Images: Riot Games
The meta is shifting a little, so where does your main champion sit in the tier list?
Riot Games has just released Patch 14.16 for League of Legends, and you might be wondering again—which are the best champions to play?Â
While the best champions for each role are relatively stable, there’s a bit of movement for some roles in terms of where they sit in the tier list.
So where does your main champ sit in the tier list? Are there new ones that you should try—or is it time to widen your champion pool?Â
In this guide, we will dig deeper into Patch 14.1 and discuss the tier list per role for Patch 14.16, and let you know the best champions to play in the process.
Top Lane
- OP Tier: Sett, Volibear
- S Tier: Wukong, Kennen, Cassiopeia, Aatrox, Garen, Yorick, Urgot, Malphite, Illaoi, Kayle, Fiora, Zac, Camille, Warwick, Tahm Kench, Cho’gath
- A Tier: Aurora, Gragas, Vladimir, Singed, Mordekaiser, Quinn, Renekton, Trundle, Shen, Riven, Nasus, Jax, Poppy, Darius, Akshan
- B Tier: Karma, Sylas, Heimerdinger, Vayne, Gnar, Jayce, Ornn, Sion, Gangplank, Udyr, Teemo
- C Tier: Twisted Fate,Skarner, K'sante, Rumble
- D Tier: Â Akali, Varus, Yasuo, Smolder
The top lane hasn’t seen much shake-up this patch, with Sett and Volibear continuing to dominate. Wukong’s recent buffs have made him a strong contender, moving him up to S-tier.Â
For those playing in low elo, Sett remains the top choice, followed by Urgot and Malphite, who offer strong and straightforward playstyles. If you’re looking for something different, Akshan is a wildcard pick that could catch your opponents off guard.Â
However, this patch isn’t favourable for experimenting with non-traditional top laners, as champions like Karma and Heimerdinger have slipped down to B-tier. Meanwhile, K’Sante and Rumble, usually reliable picks, are struggling to keep up after multiple nerfs, staying in C-tier.
Jungle
- OP Tier: Nocturne, Lilia, Shyvana
- S Tier: Udyr, Amumu, Fiddlesticks, Kha’zix, Morgana, Briar, Rammus, Jarvan IV, Viego, Shaco, Warwick, Xin Zhao, Volibear
- A Tier: Brand, Evelynn, Kayn, Master Yi, Trundle, Talon, Diana, Rek’Sai, Poppy, Lee Sin, Hecarim
- B Tier: Zac, Nunu & Willump, Ekko, Bel’Veth, Elise, Gwen
- C Tier: Skarner, Vi, Taliyah, Graves, Nidalee, Wukong, Zed, Olaf, Pantheon, Rengar
- D Tier: Zyra, Sylas, Maokai
In the jungle, Nocturne, Lilia, and Shyvana are dominating, with Shyvana oscillating between OP and S-tier. Low elo players might want to consider Rammus, along with Shyvana and Lilia, for a more straightforward path to victory.Â
The jungle also sees a mix of farming junglers in S-tier ike Udyr and Amumu, alongside ganking champions such as Briar and Jarvan IV, so there are many depending on your playstyle.Â
Meanwhile, Vi and the reworked Skarner are having a tough time, sitting in C-tier with other champions like Taliyah and Graves. But the losers of this patch in the Jungle are Zyra, Sylas and Maokai in D-tier.
