League of Legends is one of if not the most recognizable multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games out right now. Rivaling the likes of DOTA and Smite, League of Legends has millions of players hooked on the complex game. However, if you’re a new player or someone who’s returning after a long break, you might be intimidated by the massive number of champions available to play. There are currently 165 champions in the game to unlock and play, which is an overwhelming amount of options. With this in mind, here’s a breakdown of some of the best League of Legends champions you can play in 2023, especially if you’re a new player looking to learn the game.
Best champions for beginners in League of Legends
Support: Yuumi
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There are several different playstyles for support champions in League of Legends. One of the easiest support characters to play and learn the game with currently is Yuumi. Yuumi is a controversial hero, designed to stick onto an ally champion and become untargetable, meaning you can’t be hit by attacks while you’re attached to an ally. While you’re attached to an ally, you can shield them, heal them, and poke enemies with your Q ability. This is the best champion to play alongside a more experienced Bottom lane player, as you can learn lane mechanics while contributing to your team with a mechanically simple champion.
Bottom: Ashe
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Ashe is one of the simpler Bottom lane champions in the game, with a mechanically simple kit and easy-to-learn abilities. Her W is a wide-ranged poke, while her Q empowers your auto attacks after a certain number of auto attacks. Her E is good for learning vision management, and her R is a skillshot stun that’s relatively easy to land. Overall, Ashe should be your go-to pick when learning an ADC champion, a class historically focused on auto-attacks and strong positioning.
Mid: Lux
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While Lux isn’t terribly strong in the mid-lane, she is historically an easy champion to pick up and learn due to how straightforward her kit is. Her Q, E, and R are all skill shots that deal heavy damage, and her W is a shield that can protect you from taking damage. Lux is a popular champion to learn overall, due to the simplicity of her kit. However, a strong Lux can make a game difficult for the enemy team with her high burst damage.
Jungle: Nunu & Willump
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Jungling is one of the most difficult roles in League of Legends, but there are still relatively easy jungler champions you can pick up and play to learn the role. Nunu & Willump is one of the easiest junglers in the game. Nunu & Willump have no skillshots — the only secret is to learn how to steer his Q. He is also very good at contesting objectives, as his Q does bonus damage to monsters, meaning you can Q + Smite to easily outsmite enemy junglers. Nunu & Willump is also a gank-heavy champion, so you can learn a bit about how to effectively gank enemy lanes as well.
Top: Garen
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Garen is one of the most mechanically simple characters in the game. As a brawler character, Garen has three easy-to-understand abilities: his Q is a melee attack that deals heavy damage and silences the enemy, while his E is a “spin-to-win” flurry of attacks that you don’t need to aim. Garen can be played as a split-pusher or as the tank for a team, so you can easily learn different playstyles you might need to employ in the top lane.
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Best champions for advanced players in League of Legends
If you’ve mastered the ins and outs of each lane, try these champions that are a little more difficult:
Support: Thresh
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Thresh is a powerful support champion who can peel for allies and engage the enemy team with his Q and E ability. His Q is a “hook” ability, a skillshot that stuns the enemy and draws them closer to you. There are numerous “hook” champions in the game, but Thresh has one of the most difficult hooks to land in the game. Additionally, his playmaking ability with his Flay ability is infinite. If you can master Thresh, you’ll help out your ADC immensely.
Bottom: Vayne
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Vayne is a worthwhile champion to learn. The most difficult part of Vayne is her “Condemn” ability, which is a powerful projectile that pushes enemies back. If an enemy collides with a wall, they will be briefly stunned. This is a rewarding ability, but requires strong positioning and gamesense, and can be a difficult ability to land effectively. Vayne’s R also empowers the rest of her kit, such as giving her a brief period of invisibility after using her Q ability.
Mid: Qiyana
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The mid-lane is frequently populated by assassins, and there are few assassins that are more rewarding than Qiyana. Qiyana is a unique assassin whose abilities interact differently based on the terrain she casts her W in. Qiyana requires the player to learn the different effects of terrain, how to best navigate fights while utilizing this terrain, and how to learn combos to deal the most damage. There are easier assassin champions to learn, such as Naafiri or Talon, so Qiyana is best learned once you can figure out the overall assassin gameplay style.
Jungle: Lee Sin
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Lee Sin’s strength and state in the meta are often variable, but there isn’t a jungler in the game right now that’s more satisfying to learn and with a higher skill ceiling than Lee Sin. Lee Sin has relatively difficult combos compared to other characters in the game, and also requires you to be mindful of wards and allies to hop to in times of peril. Overall, you’ll find making the most out of Lee Sin to be a little more difficult than some of the other junglers in the game.
Top: Riven
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While Riven’s main combo is not too difficult to learn (though you’ll still probably need some practice), Riven is one of the hardest champions to master in League of Legends. She can be unforgiving if you mess up an essential Q and have to do a lot of decision-making to be effective and deal damage. Riven is not recommended for beginner top laners but is a great champion to show off your skills.
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