Gosu League of Legends: How to win League of Legends games: tips, tricks, strategy, tactics, guides, links, tier lists, videos, and resources for advanced League of Legends gamers!
Thank you for your support on my blog
and all of your helpful comments and suggestions! This tier list is
updated for February 2012 for all of the new NORMAL GAME SOLO QUEUE
champions (not Ranked Games or pre-made teams). New champions: Nautilus, Sejuani, Viktor, and Ziggs.
If you follow this list, you should be able to stomp hardcore in normal
games, at least in solo queue. Pre-made 5-man and pre-made 3-man teams
are a different story.
Thank you for your support on my blog and all of your helpful comments and suggestions! This tier list is updated for December 2011 for all of the new NORMAL GAME SOLO QUEUE champions (not Ranked Games or pre-made teams). New champions: Ahri, Fizz, Graves, Shyvana, Skarner, and Volibear.
Tier 1
Amumu
Annie Brand
ChoGath
Garen
Irelia
Jarvan IV
Katarina
Kennen
Lee Sin
Leona
Malphite
Malzahar
Maokai
Mordekaiser
Nasus
Nocturne
Orianna
Rammus
Renekton
Rumble
Shyvana
Singed
Sona
Soraka Tryndamere
Wukong
Vladimir
Xin Zhao Yorick Zilean
Tier 2
Akali
Alistar
Anivia
Ashe
Cassiopeia
Fizz
Gangplank
Karma
Master Yi
Miss Fortune
Olaf
Shen
Sion Sivir
Taric
Trundle
Twisted Fate
Vayne
Veigar
If you follow this list, you should be able to stomp hardcore in normal games, at least in solo queue. Pre-made 5-man and pre-made 3-man teams are a different story.
I want to thank you all for reading my blog and sending me your helpful emails and comments! Lately, I have been bombarded with requests to do an *updated* champion tier list due to the new patches and new champions. Since there are so many updates, I have decided to make new POSTS (not pages) with the new champion tier list updates, which I will link to from my main tier list page. Here is my updated normal game tier list for September 2011:
Tier 1
Amumu Annie
ChoGath
Garen
Irelia
Jarvan IV
Katarina
Kennen Lee Sin Leona
Malphite
Malzahar
Maokai
Mordekaiser
Nasus
Nocturne Orianna
Rammus
Renekton
Rumble
Singed
Sona Soraka Wukong
Vladimir
Xin Zhao
Tier 2
Akali
Alistar
Anivia
Ashe
Brand
Caitlyn Cassiopeia Gangplank Karma
Master Yi
Miss Fortune
Olaf
Shen
Sion Taric
Trundle
Twisted Fate Vayne
Veigar Yorick
Zilean
Tier 1 Description
Tier 1 champions are mainstream, almost 'instant-win' champions in the hands of basically any player. They make great additions to any team, usually require very little items to dominate, are useful early-mid-late game, deal loads of damage, have survivability, can survive ganks, can save teammates from harm, are great lane pushers, have a lower learning curve than Tiers 2/3/4, and generally do not require intense farming in order to be of any use. If you see a teammate pick one of these champions, rest assured that your team stands a better chance of winning. You can just pick these champions for the first time and win most games with them easily.
Tier 2 Description
Tier 2 champions are great for most games and in most situations. They can hold their own in any lane and can dominate a game if powered up. Tier 2 champions make great complements to the Tier 1 champions. They are quite dangerous on their own, and are useful in almost every situation.
Tier 3 Description
Tier 3 champions are fun champions to play in general. Average players will win roughly 50% of their games with these champions, as these champions tend to deal very little damage, are more support than at the core of the team, require more skill to play than Tier 1 or Tier 2 champions, are not lane pushers, do not farm as easily as other champions, and really shine in premade teams where players syngergize well and poised to take advantage of these champions' abilities.
Tier 4 Description
These champions are not recommended for normal 5v5 solo que play in the hands of an average player. They require high learning curves, massive farming, have very little survivability, and/or are useful in only a few situations. If you have already learned how to use these champions, then by all means, use them! But beginners should stay far away from these champions if they want to win games. Leave these champions to the pros, as pros can utilize these champions to their fullest potential!
