League of Legends Summoner Spells Guide

• About
• Latest Posts

Jesus Cruz

Jesús' story on League of Legends started thanks to his friends, who introduced him to the summoner's rift just because it was an excuse to get some bonding besides school hours. When he got on the League of Legends' world, he got fascinated because every match was way different from each other; every match could be resumed in a great story, and imagining great beasts fighting against fierce warriors, or deities battling against wizards or vampires was some imagination fuel for Jesús.

Latest posts by Jesus Cruz (see all)

• LoL Tier List - April 1, 2022
• Tahm Kench Guide - March 31, 2022
• Renekton Skins Guide: League of Legends Must-Knows - February 9, 2022

The Summoner Spells are an important part of the game. Only a Flash or an Ignite can decide the fate of a complete match if used properly, and a well-executed Teleport or Barrier can help save the life of your teammates when needed; that’s why the Summoner Spells needs to be used in important moments. 

The problem is that most people don’t understand the importance of a Summoner Spell, wasting them constantly in situations where another decision would be better, avoiding death. 

Are you one of those players that always say, “Hey, I could use a Flash here, but I don’t have it”? Are you struggling on those moments when an objective runs away from you with a ridiculous amount of HP because you wasted an Ignite before?

Don’t worry, that’s why I’m making this guide. Here, we will learn some tips about the proper usage of the Summoner Spells. Anyway, you’ll have to understand something: 

This guide won’t tell you which League of Legends Summoner Spells you have to use in which exact moment and against which champion because it is impossible as the amount of possibilities into the game is big. It’s more about showing you the best things about every Summoner Spell and some tips on their proper usage for you not to waste them. 

There are 11 Summoner Spells available in the game at this moment, so let’s take a look at them. Let’s go! 

Barrier

• Cooldown: 180 seconds. 
• Range: On your champion. 
• Summoner Level needed to unlock: 4. 
• Available in: all modes. 

Barrier gives your champion a shield of 115 to 455 (depending on your champion’s level) for 2 seconds. The shields are good for protection against Grievous Wounds and Ignite, and its shield will protection a lot if you are using a Mid or an ADC. 

Here’s the table of the amount of shield received based on your champions level: 

Barrier Usage

Barrier is commonly used on the Mid and Bot Lane because of the extra protection it gives. In addition, it is commonly used with squishy champions that need some help when they get in a tough situation. It’s highly recommended to use it against assassins to avoid getting burst and avoid the damage from the Ignite, being a better way of protection in these cases than the Heal, as the Heal can get affected by Grievous Wounds. 

I normally use Barrier when facing an assassin or a champion with Ignite as I don’t want to die while escaping from a situation, and it can also give me some sustain when receiving ganks.

It’s commonly used in the Mid Lane as it’s not common to see a Bot Lane with Ignite unless it has a magician Support with tons of damage, an assassin Support (like Pyke), or an ADC that likes to do a reckless all-in. 

Clarity

• Cooldown: 240 seconds. 
• Range: 600 units. 
• Summoner Level needed to unlock: 6. 
• Available in: Howling Abyss, ARAM. 

Clarity restores 50% of your maximum Mana and 25% of their maximum Mana to all nearby allies. 

As Clarity can only be used on Howling Abyss, its usage is restricted only for those champions that lack on Mana in the early game and on those cases when a champion, even having a lot of Mana, is a Mana-consumer with low Mana Regeneration (a great example of this is Malphite). 

Clarity Usage

In an ARAM team, you’ll only need a champion with Clarity; the rest can take whatever they will use, but having more than one Clarity user is a waste of Summoner Spells. You’ll have to use it when you see an ally in trouble because they don’t have Mana, or even when you need it. 

Cleanse

• Cooldown: 210 seconds.
• Range: On your champion. 
• Summoner Level needed to unlock: 9. 
• Available in: all modes. 

Cleanse works exactly like Gangplank’s W; it removes most crowd control effects. Exactly, it can remove all the crowd control effects except the Suppressions, the Nearsights, and the Airbornes. The rest of the CC effects (Blind, Charm, Stun, Root, Sleep, Ground, Silence, etc.) can get removed by Cleanse. 

Also, Cleanse grants you 3 seconds of 65% of tenacity. 

