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Lanes are the main paths that minions follow toward the enemy Nexus. Minions of both teams meet each other within these lanes to fight for push over them. Along each lane, there are turrets set in place to fortify against sieges from the enemy team and repel any of their advances.
Control of a lane is the key component for gameplay in League of Legends; it represents a team's advantage over the opposing team through the minion push.
Summoner's Rift is the premier map for 
Classic 5v5, to which the design of other maps in this game mode can be extrapolated from.
Summoner's Rift[]
Lanes in Summoner's Rift
Summoner's Rift has three lanes each defended by three turrets (Outer, Inner, Inhibitor; or Tier 1, 2, and 3). Each adjacent lane is connected from different passages through the Jungle or by the river that runs diagonally through the map.
League of Legends has a fixed camera orientation, so the lanes are referred to by their perceived height (Top, Middle, Bot).
Positions[]
Each lane on Summoner's Rift provides an income of gold and experience for champions by killing enemy minions.
Champions are assigned roles to take on the various lanes on the map, known as their lane position. The recommended formation among the lanes is a 1:1:2 distribution from top to bottom, with the remaining player responsible for clearing out the jungle.
The official positions are 
Top, 
Jungle, 
Middle, 
Bottom, and 
Support. Each role has unique characteristics that may synergize with certain champion classes.
Top
The top position tends to remain isolated from the rest of the team due to greater playmaking potential near the Dragon pit which is located near the bottom lane. This means it is more focused around lane control and dominance over the opposing laner. Ideal champions for this position are those that are largely self-sufficient with tools to dominate in duels, scale by farming, or impact the map in other ways.
Jungle
The jungle position provides a safe avenue to obtain gold and experience through killing monsters in jungle camps, without much interference from opponents. Due to camps being spread out across the map, the player can freely path around the map to influence lanes and secure objectives. Ideal champions for this position are those that can clear jungle monsters with ease and have great ganking potential.
Middle
The middle position provides the fastest income of gold and experience due to having the shortest path. Given that it is in the center of the map, it also has better access to other sectors on the map. Ideal champions for this position are those that are better able to take priority over the lane by having good wave clear.
Bottom
The bottom position is heavily focused around fighting potential given that is in closer proximity to the Dragon pit where many fights take place over capture of the objective. Ideal champions for this position are those that excel in skirmishes.
Support
The support position takes on a different approach compared to the other positions where effort is put into supporting the champion in the bottom position. This means that the position mainly resides in the bottom lane where gold and experience is funneled to the bottom laner. Likewise with the jungle position, the player is also able to influence the map by roaming to other lanes and having vision control. Ideal champions for this position are those that have the necessary tools to provide support for allies, especially the bottom laner, and set up fight opportunities.
Howling Abyss[]
There is only one lane in the Howling Abyss where both teams fight for push over it exclusively. In contrast to Summoner's Rift, lane positions do not exist.
Trivia[]
- Bottom lane Outer Turrets are the only ones that lack
Fortification buff, which enforces the duo-bottom positions with a path of least resistance.[1] Wild Rift does not have such measure.
Lane Widths[]
Lanes in Twisted Treeline (old)
- Lanes on Summoner's Rift are approximately 1000 units wide.
- Lanes on Twisted Treeline are approximately 800-850 units wide (varies).
- The ring on the Crystal Scar is approximately 800 units wide.
- The lane on Howling Abyss is approximately 1700 units wide.
