League of Legends is a five-against-five battle game from Riot Games, first released in 2009. Every player picks a champion, and the game's roster has grown to around 170 of them: swordsmen, mages, gunslingers, yordles, demons, living weapons and at least one star-forging cosmic dragon. In a match, the story barely matters. Outside it, Riot has built a detailed world called Runeterra where these characters have homelands, histories and grudges.
The easiest way to make sense of the cast is by region. Each region has its own culture and conflicts, and champions from the same place tend to know, hate or love one another. This guide walks through the major regions and their best-known champions, then explains the game's roles and classes, and finishes with a name list. The Piltover and Zaun cast is covered in much more depth on our Arcane characters page.
- Developer
- Riot Games
- Released
- October 2009 (PC)
- Genre
- Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA)
- Champions
- Around 170, with new ones added regularly
- Setting
- Runeterra
- Spin-offs
- Arcane, Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra, Wild Rift
Piltover and Zaun
The twin cities of invention and industry, and the setting of Arcane. Piltover is the polished upper city built on trade and hextech; Zaun is the undercity below, poisoned by chemical industry and full of people the upper city prefers not to think about.
Jinx
The Loose Cannon · Marksman
Jinx is a manic Zaunite criminal who treats destruction as a game, armed with a minigun called Pow-Pow and a shark-mouthed rocket launcher called Fishbones. For years her backstory was deliberately vague. Arcane filled it in: she was once Powder, Vi's little sister, and her instability comes from a childhood that fell apart. On the Rift she's a late-game carry who speeds up and snowballs after every takedown.
Vi
The Piltover Enforcer · Fighter
Vi grew up on the streets of Zaun and now works with Piltover's law enforcement, punching through problems with a pair of giant hextech gauntlets. She's blunt, funny and fiercely protective. In game she's a jungler who locks onto one target and charges straight through anything in the way.
Caitlyn
The Sheriff of Piltover · Marksman
Caitlyn is Piltover's sharpshooting sheriff, a methodical investigator who has spent years trying to catch Jinx. Her long-range rifle, traps and nets make her a patient, pressure-heavy bot laner. Arcane shows her earlier, as a rookie still earning her badge.
Jayce
The Defender of Tomorrow · Fighter
Jayce is Piltover's celebrated inventor, carrying a hextech hammer that converts into a cannon. He sees himself as the city's protector and can be insufferable about it. In game he switches between melee and ranged forms, which makes him a flexible lane bully for confident players.
Viktor
The Herald of the Arcane · Mage
Viktor is a Zaunite scientist who believes technology can free people from the weakness of their bodies, starting with his own. Once Jayce's partner, he followed that belief much further than Jayce could. After Arcane, Riot reworked his game abilities and look to match the character from the show.
Ekko
The Boy Who Shattered Time · Assassin
Ekko is a young Zaunite genius who built a device that can rewind a few seconds of time. He uses it to protect his community and undo his own mistakes. On the Rift that becomes his ultimate: he snaps back to where he was moments ago, healing and damaging everything nearby.
Heimerdinger
The Revered Inventor · Mage
A centuries-old yordle professor who fights by setting up small automated turrets. He's cheerful, eccentric and one of Piltover's founding minds.
Singed
The Mad Chemist · Tank
A chemist with no ethical limits who runs around the map trailing poison gas. In Arcane he's the quiet creator of the drug shimmer.
Warwick
The Uncaged Wrath of Zaun · Fighter
A man turned into a monster by Zaunite experiments, who hunts by scent and heals as he bites. Arcane ties him directly to Vi and Jinx's past.
Zeri and Ziggs
Marksman · Mage
Zeri is an electric, fast-talking Zaunite teen who fights with a lightning rifle. Ziggs is a yordle demolitions expert who never met a fuse he didn't want to light.
Demacia and Noxus
These two rival powers are the closest thing League has to a central conflict. Demacia is a proud, honour-bound kingdom that bans magic and persecutes mages. Noxus is an expansionist empire that claims to reward anyone with strength, regardless of birth. Each side sees itself as civilised and the other as a threat.
