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A League of Legends minion is an autonomous lane unit that leaves a team’s Nexus, marches toward the enemy Nexus, attacks enemy units and structures, and can be killed for gold and experience. The four standard types are melee, caster, siege (usually called cannon), and super minions. Learning what each one does—and when each wave arrives—explains why players last-hit, hold or push waves, time recalls, and group for turrets.
What a minion does in League of Legends
Minions are the repeating pressure system in every standard lane. They spawn from a team’s Nexus, travel down a lane, fight opposing minions, and continue toward turrets and the enemy base. They do not need a player to issue movement or attack commands. Champions influence their path indirectly by killing them, damaging them, tanking for them, or changing which side has more surviving units.
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A wave is the group of minions that leaves the spawn point together. Because waves arrive on a schedule, they create predictable moments for collecting gold, contesting a trade, recalling, roaming, or attacking a turret. A wave that survives can also act as a moving screen: enemy champions must clear it before they can safely fight the champion behind it, while the minions add damage to a structure.
Killing a minion is not enough by itself to guarantee its gold. The champion that lands the final hit receives the minion’s kill gold. Other champions can still gain experience under the game’s shared-experience rules, but the exact sharing values are patch-dependent.
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How minion waves spawn and what is in a wave
Patch 26.1 timing changes
Riot’s Patch 26.1 rules set two late-game wave intervals: waves spawn every 25 seconds from the 14-minute mark, and every 20 seconds from the 30-minute mark. These are cadence changes, not a promise that every part of the game uses one of those intervals. The cited Patch 26.1 information does not establish an early-game interval, so do not assume that the 25- or 20-second number applies before its stated time.
The first cannon minion appears on wave 3. Composition also changes when the faster cadences begin. On the 14-minute cadence, one fewer melee minion spawns; on the 30-minute cadence, one fewer caster minion spawns. These substitutions keep the wave from simply gaining unlimited units as the spawn rate rises.
Riot described the purpose of the change as creating “more windows for successful pushing” while avoiding runaway gold and experience inflation from faster waves. In practical terms, mid- and late-game players see more frequent opportunities to build a wave, escort it to a turret, or catch an opposing wave before taking an objective.
The four standard categories
| Minion type | Primary battlefield job | Gold and experience information | Turret or appearance notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melee | Front-line unit that absorbs damage and forms the front of the wave | Patch 26.1 melee gold: 20. Melee experience: 62. | Normal lane unit; health scaling is frequently rebalanced. |
| Caster (ranged) | Ranged damage dealer positioned behind melee units | Patch 26.1 ranged experience: 31. The cited excerpt does not state a ranged-minion gold amount. | Normal lane unit; one fewer caster appears on the 30-minute cadence under Patch 26.1. |
| Siege (cannon) | Higher-value unit with special turret rules and time-based attack scaling | Base gold 50 plus 1 every 90 seconds; experience 75 under Patch 26.1. | First appears on wave 3; Patch 26.1 sets cannon damage to turrets at 84%. |
| Super | Empowered push unit used in base-push situations | Grouped with cannon minions at 50 gold plus 1 every 90 seconds; experience 75 under Patch 26.1. | Patch 26.1 base attack damage: 180; normally associated with pressured base lanes rather than ordinary waves. |
Melee minions: the wave’s front line
Melee minions fight at close range and are comparatively durable. They walk in front of the ranged units, take the first hits from enemy minions and champions, and determine where the two waves initially meet. If the melee line disappears quickly, the caster minions behind it become exposed and the wave can collapse.
Patch values are temporary balance settings. Riot’s Patch 26.9 notes, for example, changed melee health scaling to 430 base health plus 35 every 90 seconds. That figure is useful when discussing Patch 26.9, but it should not be treated as a permanent statistic. A current patch can change health, damage, attack speed, or the effect of a minion-damage modifier.
