use it in lane to see exactly where your shots stop, then compare it to the enemy's range from memory. Learning where your edge is stops you from drifting forward by accident.
- Stand one step outside their trigger
Find the distance at which their engage would just fall short, then hold it. For a skillshot, stay out of its reach or keep a minion on the line. For a dash into a stun, stay beyond the dash plus the follow-up range. Be exact: a few units forward is the difference between a missed hook and a lost trade.
- Fire from the edge, then step out
When your range is longer, hit them at the very edge of it and use the move click straight after the shot so you leave their reach before their next action. Do not stand deeper than you need to in order to land the auto, because every extra step hands a shorter-range champion a free trade.
- Count stacks and windows
Some threats are about time, not distance. Vayne's Silver Bolts proc on the third stack, which lasts 3.5 seconds and refreshes, so after her second hit you back out of range rather than take the third. Treat every stack, charge or windup as a clock you can read.
- Step in when the key spell is gone
Once the engage has been thrown and missed, or has gone on cooldown, the threat range collapses to their auto range. That is your window: move up, trade, and return to the edge. Watch for Flash as well, and in practice keep slightly more distance until the summoner spell is used.
Watch it
What to watch for: Covers maintaining distance and weaving auto-attacks into laning-phase trades; watch how the distance is held between hits.
Video: How Korean Pros Use Spacing To Never Get Hit — Xpecial
Common mistakes
- You treat auto-attack range as the only range. A dash or hook reaches further, so you get caught while standing outside their autos. Count the skillshot or dash plus its follow-up.
- You stand at the same distance whatever the matchup. Against a long-range poke champion you should be further back, and against a short-range one you can be closer. Re-check the distance each matchup.
- You walk forward to hit a minion and end up inside their engage range. Take the last hit from where you are and let the wave come to you.
- You stay at max range even after their key spell is down. Spacing is about making them waste the spell. Once it is gone, step in and trade.
- You forget stacks and cooldowns. Without counting hits or watching the cooldown, you give up the space you earned on the third auto.
Practice drill
- In a custom game against a bot with a dash, hook or leap, note the exact distance at which it fails to reach you. Hold that spot for a full wave without taking damage, while still last-hitting.
- In the Practice Tool with an enemy dummy, turn on Show Attack Range and alternate: hit from the edge of your range, step out, repeat. Success is thirty seconds of hits with no step inside the dummy's range.