Lux
The Lady of Luminosity · Mage
Luxanna Crownguard comes from one of Demacia's most loyal military families, and she was born with the power to bend light, in a kingdom that imprisons mages. She hides her magic while serving the crown, and her story is about what that secrecy costs. In game she's a long-range mage known for her giant laser ultimate, played in both mid lane and support.
Garen
The Might of Demacia · Fighter
Garen is Lux's older brother and a commander of Demacia's elite soldiers. He believes in his kingdom completely, which puts him in an uncomfortable spot given his sister's secret. In game he's one of the simplest champions to learn: spin, silence, and drop a giant sword on whoever's winning.
Jarvan IV
The Exemplar of Demacia · Fighter
Jarvan IV is the crown prince of Demacia, raised to be a perfect leader and gradually learning that the kingdom's rules aren't as just as he was told. His ultimate traps enemies in an arena of earth, which makes him a strong engage jungler.
Sylas
The Unshackled · Mage-fighter
Sylas is a mage who spent years imprisoned in Demacia, and escaped to lead a revolt. He can absorb and turn magic back on its users, which on the Rift means stealing enemies' ultimates. He and Lux share a complicated history.
Fiora and Quinn
Duelist · Ranger
Fiora is a proud noble duellist who has never lost a fight she chose, and she'll tell you so. Quinn is a scout who fights alongside her eagle partner, Valor. Both show different sides of Demacian service.
Darius
The Hand of Noxus · Fighter
Darius is Noxus's most feared general, a man who rose from poverty purely on strength and expects the same of everyone else. He swings a huge axe, and in game he wins long fights by stacking bleeds and executing anyone left low. His younger brother Draven is a showboating executioner who loves the crowd far more than Darius approves of.
Swain
The Noxian Grand General · Mage
Swain is a schemer who seized control of the empire and leads it with the help of ravens and a demonic arm. He's patient, cold and convinced he's saving Noxus from something worse. In game he's a draining battle-mage who gets stronger the longer a fight lasts.
Katarina
The Sinister Blade · Assassin
Katarina is a Noxian assassin from the Du Couteau family who fights with thrown daggers and blinks between them. Her sister Cassiopeia was cursed into a serpent form, and her family's rivalry with Demacia's Crownguards is a long-running thread in the lore.
Ambessa and Mel
Noxian warlord · Mage
Ambessa Medarda and her daughter Mel first became widely known through Arcane, then joined the game as champions around the show's second season. Ambessa is a relentless fighter; Mel is a mage who can reflect enemy spells.
Ionia
Ionia is an island land of temples, spirits and martial traditions, deeply connected to the spirit world. A brutal Noxian invasion broke its peaceful culture, and many of its champions are shaped by how they responded: by fighting back, by turning to darker methods, or by trying to restore balance.
Ahri
The Nine-Tailed Fox · Mage
Ahri is a vastaya, one of Runeterra's part-animal peoples, who once fed on human life essence and came to feel the memories of the people she drained. She's now searching for where she came from and what she owes. Her charm, dashes and returning orb make her a mobile, forgiving mid laner, and she's become one of Riot's faces of the game, including as the lead of the virtual pop group K/DA.
Yasuo
The Unforgiven · Fighter
Yasuo is a swordsman who was accused of murdering his master and spent years running from the charge, killing many who came after him. His brother Yone was one of them. His wind technique lets him block projectiles with a wall of air and leap onto airborne enemies, and his high skill ceiling has made him famous and infamous in equal measure.
Yone
The Unforgotten · Assassin
Yone is Yasuo's older brother, killed by him in a duel and returned from the spirit realm with a demonic mask and a second sword. He hunts spirits now, and the brothers' unfinished business is one of League's best-known stories.
Zed
The Master of Shadows · Assassin
Zed was a student at an Ionian order of ninja who opened a forbidden box, learned shadow magic and led his own Order of the Shadow against his teacher. He believes Ionia needs ruthlessness to survive. In game he makes shadow clones and swaps places with them, which rewards quick hands.
