How Many Champions are in League of Legends?

Lol wild rift shown on a pc

As with any MOBA, much of the appeal of the League of Legends comes from its roster of Champions. These are player-controlled characters, all of which have a class and an appropriate role on the battlefield. Let’s go over the specifics of some of these heroes so that you can get started in Riot Games’ beloved battler.

Viktor

Viktor League of Legends

Known as the Machine Herald, Viktor is a Champion that seeks to improve the lives of humanity by advancing the cause of machines and technology. With a pick rate of 6.32%, Viktor is definitely not one of the most-played characters in the game but a win percentage of 51% means that he’s still up there with the best heroes in League of Legends. 

Unfortunately, for newcomers who are learning how to play lol, Viktor is not an easy character to master. His skills focus on debuffs and magic damage. However, his primary role is battlefield control, which means that the player needs to have an awareness of both enemy and ally positioning, as well as a competent enough set of teammates to avoid getting overwhelmed. Viktor is best in the Mid Lane. 

Plenty of veterans recommend avoiding this character until they reach Gold. As a good 38% of LoL’s player base is still contesting the Silver rank, this marks him out as quite an exclusive Champion. As far as runes are concerned, a choice of either First Strike or Summon Aery is recommended to maximise damage and improve his shielding capabilities, respectively. 

Name

Role

Difficulty

Abilities

Viktor

Mage

  • Glorious Evolution

  • Siphon Power

  • Gravity Field

  • Death Ray

  • Chaos Storm


Vi

Vi League of Legends

Hailing from Zaun, Vi is a maverick member of the Wardens of Piltover. Her nickname, The Piltover Enforcer, says everything about her personality that you need to know – she’s possessed of a fiery  temperament and armed with a pair of huge metal fists, the hextech gauntlets. Perhaps inevitably, Vi falls into the Fighter class. She fits squarely into the Jungler role, which is the fourth possible starting position. 

Vi’s main advantage is her adaptability, allowing for the use of lots of different runes. For instance, high-damage builds are better served with Electrocute, while Aftershock allows for more tanky positions in open battles. Vi, like Viktor, is in the early sixties in terms of her popularity ranking. This is likely due to the fact that her usability during longer fights isn’t something to get excited about. 

Another potential problem with Vi is that her Vault Breaker skill can be a liability due to its charge time and the fact that she’ll be left exposed if it misses. Still, her mid-game abilities can make up for this shortfall. Vi hasn’t changed much since her release in 2012 so her flagging popularity does make quite a bit of sense. There are definitely better Junglers out there that aren’t quite so narrow in gameplay terms.

Name

Role

Difficulty

Abilities

Vi

Fighter

  • Blast Shield

  • Vault Breaker

  • Denting Blows

  • Relentless Force

  • Cease and Desist


Jayce

Jayce League of Legends

The Defender of Tomorrow, Jayce is superficially similar to Vi, largely because he’s a Fighter who utilises hextech weaponry, in this case, a hammer. However, unlike the competitively easy-to-play Champion Vi, Jayce can be a difficult nut for players to crack. His skills offer a disappointing interaction between usage and mana depletion, so it’s possible to end up without much left to do. 

Jayce does excel in both early and mid-game, due to his reliable poke damage and potential for some heavy hits after level 9. Unfortunately, he’s one of the least-used Champions of all, at 140 of a total of 159. On the plus side, his abilities offer a combination of self-buffs, debuffs, team-buffs, and damage. He can also restore his own mana, which is a boon considering the issue mentioned previously.

Compared to other Champions, Jayce is a bit of a contradiction, as he requires the player to know what they’re doing before they can get started. A discussion about whether Jayce should run the Phase Rush rune or Conqueror does make for some interesting reading online, though, giving some direction for newcomers on how to play this enigmatic champion. 

Name

Role

Difficulty

Abilities

Jayce

Fighter

  • Hextech Capacitor

  • To the Skies! / Shock Blast

  • Lightning Field / Hyper Charge

  • Thundering Blow / Acceleration Gate

  • Mercury Cannon / Mercury Hammer


Caitlyn

Caitlyn League of legends

Considered a bit of an antithesis to Vi, at least in terms of her personality, Caitlyn is The Sheriff of Piltover, and our third hextech wielding character. This Champion is by far the most popular hero on our list, coming in at 18 with an 11.68% pick rate. As a point of reference, the most-played champion, Jhin, has a pick ratio of 20.64%. Caitlyn occupies the Marksman role, offering moderate play difficulty. 

Caitlyn’s strength is in the early game. Overall, though, she should be used exclusively from range. Effective use of traps, including cheeky tricks like hiding them in the scenery, is one of the key aspects of playing Caitlyn. In mid-game, you’ll probably spend most of your time kiting, avoiding melee. Her traps can also inflict slow and empower her own skills, e.g. Yordle Snap Trap allows for an empowered Headshot. 

Her low health can prove a problem for inexperienced players, as she’ll be all but eliminated just by trying to play aggressively. If you should find yourself in danger, using her Ultimate or dropping 90 Caliber Net on yourself should give Caitlyn the opportunity to escape to safety. As a Marksman, her rune choice is Precision. Think of her as a bit of a glass cannon and you shouldn’t have too many problems playing this Champion.