Cleanse Usage

Normally, they are used when facing a strong-CC-based team to save you from sketchy situations. It’s commonly used in the Mid Lane (for those high-mobility champions like Yasuo or Yone) or in the Bot-Lane (when you face a Leona, Nautilus, Rell, etc.) 

The tenacity Cleanse gives is perfect for getting away from ganks or team fights where you are low on HP or Mana. It’s not the most famous way of protection as Heal and Barrier are better to avoid getting killed, but if you are alone against a heavy-CC champion, this can be a great option. 

Exhaust

• Cooldown: 210 seconds. 
• Range: 650 units in a targeted location. 
• Summoner Level needed to unlock: 4. 
• Available in: all modes.

Exhaust slows an enemy champion’s movement speed by 30% and reduces the damage dealt by the targeted champion by 40% for 3 seconds. This Spell is perfect for engaging battles, and it’s more of an offensive Spell. Nonetheless, it can get removed by Gangplank’s W and by Cleanse and also can’t reduce the True Damage.

Using Exhaust in a champion already Exhausted will only reset the clock; the effects of this Spell aren’t stackable. 

Exhaust Usage

Exhaust is a great option for the Supports, and it’s perfect for three certain situations: 

• Disabling champions with bursting damage, like ADCs, Junglers, and Mid Laners that are roaming through the map. 
• Preventing an enemy from escaping or slowing an enemy to prevent them from getting to you. 
• Using it as an engaging tool for team fights and trades. 

Supports are the best users for Exhaust, and it’s even better for those with high-CC-abilities like Leona or Rell as they can combine Exhaust with their combo or use it to help them not fail their combo. 

Flash

• Cooldown: 300 seconds. 
• Range: 400 from your champion to your cursor.
• Summoner Level needed to unlock: 7. 
• Available in: all modes. 

Flash quickly teleports you from your current ubication to the ubication of your cursor. It can bypass any kind of walls, but it doesn’t work when the user is rooted, grounded, or in stasis (under the Zhonya’s Hourglass effects). 

Flash Usage

The Flash is the most common Summoner Spell in the game; there are only certain situations where you won’t need to use Flash (like playing Shaco or a champion with high Movement Speed like Singed or Hecarim).

On the other hand, it’s perfect for those champions with no mobility at all like those turret-ADCs (Ashe, Kog’Maw, Varus) or those heavy and slow Top tanks (Mao’kai, Sett, Cho’Gath, etc.). 

It’s an invaluable Spell, so you have to be wise on using it. First, don’t spam it as soon as you feel in danger; you have to learn about your position on the map, where are the enemies positioned, and where is the most dangerous one (a champion with heavy-CC threats or a champion that can delete you out of a fight with their damage).

Then, try to escape on your own, and, if everything fails, use the Flash. If even Flashing won’t save your life, and you are dead no matter where you go (like if you are trapped in a 1v3, 1v4, or 1v5 fight), don’t waste the Flash; keep it for the next time.

Also, don’t waste your Flash when you get hit by an Ignite; no matter where you are, you’ll die if you are at low HP and burned. 

Another tip I can give you, even when it is more difficult to use, is timing it right when your opponent is casting an ability. It’s hard to time, and you’ll do it properly after learning about that champion that is about to jump/dash/run after you. It’s more about knowing all the champions you can fight against and their timings. 

Ghost

• Cooldown: 210 seconds.
• Range: On your champion. 
• Summoner Level needed to unlock: 1. 
• Available in: all modes.

Ghost will increase your champion’s movement speed by 24% to 48% (based on your champion’s level) for 10 seconds and from 4 to 7 extra movement speed if you kill or assist in a kill of an enemy. Also, the Ghost Spell makes your champion ignore the unit collision; you won’t be stopped by minions, jungle monsters, allies, or enemies. 

Here’s a table of the increased movement speed and the bonus movement speed gained depending on your champion’s level: 

M.S: Movement Speed. 

E.M.S: Extra Movement Speed. 

Ghost Usage

Ghost is a great Spell, but it is useful only in certain situations as it’s preferred to take Flash instead of Ghost. Also, if it works for your champion in any way, you can take Flash and Ghost (like Hecarim in Top, which increases his damage depending on his movement speed). 

