How to Master Wave Freezing in League and Stop Getting Zoned Off Farm
Wave freezing is insane for climbing out of Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, or low Plat. But let’s be real: most players just let the wave crash, push randomly, or get zoned off their farm by a lane bully. If you’re tired of losing every CS contest or always getting ganked when you try to pick up waves, learning how to freeze properly will straight up change how you win lane and snowball games.
Why Low Elo Players Keep Failing at Wave Freezing
Here’s the issue: freezing isn’t just “leave the wave near your tower.” It’s a precise setup. If you miss minions, let your wave die too fast, or don’t understand how to maintain the freeze, it’s gone, and you’re stuck under tower while the enemy zones you.
Common mistakes:
– Pushing when you have no river vision (easy gank)
– Trying to freeze but killing too many minions
– Letting enemy crash a huge wave and then not holding it
– Never using auto + abilities to balance minion HP
– Not resetting the freeze after getting chunked or poked
When you figure out freezing, you win lanes—even on scaling champs or when you’re behind.
H2: The Main Keyword—Wave Freezing Guide for League of Legends
H3: What is Wave Freezing?
A freeze means you lock minions close to your tower, but not under it. The wave barely moves, so you get safe farm, and the enemy can’t safely walk up without risking a deadly trade or jungle gank.
Why freeze?
– Prevents all-ins and ganks against you
– Forces your opponent to overextend for farm—perfect for setting up plays
– Lets you comeback when losing trades or behind in lane
H3: How to Set Up a Freeze (Step-by-Step)
1. **Let the Enemy Push In**
– Don’t auto minions or use abilities early. Let your wave get pushed toward your tower.
– After a big crash (like cannon wave), last-hit only, no extra clears.
2. **Keep 3–4 Enemy Melee Minions Alive**
– For a stable freeze, you need about 3 ranged/3 melee enemy minions outside your tower range.
– Last-hit when minions are about to die; don’t spam autos.
3. **Balance Minion DPS**
– If your wave starts winning, carefully tank minion hits (as needed) to let enemy minions live longer.
– Don’t let the wave crash into tower fully. Pull enemy minions away if possible.
4. **Reset/Repair the Freeze if Broken**
– If you lose the freeze (enemy shoves hard or you’re chunked), catch the next wave, let it push again, and re-freeze.
– If enemy tries to crash a huge wave, tank the minion wave just outside tower range.
5. **Ping Your Jungler for a Gank**
– When enemy is deep past river, forced to walk up, perfect timing for a jungle gank.
– Communicate: ping “assist me” or “enemy overextended.”
H3: Common Freezing Mistakes
– Auto-attacking every minion randomly, breaking the freeze
– Letting your minion wave kill all enemy minions—wave starts pushing back
– Not tanking minion aggro when the wave is about to crash
– Trying to freeze with too few enemy minions (needs 3–4 minimum)
– Never calling for a gank while the enemy is overextended
H3: Real In-Game Example
Example 1: You’re playing a scaling top lane champ (Nasus). Enemy Renekton pushes hard, crashes wave. You let 3 melee and 1 ranged minion survive outside tower, last-hit only. Renekton has to overextend for CS, your jungler comes and nets an easy kill.
Example 2: As ADC, enemy Caitlyn bullies you, shoves wave by spamming abilities. You freeze by last-hitting and keeping 4 enemy minions alive outside tower. She’s stuck farming under your tower, loses kill pressure, and can’t poke you out.
Example 3: Mid lane—enemy shoves for roam. You hold wave outside tower, making them lose gold and XP every time they roam.
H3: Advanced Freezing Tricks
– **Pull minions:** Aggro minions and walk them further from tower to keep them out of tower range.
– **Tank minion hits:** If wave is crashing too quickly, walk forward and tank minion damage to slow the push.
– **Timed reset:** If enemy resets and you need to safely recall, quickly push the wave, recall, then freeze when returning.
H3: When To Break the Freeze
– If you’re ahead and want to pressure map (roam, help jungle), push out to crash wave and reset.
– If enemy is missing, push to crash so they miss CS.
– When prepping for dragon/Herald, push so you can group.
H3: Lane Matchup Synergy
Best freeze champs:
– Scaling lanes: Nasus, Kassadin, Vayne, Vladimir
– Lane bullies: Chill, but freeze to survive or bait
Hard matchups: Freeze to avoid all-ins or tower dives
H3: How Freezing Wins Games
– Quintuples your jungle gank potential
– Safeguards your farm on scaling picks
– Destroys enemy tempo and gold
– Makes every comeback possible, no matter how bad lane started
Quick Recap
– Freeze the wave by only last-hitting and keeping 3–4 enemy minions alive outside tower range
– Hold it for safe farm, jungle ganks, and to punish enemy overextending
– Break freeze only for objectives, resets, or to deny enemy CS
Do This
– Set up a freeze every time you’re losing lane or playing a scaling champ
– Last-hit ONLY—don’t push unless prepping for objective
– Ping jungler when enemy is forced to overextend for farm
Stop Doing This
– Randomly auto-attacking minions and breaking your freeze
– Letting enemy crash massive waves without tanking outside tower
– Never setting up vision/missing jungle gank opportunities
Focus On This Next Game
– Try freezing instead of pushing and watch how enemy gets pressured
– Hold the freeze for as long as possible—see how many ganks you get
– Use freezing to comeback or set up kills, not just to “avoid losing”
Mastering the freeze is a massive power move for climbing. Get it right, and you’ll stop losing lane, start controlling your matchup, and tilt the enemy every time they try to pressure you. It’s a real win condition, not just a lane trick—test it and you’ll see the difference immediately.