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Each melee minion is worth 20 gold under the cited Patch 26.1 rules when your champion gets the final hit. Their 62 experience value is also a Patch 26.1 figure, and shared experience follows revised ratios that can change in later patches.
Caster minions: ranged damage behind the line
Caster minions attack from range and stand behind the melee units. Their positioning lets a wave continue dealing damage while the front line is occupied. They are less protected when a champion reaches the back of the wave, so a player who wants to thin an incoming wave often targets casters after controlling the melee units.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Patch 26.1 assigns ranged minions 31 experience in the cited changes. The same excerpt says ranged-minion gold was unchanged but does not provide a number; use the live game’s current value rather than copying an unqualified figure from an older guide. At the 30-minute cadence, one fewer caster minion spawns per wave under Patch 26.1.
Cannon minions: siege pressure and premium last hits
A cannon minion, also called a siege minion, is a higher-value unit with special rules for attacking turrets. The first cannon appears on wave 3. Its attacks scale with time, and Patch 26.1 changed its turret damage to 84%, making a cannon wave particularly useful when a team wants to damage a structure.
Cannon gold under Patch 26.1 starts at 50 and increases by 1 every 90 seconds. The value is attached to the champion that secures the last hit, so missing a cannon is a more expensive mistake than missing an ordinary unit. Cannon experience is 75 in the same patch’s table.
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The exact cadence for later cannon appearances is not stated in the supplied Patch 26.1 excerpt, and Riot can alter it. Watch the current patch notes or in-game wave behavior instead of assuming that a remembered pattern is still correct.
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Super minions are stronger push units used when a team is attacking a base. They are not simply a cosmetic version of a melee minion: they have their own balance values and are intended to make a pressured lane harder to clear.
Patch 26.1 set super-minion base attack damage to 180 and grouped their rewards with cannon minions: 50 gold plus 1 every 90 seconds and 75 experience. Those numbers describe that patch only. A super minion’s presence signals a special base-push situation, so defenders should treat the wave as a structure threat rather than as an ordinary farming wave.
How minion gold and experience work
Last-hit gold
The final hit determines which champion receives a minion’s gold. You can damage a minion early, let allied units reduce it, and then deliver the finishing attack. This is why players often wait for a minion to reach a predictable health threshold instead of attacking continuously.
Under Patch 26.1, the stated values are 20 gold for a melee minion and 50 gold plus 1 every 90 seconds for cannon and super minions. Ranged-minion gold is described as unchanged in the cited excerpt, but no amount is supplied there. Gold values, like health and damage, can be changed by a balance patch, so date every number when using it for practice or coaching.
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Experience is a separate reward
Experience is not awarded by last hit in the same way as gold. Patch 26.1 lists 62 experience for melee minions, 31 for ranged minions, and 75 for cannon and super minions, with revised shared-experience ratios. The important practical distinction is that a player can miss the killing blow yet still receive experience when participating in the game’s experience-sharing system, while the gold goes to the last hitter.
Why last-hitting matters
Last-hitting converts a wave into reliable champion income. If you attack too early, an allied minion may take the kill; if you wait too long, an enemy champion or turret may remove the target. The skill is especially important for cannon minions because their higher gold value makes each missed last hit more costly.
A simple last-hit routine
- Read the wave. Identify melee, caster, and cannon units, then note which minions are already being focused by allied attacks.
- Estimate incoming damage. A minion under several allied attacks can die before your next basic attack, so begin your attack or ability earlier.
- Prioritize the cannon. When it is safe, plan the finishing hit on the higher-value unit before chasing a low-health champion.
- Use controlled damage. Area abilities can accidentally kill several minions or push the wave when you meant to hold it. Use them deliberately when wave position matters.
- Secure under pressure. Near your turret, account for turret shots and allied minion attacks rather than waiting for a generic health percentage that may not fit your champion.
