It can be overwhelming for new players to look at 122 champions and not know where to start or which ones to learn first. This is part of the reason Riot implements a free champion rotation of 10 champions every week. After some rough math it would take approximately 6500 games to unlock every champion on the roster, another reason to find a couple of favourites.
Before we start here are a couple quick tips for trying new champions:
- Never purchase a champion without playing them first
- Start by unlocking all 450 IP and 1350 IP champions
- Try to play all free week champions at least once
- Use your refund tokens sparingly (You only get 3! EVER!)
For the basis of this article I will explain using personal examples to make demonstration more accurate. My best champion is Lux and because of this I tend to have a very passive playstyle. I will break down the reasons I love Lux and hopefully it can help you find a champion that you enjoy playing just as much.
What’s your best role?
I wrote an article a couple of months back outlining what you can learn from each role which may be beneficial when learning to pick a favorite.
- Do you like solidarity? Top Lane.
- Do you like making sweet and juicy plays? Jungle.
- 100 to 0 in 3.5? Mid Lane
- Do you want the biggest backpack on the rift? AD Carry
- I just want to do circles in the bushes guys! Support
The first thing to consider when finding your best champion is always what role you want to fill on the team!
Are you passive or aggressive?
Do you hate dying more than anything else in the game? Maybe you love standing in the AD carry’s face and not letting him breathe? There are many questions to ask yourself while playing. When I started playing League of Legends I had very poor judgement of when to engage using aggressive champions like Katarina and Amumu. Champions who can pick their own engagements well made it easy for me to learn damage checks. I picked up champions like Xerath, Ziggs and Lux to fight from afar and deal damage without being in harm’s way.
Champions to try:
Passive
- Twisted Fate 1350 IP
- Nidalee 3150 IP
- Lulu 6300 IP
Aggressive
- Jax 1350 IP
- Katarina 3150 IP
- Yasuo 6300 IP
How fast do you like to deal damage?
Coming from a DOTA background I was very fond of playing Lion, a hero that can deal near full health pools of damage with a single spell. The choice for me was easy. I wanted to play a champion with a high amount of burst damage and turn health bars red all at once. If that is your style than you may want to lean towards AP and AD casters. Talon, Syndra and Annie to name a few more.
If you prefer more methodical damage and AD Carry or aggressive top laner might be a more correct fit for you. If you like preventing damaging or even regaining health you’re going to fit into the support role quite nicely, make sure to check out champions like Sona, Janna and Nami.
Champions to try:
Bursty
- Annie 450 IP
- Lux 3150 IP
- Talon 4800 IP
Not so Bursty
- Ashe 450 IP
- Shen 3150 IP
- Aatrox 6300 IP
Reverse Bursty
- Soraka 450 IP
- Zilean 1350 IP
- Nami 6300 IP
Do you want to carry early or late?
Many champions scale very differently over the course of a game. Some are strong early and weak late while others are weak early and strong late. AD carries typically scale the hardest into the late game followed closely by AP casters.
I wanted to be able to single-handedly win my team the game after the 45 minute mark. Lux scales well enough and has the tools in her kit to turn one pick into a kill and subsequently a victory. You may feel the opposite and want to steamroll your opponent early and snowball every game to a 20 minute victory. Either way learning to play for late game or early game is important to finding your champion of choice.
Champions to Try:
Early Game
- Xin Zhao 1350 IP
- Shaco 3150 IP
- Riven 4800 IP
Late Game
- Ryze 450 IP
- Dr. Mundo 1350 IP
- Jinx 6300 IP
How do evaluate your own mechanical skill?
I learned very quickly that I was not to be the next Faker in League of Legends. While my mechanical skill is not as high as some I tend to have a good ability to predict movement which aids champions with skillshots. Maybe you can hit buttons really fast and want to play a champion like Vayne or Ryze that can Orb Walk or has extremely elaborate combos.
Within this category also lies the idea of positioning. If you get caught out of place a lot it may be better to stick with tanky champions. However if you know where to be at the right time trading vulnerability for damage can have a great payoff.
Champions to Try:
Simple
- Garen 450 IP
- Taric 1350 IP
- Vi 6300 IP
Complex
- Akali 3150 IP
- Lee SIn 4800 IP
- Rengar 6300 IP
There are numerous things to consider when finding your best champion and these are only a few but hopefully this sets you on the right track and helps you on your way to finding the perfect 1 in 122 match!
