Picking off enemies is to kill a lone enemhy hero and escaping the pressure of the remaining heroes. The goal of picking off enemies is to outnumber the enemies in an upcoming clash OR to give enough space for your allies to farm. This a very crucial move which can lead to a turn table and victory. It is both offensive and defensive.

There are 3 Steps in picking off an enemy:

• Warding
• Striking
• Escaping

Warding
placing wards(Scout traps, but Ill call them wards for ease of reference) isn't as simple as it looks. You'll have to place it somewhere enemies wont step on them and at the same time give you sight over them. here's some good example of warding:


BUSH WARDING
JUNGLE CAMP WARDING
KRAKEN/GOLD CAMP WARDING
Striking
Upon seeing a lone enemy on the map, quickly find the best spot to begin the striking. This is usually a bush opposite YOUR BASE. here's an example:Suppose the enemy hero is farming on the jungle camp where the ward is, and your team base lies on the left part of the map. "One" of the best spots to initiate the pick off is where krul is standing, since it forces the enemy to take the longer path towards their base/turret if he tries to escape. Although, considering other enemies position is another key on finding the best striking spot.

When you initiated the strike, just use all of your offensive abilities and utilize items to make a quick kill. Doing a Quick kill is very important, as it leaves your target's allies minimal time to react and respond, which in return gives you enough time to do the last step.

Escaping
A pick off wont be successful unless you survive the enemy reinforcements. journey boots, taka's kaku, aegis/crucible are some of the good item/abilities to utilize during escape. "Beating around the Bush" is also a great tactic in losing your enemies' sight over you.

There are several ways of avoiding being picked off:

• Sticking to ally heroes
• Placing defensive wards
• Building defensive items
• Using flare guns
• Map awareness

As you can see, 4/5 steps I included involve gold usage/giving up farm. sticking to allies means only one of you can farm, the jungle or the lane, the other three forces you to buy items outside of your core items, delaying them. That is the power of pick off.

Overall, pick off can be a lethal weapon against unwary enemies. use this to gain advantage and bring victory to your team. Picking off enemies is real fun and profitting. Now play some match and show them hell!