Shen
The Eye of Twilight · Tank
Shen leads the Kinkou order Zed broke away from and tries to keep balance between the physical and spirit worlds. His ultimate teleports him to shield an ally anywhere on the map, which sums up his character: calm, detached and always there when needed.
Lee Sin
The Blind Monk · Fighter
Lee Sin is a monk who lost his sight as penance for a terrible mistake and trained to fight without it. On the Rift he's a mobile jungler whose kicks and ward-hops make him one of the most famous champions for skilled play.
Irelia
The Blade Dancer · Fighter
A dancer who became a resistance leader against Noxus, fighting with floating blades that move as she dances.
Xayah and Rakan
Marksman · Support
A pair of vastaya rebels and lovers: Xayah is the sharp, militant one, Rakan the showy charmer. They're built to play together in bot lane.
The Freljord, Bilgewater, Shurima and Targon
Beyond the big three, Runeterra's other regions each have their own feel: the frozen tribal north, a lawless pirate port, a desert empire of ascended god-warriors, and a holy mountain where mortals are chosen by celestial beings.
Ashe
The Frost Archer · Marksman
Ashe is the leader of the Avarosan tribe, trying to unite the Freljord through diplomacy rather than conquest. She fires frost arrows that slow everything they hit, making her one of the most beginner-friendly marksmen in the game.
Sejuani and Braum
Tank · Support
Sejuani is the warlike leader of the Winter's Claw, Ashe's rival for the Freljord, who rides a giant boar. Braum is the opposite: a smiling, moustached hero with a door-sized shield, beloved in Freljord folk tales.
Lissandra
The Ice Witch · Mage
Lissandra is an ancient sorceress who has spent centuries rewriting the Freljord's history to hide what she did, and what she serves. She's one of the region's quiet true villains.
Miss Fortune
The Bounty Hunter · Marksman
Sarah Fortune is a pirate captain who spent years planning revenge on Gangplank, the man who murdered her parents. She got it. Her ultimate, a cone of gunfire, is one of the game's best team-fight tools.
Gangplank
The Saltwater Scourge · Fighter
Gangplank was the tyrant of Bilgewater until Miss Fortune blew up his ship. He survived and came back for his city. In game he fights with exploding barrels and can call down a cannon barrage anywhere on the map.
Twisted Fate and Graves
Mage · Marksman
A card-throwing con man and his shotgun-wielding ex-partner, who went their separate ways after a job went wrong and blame each other for it.
Pyke and Nautilus
Support · Tank
Pyke is a drowned harpooner who returned from the deep to kill everyone on a list in his head. Nautilus is a cursed diver in a giant suit who hauls enemies with his anchor.
Azir
The Emperor of the Sands · Mage
Azir was the last emperor of ancient Shurima, betrayed on the day of his ascension and returned thousands of years later as a falcon-headed god-warrior. He commands soldiers of sand and wants his empire back. He's notoriously hard to play well.
Nasus and Renekton
Fighter · Fighter
Two Ascended brothers: Nasus is a jackal-headed scholar, Renekton a crocodile driven mad after centuries trapped with a monster. Nasus's stacking Q makes him a top-lane favourite.
Leona and Diana
Tank-support · Fighter
Leona is the chosen of the sun and Diana the chosen of the moon, two Targonian warriors whose opposing faiths have made them enemies. Leona is a classic engage support; Diana a dive-heavy jungler or mid laner.
Aurelion Sol
The Star Forger · Mage
A cosmic dragon who forges stars and was bound into service by Targon's celestial Aspects. He's arrogant, ancient and furious about his captivity, and is generally treated as one of the most powerful beings in the setting.
The Shadow Isles, the Void and Bandle City
These are League's horror and comedy corners. The Shadow Isles are a cursed land of undead souls; the Void is an alien realm that wants to consume reality; and Bandle City is the hidden home of the yordles, small magical beings who often treat the world's dangers as a joke.
Thresh
The Chain Warden · Support
Thresh is a spectral jailer who collects souls in his lantern and enjoys tormenting them. On the Rift he can hook an enemy across the map, then throw his lantern to pull a teammate to safety, which has made him one of the defining supports in the game.