Last-hitting is also a positioning decision. Standing close enough to collect a wave can expose you to a trade; standing too far away can cost experience or gold. The right choice depends on enemy threat, your next objective, and whether the wave must move or remain where it is.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How minions damage turrets
Minions are the usual way a champion safely converts lane control into structure damage. Current rules set minion-to-turret damage at 60%. Cannon minions have a separate turret rule: Patch 26.1 sets their damage to turrets at 84%. A cannon therefore increases the threat of a siege wave even when the champion escorting it is not attacking the turret directly.
Use the wave as a buffer. Enemy turrets can spend their shots on minions while your champion attacks from behind the line, but the protection disappears as the wave dies. If you step forward after the final minion falls, the turret can switch its attention to you according to the game’s structure-targeting rules.
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To make a push effective, keep enough minions alive to reach the structure, remove defenders when possible, and avoid taking unnecessary damage before the wave arrives. Killing the enemy wave too early can leave your own minions exposed; killing it at the right time can create a temporary numbers advantage for the turret.
Wave control: freeze, build, or crash
Holding a wave (a freeze)
A freeze keeps enemy minions near your side of the lane. Players usually do this by allowing only enough allied damage to secure last hits while leaving a small enemy numerical advantage. The short distance to your turret makes farming safer and forces an opponent to walk forward to collect gold. A freeze is fragile: an accidental area attack or an extra allied minion can push it away.
Building a slow push
A slow push starts by preserving more allied minions than the opponent can immediately clear. The surviving units accumulate into a larger wave as later spawns arrive. This creates a moving screen and a larger damage package for a future turret attack, but it also takes time and can be vulnerable to an enemy champion with strong area damage.
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Crashing the wave
To crash, clear the opposing wave quickly so your accumulated minions reach the enemy turret together. A crash can give you time to recall, move toward another lane, place vision, or contest an objective while the opponent is occupied clearing. The faster 25-second cadence from 14 minutes and 20-second cadence from 30 minutes make these timing windows appear more often in the mid and late game under Patch 26.1.
Reading a wave before you act
- Need gold safely: focus on last hits, especially the cannon, and avoid adding unnecessary damage that changes the lane position.
- Need to recall: push enough to make the wave reach the enemy turret so the opponent cannot immediately freeze it on your side.
- Need to roam: a crashed wave buys time, whereas leaving a large enemy wave at your turret can cost gold and structure health.
- Want a turret: preserve a cannon or super-minion wave, escort it, and remember that minion damage is modified by the current turret rules.
- Are defending: remove high-value or high-damage units first when safe, then clear the rest before the wave reaches the structure.
Why minion rules keep changing
Minions are balance levers for the entire map. Changing spawn intervals affects how often players can push, recall, roam, and contest objectives. Changing gold or experience affects champion power curves. Changing health, damage, or turret modifiers changes how difficult it is to clear a wave or convert it into structure damage.
Patch 26.9’s melee-health change—from the earlier values to 430 base health plus 35 every 90 seconds—and its adjustments to Minion Slayer’s damage bonuses against melee, ranged, and siege minions show why old stat tables become unreliable. Treat every printed number in this article as a versioned Patch 26.1 or 26.9 value, not a timeless rule. Before using a detailed matchup plan, check the current patch notes and the live game’s tooltips.
Quick Recap
A practical checklist for every wave
- Identify the wave’s composition and whether a cannon or super minion makes it unusually valuable.
- Choose an objective for the next minute: farm, hold the lane, crash, recall, roam, or damage a turret.
- Secure last hits without using damage that accidentally destroys the wave shape you need.
- Track the next spawn timing—25 seconds from 14 minutes and 20 seconds from 30 minutes under Patch 26.1—and expect composition substitutions at those thresholds.
- When pushing a structure, keep the minion line alive long enough to provide its 60% normal turret damage or the applicable cannon modifier.
- Recheck patch-specific values after updates; Riot can change minion rewards, scaling, composition, and modifiers independently.
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