Regardless of which champion they are piloting inLeague of Legends, every player heads into the game with two summoner spells that they have selected. Unless the player is running the niche Unsealed Spellbook rune, then these cannot be changed throughout the course of the game, meaning it is crucial to understand how each of the nine summoner spells works.
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Summoner spells inLeague of Legendshave their own unique cooldowns that can only be reduced by taking the Cosmic Insight rune or by purchasing Ionian Boots of Lucidity. The strength of some of the summoner spells also increases as players level up in-game. A few summoner spells such as Smite and Teleport also transform during the game, and understanding these changes is key.
9Flash
Flash is arguably the most important summoner spell inLeague of Legendsas it allows players to blink a short distance in any direction. While some super mobile champions don’t need Flash, most champions rely both on its safety and play-making potential. Defensively, players can Flash away from enemies, even over walls, or they can Flash to dodge incoming deadly skill shots.
Flash can also be used aggressively to close the gap on enemies, to surprise them, or to pull off unique combos, like Lee Sin’s famous Kick-Flash insec. Due to its power, Flash has a long cooldown of 300 seconds and a moreadvanced tip forLoLis to time the enemy’s use of Flash and then take advantage of them while there are vulnerable.
8Heal
The summoner spell Heal not only heals the player and an ally but also provides them both with a burst of movement speed. The fact that Heal can be used on allies means that is most commonly utilizedin the bot lane.
However, duo laners should avoid both taking Heal as the heal isn’t as effective on champions who have recently benefited from Heal. Sometimes Heal can be primarily used for its movement speed in situations where players need to escape or chase down a kill. This should only be done when necessary as Heal has a 240-second cooldown. The power of the heal scales with levels.
7Barrier
Barrier is one of the easiest summoner spells to understand inLeagueas it simply provides the player with a shield that lasts 2 seconds. The strength of the shield scales with levels and its relatively short cooldown of 180 seconds means it can be used more often than most other summoner spells.
Barrier is ideal for squishy champions who want to avoid being burst down, and it can also be great for baiting enemies if used at the last possible moment.
6Ignite
Ignite is an offensive summoner spell that deals true damage to an enemy over the course of 5 seconds. It also provides sight of the target and inflicts Grievous Wounds, meaning any incoming heals will be reduced.
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Ignite is often picked bychampions who want to win earlyand snowball their leads. Its short cooldown of 180 seconds also means it can be used liberally. One important thing to note, however, is that it will not stack on top of another Ignite, so make sure to avoid Igniting the same target if an ally also takes Ignite.
5Exhaust
Exhaust not only slows a target by 30% for 3 seconds but also reduces their damage dealt by 35%, making it an ideal summoner spell to take against strong DPS threats who want to commit to fights. Sometimes the slow can purely be used to chase down low-health opponents.
Often it will be taken by aSupport or bot lane carryand used primarily on the enemy ADC. Exhaust can be used in other roles, especially Mid, but its main strength comes in teamfights where a well-timed Exhaust can be game-changing.
4Ghost
By using the summoner spell Ghost, players will gain 24% - 48% movement speed for 10 seconds based on their level, and will also ignore unit collision. If players are able to take down an enemy while Ghost is active, its duration will be extended by 4 - 7 seconds.
While Ghost can be used to escape, the fact that it resets with kills means that is best used aggressively in skirmishes and teamfights. It has a cooldown of 240 seconds.
3Teleport
For the first 10 minutes of the game, players can use Teleport to teleport to an allied turret after a 4-second channel. It has an extremely long cooldown of 360 seconds, but after 10 minutes it transforms into Unleashed Teleport, allowing the player to teleport to allied minions and wards as well as turrets. Unleashed Teleport has a 330 - 240 second cooldown based on level.
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In the early stages of the game, Teleport is often used to get back to lane after dying or taking a base, but as the game progresses and players have Unleashed Teleport at their disposal they can look to create flanks or outmaneuver the enemy on the map.Teleport is often taken by Top Lanerswho can split push and then TP to teamfights and objectives, but Mid Laners and some Bot Laners can also utilize it.
2Cleanse
Cleanse removes most crowd control and also alleviates the player of any enemy summoner spell debuffs such as Ignite. It also provides the player with 65% tenacity for 3 seconds, meaning any follow-up CC isn’t as effective. However, Cleanse does not remove suppression such as Malzahar’s ult, for which players will need to purchase a Quicksilver Sash.
Cleanse has a cooldown of 210 seconds and is usually taken by squishy carries going up against hard CC, which would otherwise mean their demise. This summoner spell is best utilized byskilled individuals such as pro players, who have the reaction speed to quickly react to CC.
1Smite
Smite is arguably the most unique summoner spell inLeague of Legendsand not only do Junglers rely on it, but they must understand it fullyto succeed in the Jungle. First of all, Smite is required for purchasing a Jungle item at the start of the game, which in turn will enable them to receive the proper benefits from killing Jungle monsters. Basic Smite deals 600 true damage to monsters, minions, and pets, and is upgraded to Unleashed Smite after feeding a jungle pet 20 treats.
Unleashed Smite instead deals 900 true damage to these targets, but can also be used on enemy champions for a much smaller amount of damage that slows. After an additional 20 treats have been fed, this will then become Primal Smite, which deals 1200 true damage to monsters, minions, and pets. Smite should be used while clearing the jungle and can be used in combat, but it is crucial that Junglers have it available for big objectives like Dragon and Baron where the true damage is used to secure them. Every version of Smite has a cooldown of 15 seconds but can have 2 charges with a recharge time of 90 seconds.
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