Gold Lane Mastery

The gold lane (bottom lane) gives bonus gold for last-hitting minions. That makes it the designated lane for marksmen, who need gold more than XP to hit their power spikes.

Your positioning should prioritize safety above all else. You're the squishiest hero on your team, and dying early means losing precious farm time. Stand behind your ranged minions and use max attack range to last-hit. Never walk past the river line without vision of the enemy jungler.

If you're playing a short-range marksman like Brody or Beatrix, stay within dash range of your tower. Your support should ideally be near your lane for the first two minutes to protect you. Communicate if they leave so you know to play more cautiously.

If the enemy support rotates to your lane for a gank, retreat immediately. Don't try to outplay a 2v1.

Kiting is essential. When an enemy approaches, attack-move backward: deal damage while creating distance. Practice this in custom games until it's muscle memory. A marksman who can kite is exponentially harder to kill.

The gold lane passive rewards every minion you personally last-hit. CS accuracy is critically important here. Missing even a few last-hits per wave adds up to hundreds of gold lost over the laning phase.

Focus on timing your attacks so the killing blow lands on each minion. Use your first skill sparingly for wave clear early on. Save it for trading or securing cannon minions, which are worth roughly three times a normal minion's gold. The cannon spawns every third wave. Never miss it.

Farm jungle camps near your lane when your wave is pushed. The small camp closest to gold lane gives extra gold and XP without pulling you far from lane. Time it so you clear the camp while waiting for the next minion wave.

Know your hero's power spike timings. Most marksmen hit their first major spike when they complete their first core item (usually Berserker's Fury or Windtalker plus boots). Once you hit that spike, you can start trading more aggressively and joining team fights. Before that spike, farming is your priority. Don't join unnecessary fights.

Marksmen scale with items, not levels, which is why they go to the gold lane. Understanding your power spikes tells you when to play aggressively and when to farm passively.

Your first major spike comes when you complete your core attack speed or crit item, usually around the 5-6 minute mark. Your DPS jumps significantly and you can start winning trades against heroes who haven't finished their core items.

The second spike hits at two core items plus boots, around 9-11 minutes. At this point, a well-farmed marksman becomes one of the most dangerous heroes on the map. Start grouping with your team for objectives and tower pushes.

At three or more completed items, you're the primary win condition. With full crit, attack speed, and penetration, you melt towers, objectives, and heroes alike. Your team should play around you: protect you and let you deal the damage.

During weak points between spikes, avoid fighting and focus on farming. If the enemy forces a fight before your spike, play defensively and contribute from max range.

Tower plates give bonus gold when destroyed. As the gold laner, prioritize taking plates when it's safe. After forcing the enemy to recall or after a successful gank, push into the tower and chip away at plates.

Be careful about taking the tower too early though. If you destroy the outer gold lane tower before completing your first item, you lose a safe farming spot and the waves meet closer to their second tower, which is harder to farm.

After the first towers fall, the laning phase transitions into mid-game. Rotate to mid with your team while sending a solo laner to collect side waves.

As a marksman, never be alone in a side lane during mid-game unless you can see all five enemies on the minimap. The gold from side lane farming isn't worth the risk of getting caught.

Stay with your tank and support, and let fighters and assassins handle the side waves.