When to recall in LoL: back timing, waves and buy thresholds
Going back seems trivial, but the recall timing decides how much CS you lose, whether your turret gets taken and how strong you leave the shop. A well-timed back turns your gold into power without giving anything up; a bad one sets you back on your own.
When to go back: wave, gold and danger
The best recall almost always lines up with a wave you pushed into the enemy turret. If you go back right when your wave crashes into the enemy turret, those minions die to the turret anyway: you lose no CS by leaving, and you’re back in lane before the next wave reaches yours. The chart reminds you how much each minion is worth: a whole wave is too much gold to give up to bad timing.
Conversely, never go back with the wave coming toward your turret: while you’re at base, those minions die under your turret (which steals part of the gold) or the enemy takes them, and they can also push and damage your turret for free. If you have to go back no matter what (no health or no mana), at least shove the wave first.
And read the danger: go back when the enemy can’t punish you (no ultimate, far away, or dead). How to manipulate the wave to create that moment is in map control and waves; where the gold you’ll spend comes from, in where gold comes from.
Reference values for the patch. A full wave is worth almost a third of a kill: that’s why missing waves for shaky fights gives up more gold than it looks. Farming is deferred damage.
How much gold to go back with: the thresholds
Don’t go back “because I have gold”: go back when that gold completes something. Since a finished item gives far more than its loose components (the chart shows that power step, and the why is in gold efficiency), the best back is the one that lets you leave with a closed item or a big component that gives a jump, not with loose coins that don’t change the fight.
That’s why there are useful thresholds: saving for your first big component, for your first full item, for boots + something. If you’re 150 gold short of closing the item and the lane is safe, it’s often worth farming one more wave and going back with the whole jump. Going back twice for loose coins wastes more time (and XP) than a planned back.
Which item to close first and in what order is item buy order. And since every trip to base costs lane time, mind your CS and gold per minute: build your sequence in the build lab to see the jump from each purchase.
DPS of the same crit build (Caitlyn level 18) adding one item at a time, with the real engine. The biggest jump comes from the first items: that’s where your purchase power spikes are.
FAQ
What’s the best moment to recall?
When you pushed the wave into the enemy turret (those minions die to the turret anyway, so you lose no CS), you have gold to complete something useful and the enemy can’t punish you. That combination lets you go back, buy a power jump and return to lane without giving up gold or XP.
Should I recall as soon as I have gold or wait?
Wait until the gold completes an item or a big component. A finished item gives far more than two loose components, so if you’re a little short of closing a jump and the lane is safe, farm one more wave. Recalling for loose coins loses lane time and XP.