KDA is (kills + assists) ÷ deaths. A 5/3/7 game is (5 + 7) ÷ 3 = 4.0. If you didn't die there is nothing to divide by, and the ratio is shown as “Perfect”. A good KDA depends on your role and champion, so compare it with your own games on the same champion rather than with one magic number. And look at deaths first: one death fewer lifts your KDA more than one kill more.
How KDA is calculated
Add your kills and assists, then divide by your deaths. Assists count as much as kills, because a kill is usually the work of several players, and this way supports and junglers show up in the number too. That is the difference with the K/D of a shooter, which leaves assists out.
| Game | K / D / A | KDA |
|---|---|---|
| A clean lane | 5 / 3 / 7 | 4.00 |
| A support game | 1 / 4 / 15 | 4.00 |
| A stomp | 10 / 2 / 3 | 6.50 |
| A rough game | 2 / 6 / 4 | 1.00 |
| No deaths | 3 / 0 / 9 | Perfect |
Notice the first two rows. A support with one kill and the laner with five kills have the same KDA, because the support's assists do the work. That is fair, and it is also why KDA alone can't compare two roles.
Kill participation is the other half: (kills + assists) ÷ your team's kills. It shows how much of the fighting you were part of, where KDA shows how cheaply you did it.
KDA calculator
Type in your kills, deaths and assists, and your team's kills if you want your kill participation. The last tile shows what one death fewer would have done, next to one kill more.
KDA calculator
Kills, deaths and assists from your post-game screen. Team kills is optional.
KDA
4.00
(5 + 7) ÷ 3
Kill participation
60%
12 of your team's 20 kills
One death fewer
6.00
One kill more instead: 4.33
What a good KDA looks like, per role
We don't give you a single target number, because there isn't an honest one: the right KDA moves with the role, the champion, the game length and how often your team fights. Here is what good looks like in words.
- Support: few kills and many assists. Enchanters who stay behind their carry can keep a high KDA. Engage supports start fights and die more often, so judge them on the fights they start, not the ratio.
- ADC: your gold is your team's damage, so deaths hurt most here. A good ADC game has kills and assists from fights, and few deaths from being caught alone.
- Mid: close to the ADC for mages and assassins, with more assists when you roam. Deaths on the way back from a roam are the common leak.
- Jungle: a high kill participation matters more than the ratio. Deaths while invading or contesting a camp you couldn't win are the ones to cut.
- Top: the most isolated lane, so a lower kill participation is normal. Tanks die more because they walk in first; split pushers die more when they push without vision.
The useful benchmark is your own average on the same champion and role. If your Jinx KDA was 3.1 over your last twenty games and this week it is 2.2, that says more than any table online.
Why deaths count more than kills
In the formula. Deaths are what you divide by, so they swing the ratio hardest. Take the 5/3/7 game: one more kill makes it (6 + 7) ÷ 3 = 4.33. One death fewer makes it (5 + 7) ÷ 2 = 6.00.
In the game. A death gives the other team gold and experience: the bounty goes to the killer, the players who assisted and enemies nearby. It also takes you off the map. The respawn timer is 10 seconds at level 1 and 52.5 seconds at level 18, and it keeps growing after 15 minutes, to almost 80 seconds in a long game. That is time without farm, without experience and without you at the next objective.
In the data. Analyst Philip Maymin split deaths into the ones that bought something (an objective, a teammate's escape) and “worthless” deaths that gave the team nothing. The worthless ones were among the strongest drags on winning. A kill helps, but it is shared with your team; a worthless death is all yours.
When KDA lies
- Safe and useless: farming the side lane while your team loses every objective keeps your KDA clean and loses the game.
- A good death: dying to win a dragon or baron, or so your carry gets away, lowers your KDA and can still be the right call.
- Short stomps: a 20-minute win gives everyone on the winning side a high KDA, including the player who did little.
- Missing context: KDA doesn't see CS, vision or objectives. Read it next to CS at 10 minutes and vision score.
How to die less
- Count only your early deaths. Deaths before 14 minutes are the easiest to change and they cost the most lane. Write down how many you had in your last ten games.
- Make one if-then plan. For example: “If my lane opponent is missing and my river ward is gone, then I step back to my tower.” Read it in champ select, check it after the game.
- Look at the five seconds before. Most deaths are decided before the fight: no ward, too far forward, or a long walk with a lot of gold you hadn't spent.
- Stop after a bad stretch. Deaths come in clusters when you are tilted. Our tilt guide has a session rule that helps.
That is the loop from how to climb in solo queue, aimed at the single number that moves your KDA most.
Questions
How is KDA calculated in LoL?
(Kills + assists) divided by deaths. With 0 deaths the ratio is shown as Perfect.
Is a KDA of 3 good?
It depends on the role and champion. Compare it with your own average on that champion: above it is a good game for you, below it is worth a look at your deaths.
What is the difference between KDA and KD?
KD is kills divided by deaths and leaves out assists. KDA counts assists as well, which suits a team game.
What is kill participation?
Your kills plus assists divided by your team's kills: the share of your team's kills you took part in.