I only use Ghost when my champion has a lot of mobility and can get out of sketchy situations by running or using their abilities (like Shaco, Singed, or Hecarim). Also, Ghost is way easier to use than Flash as you have a better window to run away after using it.

Still, it can’t help you get out of those situations when enemies surround you, and you don’t have any other option than dying or jumping out of place. 

Heal

• Cooldown: 240 seconds.
• Range: On your champion and 850 units around your champion. 
• Summoner Level needed to unlock: 1. 
• Available in: all modes. 

Heal restores the HP of your champion and the champion nearest your cursor and is inside the 850 units for 90 to 345 HP (based on the user’s level). 

Heal also grants 30% of movement speed for 1 second. 

Something to remember about Heal is that the champions affected by it will get only a 50% of the healing if they receive a second Heal 35 seconds after the first one. 

Here’s a table of the amount of HP restored by the Heal depending on the user’s level: 

Heal Usage

Heal is perfect for Mid and Bot Lane, but only when facing champions without Grievous Wounds and Ignite. Normally, the ADC is in charge of using the Heal, while the Support is with Exhaust, Ignite, or any other Spell. Don’t use double healing as it won’t work; remember that the Heal Spell gets debuffed if used twice in less than 35 seconds. 

Normally, Heal and Barrier are compared to each other to see which one is better. Instead, I think that it is better to check the situation. Heal or Barrier can get used depending on the enemy champions and the situations you will face during the match. 

Ignite

• Cooldown: 180 seconds.
• Range: 600 units around your champion. 
• Summoner Level needed to unlock: 9. 
• Available in: all modes. 

Ignite will set any targeted champion on fire for 5 seconds, inflicting 70 to 410 (depending on the user’s level) of True Damage and also inflicting 60% of Grievous Wounds and revealing the objective (so they can’t hide) during 5 seconds. 

As it inflicts True Damage, Ignite’s damage can’t be mitigated by any sort of damage protection or reduction, but the damage can get absorbed by a shield. 

Here’s a table of the True Damage inflicted to an objective depending on your champion’s level: 

TD: True Damage.

Ignite Usage

Ignite is perfect to use in Mid and Top and is way better to use with brawler champs. Assassins can use it too, but they only work well for those tanky champs with a lot of healing, exactly, those champs with a lot of HP and are constantly healing themselves. 

The Barrier Spell can absorb the True Damage dealt by the Ignite, so, in high-elo matches, you’ll probably get to fight against squishy champs with Barrier like Veigar or Orianna. So be aware of that and don’t spend the Ignite before they use their Barrier. 

Talking about the Ignite timing, it has only 180 cooldown seconds, but still, don’t waste it. Use it only when you are unsure of killing the objective (as they have Flash or a dash or any ability to run away), even when their HP is low.

Ignite also works during team fights when applied to Healers like Dr. Mundo or champs with many HP. Ignite is a big problem against Soraka or Sona, so use the Ignite in the most dangerous objective. 

Mark and Dash

• Cooldown: 80 seconds.
• Range: 1600 units around your champion. 
• Summoner Level needed to unlock: 6. 
• Available in: Howling Abyss, ARAM. 

Mark is a snowball that will deal 15 to 100 true damage (depending on your champion’s level) upon landing, revealing the objective for 3 seconds and granting the possibility of using Dash during the duration of the reveal.  Dash will redirect your champion towards the targeted enemy champion or objective the snowball hit during its trajectory. 

Here’s a table of the True Damage dealt by the snowball depending on your champion’s level:

TD: True Damage.

Mark and Dash Usage

Of course, as this is an ARAM-exclusive Spell, I won’t stop much here. 

Don’t use the Dash when it’s dangerous to head towards the objective unless you are a reckless player and your team will follow your call. I normally use Mark when the enemy champs are constantly hiding in the Howling Abyss’ bushes or when there’s an Ivern in my team (it is impossible to know if an Ivern will be in the opposite team), as the enemies can hide in Ivern’s bushes. 

If you land a Mark, you can even kill enemies with minimal amounts of HP, so don’t waste them if you see the opportunity. 

