Lesson 2 of 5 · 6 min
A Roam Costs a Wave, So It Has to Buy One
Every walk out of mid is paid for in minions you will not collect. The arithmetic that tells you whether the roam was worth it, before you leave, not after.
// What you will be able to do
- Price a roam against the wave and the plate it costs you
- Leave only after a crash, so the lane is not paying for the whole trip
- Abort a roam that has gone stale instead of committing to it
Roaming looks free because nothing bad happens at the moment you leave. The bill arrives ninety seconds later, when you come back to a wave under your 
, a plate gone, and an opponent who is a level up. A roam is a purchase, and like every purchase it is only good if what you got is worth more than what you paid.
| Roam | Worth a wave? | Condition |
|---|---|---|
 or  fight | Yes, always | Leave 30–40 seconds before it spawns |
| Gank a lane with a pushed wave | Yes | Their wave near your and CC available |
| Gank a lane pushed into their | No | There is nothing to close the distance with |
| Warding the enemy jungle | Sometimes | Only on the way to something else |
| Following your jungler because he pinged | Only if it is one of the above | A ping is not a reason |
When is the cheapest moment to leave mid lane?
// The rest of this lesson is Pro
A Roam Costs a Wave, So It Has to Buy One: the practical half
Everything above is the concept. Behind the gate: the situations where it applies, the mistake that costs the most, the interactive drills, and a field assignment measured against your own ranked games.