Ever wondered why players focus on getting the last hit on minions so much? You could be roaming around the map, getting kills, and extending your lead. Yet, there is that one player that flame horizons your CS and carries the game for your enemy.
The dynamic of League of Legends is simple – the more gold and experience you have over your enemy laner, the more ahead you are. While you should always perform your very best, at what point should you consider your farm to be perfect?
In general, you should have a Creep Score of 90 under 10 minutes. This metric means that you’re doing exceptionally well in lane. However, reaching this point requires your skill level to be exceptional among the rest. Therefore, the CS can vary with rank.
Needless to say, attaining a high Creep Score is necessary for gaining a sizable amount of gold lead. Last hitting minions is a form of art that requires you to perform your utmost.
Why Does Creep Score Matter?
The Creep Score is a metric that indicates the number of minions you’ve managed to last hit in the duration of a game. It is the most stable source of gold and allows you to gain an exorbitant amount of gold.
A wave generally consists of three types of minions that possess their own unique traits and gold values. Killing a wave of minions can net you around 125 to 195 gold. Compare that to the 300 base gold that a kill gives, and you’ll begin to realize the value of CSing in League of Legends.
Killing a Wave Vs Killing Champions: What’s Better?
To answer this question in-depth, let’s take a look at the average amount of kills a team usually possesses in the 20-minute mark. While this metric can range anywhere from 0.6 to 2.5 depending on the nature of the team comps, it’s fair to assume that you will be getting a decent portion of kill gold.
For the sake of this experiment, let’s assume that the average kills per minute are at their highest. Now, the gold value of the wave increases with the passing time. This phenomenon can be summarized in the following table:
| Clock Timing | Gold Per Wave (Average) | Gold Per CS (Average) |
| 0:00 | 125 G | 19.8 |
| 15:00 | 147 G | 22.6 |
| 17:15 | 150 G | 23 |
| 25:00 | 195 G | 27.6 |
By analyzing the chart mentioned above, it’s quite evident that you will be gaining at least 300 Gold at average since waves arrive at your lane at 30-second intervals. In comparison, you would have to get at least 34-35 kills in 35 minutes to get remotely close to that mark.
How To Get Better At CSing
Unfortunately, there is no hidden tonic or potion that can help you become Faker overnight. However, gradual effort and paying more attention in the lane are enough to set you on the right track.
As you gradually level up and attain a higher rank, you will encounter players that will try their hardest to make you lose farm. Consequently, you can do the same to them by poking them whenever they try to get an important creep.
In essence, you should unleash your poke whenever the enemy laner tries to last hit the cannon minion. Doing so will bind him to make a decision i.e. he/she can either choose to get hit while taking the cannon, or dodge the shot, thereby losing the cannon in return.
Attaining a CS Lead Against your Enemy
While there is no hard and fast formula for success, the basic rule is to make fewer mistakes while punishing your laner’s mistakes. Consequently, you also need to take a look at matchups. Some of them might not favor you while others will have you dominate the laning phase like it’s nothing.
To analyze these factors in more depth, let’s head below:
Losing Matchups
While winning lane is often considered the key to winning games, there are times when going even or being slightly behind can be considered phenomenal. Let’s take an Ornn vs Vayne matchup as an example.
If Vayne is good, you won’t be able to do anything since she will just condemn you into a wall while tumbling away from your knock-ups. Consequently, taking minions at her face is also not possible since she will just shred you down. So what is the solution?
Surprisingly, you don’t have to do much. Just try to stay even or slightly behind in the lane without dying. As long as you play the wave management correctly, the Vayne will always be under the threat of ganks, and won’t get the opportunity to all in.
Winning Matchups
Now if the roles are reversed, you need to ensure as much pressure as you possibly can in order to give your jungler free reign. While this might sound like common sense, the main reason why you would even lose a winning matchup is through ganks.
While making mistakes is just a portion of what could go wrong, jungle ganks can flip the matchup in its entirety. Therefore, we recommend you pay close attention to the enemy jungler’s pathing in order to know when to apply pressure and when to back off. (https://blogs.magicjudges.org)
Don’t overcommit, since you’re already on the winning side, forcing fights might place you in disadvantageous positions. Instead, try to extend your lead by converting your pressure on other parts of the map – like taking heralds, invading, etc.
What Is a Good CS Per Minute According To Ranks?
Each matchup is dynamic and can go either way. Based on the players in your team, it’s often very common that you won’t be farming at all. Nonetheless, there should be a metric that can define whether you’re doing good or bad in lane W.R.T your CS.
With that being said, let’s take a look at the statistical averages that laners usually have according to their ranks:
- Iron – Bronze: Your CS doesn’t really matter here. But if you’re going above 4.0, then you’re doing well in lane.
- Silver – Gold: Going above the 6 mark is decent enough here, but you can aim to hit 7.
- Platinum – Masters: 8 is considered decent, but aiming to achieve 9 is the name of the game.
- Grandmasters – Challenger: If you’ve reached this rank, then you probably know what to do. But, just in case, you will be looking to aim for 9.5-10 CS per minute.
Needless to say, your CS score is more dependent on the dynamic of the match. Some matches are brawl-heavy, while others require you to farm as much as possible for late-game scaling.
Therefore, if your CS is suffering a hit, it’s fine as long as you’re making plays on the map, and are ahead of your opponent laner.
Does CSing Matter for a Jungler?
Yes, as perplexing as it might seem, you need to have a decent CS score in order to stay relevant in the game. While your main role is to gank in the early game in order to secure a lead for your team, you will need to at least stay relevant in order to counter gank and secure objectives.
Since you will need to add value to the team one way or another, it’s more important to convert that CS into value than blindly taking CS. That being said, you will need to have a constant form of income in order to pop off or to just be that enabler that your team needs.
Conclusion
In essence, the creep score doesn’t matter as much as adding value to the game does. Therefore, your CS should be ranging around 6-8 per minute depending on the team comps and win conditions.
That being said, gaining a perfect CS score of 10/min is not attainable, unless you’re hyper-focusing on it, without engaging in any team fights or objective control. Thus, it’s best to keep your opponent’s CS as a metric.