EDITORIAL NOTES
I made this list in response to my readers' (your) requests. Some things I must point out are as follows:
This tier list is for normal 5v5 solo queue.
This tier list assumes that players have only average experience with the game (about 300-500 normal game wins), are average in skill level, are only casual/hobby/leisure gamers, and use common, straight-forward item/skill builds for each champion. Please do not confuse this tier list with a 'draft mode' tier list (I recommend Elementz's tier lists for such hardcore gaming tier lists).
This tier list is solely my own personal opinion and is based on my own personal experiences in normal 5v5 solo queue.
This tier list only lists the champions in their respective tiers. I have general descriptions of each tier, but do not plan on explaining my decisions on a per-champion-basis, so please do not ask!
Everyone has their own opinions, and all are welcome to comment with useful feedback. Any type of trolling will be promptly deleted.
This tier list is not intended to be a type of bible for players, and therefore is not recommended to be used as such.
This tier list is subject to change based on my experiences and personal opinion! Newly released champions will be added after careful review!
I hope that you enjoy my work and if you find it useful, please leave a comment below or share it with friends via the 'share' buttons, and subscribe to my posts through the subscription links on the right side of my site!
*Special note* I understand that all of the champions have their strengths and weaknesses which can be harnessed to their fullest potential by extraordinarily skilled players. If you are one of these elite players, then this tier list does not apply to you! Elite players can, in essence, use any champion and win just about every game, regardless of what champion they use or what team they are playing on! Kudos to you, and please disregard any information which I provide on this article, as you surely far surpass any level of knowledge that I may have to offer! Please remember that this entire blog is based around casual, experienced, advanced gamers, but not necessarily hardcore, tournament, elite gamers.
In this review post, I am going to go through all of the new champions that have come out recently. I will tell you my thoughts on them and how I feel you should play them. Don't argue with me, just do it my way! (Or else my army of squirrels will get you!).
So let's get started here people!
The new champions I will be discussing are as follows:
Leona
Orianna
Skarner
Talon
Wukong
Leona
Leona is a ridiculously Over Powered (OP) champion! Early game, she is so ridiculous to lane with because you can just stun the enemy champions while your DPS fires away. Easy first blood, anyone? I have seen Leona's walk right into tower range, dive FOUR CHAMPIONS, kill ALL OF THEM, and Flash out to safety. However... not everyone can play her. I think it's simply because most players have no clue how to tank properly. (I might make a guide on this sometime later, not too sure).
You should get runes in the following areas: Red Magic Penetration Marks, Yellow Armor Seals, Blue Magic Resistance Glyphs, Violet Health Quintessences. Masteries 9/21/0 (15% Spell Penetration ftw). Summoner spells should be Flash and anything else you want, but I do recommend teleport so you can teleport right into battle.
Review Sheet: Difficulty - 5 Stars - NOT for noobs! If you're just starting out, please play an easier tank to pick up like Nunu. Usefulness - 5 Stars - She is so useful in EVERY SINGLE TEAM COMPOSITION with her two stuns, ridiculously powerful shield, and excellent initiation skill. Recommendation - Highly recommended for pro players wishing to win tournaments. NOT recommended for noobs or for daily pug stomping! (See my tier list for pug stomping madness!)
Orianna
Talk about ridiculously powerful support! Orianna takes support and drives it up to a new level! I have seen Orianna's take on AN ENTIRE ENEMY TEAM in ranked games and just shake her head in pity for those that cross her path. She fits the support role very nicely with her magic damage, her explosion, and her shield. Her ultimate is great for initiating team fights or for saving fleeing allies. She also does massive damage as well.
Tear of the Goddess is mandatory on this champion, as any good Orianna should be SPAMMING spells to boost ally movespeed, shield allies from damage, and harassing the enemy team. Don't forget that you have to manually shield your allies with your E skill and that it does take some time for your ball to actually travel to your target, so please compensate for that! Don't mistakenly believe that her shield is instant like Janna's!
You should get Red Magic Penetration Marks, Yellow Mana Regeneration Per Level Seals, Blue Cooldown Reduction Glyphs, and Violet Ability Power Per Level Quintessences. Masteries you should go for are 9/7/14 (please see the following screenshot). Summoner skills are Clarity and Flash or Teleport.
