League-of-legends – a free kill in LoL

league-of-legendsterminology

I often read or hear that term even if they're referring to some full hp target.

I could think that as a kill that has no damage risk at all, but I'm not feeling sure about it.

Best Answer

'Free kill' is a term that is used to refer to any objective that can be taken by a team (or player) where there is little to no risk to the team (or player) to take it.

This includes champions, turrets and objectives.

For instance, if a team won an early teamfight at bottom 4 kills to 1, and their health and damage are still good, then Dragon might be considered a 'free kill'. The same situation can happen with Baron.

In other cases, a team may push down to 1 or 2 inhibitors and choose to return to base. On their way back out - due to the pressure provided by the super minions - they may choose to push the remaining lane - which could guarded by an outer turret. Because of that team's map control and pressure in other lanes, this outer turret is likely a 'free kill' (regardless of health) as it would be too risky for the other team to defend it.

Similarly, if a champion is overextended, underleveled, unskilled or alone, the champion may be considered a 'free kill'. (See Justschge's answer)