Explaination: The following are maps of various scenarios that one might find one's self in when one is at base during dominion. The decision of what to do - to go bot, top, or something else - is discussed for each formation.
Key: Small red circles are visible enemy team champions. Red X's are dead enemy team champions. Small blue circles are allied champions. The small green circle is your champion. The large green and red circles signify allied and enemy captured turrets, respectively. When less than four allies are visible, those not present are dead.
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- Go top: Siege will likely fail, will have nothing to do. Lower HP% on enemies would improve your team's chances, but even so in most cases it's likely that the chance of success for a 3v4 siege is slim.
- Gank bottom (seems like can get kill, but getting any point after may prove difficult): By the time you gank, failed siege top might just be finishing, so it is likely that gank will succeed - however the follow-up cap might fail.
- Showing yourself going bot (seems like may have mixed results): might be likely to pull someone bot to improve chances, but also might cause enemy to initiate on your team, quickly heading back once they see you.
- Position one's self in top jungle (doable but dangerous): Depending on the results of the team fight, the jungle may be unsafe at this point, so any ambush spot you set up might have to be abandoned.
- Get relic: Depending on availability, this might be one of the more productive options, as being unable to contribute anywhere else you will have an advantage in upcoming fights.
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- Go top: Siege will likely fail, will have nothing to do.
- Go bot: By the time the enemy bot shows up, they may likely be under the tower instead of vulnerable in lane. This may make them harder to fight, but at the same time if the gank is successful, pushed minions may make it easier to cap before reinforcements arrive.
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- Go top: Since four from the enemy team are unseen but up, there is a good chance that your team will be ambushed in the jungle. Still, a 3v4 fight might likely go on a while, and with you lagging slightly behind you may be able to help. Furthermore if you catch one of the enemy team members here (unlikely if they know what they're doing in terms of concealment), then this could contribute to retaking top. At the same time, one or more enemies could show up to gank bottom, but you would still have time to change course were that to happen.
- Go bot: If you go to gank bot here, there's a good chance that you might run into one or more enemy champs who are also trying to gank bot, and you might get surprised and overwhelmed by this, which may lead to bot's defeat and capture. Keep in mind that the enemy is completely invisible and already has the advantage, and that the only visible person, as far as they are concerned, is your bot player, making them a prime target for the enemy team when they're looking for an opportunity for action. Even so, this may put you in a good position to defend bot if it were ganked, which again, it likely will be.
- Go top but stay around mid: This is probably the best option here - staying below the speed shrine might enable you to better respond to a likely incoming gank bot, without limiting you to bot, so that if necessary you can also respond to a teamfight in the jungle. Participating in such a team fight might be critical because it might lead to being able to recapture top.
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- Go top: One unseen enemy up, and with no one else to defend top chances are they will go top too, making it perhaps less favorable to rush top. That being said IF they somehow made a mistake and went bot, this could result in a free top tower IF no one else gets up fast. However since it's a longer to top than bot, and because it's more likely the enemy will go top, bot might be more favorable. Even so, with one enemy missing, going bot might leave your mid open for an easy capture, and chances are by the time you gank bot, someone on the enemy team will respawn in time to deter you from taking their bot.
- Go bot: Leaves mid vulnerable to capture by single enemy. Also, by the time you gank bot, chances are that the enemy team will be up and ready to counter any attempts at taking their bot.
- Go below speed shrine: probably best option to defend mid AND potential ganks bot
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- Go below speed shrine: With two mia, the possibility of a lone person trying to cap mid becomes even higher, and in such a case guarding both mid and bot becomes essential in order to respond to an event in either place. Keep in mind though that just because there's a gank bot doesn't mean it's worth responding to immediately - someone may appear to take your mid while you're gone defending bot. Watch allied respawn timers to figure out what place could use your help more.
