What Does CS Mean in League of Legends? Good CS by Rank

In League of Legends, CS stands for creep score: the number of minions and jungle monsters you've killed with the last hit in a game. Every lane minion counts as 1 CS, and a full jungle camp counts as 4. Each one pays gold, so your CS is the quickest way to tell how much income you've farmed. In a League context, CS has nothing to do with Counter-Strike.

How Is CS Counted in LoL?

You only get CS for the killing blow, which is why players talk about last hitting. If your minions or your turret finish a minion off, you get no gold and no CS for it.

Here is what adds to your creep score:

• Lane minions: melee, caster and cannon minions are each worth 1 CS.

• Jungle camps: clearing a full camp is worth 4 CS, no matter how many monsters are in it.

• Extras: the official wiki notes that wards and some champion-summoned units can add to the total as well.

You can see your CS during a game in the top-right corner of the screen, next to your KDA. Holding Tab shows everyone's CS on the scoreboard, which makes it easy to compare yourself with your lane opponent.

How Much Gold Is CS Worth?

Since Patch 26.1, a melee minion gives 20 gold, a caster minion gives 14, and a cannon minion gives 50 plus 1 more for every 90 seconds of game time. A normal early wave of three melee and three caster minions is worth 102 gold, and a cannon wave is worth at least 152.

The table below shows the current values:

A champion kill pays 300 gold before bounties, which is about what 15 to 16 minions pay. If you're 30 CS behind your lane opponent at 10 minutes, you're down roughly two kills' worth of gold even if the scoreboard reads 0/0/0.

Patch 26.1 also moved the first wave from 1:05 to 0:30, so older guides that tell you to aim for a set CS at 10 minutes are working from a later start. Waves now arrive every 30 seconds, and roughly 115 to 120 minions reach a solo lane in the first 10 minutes.

What Is a Good CS per Minute?

CS per minute is your creep score divided by the game length in minutes, so 210 CS in a 30-minute game is 7.0 CS per minute. For a laner, 6 is around average in low ranks, 7 is solid, and 8 or more is what the best ADC players reach.

Here is what the typical player hit in ranked Solo/Duo on NA between Patch 25.24 and 26.20, according to Am I Tilted's match data:

These are whole-game averages, so they include the mid and late game, when you spend more time fighting than farming. During the laning phase you should be well above them. Supports sit near 1.2 CS per minute at every rank, because their job is to leave the farm to the ADC.

How Do You Get Better CS?

The fastest way to raise your CS is to stop missing the minions you were already standing next to. These habits cover most of the gap:

1. Drill last hits in the Practice Tool. Load in with no items and no abilities, and count how many of the first 10 minutes' minions you can get. Aim for 80 first, then 90.

2. Learn the turret pattern. Under your own turret, a melee minion dies to two turret shots and one auto attack. A caster minion needs one auto before the turret shot and one after.

3. Never miss the cannon. One cannon minion is worth more than three casters, so save an ability for it if you have to.

4. Keep the wave where you can farm it. A freeze near your turret lets you last hit safely while your opponent has to walk up to get theirs.

5. Catch side waves after laning. Once turrets fall, the waves crashing in empty lanes are free gold for whoever shows up.

Looking to move up the ranks quickly? Try our League of Legends Boosting services. It's a simple and fast way to boost your rank. See how high you can go with our help!

LoL Boosting

You've just leveled up your knowledge with our latest definition. Now, let's keep the momentum going! Our definitions page is your one-stop resource for all things League of Legends. From A to Z, we've got every term covered. 

League of Legends Terms & Definitions