Viego
The Ruined King · Assassin
Viego was a king whose grief for his dead queen caused the Ruination that created the Shadow Isles. He's the villain of a whole Riot storyline and of the spin-off game Ruined King. In game he can possess the bodies of champions he kills.
Kalista and Hecarim
Marksman · Fighter
Kalista is the Spear of Vengeance, a spirit bound to punish betrayers. Hecarim is a monstrous spectral cavalry commander who charges across the map.
Kai'Sa
Daughter of the Void · Marksman
Kai'Sa fell into the Void as a child and survived by bonding with a living symbiotic suit. She hunts Void creatures, though she's never sure whether she is still entirely human. She's also a member of K/DA alongside Ahri.
Cho'Gath and Vel'Koz
Tank · Mage
Two Void creatures: Cho'Gath is a growing, devouring beast, and Vel'Koz a floating eye that wants to understand reality by taking it apart.
Teemo
The Swift Scout · Marksman
Teemo is a cheerful yordle scout with a blowgun and a scouting troop salute. He turns invisible when standing still and covers the map in poisonous mushrooms, which has made him one of the most loved and loathed champions in the game. Many players count him as League's unofficial mascot.
Veigar, Tristana and Lulu
Mage · Marksman · Support
Three very different yordles: Veigar a tiny would-be dark lord, Tristana a cannon-toting gunner, and Lulu a whimsical sorceress who turns enemies into squirrels.
Aatrox
The Darkin Blade · Fighter
An ancient fallen god-warrior trapped in his sword, who wants to end the world, and himself with it. The Darkin are among League's most dangerous villains.
Ezreal
The Prodigal Explorer · Marksman
A cocky young explorer from Piltover who carries a magical gauntlet he found in a Shuriman tomb. His kit is almost entirely skill shots.
Roles and classes on the Rift
In the standard Summoner's Rift mode, each team fills five positions. Champions are also grouped into classes describing how they fight. A champion's class doesn't lock them to one role, but most have a natural home.
| Role | What it does | Typical champions |
|---|---|---|
| Top lane | Long one-on-one lane, usually fighters and tanks | Garen, Darius, Nasus, Aatrox, Gangplank |
| Jungle | Roams between lanes, controls neutral objectives | Lee Sin, Vi, Jarvan IV, Viego, Warwick |
| Mid lane | Short central lane, mages and assassins | Ahri, Zed, Yasuo, Viktor, Azir |
| Bot lane (ADC) | Marksmen who deal sustained damage late | Jinx, Caitlyn, Ashe, Kai'Sa, Miss Fortune |
| Support | Protects the marksman, controls vision | Thresh, Leona, Lux, Braum, Lulu |
Riot's official classes are Controllers (enchanters and catchers), Fighters (juggernauts and divers), Mages (burst, battle mages and artillery), Marksmen, Slayers (assassins and skirmishers), Tanks (vanguards and wardens) and Specialists, for champions who don't fit anywhere else. Many of these line up neatly with the patterns in our character archetypes guide: the stoic protector, the trickster, the fallen king.
Rivalries and relationships worth knowing
League's lore is spread across short stories, comics, cinematics and champion biographies rather than one main plot, so its best stories are often about pairs. These are the ones that come up most:
- Vi and Jinx — sisters on opposite sides of the law, fully told in Arcane.
- Yasuo and Yone — brothers separated by a murder accusation and a fatal duel.
- Zed and Shen — former brothers-in-arms in the Kinkou order, split over how Ionia should defend itself.
- Garen and Katarina — a Demacian soldier and a Noxian assassin whose fights carry a long-running romantic tension.
- Leona and Diana — sun and moon, each convinced the other's faith is heresy.
- Miss Fortune and Gangplank — a revenge story that reshaped Bilgewater.
- Ashe and Sejuani — rival visions of how to unite the Freljord.
For how these dynamics compare to other famous pairs in games and animation, see our iconic rivalries guide. If you're more interested in who would win, our power scaling explainer covers how fans rank characters across a setting like Runeterra.