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- Go below speed shrine: With three mia the danger level to either bot or mid is immense. From here:
- If two show up to gank bot: mid is still in danger, and you will not be able to adequately defend bot, necessarily, if your bot laner dies. Probably better to stay defending mid rather than reacting to bot. Again, depends on allied respawns - if someone is up by the time you get below the speed shrine, then watch where they go to see where defense is needed.
- If one shows up first to take mid: mid is a priority, and worth defending.
- If two show up mid: Probably undefendable, but may be worth defending anyway given allied respawn timers.
- If three gank bot: stay mid - bot will probably be undefendable and your death might not help the situation at all.
- If three go mid: you can deter them as long as possible, but it might be wiser to stay back and wait for those who cap the point to go b (potentially), and retake the point with the help of your allies. Dying while defending a point vs. three opponents might put you at a disadvantage in terms of the available forces to retake the turret. Staying alive, even at the expense of the turrent, might actually make the turret be in your team's possession for a longer net amount of time, even if in the immediate future it will be lost.
- All in all - go to the least dangerous place where you can still make a difference in keeping your tower total as high as possible, even if you have to sacrifice one of your towers to do so. Also, balance your positioning with that of your allies, being careful so that your help sways the battle in your team's favor, rather than having either unnecessarily high numbers OR being spread too thin and thus losing all points.
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- Go below speed shrine: with four mia, the danger level is extreme even just entering the jungle near your base. It may be more wise to stay at base.
- Stay near base entrance top: you might be able to better respond to mid without endangering yourself, and it is likely that the enemy team will commit fewer team members to mid. That being said, they might split their forces and go for both places at once - in which case, given the vulnerable position of your bot laner, it's likely that they'll fall even if you station yourself nearby.
- Stay near base entrance bot: you may be better able to respond to a gank, but that gank may have overwhelming numbers. And while 2v3 is still possible under the tower, the enemy can fight you in a 2v4 bot and still have one champ to spare for mid. In that case, unless you know that the enemy troops commited to mid will be able to kill you easily, it's probably better to station yourself to defend mid, which is likely to be percieved as the more vulnerable point, and one which will take fewer troops to take down. That being said, often times top is the preferred choice of most all but the bot laner (with the occasional gank), so the chances that the enemy team will find themselves in your top jungle with nothing to do is high. In that case, there's a good chance mid will be undefendable. In either case, it would be a good idea to stay near the base, and if you have evidence that the enemy will commit more to mid than bot, then to go bot instead. Depending on the champ, you may still be able to reach mid in time given a single champ trying to cap.
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- With no enemy team members to defend top, it is likely that your three allies will succeed in taking top. Given the sense of urgency of seeing three of your allies taking top, the enemy might, as they respawn, go top. However there is also a good chance that they'll see the hopelessness of defending top, and instead gank bottom since there are three allies top, meaning fewer allies to defend bottom. In this case, it's important to be ready to defend bottom.
- Ganking bot: You will likely get to bot for a gank before anyone else from the enemy team, but given how by the time you get there the enemy team will have respawned, it seems unlikely that you'll be able to turn that gank into a capture of bot. It may, however, distract from a solid siege against top, as well as relieve pressure on your bot laner. That being said, a captured point with no enemy opposition provides a good opportunity to gank, since any enemy forces dedicated to bot instead of top (in response to your gank) severely hinders the enemy's ability to recapture top.
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- Situation: your allies top are likely in grave danger if they're in the jungle with four enemies mia. In addition, your bot laner has a high chance of being in danger too.
- If you go no higher than the speed shrine, you may be able to participate in any jungle fights while still being able to respond to a gank bot the moment it appears.
- Ganking bot: This will be highly dangerous, and even though it's probably the prefered alternative when all other enemies are dead, this just goes to show the importance of checking the status of enemies before leaving base. If you go bot you're leaving your team top in danger of getting ambushed in a 4v3, and also you might run into a multi-man gank bottom by the enemy team, and they may catch and kill you as a result.
