Outoflane

Outoflane is a term used in multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) communities to describe the action of leaving one's assigned lane to roam to other lanes or to secure objectives away from the lane. The term is sometimes stylized as "outoflane" or described simply as roaming or rotating. It is most common in games like League of Legends and Dota 2, where map-wide pressure and objective control are crucial.

Roaming typically involves supports, mid laners, or other players who leave their lane after establishing lane phase necessities. Reasons for going out of lane include looking for early kills, warding and vision control, securing objectives (such as dragons, heralds, or roshan equivalents), or helping lanes under threat. Timing depends on factors such as cooldowns, summoner spells, teleport availability, and the current lane dynamics.

The advantages of roaming include: applying pressure on vulnerable enemy lanes, creating opportunities for trades or ganks, and increasing map control and objective threat. The drawbacks are potential loss of experience and gold from missed minions, vulnerable lane states if the roam fails, and easier lane pressure for the opposing team if the roam is poorly timed or communicated.

Effective outoflane play requires communication with teammates, awareness of the map, and balancing the needs of your own lane with global objectives. Counterplay includes proper warding and lane-pushing to deny rotations, maintaining lane safety, and coordinating with teammates to time roams with jungler presence. See also roaming, rotations, and laning phase.