5 Tips to Get and Keep a Gold Lead in Lane
XP is a resource that every player naturally receives and gains as the game goes along. In an even lane, you and the enemy laner(s) should have roughly the same XP and be at the same level. However, it is very easy to gain or lose an XP advantage by making minor errors that could give the enemy an advantage over you in the long run.
In this Mobalytics guide, we will break down some tips and tricks to help you gain an XP lead and stop you from falling behind in XP. Through calculated decisions and good map awareness, you will be able to gain an advantage and reduce your chances of falling behind in League of Legends.
Note that these tips may vary depending on the champion you’re playing and who you’re laning against. Furthermore, the suggestions may not be suitable for every role.
Here are the topics we will be covering:
- What is XP in League of Legends
- Example champions
- 5 Tips to Get and Keep a Gold Lead in Lane
- Stop leashing for your Jungler at 1.38
- Lookout for dying minions before placing wards
- Zone the enemy ADC when the Support roams
- Catch side waves
- Secure jungle camps
What is XP in League of Legends?
Experience or XP or EXP is what champions use to level up. With every level up, the champion can upgrade or unlock an ability. You can gain XP in various ways, including killing a champion, gaining an assist, being in the range of a minion’s death, destroying structures and killing monsters.
The more champions there are around, the less XP each champion gains. Solo laners will always level up before the bottom laners because the pair in the bottom have to share XP.
Example champions
Some champions in League of Legends need to get as much XP as they can to come online. For instance, they may need to hit level 6 as quickly as possible to start ganking, or they may need to delay fights in the mid or late game until they hit level 16. Every champion has a particular power spike they need to hit to be “useful”.
If you want to learn when each champion is strong or need help identifying when a champion is strong, check out this guide to understand champion power spikes.
Amumu
Amumu needs to get as much gold and XP as possible in the early game to hit his first significant power spike, his level 6, where he unlocks his Ultimate. Up until that time, he should focus on power farming and ganking low health enemies.
This image and ones similar are taken from the LOL Wiki page.
“Come play with me”, and check out Amumu’s champion page. It has the latest and greatest jungling paths for him to help you hit level 6 quicker.
Alistar
Alistar is a roaming champion. If he roams too much or roams at the wrong time, he may start to fall behind in XP and gold. When looking to roam, you must look at everything before wandering around the map to ensure you get something out of it.
Don’t fall behind again by learning when to roam and not roam by checking Alistar’s champion page.
Kassadin
Kassadin is a unique champion. He doesn’t do too much pre-6 and doesn’t have much kill set up, but his late-game will be hard to play against if he gets an early lead. Kassadin needs to be funnelled as much XP and gold as he can in the early and mid-game so he can hit level 16 as quickly as he can.
If you want to learn how to play Kassadin and improve your gold and XP income, check out Kassadin’s champion page.
5 Tips to Get and Keep a Gold Lead in Lane
To gain and maintain an XP lead, it is essential to understand the stats related to your performance.
You can check this at any time by plugging in your Summoner name and seeing your GPI scores, as seen in the image below.
With these stats, you can quickly see your overall stats and see how good you are at gaining XP and keeping it throughout the game.
1. Stop leashing at 1:38
When leashing for your Jungler, you may want to be a nice person and help them get it really low before walking back to the lane. However, you need to stop leashing at around 1:38 to ensure that you get the XP for the first minion(s). If you leave any later, you may miss out on the XP.
If you miss some XP on the first wave, you’re going to hit level 2 later than the enemy which they could abuse. For example, many Supports have a strong level 2 all-in like Nautilus, Blitzcrank or Alistar. If they hit level 2 before you, you can’t do anything to stop them apart from positioning safely.
You must never miss any early XP because it often makes the difference between specific level power spikes such as level 2, 3, 4 and 6.
2. Lookout for dying minions before placing wards
When going to ward, especially going for deeper wards that force you to leave the lane, have a quick look at what minions are on low health and are going to die before you get back. If a few minions are very low, the likelihood is that they may die while you’re gone.
If you leave the XP range to ward, and the enemy laners are still in the lane, they will gain an XP and gold advantage over you if any minions die. This could be extreme and cost you a lot down the line. For example, the enemy may hit level 3 or level 6 before you and use that advantage to get a kill.
My advice would be to delay placing wards when any minions are going to die soon. If no minions are going to die shortly- go to ward, but don’t if you think you will miss out on XP. Under no circumstances should you go to ward when there is a low health cannon minion because you will miss out on a lot of XP if you do so.
3. Zone the enemy ADC when the Support roams
Zoning is a tool that is underutilised in League of Legends. When the enemy Support roams, the ADC will be on their own in the bottom lane. As the ADC or Support, you should adjust your positioning and move slightly forward to zone the enemy ADC away from farm and push them out of XP range.
As soon as you see the enemy Support roam, push up slightly and put yourself in an aggressive position. This should force the enemy ADC to fall back slightly. If you can push them back, they will start to miss out on XP and gold because they have to respect you. If they do not respect you, then you can start to bully them down or all-in them.
Zyra, Nautilus, Blitzcrank, Nami and many others can do this to the enemy ADC. It is much easier when you and your ADC are on the same page and can both zone the enemy ADC away from the farm. If the enemy is ahead, or if you’re not very strong at this stage of the game, you may not be able to zone the enemy away from farm.
One instance where you can do this is when the enemy ADC has recently pushed the minion wave and it’s freezing near your tower. Freezing it on your side of the map forces them to overextend. You can also use the bushes to your advantage to make it harassing them easier.
Learn more about zoning in League of Legends by checking out our zoning guide!
4. Catch side waves
This tip is directed towards NA Solo Q! Stop ARAMing in the mid-lane and go to the side lanes to pick up gold and XP. When you group, you’re severely reducing your XP and gold income. You can prevent falling from behind and get your next power spike by going into a side lane and picking up the crashing waves.
This is XP and gold that is going to waste, so make sure you spend time moving from lane to lane and picking up side waves when possible. Be prepared to stay in a side lane for a short time, especially if you’re getting close to your next significant power spike.
5. Secure jungle camps
Jungle camps can stay up for long periods without anybody taking them: this is especially true in the later parts of the game. Ensure you secure them if no one else on your team is taking them to get some additional XP and CS.
However, be careful when doing this, especially if you’re Jungler is behind as they need the XP and gold to get back into the game. If you’re a laner, you should prioritise getting farm in the side lanes before taking it from the jungle.
If you’ve pushed the enemy into their base, you should try to take the camps on your way out to reduce their gold and XP income if it’s safe to do so.
Conclusion
Gaining a lead is hard, but keeping it is more challenging. You can get a slight lead or stop yourself from falling behind by using these tips in this guide to help you. Did you know about all these tips and utilize them daily?
For more tips and tricks, check out Mobalytics!
If you have any questions or want to learn more, check out PicklePants’s stream.
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