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- Situation: At most there will be three enemies top, and this is likely what will happen since they have one team member down, though it is not a guarentee. Given that an enemy can appear bot at any time despite the chance that they won't, it's probably better to be in a position to contribute to a fight bot or top, since if a gank appears bot, your team top will likely have an easier time recapturing the point.
- Stay below speed shrine: likely best solution as it allows you to tip the scales in your team's favor top or to even the odds bot. The only odd case is if there's a three-man gank bot, in which case calling for aid from allies while you defend, and one person takes top, might be the best solution.
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- Situation: your allies top will likely be able to handle any enemy opposition as long as they don't have to fight it under the tower. This is a very real possibility however, and going top might mean more people to siege and take down the point. At the same time though, the enemy team might not be top at all, but instead going to gank bottom, since their efforts there might pay off.
- Stay below speed shrine: This can enable you to commit to a fight top if a dive is required, but at the same time put you in a position to respond to a gank bot if one appears. It is likely that with two dead, any gank bot will ensure the success of your top forces, because of the two mia enemies, having one go bot pretty much ensures that 3v1 your team will win, even with the turret.
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- Gank bot: your top team will likely succeed here, since only one enemy is mia and it is unlikely that one enemy will be able to deter three champions. Maybe in the case of a heavy tank like Alistar, but even then the concentrated burst might be enough to take him out. Ganking bot, on the other hand, will add yet another obstacle for the enemy to contend with, so that they may have more difficulty organizing an effort to retake top.
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- Situation: with one person ganking bot and two top, but FOUR mia, there is a high chance that even if you go top you'll be unable to defeat the enemy forces in the way of top. Bot may run in to a counter-gank as well.
- Go top: you'll likely end up killed if you commit to a fight here with just three people vs four mia enemies.
- Go bot: your team top may complain about you going bot since there's already a player there, but you may be able to distract from your top allies enough (if they're not dead already), to give them a chance at taking the turret. Plus, given the strong chance of a counter-gank here and subsequent capture of your bottom turret if two or more enemies come bot, then it is likely that your presence will help more bot than it would top. Even if top fails, if the enemy has to commit 3-4 people top, while you have three bottom, you may be able to take the point as long as top doesn't die TOO quickly. On the other hand, by commiting bot with four mia you may end up losing your mid once the enemy sees your position.
- Go bot or top but stay hidden and defend mid: Probably the best option - so that if you see that mid is not being attacked you can commit to bottom lane. However if you do decide to stop defending mid, make sure that all enemies are accounted for. Given that if you can account for them, though, they might be bot, perhaps it is better to stay defending both mid and bot at this point, since either can easily come under attack.
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- Go top: With three mia instead of four, your team top may have a better chance of recapturing top, unless ambushed before they can ambush someone else. Your presence may be able to turn the tide.
- Go bot: You may doom your top team to die in a 3v2 by doing this, but on the other hand your presence bot lane could attract opponents to counter your gank, drawing their forces from top. In addition, if your top forces lose with three of your forces commited bot, then they might take your mid after defeating your top team.
- Go top but defend mid: This will enable you to respond to bot, mid, or a jungle fight, to turn the tide if necessary.
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- Go top: Given that two are mia, there is a high chance that those two are positioned to defend top, and that your presense top may turn the tide. If two enemy team members go bot there might still be time for your two teammates bottom to retreat to and defend the bot turret.
- Go top but stay near speed shrine: Probably best option in order to respond to a dire situation bot, while still being in a position to siege with your allies if you catch sight of two enemies top. A revive from either of the two dead enemies at this point, though, might prove costly, so it is best try to and eliminate the two defenders quickly.
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- Situation: with only one mia, your team is in a strong position to cap four points.
- Go top: Your presense top will most likely not be needed, but might come in handy if the fight drags on long enough for a dead enemy to join the fray.
- Go bot: Depending on how many enemy forces are committed bot, you may be able to put your team in a position to take the enemy bot in addition to top.
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- Go bot: Top will almost certainly get taken with four mia, so it is probably the best option to commit to bot so that if possible your presense can turn the tide in a fight there.
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