Name

Role

Difficulty

Abilities

Caitlyn

Marksman

  • Headshot

  • Piltover Peacemaker

  • Yordle Snap Trap

  • 90 Caliber Net

  • Ace In The Hole


Jinx

Jinx 2

It’s not difficult to see where Jinx’s popularity comes from in League of Legends. Jinx is a blue-haired, pink-eyed criminal who delights in chaos and carnage. The eleventh most-played Champion, Jinx is a Marksman who uses the heavy weapons Pow-Pow and Fishbones, otherwise known as a minigun and rocket launcher. She’s a darling of cosplayers around the world.

Referred to as The Loose Cannon, Jinx can be a straightforward character to play as long as she’s set up correctly. The Conqueror rune is always a good starting point. Jinx is skilled at dealing with enemy Tanks and can be one of the most effective Bottom Lane winners in League of Legends. Focus on getting Switcheroo! to max level as soon as possible as it provides a useful self-buff.

The major downside to Jinx is that she’s only a mid-range Marksman, meaning that opposing long-range Champions like Caitlyn can cause problems for her. Switcheroo! does provide some reprieve from this issue, hence the recommendation. As for melee combat, the Flame Chompers! skill prevents the enemy from moving, allowing Jinx to either escape or finish advancing players off from afar.

Name

Role

Difficulty

Abilities

Jinx

Marksman

  • Get Excited!

  • Switcheroo!

  • Zap!

  • Flame Chompers!

  • Super Mega Death Rocket


Full List of Champions

Note that several of these characters exist in more than one class category. These are Karma, Lux, Neeko, Seraphine, Jhin, Senna, Varus, Diana, Pyke, Rengar, Sylas, Yone, and Taric.

ClassSub-ClassName
ControllerCatcherBard
  Blitzcrank
  Ivern
  Jhin
  Morgana
  Neeko
  Pyke
  Rakan
  Thresh
  Zyra
 EnchanterJanna
  Karma
  Lulu
  Nami
  Renata Glasc
  Senna
  Seraphine
  Sona
  Soraka
  Taric
  Yuumi
FighterDiverCamille
  Diana
  Elise
  Hecarim
  Irelia
  Jarvan IV
  Lee Sin
  Olaf
  Pantheon
  Rek’Sai
  Renekton
  Rengar
  Skarner
  Vi
  Warwick
  Wukong
  Xin Zhao
 JuggernautAatrox
  Darius
  Dr. Mundo
  Garen
  Illaoi
  Mordekaiser
  Nasus
  Sett
  Shyvana
  Trundle
  Udyr
  Urgot
  Volibear
  Yorick
MageArtilleryJayce
  Lux
  Varus
  Vel’Koz
  Xerath
  Ziggs
 BattlemageAnivia
  Aurelion Sol
  Cassiopeia
  Karthus
  Malzahar
  Rumble
  Ryze
  Swain
  Taliyah
  Viktor
  Vladimir
 BurstAhri
  Annie
  Brand
  LeBlanc
  Lissandra
  Orianna
  Sylas
  Syndra
  Twisted Fate
  Veigar
  Vex
  Zoe
Marksman Akshan
  Aphelios
  Ashe
  Caitlyn
  Corki
  Draven
  Ezreal
  Jinx
  Kai’Sa
  Kalista
  Kindred
  Kog’Maw
  Lucian
  Miss Fortune
  Samira
  Sivir
  Tristana
  Twitch
  Vayne
  Xayah
  Zeri
SlayerAssassinAkali
  Akshan
  Ekko
  Evelynn
  Fizz
  Kassadin
  Katarina
  Kha’Zix
  Nocturne
  Qiyana
  Shaco
  Talon
  Yone
  Zed
 SkirmishersFiora
  Gwen
  Jax
  Kayn
  Kled
  Lillia
  Master Yi
  Riven
  Tryndamere
  Viego
  Yasuo
TankVanguardAlistar
  Amumu
  Gragas
  Leona
  Malphite
  Maokai
  Nautilus
  Nunu
  Ornn
  Rammus
  Rell
  Sejuani
  Sion
  Zac
 WardenBraum
  Galio
  Poppy
  Shen
  Tahm Kench
Specialist Azir
  Cho’Gath
  Fiddlesticks
  Gangplank
  Gnar
  Graves
  Heimerdinger
  Kayle
  Kennen
  Nidalee
  Quinn
  Singed
  Teemo
  Zilean

Who is the best League of Legends Champion?

By player pick rate, it’s Jhin. By win rate, it’s Swain. By kills/deaths/assists, it’s Yuumi.

Which Champion do League of Legends pros use?

Due to the number of Lanes, League of Legends pros use a variety of different Champions. However, Ornn is popular with Top Laners, Lee Sin with Junglers, and Syndra with Mid Lane players.

What are the different types of League of Legends Champion?

There are seven Champion classes in League of Legends. These are Controller, Fighter, Mage, Marksman, Slayer, Tank, and Specialist. These are further divided into several subclasses, namely, Enchanter, Catcher (Controller), Juggernaut, Diver (Tank), Burst, Battlemage, Artillery (Mage), Assassin, Skirmisher (Slayer), Vanguard, Warden (Tank). There are no sub-classes for Specialist or Marksman.