When looking for a champion to play in League of Legends, you should consider your preferred playstyle, your role, and your skill level. There are over 160 champions, so finding a good match is key to both fun and improvement.
Start with Your Playstyle
Before you even look at champions, think about how you like to play. Do you prefer a high-risk, high-reward style, or a more patient and strategic approach?
Your answers can help you narrow down your options significantly:
- Aggressive & High-Risk: Look for assassins like Zed (mid lane) or Kha’Zix (jungle). These champions excel at quick, decisive attacks to eliminate a single target.
- Strategic & Patient: Consider control mages like Orianna or Viktor (mid lane), who can dictate the flow of a fight with careful positioning and area-of-effect abilities.
- Team-Oriented & Supportive: If you prefer helping teammates, try enchanter supports like Lulu or Janna, or tanky playmakers like Leona or Thresh.
- Durable & Frontline: For players who want to soak up damage and initiate fights, tanks like Malphite or Sion (top lane) are a great choice.
Find the Right Role
League of Legends has five distinct roles, and each requires a different mindset and champion pool. A great way to start is to play a few games in each role to see which one feels the most natural to you.
- Top Lane: Typically a solo lane, suited for players who enjoy one-on-one duels and playing an independent style. Garen and Malphite are excellent beginner champions for this role.
- Jungle: This role involves roaming the map, securing objectives, and ganking lanes. Amumu and Warwick are forgiving and effective choices for new players.
- Mid Lane: A versatile role that can influence the entire map. Annie and Lux are simple champions with impactful abilities.
- ADC (Attack Damage Carry): The primary ranged damage dealer, usually in the bottom lane. Miss Fortune and Ashe have straightforward kits that teach you the fundamentals of the role.
- Support: Protects and assists the ADC while controlling vision. Leona (for crowd control) and Soraka (for healing) are both solid choices.
Other Considerations
- Champion Personality: Sometimes, connecting with a champion’s lore or personality can make you more motivated to learn them. Reading their biographies or watching cinematics can spark inspiration.
- Beginner-Friendly Champions: If you’re new to the game, choose a champion with a simple kit. This allows you to focus on the game’s fundamentals—like last-hitting minions, map awareness, and objective control—without being overwhelmed by complex mechanics.
- High-Skill Champions: Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can experiment with champions that have a higher skill ceiling, like Riven or Yasuo, who offer greater outplay potential.
- The Meta: While it’s helpful to know which champions are currently strong (the meta), don’t feel pressured to only play them. Your mastery and comfort with a champion you love will almost always lead to better results than a half-hearted attempt to play a trendy one.
Ultimately, the best way to find your champion is to experiment. Don’t be afraid to try different champions and roles until you find one that truly clicks with you. The journey of discovery is a big part of the fun in League of Legends.
Written by:
Christian