Top 10 Hardest Champions in League of Legends

The hardest LoL champions are often the most rewarding champions to play in League of Legends, especially in high elo. This is because while they are hard to play well, if done correctly, usually yield the highest effectiveness. While win rates and pick rates below are provided, these rates change between low and high elo.

The role and playstyle in League of Legends is typically a bot lane ADC or AD/ AP assassin. Mechanics, timing and positioning in such roles/playstyles are vital to success as they are typically regarded as glass cannons that can deal high damage, but are easily killed if targeted.

For newer players, it is recommended to steer away from these hard champions below. However, if you are trying to climb and solo carry into the truly high ranks, it may be worth exploring such options.

Read also: League of Legends Roles and Positions

Who are the hardest LoL champions?

Read on to find out what we believe are the 10 hardest champions to play in League of Legends:

1. Kog’Maw

Kog’Maw is one of the hardest lol champions, as to maximize his damage, players will have to weave and hit 3 different skill shots between his auto-attacks. Kog’Maw is always built as a glass cannon to maximize his high AP and AD scaling, making him extremely vulnerable to the enemy team.

Win rate: 51.85%
Pick rate: 1.14%

kog'maw hardest champions league of legends

2. Akali

Akali requires a great deal and mechanical skill to play well. Top Akali players consistently hit her Q on the outer edge and quickly moving in and out to trigger the additional auto-attack buff. However, what makes Akali a truly hard champion is knowing when to engage along with utilizing movement mechanics to bait out and kite enemy skill shots within the shroud.

Win rate: 51.75%
Pick rate: 1.06%

akali league of legends hardest champions

3. Taliyah

Taliyah is amongst the hardest lol champions due to her kit being all high damage AP skill shots. Playing Taliyah is extremely unforgiving given her lack of escape and fairly high cooldowns. Not only must players be mechanically sound, but roaming is also essential when playing Taliyah, utilizing her passive movement speed and ultimate to gank and help teammates around the map.

Win rate: 51.56%
Pick rate: 0.13%

4. Rumble

The difference between good and average Rumble players is huge. While his kit is basic, damage maximization on the champion requires players to carefully monitor Rumble’s fury bar. Positioning of Rumble’s ultimate is also critical given its high damage and zoning potential.

Win rate: 51.35%
Pick rate: 0.19%

5. Yasuo

There is a reason why Yasuo is considered the most hated League of Legends champion out there. There are only two types of Yasuo players, those that hard feed given his difficulty, and those that can solo carry their team by utilizing his outplay potential. The great Yasuo players kite with their dash and are able to abuse his animations to pull off maximum damage.

Win rate: 48.54%
Pick rate: 1.75%

Read also: LoL Ranking System

6. Nidalee

Nidalee requires heavy mechanical skill to play properly. Nidalee is a hard lol champion as she does not simply rely on hitting her spears. Instead, the best Nidalees also kite around with ranged autos and quickly dish out damage with her various cougar form abilities.

Win rate: 48.01%
Pick rate: 3.29%

7. Aatrox

Aatrox while a melee champion, largely relies on his Q for damage and crowd control. Positioning his Q to deal bonus damage and knock up vital, especially for good Aatrox players that can hit it multiple times. Knowing the damage of your opponents is another critical dimension to prevent getting burst before getting proper utilization of the ultimate.

Win rate: 46.6%
Pick rate: 1.6%

8. Azir

Azir is an extremely hard league of legends champion to properly master as his primary damage comes from auto-attacking through his soldiers. These soldiers must be properly positioned to not only hit the enemy, but close enough to prevent enemy reaction when doing the Shurima shuffle (dashing behind the enemy and unting them towards your team).

Win rate: 45.68%
Pick rate: 1.14%

9. Kled

Kled is a difficult champion to master despite his role as a semi tank. This is primarily because of Kled’s passive, which requires players to accurately determine the damage enemies can deal in order to mount and not die instantly. Top Kleds can easily solo carry fights and even games once ahead.

Win rate: 57.37&
Pick rate: 0.18%

10. Vayne

Last in our Top 10 Hardest LoL Champions is Vayne. Vayne is extremely reliant on mechanics. Not only is Vayne a squishy glass cannon ADC, but her auto attack range is also amongst the lowest for ranged champions. Target prioritization is also vital to ensure her W silver bolt passive true damage triggers on an enemy. The skill difference between the top and average Vayne’s is huge, with a top-tier player being able to solo carry games given minimal amounts of peel.

Win rate: 50.46%
Pick rate: 5.62%