Melee minions are the standard frontline units in a lane wave. They have melee attack range, are moderately durable, and act as the first line of contact when waves collide. In every normal wave, three melee minions spawn.
Role in the minion wave
Melee minions exist primarily to:
- soak damage for the rest of the wave
- hold the front line so caster and siege minions can attack safely
- determine early wave positioning, since they are the first units to meet and start fighting
Because they stand in front, melee minions usually take most of the punishment from enemy minions, champions, and turrets. Managing when melee minions die is a big part of controlling wave states like pushing and freezing.
Rewards and basic stats
- Gold bounty: 20
- EXP: 65 to 14.11 depending on champion sharing
- Health: 465 to 1500 (based on upgrades)
- Attack damage: 11 to 80 (based on upgrades)
- Attack speed: 1.25
- Attack range: 110
- Armor: 0 to 20 (based on upgrades)
- Magic resist: 0
- CS value: 1
Damage rules and scaling
Melee minions follow the general minion rule:
- Minions deal 60% damage to structures and champions
They also scale through the match. Minions upgrade every 90 seconds, and melee minions can increase:
- health
- attack damage
- armor
until they hit a cap.
This scaling is one reason late-game waves are harder to clear quickly and why unattended side lanes can become dangerous over time.
Special effects (Gusto)
Melee minions have a built-in effect described by the cosmetic item Gusto, which includes two unique combat rules:
Gusto
Turret basic attacks are modified to deal 45% of the melee minion’s maximum health as pre-mitigation damage.
Minion Wounder
Against lane minions, the melee minion deals bonus on-hit physical damage equal to 2% of the target’s current health.
These effects define how melee minions interact with turrets and reinforce their role as the wave’s durable frontline.
ARAM differences
In ARAM, melee minion bounty scales differently:
- Gold bounty is 20 (+ 0.125 per 90 seconds)
Trivia highlights from your notes
- In League of Legends: Turret Defence, older purple-team melee minions appeared as wave enemies
- In Teamfight Tactics sets 1, 2, and 4, red-team melee minion variants appeared as early PvE round monsters
Quick takeaway
Melee minions are the wave’s backbone. Three spawn per wave, they tank damage, and they scale every 90 seconds with upgrades. Even though they are the simplest minion type, they heavily influence how waves meet, how long a push lasts, and how safely the rest of the wave can deal damage.
