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What Are Plates in League of Legends? Gold and Timing
In League of Legends, plates (turret plating) are the five segments of a turret's health bar, and each one your team breaks pays 120 gold. Since Patch 26.1 (January 2026), outer, inner and inhibitor turrets all have plates, and they no longer fall off at 14:00. On outer turrets the gold per plate starts shrinking at 11:00, so early plates are still worth the most.
Plates serve as an objective during the early game, rewarding teams for successful lane pressure and tower sieges, and giving them gold advantage and map control.
Also Read: What is a Dive in League of Legends?
How do Turret Plates Work in LOL?
A plate is a chunk of the turret's health with a gold payout at the end of it. Every plated turret has five, and they break when the turret has lost 10%, 25%, 45%, 70% and 100% of its health. The fifth plate is the turret itself.
That spacing means the first plates are the cheapest. On an outer turret with 9,000 health, the five plates take 900, 1,350, 1,800, 2,250 and 2,700 damage in that order.
The old 3D stone plates on the turret model are gone. You now read plates on the health bar: the segments show how far you are from the next payout.
When a plate breaks, the turret gains Bulwark for 20 seconds. Since Patch 26.3 that's 30 to 50 bonus armor and magic resistance per plate, depending on how many enemy champions are near the turret, and the timers from several plates overlap. Plates no longer add permanent resistances, and turrets take 20% more damage from melee champions.
Also Read: What does Gank mean in Legaue of Legends?
How Much Gold Do Plates Give?
Each plate gives 120 local gold, shared by the allies who helped take it. A full turret is worth 600 in plate gold, and outer turrets no longer pay a separate local bounty when they die. The first turret of the game adds a 300 gold bonus shared by nearby players.
These are the values per turret tier since Patch 26.1.
Turret | Health | Plates |
|---|---|---|
Outer | 9,000 | 5 |
Inner | 5,000 | 5 |
Inhibitor | 4,750 | 5 |
When do Plates Fall in League of Legends?
They don't anymore. Before 2026, any outer plates left at 14:00 disappeared along with their gold, and you'll still see that timer on older guides and wiki pages.
What matters now is 11:00. From that minute, each outer plate loses 10 gold per minute until it bottoms out at 80 gold at 15:00. The turret softens on the same schedule: its 60 armor and magic resistance drop by 15 per minute, down to zero.
So an outer turret you never touched is worth 600 plate gold at 10:59 and 400 after 15:00. The gold you lose by waiting is real, but the turret also gets much easier to kill.
Are Plates the Same as Crystalline Overgrowth?
No. Crystalline Overgrowth is a separate turret mechanic added in the same patch. Crystals grow on lane turrets from 1:30, and the next champion attack on the turret cashes them in for true damage based on your team's average level.
Plates pay you gold. Overgrowth helps you chip the turret, which gets you to the next plate sooner.
How do You Get More Plate Gold?
Hit the turret before 11:00. Outer plates pay the full 120 until then.
Take the first plate whenever the wave is under their turret. It's only 10% of the health bar.
Wait out Bulwark. If you can't finish the next plate, back off for 20 seconds instead of hitting into bonus resistances.
Count who's nearby. Plate gold is shared, so a solo laner keeps all 120 and a duo lane splits it.
Impact on Game Strategy
The introduction of turret plates has significantly altered early game strategies in League of Legends. Teams must now balance the potential gold rewards from destroying plates against the risk of overextending or neglecting other objectives. This system creates a more dynamic and strategic early game, where decision-making around lane pressure and objective control becomes even more crucial.
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