TL;DR
- Smite top lane uses support champions to create artificial gold deficits triggering objective bounties
- The strategy involves early laning followed by complete abandonment to roam and secure map advantages
- Objective bounty systems reward teams with gold for being behind, which this exploit manipulates
- Similar historical exploits like funneling and support item abuse were previously patched by Riot
- This strategy risks creating unhealthy gameplay patterns and will likely face developer intervention
A new strategic exploit has emerged in League of Legends that manipulates the game’s comeback mechanics through unconventional summoner spell usage in the top lane position.
Objective bounty systems, implemented during the recent offseason, provide additional gold rewards to teams that are legitimately behind in the game. However, players have discovered that selecting Smite on top lane champions who focus exclusively on harassment while avoiding traditional farming creates artificial conditions that trigger these bounties unfairly.
This unconventional approach centers on selecting viable support champions like Janna or Karma for the top lane role. Players utilize these champions for several levels of standard laning interaction before completely altering their gameplay pattern around level 4-6.
The core execution involves taking Smite as a summoner spell and actively seeking invasion opportunities to steal jungle camps or buffs from the opposing jungler. This creates early pressure while setting up the strategic transition.
Following the initial laning phase, the support champion abandons the top lane entirely to roam across the map. By leaving the enemy top laner isolated without opposition, the team guarantees a manufactured gold deficit that activates objective bounty systems. The roaming player then collaborates with their jungler to secure advantages elsewhere while collecting bounty rewards generated by the artificial disadvantage.
League of Legends has experienced similar strategic exploits targeting gold distribution systems throughout its competitive history. Two prominent examples demonstrate Riot Games’ consistent response to such gameplay manipulations.
The funneling strategy, which dominated competitive play during Season 8, concentrated mid lane and jungle resources onto a single hyper-carry champion. This approach maximized gold efficiency but created unhealthy gameplay patterns that reduced strategic diversity.
Another significant exploit involved lane-dominant top laners like Kennen utilizing support items while focusing exclusively on harassment. This created large bounties on opposing laners while maintaining gold parity through item passives, effectively gaming the bounty system mechanics.
While this strategy carries significant risk due to sacrificing a traditional top laner, it establishes concerning precedents for competitive integrity. Artificially creating deficits to abuse objective bounty mechanics contradicts the system’s intended purpose of supporting legitimate comebacks.
The LCS analytical podcast “The Dive” recently addressed this emerging issue, highlighting the growing trend of roaming-focused strategies in competitive play. Professional analysts have expressed concerns about how such exploits might influence broader meta developments.
Riot Games has demonstrated consistent intervention against similar gold system manipulations in previous seasons. Based on historical precedent, if smite top lane gains significant popularity, developers will likely implement balancing changes to address the exploit.
Action Checklist
- Select appropriate support champion (Janna/Karma) with Smite summoner spell
- Execute standard laning until levels 4-6, focusing on harassment over farming
- Coordinate with jungler for invasion opportunities to steal enemy camps
- Abandon top lane completely to initiate roaming phase across the map
- Monitor objective bounty activations and capitalize on artificial gold deficits
No reproduction without permission：Games Guides Website » Janna using Smite in the top lane is breaking League of Legends Understanding the controversial smite top lane strategy and its impact on League of Legends gameplay mechanics