Attack damage carries (ADCs, or marksmen) are the core of any League of Legends team’s damage, especially if the game extends past the 35-40 minute mark. ADCs are the steady, consistent damage dealers throughout a teamfight, and can make or break an extended engage. ADCs are also reliant on items to deal damage, and usually scale well into late game, where they attack so quickly and do so much damage, they can carry a team to victory on their own.
These are the most-played ADCs in platinum and higher ranked play:
1. Ezreal
Ezreal is a very popular pick right now, partly because of his mid-game power, mobility and relative safety when roaming on his own. Not many ADCs can do the kind of dodging and kiting that Ezreal can do — which helps him be able to dish out more damage in a teamfight or in a one-on-one fight without being CCed and dying.
His most popular build, with Iceborn Gauntlet and Muramana, provides some utility with the Gauntlet’s slow, which helps his kiting ability even more and helps his team lock down key targets. He is a bit difficult to play if you have trouble with skillshots, but when you land them consistently he is extremely rewarding.
2. Lucian
Lucian is a short-range, caster-style marksman with great mobility and escape potential despite his short range. He is consistently one of the most-played ADCs because of his lightning-fast and flashy playstyle. He fits well into a lot of team compositions, builds the cooldown reduction to have more burst damage than other ADCs, and is easy to self-peel in teamfights and escape from tanks and assassins attempting to delete you from the rift.
3. Caitlyn
Caitlyn has the longest auto attack range in the game, and because of this can bully, trap, and push her opponents out of lane when played well. She has always suffered from a mid-game power trough, but with the utility and zoning of her traps, she can make taking map objectives and towers easier because people just don’t want to get close enough to engage on her team when they’re behind a line of headshot-inducing traps.
As the game gets longer and she gets more items, she becomes a late-game monster, getting her headshots faster and steadily shredding through the entire enemy team from relative safety.
4. Vayne
Vayne is a short range dueling ADC, who excels at one-on-one fights and against tank characters. She is one of the hardest scaling ADCs into late game, especially if she gets a few kills early on, and she is hard to run away from. Her playstyle is hard to pick up, but is extremely rewarding when mastered.
Vayne is a good ADC to bring along when running a split-pushing or pick composition — because when she has items and in the hands of a skilled-enough player, she can easily duel 1-2 players, come out the victor, then take down their turret and inhibitor as well.
5. Jhin
Jhin has quickly risen to the top of the list of popular ADCs since his release. His kit provides a ton of team utility — snares, slows, and tons of damage. He can do an insane amount of damage without even being visible in a teamfight; especially when utilizing his W and R from a great distance. And if you’re lucky, one of your enemies will step in a long-forgotten flower trap that will bloom and last-hit for another kill.
Who are your favorite ADCs to play, or play alongside? Why do you think these ADCs are picked so much? Who do you think should be played more? Let me know in the comments!
