A Newb-Friendly Guide to League of Legends Part 2: Gold

Hello again, Summoners. I am Matthew "KyuubiCalvary" Weatherholt. Today, we'll be talking about gold. In League of Legends, gold is the number one indicator of how strong you are as both a champion and a summoner. Even if you've died twenty times in a single game, as long as you have a strong gold lead, winning can be very viable. How does one get gold in League of Legends?

First, gold is generated over time passively. This number can be increased by purchasing certain items that boost this number. One such item is the Philosopher's Stone. It increases passive gold generation by an extra 5 gold per ten seconds, as well as increasing mana and health regeneration.

Another way of getting gold in League of Legends is by killing minions and neutral monsters. This is commonly known as CS'ing (Creep Scoring).

A basic, blue minion

Because a champion doesn't get the gold for killing a minion unless they get the absolute last hit on it, timing is more important in League of Legends than most other games. A good rule of thumb to remember in lane is that a basic minion is worth more than a caster minion, and a cannon minion is worth more than a basic minion. The gold difference can become significant over time.

 A purple caster minion

A cannon minion

Your gold advantage can be determined by comparing your lane opponent's Creep Score with your own. The gold amount that a minion gives increases over time, so it can take a little practice to tell how much you're actually ahead in gold.

While in lane, try to only last hit the minions. By that, I mean you should attempt to not hit a minion until it's nearly dead, so as to not push the lane unnecessarily. This ensures that the enemy jungler won't be able to attack you as easily from behind or the sides. Remember that a kill on an enemy laner is worth around 17 minions. You put yourself that much farther ahead and your enemies that much farther behind every time you deny them gold by either kicking them out of lane or killing them. (Plus the minions you kill while they're dead)

There are three lane turrets in each lane. Destroying these turrets grants your team 150 gold each. We'll get more into detail about turrets in another guide. Just know to smash them.

A basic turret in a lane

Next, there's a dragon in the river by the bottom lane. He's powerful, and should not be taken lightly. Killing him grants 190 gold to each person on your team, with a bonus of 25 for the person who lands the last hit on him. The dragon respawns every six minutes, so keep an eye on the timer!

Ahri fighting the powerful Dragon 

Finally, Baron Nashor is the most powerful being on Summoner's Rift. He spawns fifteen minutes into the game and is much more powerful than the Dragon. Baron Nashor gains health every minute he's alive, making him MORE powerful as time goes on. Killing Baron Nashor grants the whole team 300 gold, with a bonus 25 for whoever landed the killing blow AND the victorious team gets a powerful buff that scales over time, up to a cap. Baron Nashor can be said to be the most important objective in Summoner's Rift, next to the enemy's actual Nexus

Baron Nashor by Ragamuffyn

Next time, we'll look at the different archetypes of the champions in League of Legends. Until then, I'll see you all on the Fields of Justice!