ElevateBoost
League of LegendsCS (creep score) is the backbone of League of Legends: every minion killed funds your items and widens the gap with your opponent. Yet most players underestimate their farm and leave hundreds of gold on the map every game. In this guide, our coaches break down the benchmarks, last-hitting techniques and wave management you need for a lasting climb. Want an instant boost? Check out ElevateBoost's LoL boost and coaching.
The essentials at a glance
Farming is turning time into gold. A player hitting 10 CS per minute has about 200 CS by 20 minutes — several thousand gold ahead of an opponent stuck at 6 CS/min. Farm almost always beats risky kills: a missed last-hit is a small defeat, while a clean string of last-hits is worth a kill in gold.
The CS benchmarks to know
- CS per minute (CS/min): solid goal — 8 to 10; average (Silver) — 5 to 6; pro level — a steady 8 to 10.
- At 10 minutes: aim for 80 to 100 CS.
- Melee minion ⇒ ~21 gold; ranged minion ⇒ ~14 gold; cannon minion ⇒ 60 to 90 gold depending on game time.
- Simple rule: about 14 normal minions equal a kill in gold (~300). Missing 14 last-hits hands the enemy a kill.
Mastering the last-hit
Last-hitting means landing the killing blow on a minion to collect the gold. The key is the timing of your attack animation.
Learn your attack animation
- Spot the delay between the click and your auto-attack impact: every champion has a different window.
- Strike when the minion's health bar enters your damage range, not before.
- In the practice tool, disable your abilities and aim for 100 CS in 10 minutes on pure last-hitting.
Farming under tower
- Melee minion: let 2 tower shots land, then deliver the final auto-attack.
- Ranged minion: 1 tower shot + 1 auto-attack is enough.
- Anticipate: pre-hit ranged minions once before they move under the tower.
Wave management, the real next level
Knowing how to last-hit is not enough: controlling the wave decides where and when you farm safely.
- Freeze: hold the wave near your tower to farm safely and force the enemy to overextend.
- Slow push: let your wave build up to create a big wave to push before a dive or objective.
- Reset: shove quickly to recall without losing CS or experience.
- Three-wave rule: count your last-hits in blocks of 3 waves, each block ending on the cannon minion.
Three drills to improve fast
The most common farming mistakes
- Wasting abilities to last-hit and running out of mana during trades.
- Following the wave too far and getting ganked without vision.
- Ignoring the cannon minion, which alone is worth several normal minions.
- Dropping farm after lane phase: jungle camps and side waves count too.
Farm is the most profitable and most under-trained skill in LoL. A few weeks of practice tool and CS/min tracking are enough to transform your games. To speed up your climb, the ElevateBoost team offers LoL boost and coaching by high-elo players, with sessions dedicated to farm and macro.
