Lane Control

All things equal, in theory, a lane will not move if undisturbed because both sides spawn the same creeps. In practice this equilibrium doesn't actually happen because of random variance in the game.

There are three primary ways of pushing a lane:

1) Attack the enemy creeps.

2) Attack the enemy hero to draw the aggro from the enemy creeps. Your creeps will attack his creeps and his creeps will attack you. (You do this often on purpose in mid 1v1. In the defensive trilane it's a mistake.)

3) A lane pushed to a tower will have its direction reversed by the tower because the tower adds dps to the defending side.

These lead directly to basic skills of lane control:

1) At minimum, you must deny your own creeps as much as you attack the enemy ones in order to maintain lane equilibrium. It is usually better to start denying at 50% in order to have the lane pushing into you and so you can last hit your own.

2) As a support you should let the enemy wave through before you start right clicking the off-laner, in order not to draw aggro.

Common pitfalls:

1) Letting the last, ranged creep in a wave hit you instead of your ranged creep. It dies before your ranged creep falls below 50% and you are stuck with double ranged lane.

2) Returning creeps used to jungle to the lane. The carry can somewhat allow for this possibility by not creeping the wave under the tower and running around with it (a la burning)

3) Skilling Luna glaives, Drow aura, etc. too early or not micro-ing PL illusions, etc.