Mid Lane
- OP Tier: Vex, Naafiri
- S Tier: Fizz, Annie, Ahri, Neeko, Vel’Koz, Anivia, Swain, Brand, Diana, Lux, Xerath, LeBlanc, Zed, Tryndamere, Akshan
- A Tier: Aurora, Yone, Yasuo, Syndra, Sylas, Taliyah, Lissandra, Talon, Kassadin, Veigar
- B Tier: Viktor, Hwei, Vladimir, Gragas, Viego, Malphite, Karma, Ziggs, Heimerdinger
- C Tier: Akali, Ryze, Katarina, Jayce, Twisted Fate, Orianna
- D Tier: Tristana, Corki, Lucian, Ezreal, Zeri, Smolder, Azir
While the queens of the mid lane remain the same in this patch, there’s a lot of movement among champions for this role. some of the best picks aside from the OP champs are mostly mages like Fizz and Ani (who are great in low elo along with Aurelion Sol), Ahri, Neeko, Vel’Koz, Anivia, Swain, Brand, Diana, Lux, Xerath, and Le Blanc.Â
Zed has also moved up from A-tier to S-tier, along with Tryndamere, and even Akshan, the only ADC still doing well mid. Aurora, along with the brothers Yone and Yasuo have moved down to A-tier this patch while Syndra and Sylas have improved from B.Â
Other A-tier champions include Taliyah, Lissandra, Talon, Kassadin, and Veigar. Sitting in B are Viktor, Hwei, Vladimir, Gragas, Viego, Malphite, Karma, Ziggs, Heimerdinger, while Akali, Ryze, Katarina, Jayce, Twisted Fate, and Orianna are in C-tier.Â
Finally, the reign of the ADC mids is finally over after multiple nerfs to different champions, and item balance changes have reduced their effectiveness in this lane.Â
So previously contested ADC picks like Tristana, Corki, Lucian, Ezreal, Zeri, and Smolder are now the weakest picks for the role, along with Azir (sorry, Faker)—all sitting in D Tier.
Bottom Lane
- OP Tier: Miss Fortune, Jhin
- S Tier: Jinx, Ashe, Draven, Kai’sa, Twitch, Seraphine, Karthus, Kog’maw, Nilah, Brand
- A Tier: Smolder, Ezreal, Vayne, Ziggs, Sivir, Veigar, Swain
- B Tier: Lucian, Zeri, Caitlyn, Xayah, Yasuo
- C Tier: Kalista, Aphelios
- D Tier: Tristana, Varus
It’s yet another fortuitous patch for Miss Fortune as she continues to stay in the OP-tier, this time joined by Jhin, who was bumped up from the S-tier.Â
But if both of them aren’t available, other S-tier picks would include Jinx and Ashe (who are great low elo picks along with MF), Draven, Kai’sa, Twitch, Seraphine, Karthus, Kog’maw, Nilah, and Brand.Â
In A-tier, Smolder, Ezreal, Vayne, Ziggs, and Sivir, and some non-traditional ones like Veigar and Swain do well in the bottom lane. Lucian’s nerf will bring him down to B tier along with Zeri, Caitlyn, and Xayah, but an outlier pick that’s just doing average is Yasuo (so unless you’re confident in avoiding the infamous 0/10/0 power spike, you might want to reconsider picking him)
In C-tier for ADC are the pro-play favourites Kalista and Aphelios, while the ADC losers for this patch are once again, Tristana and Varus.
Support
- OP Tier: Nami, Poppy, Seraphine
- S Tier: Milio, Leona, Vel’koz, Thresh, Rell, Braum, Taric, Maokai, Zac, Pyke
- A Tier: Rakan, Nautilus, Lux, Zyra, Ryze, Bard, Alistar, Blitzcrank, Soraka, Tahm Kench, Senna, Xerath, Shaco
- B Tier: Renata Glasc, Heimerdinger, Yuumi, Swain, Syndra, Morgana, Pantheon, Brand
- C Tier: Sylas, Camille, Caitlyn, Teemo, Malphite
- D Tier: Twisted Fate, Twitch, Hwei, Ashe, Ahri
Again, Nami and Poppy are unmoved for the last two to three patches now but Seraphine will also share their space in the limelight in OP-tier.Â
However, there’s an abundance of great support picks in this patch with Milio, Leona, Vel’koz, Thresh, Rell, Braum, Taric, Maokai, Zac, and Pyke in S-tier. Watch out for Leona as well this patch as we think she might exceed S-tier given the right build.
In A-tier, other traditional support picks are still doing good like Rakan, Nautilus (who moved down from A), Lux, Zura, Ryze, Bard, Alistar, Blitzcrank, Soraka, Tahm Kench, Senna, Xerath, and an unconventional Shaco. B-tier supports include Renata Glasc, Heimerdinger, Yuumi, Swain, Syndra, Morgana, Pantheon and Brand.Â
Meanwhile in C-tier, are supports like Sylas, Camille, Caitlyn, Teemo, and Malphite. Finally, the losers of this patch for the Support role aren’t traditional support roles like Twisted Fate, Twitch, Hwei, Ashe and Ahri in D-tier.
So while the strongest champs stay on top for many patches now, Patch 14.16 brings a mix of stability and change across the roles. Understanding these shifts can be the key to climbing the ranks, so choose your champions wisely!