Smite

• Cooldown: 15 seconds.
• Recharge time: 90 seconds.
• Charges: 2.
• Range: 500 units around your champion. 
• Summoner Level needed to unlock: 9. 
• Available in: Summoner Rift and Nexus Blitz. 

Smite deals 450 of True Damage to jungle monsters and minions. You can upgrade it after buying the Emberknife or the Hailblade and using Smite 5 times during the match. If you smite a jungle monster, you’ll get a 90 + 10% of your maximum HP heal. 

If you buy the Emberknife, you’ll get the Challenging Smite, and if you buy the Hailblade, you’ll get the Chilling Smite. After upgrading the Smite, both will deal 900 of True Damage to jungle monsters and 500 (+10% of their maximum HP) against minions. The heal is perfect for when you are running low on HP and need a Heal to survive. 

Challenging Smite Stats and Usage

The Challenging Smite can be used in champions. Using it on an enemy champ will get marked for 4 seconds, reducing their damage dealt with your champion by 20% and applying them a burning that will deal from 48 to 125 (based on your champion’s level) of True Damage during 2.5 seconds. 

I recommend using the Challenging Smite when you are jungling with a brawler or a fighter that can 1v1 an enemy champ easily, like Udyr, Lee Sin, Tryndamere, etc. But, be aware of your charges and the recharge time they have as you don’t want to waste your Smites on your enemies and then run out of them when needed to kill a Dragon or the Baron Nashor. 

Chilling Smite Stats and Usage

The Chilling Smite can also be used on enemy champs. It will apply from 20 to 156 of True Damage (Based on your champion’s level), but the important thing about it is its side effect; it will slow the target by 20% for 2 seconds granting the user a 20% speed movement bonus for the same duration. 

This Smite is perfect for Assassins; it can be the first or the last thing you’ll use when jungling with Evelynn, Kha’Zix, Diana, etc. The slowness is perfect against those high-mobility champs you’ll find in some matches, and the extra damage can be perfect if an objective is running away. I always prefer to use it at first because of the slowness. 

But, I give the same tip as with the Challenging Smite; be aware of the charges and don’t waste them as you’ll need them for the Dragon and the Baron. 

Teleport

• Cooldown: 360 seconds.
• Range: Global, but you can only TP to turrets until getting the Unleashed Teleport. With it, you’ll be able to teleport to ally units (Wards, Minions, Pets, and, of course, Turrets). 
• Summoner Level needed to unlock: 6. 
• Available in: Howling Abyss, ARAM. 

Teleport will take you to your selected ubication after a 4-second channeling. After getting to minute 14 in the match, the Teleport will change into the Unleashed Teleport, which will do the same but getting to your selected destination will give you a 50% bonus Movement Speed during 3 seconds. 

Teleport Usage

Teleport is constantly used in Top, and it’s a great option for those split-pushing champions like Jax or Tryndamere that are good for demolishing turrets. They can do a lot of damage doing it instead of getting into Teamfights. 

It can also be perfect for those moments when your team needs some help. A great example of a great Teleport is when the enemy Mid Laner gets to your Bot Lane. Your ADC and Support need some help, so you can TP to there and offer a helping hand on the situation. 

Teleporting can also mean a problem if you don’t do it properly; don’t TP to a place where you don’t know what is going on around it. Remember that a TP will reveal the position of a ward if you are TPing to it. 

Summoner Spell’s Haste

Both the Ionian Boots of Lucidity (an item) and Cosmic Insight (a rune) can apply Summoner Spell’s Haste, which will reduce the cooldown time of your Spells. 

Here’s a table of the cooldown when using the Ionian Boots, when using Cosmic Insight and when using both: 

FAQs

League of Legends Summoner Spells Guide: Conclusion

The only way to know how to use the Summoner Spells right is by learning, getting into matches, and using them. Ignore those toxic guys that will be there insulting you after failing a Flash or a TP; they don’t matter. The most important thing about the correct Summoner Spell usage is just getting into the game and getting used to them. 

About the situations and which Spell you can use, it will depend on the match you are about to play, on your champion, and your tastes.

There’s not a formula to always choose the best Summoner Spell; it’s just a matter of knowing your champion. After knowing it, you’ll be able to dominate the Summoner Spells. Good luck with your matches, and don’t be afraid; enjoy the game!