There are different ways to acquire gold in League of Legends such as by destroying towers or slaying enemies. But the main way to generate more gold is by killing creeps (minions). Having consistent CS (creep score) numbers is a key to having consistent gold income throughout the game. When playing we often ask ourselves what is a good cs per minute in League of Legends so we broke it down for you.
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Why are minions important?
Not every game is full of kills. Some games are slow and are more macro-oriented with plenty of rotations and objective takings. When it comes to that you will be missing gold from kills that you’d usually have. Thus, if you can’t consistently kill your opponent, it’s not the best way of getting fed. There are only two sources you are always getting gold from. Passive gold income and minions. New wave is spawned every 30 seconds with more gold for you to collect.
In the hindsight it might not be a problem that you missed 2 out of 6 possible minions because new ones will come. But that’s the issue! New minions will come. The ones that you failed to last hit will never respawn and give you another chance at executing them. To further visualize it, imagine that for example you could earn a maximum of 10 000 gold in 20 minutes from minions. Every time you miss a CS that 10 000 number gets lower and lower.
To summarize it, every minion is important and you should do everything you can to kill as many of them.
What is a good CS per minute?
The truth is, there is no concrete answer to this question. It varies from game to game and the situation that you are put in. The general rule that I use is staying above 7 CSPM. Some games I will have more, and rarely I will have less so it’s a good middle ground. You can move that number higher or down depending on the class you are playing. For example, assassins will have lower CSPM than mages will have because they prioritize roaming. It is important that you don’t take the optimal CSPM out of the context and follow it blindly.
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Why is my CS per minute low?
Majority of the stats in League are subjective and vary from game to game. It is really rare to play the same type of game twice. Let’s take as an example Ranged vs Melee match up in the top lane. A ranged champion will by default have a big advantage over their counterpart. They will be the one controlling the lane, when to trade, when to harass and when to go for all in. Melee champion is just trying to survive and gets every CS that he’s allowed to get. This could result in big CS discrepancies, high CSPM for one, and low CSPM for another player.
But the melee player had nothing to do. Saying he did bad just because he’s down in CS would be wrong. This is why it’s better to focus on your overall average CS per minute throughout the 10, 20 or more game span. One game is not a proper representation of person’s gameplay or knowledge.
How can I increase my CS per minute?
As I have mentioned several times already, minions are extremely important in LoL. You can increase your CSPM by practicing last hitting in practice tool. The main problem that players have when it comes to CS numbers is being lost on the map after the first towers fall down. Here’s a simplified version of how the game should look like after 15th minute onwards. Do note this is just a general rule that should be changed based on circumstances in the game.
Bot Laner – Moves to Mid Lane
Mid Laner – Moves to the lane closest to the next objective (if Baron is spawning you want to be top, and if Dragon is spawning you want to be bot)
Top Laner – Moves to the lane opposite to the next objective (If Baron is spawning you want to be bot, and if Dragon is spawning you want to be top). This is because Top laners more often than not play with TP.
Dividing the lanes to separate players will ensure everyone get’s gold. On top of that all of you will have good and high CS numbers.
Another way you can increase your CS per minute is by killing jungle camps while waiting for the next wave to arrive. Each jungle camp gives you 4 CS regardless of how many monsters there are in it (both Gromp and Birds give same amount of CS). Good mid laners will often push their wave and then either steal enemies’ Birds or take their own. This is why they often have highest number of CS in game. Being consistent with it is one of the keys of reaching higher ranks.
How to practice Last Hitting?
What has worked the best for me was trying to last hit with Anivia in Practice mode. I would enter the game and try to have as many minions as possible at the 10-minute mark. There are several steps you can take. Once you are satisfied with your results move onto the next step.
- Play with Runes and Doran’s Ring
- Play with no Runes (Choose random runes that don’t help you with farming such as Scaling CDR and Armor) and Doran’s Ring
- Play with no runes and no items (Hardest)
- Add a bot (Do this in custom instead of Practice tool, add 3 bots instead of one to make sure at least one of them will come to the lane you are in)
Do this once to maximum two times per day. Doing it more often could cause you more harm as a player than good. We don’t want you to focus exclusively on CSing but to be able to do it on the auto pilot.
After completing this 4-step process you will be ready to smurf on your opponents.
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Conclusion
Good CS per minute varies from game to game. There is no ideal number, but the one I set myself is 7 CSPM at lowest, and around 8 as my average. Keep practicing last hitting and you will get there in no time.