Where to start with the characters
- Watch Arcane — the most complete, self-contained introduction to League's world and several of its most popular champions.
- Watch the cinematics — Riot's yearly cinematic trailers are short and introduce champions from many regions.
- Read champion biographies — Riot's Universe site has an entry for every champion, plus short stories and comics.
- Play — League itself, Wild Rift on mobile, or Teamfight Tactics if you prefer strategy to action.
If you enjoy big hero rosters with deep lore, Genshin Impact organises its cast by nation in a similar way, while Fortnite takes the opposite approach and pulls in characters from everywhere.
League of Legends champions on this page A–Z
A–B
- Aatrox — Darkin
- Ahri — Ionia
- Ambessa — Noxus
- Ashe — Freljord
- Aurelion Sol — Targon
- Azir — Shurima
- Braum — Freljord
C–G
- Caitlyn — Piltover
- Cassiopeia — Noxus
- Cho'Gath — Void
- Darius — Noxus
- Diana — Targon
- Draven — Noxus
- Ekko — Zaun
- Ezreal — Piltover
- Fiora — Demacia
- Gangplank — Bilgewater
- Garen — Demacia
- Graves — Bilgewater
H–K
- Hecarim — Shadow Isles
- Heimerdinger — Piltover
- Irelia — Ionia
- Jarvan IV — Demacia
- Jayce — Piltover
- Jinx — Zaun
- Kai'Sa — Void
- Kalista — Shadow Isles
- Katarina — Noxus
L–P
- Lee Sin — Ionia
- Leona — Targon
- Lissandra — Freljord
- Lulu — Bandle City
- Lux — Demacia
- Mel — Noxus / Piltover
- Miss Fortune — Bilgewater
- Nasus — Shurima
- Nautilus — Bilgewater
- Pyke — Bilgewater
Q–S
- Quinn — Demacia
- Rakan — Ionia
- Renekton — Shurima
- Sejuani — Freljord
- Shen — Ionia
- Singed — Zaun
- Swain — Noxus
- Sylas — Demacia
T–Z
- Teemo — Bandle City
- Thresh — Shadow Isles
- Tristana — Bandle City
- Twisted Fate — Bilgewater
- Veigar — Bandle City
- Vel'Koz — Void
- Vi — Piltover
- Viego — Shadow Isles
- Viktor — Zaun
- Warwick — Zaun
- Xayah — Ionia
- Yasuo — Ionia
- Yone — Ionia
- Zed — Ionia
- Zeri — Zaun
- Ziggs — Zaun
Frequently asked questions
How many champions are in League of Legends?
Around 170, and Riot keeps adding new ones, usually a few a year. The game launched in 2009 with 40 champions. Because the number changes with every new release, check the in-game collection for the exact current count.
Who is the most popular League of Legends character?
Popularity shifts with every balance patch, so there's no permanent answer. Champions who are consistently among the most recognised outside the game include Jinx, Ahri, Lux, Yasuo, Teemo, Thresh and Lee Sin. Arcane made Jinx, Vi, Caitlyn, Jayce and Viktor far better known to people who have never played.
Which League characters are in Arcane?
Jinx, Vi, Caitlyn, Jayce, Viktor, Ekko, Heimerdinger, Singed, Warwick, Ambessa and Mel all appear in Arcane. Ambessa and Mel were added to the game as playable champions around the release of the show's second season.
Are Jinx and Vi sisters in League of Legends?
Yes. The game hinted at a connection for years, and Arcane confirmed it: Vi is the older sister and Jinx, originally called Powder, the younger. Their rivalry is now the most famous relationship in League's lore.
What is the strongest champion in League lore?
Riot avoids ranking its characters, but the beings usually treated as the most powerful are cosmic ones like Aurelion Sol, the Aspects of Mount Targon, the Void's watchers, and Darkin such as Aatrox in their full form. Mortal champions are generally a step below these.
Where should a new player start?
Garen, Annie, Ashe, Malphite and Master Yi are common first picks because their abilities are easy to understand. Save high-skill champions like Yasuo, Lee Sin or Azir for later.