Often overlooked, CSing is one of the easiest ways to gain gold in League of Legends. Pros make it look easy with insanely high CS per minute averages, but what secret farming methods do they utilize? Check out the following tips to improve your CS numbers and become an expert last hitter.

Practice, Practice, Practice

A champion’s auto attack speed, damage and movement speed all factor into CSing. Familiarizing yourself with these specific concepts is the most effective way to increase your CS averages. That’s why practice is the easiest way to improve your CSing.

Auto attack speed, or auto timing, is the first technique to focus on. Recognizing how long it takes your champion to hit a minion after clicking on it gives you a timing window. Becoming comfortable with a champion’s window of attack time is essential to CSing.

Practice autoing with your preferred champion in a custom game or the practice tool until you have a rough estimate of how long each auto takes to execute.

(Note: For ranged champions, make sure to account for auto attack travel time. Your window includes not only the auto animation, but the travel animation as well)

Adding onto timing, the next step is experimenting with how much damage each auto outputs. Knowing the timing of your autos is great, but a knowledge of a champion’s auto attack damage helps you apply the timing window. Having an intimate understanding of the damage you produce in combination with the attack timing acts as the driving force for last hitting.

Get comfortable with your preferred champion’s damage output in a custom game or the practice tool. You can do this at the same time as auto timing practice.

Note: Buying items can change how much damage you deal or how fast you attack. Try practicing with a champion’s core item as well. Generally, the more damage and attack speed you build, the easier it is to CS

Remember, while it’s not the flashiest improvement method, practice makes perfect. After nailing down your last hit timings and damage, try CSing minion waves back-to-back. Below is a “practice plan” I use to work on last hitting.

Repetition on the fundamentals of last hitting creates a more comfortable farming experience. As CSing becomes second nature, you can try laning against a friend in a custom game. Adding a lane opponent to the mix simulates a game environment, letting you apply your technique in a match scenario.

Making Farming Easier

Other important champion stats to know are their movement speed and ability damage output. While not as influential or noticeable as timing and damage, movement speed adds another wrinkle to CSing. Getting used to your champion’s general range and the speed at which you can enter said range bolsters your chances of landing a last hit.

Damage from abilities can help set up or save minions in last hitting. AoE (Area of effect) abilities hit multiple minions, trimming waves by bringing them into last hit range quicker or clearing them altogether. Additionally, using abilities after landing your auto too early covers for the miss.Multiple champions employ specific abilities which aid CSing efforts, here are a few examples:

Annie

Annie acts as a straightforward burst-mage, primarily played in the midlane. Her Q (pictured above), Disintegrate, is perfect for CSing on a, traditionally, hard-to-CS character class. On minion kills, Disintegrate’s mana cost is refunded and the cooldown is reduced. The refund and cooldown reduction make Disintegrate the perfect high-damage CSing tool.

Champions with similar abilities: Cassiopeia and Irelia

Malzahar

Another midlane mage, Malzahar relies on his E, Malefic Visions (pictured above), to push waves quickly and efficiently. Casting Malefic Visions on a minion deals damage every half a second. On a takedown, Malefic Visions will jump to the nearest enemy and refund two percent of your maximum mana. Utilizing his other abilities in conjunction with his E, Malzahar can CS full waves easily, as Malefic Visions does all the clearing for you.

Champions with similar abilities: Heimerdinger

Fizz and Other Auto Attack Reset Champions

The Tidal Trickster is known for ruthlessly assassinating opposing champions but this fish also has great last hitting tools. His W, Seastone trident (pictured above), empowers his next auto-attack, refunding mana and reducing cooldown on kills. Although very similar to Annie, Seastone Trident acts as an auto attack reset.

In short, an auto attack reset queues your next auto immediately, creating a faster second attack. Auto attack resetting is a great way to cover up for early last hit attempts. Seastone Trident grants you a larger damage range for CSing, along with the auto attack reset.

Champions with similar abilities:Nasus, Jax and Yorick (A full list of champions with abilities that reset your autos can be found here).

Additional Farming Tips

On top of being practiced in CSing, other small notices and tips can help increase your CS in games. To stop missing minions, pay close attention to your own minions aggro patterns. Multiple minions targeting the same opposing minion will drop it’s health faster, which you can adjust to accordingly.

Likewise, players often miss out on free CS because of when they recall. Try not to back while an opponent’s wave is under your turret, as you’re losing farm twice as fast to the turret shots. Instead, try pushing your wave under their turret before a reset, forcing your opponent to stay behind.

Speaking of turrets, CSing under turret can be very intimidating. Take note of how much health minions lose to turret shots. Melee minions take two shots and one auto attack to takedown at full health, with caster minions taking one shot and two autos. Wait for the turret to hit the melee minion twice before autoing to secure the gold. For caster minions, wait for the turret to target one of them, then auto the same one as the shot lands. Auto again before the second shot hits for an easy kill.

Additionally, Cannon minions take six or seven turret shots, depending on the game time. The shot amount will vary depending on the cannons’ health, try to let it go as low as possible before autoing. The more you pay attention to the ranges, the easier they become to recognize.

(Note: Support mains, you can help your ADC farm under turret by prepping caster minions. Auto attack them first so your ADC has more time to land an auto.)

Improving your farming is possible at any skill level because all you need is practice. The more you work at, the easier it becomes. Keep playing and grinding, and your CS numbers will skyrocket. Good luck in the practice tool and good luck on the Rift!