Review Sheet: Difficulty - 3 Stars - She is easy to pick up and start playing, but difficult to master due to her versatile abilities and lag time between procs. Usefulness - 5 Stars - A solid choice for any team, she will fulfill the support role very nicely with the option of becoming the team mage (AP carry) as well. If you do play her, you HAVE to get a Tear of the Goddess or else you will be useless to your team. Clarity is also a good summoner skill to get along with Flash or Teleport. Spam those skills! Recommendation - Recommended for normal games, but not ranked games unless you are REALLY good with her! Fun and she has some awesome skins! (I like her doll skin, but that's just me). Great for daily pug stomping! (See my tier list for pug stomping madness!)
Skarner
Skarner is a weaker version of Nocturne. Whereas Nocturne is a great 1-on-1 assassin, Skarner is more of a team player fighter. He lacks a gap-closer move, but he does have an Area-Of-Effect (AOE) slow which is excellent for big team battles. His shield is fantastic for battles since it buffs his attack speed and move speed in tandem. He can lifesteal targets that are hit with his Fracture skill.
There are many guides out there for these types of champions, but what I want to stress is this: Skarner is a skill spam champion, so play him as one! His passive receives some good Cool Down Reduction (CDR) everytime Skarner attacks, so you will want to focus on the following items: survivability first, then Mana (NOT mana regeneration since you need a large mana pool to spam his skills during battle), and finally attack speed to make good use of his passive.
You should get runes in the following areas: Red Armor Penetration Marks, Yellow Armor Seals, Blue Magic Resistance Glyphs, Violet Health Quintessences. Masteries 9/21/0 (15% Spell Penetration ftw). Summoner spells should be Clarity and Ghost. If you have to ask why then you belong in a different place, I expect everyone reading this to know why a mana-thirsty champion needs mana. Ghost wins over Flash because with Ghost, you can constantly attack as you're chasing.
Review Sheet: Difficulty - 5 Stars - NOT for noobs! If you're just starting out, please play an easier fighter like Dr. Mundo. Usefulness - 2 Stars - Not that useful unless you are initiating team fights and diving towers. Play him tanky damage dealer (Bruiser type) for best results. You also need a large mana pool as well. And Sheen is a good choice. Build late-game Trinity Force for best results. Recommendation - Only recommended for pro players to use. NOT recommended for noobs or for daily pug stomping! (See my tier list for pug stomping madness!)
Talon Ah, Talon, the bane of my gaming career. Terrible choice for noobies, but they seem to like to use him. He has some very good burst physical damage, but dies in 2 hits from any magic burst damage from the likes of mages such as Annie or Leblanc. If you want to play him, then PLEASE GET SOME SURVIVABILITY so that you are actually useful to your team! I hate playing with noob Talon's who just walk around in circles while their teammates die in battle. Terrible!
With that said, however, I have seem some very good Talon's. I use him myself in normal games, but I never touch him in ranked games. I ban him and Vayne in ranked games just so that the noobies don't use them and then feed with them! This champion is a game wrecker IN THE RIGHT HANDS, but I definitely do not recommend him for noobies. Watch the following champion spotlight for more information. I play him in a similar way to Phreak's play style.
You should get runes in the following areas: Red Armor Penetration Marks, Yellow Armor Seals, Blue Magic Resistance Glyphs, Violet Armor Penetration Quintessences. Masteries 22/8/0 - focus on offense, but get 3 points in Strength of Spirit for health regeneration and some survivability. Summoner spells should be Clarity and Flash. Clarity so you don't need to buy any mana items which will allow you to get heavy hitting items like Black Cleaver and Frozen Mallet (Frozen Mallet works like a charm for his passive). Use flash to either initiate team fights or to chase fleeing prey. Review Sheet: Difficulty - 5 Stars - NOT for noobs! If you're just starting out, please play an easier physical DPS champion like Warwick or the ultra-powerful Xin Zhao. Usefulness - 2 Stars - He does high burst damage, but the enemy team likes to focus him a lot. And since he's squishy, he melts in seconds. Unless you are a pro DPS, you will most likely lose the game for your team. Keep in mind that this champion shines in coordinated teams, so I imagine him winning the next League of Legends tournament. Recommendation - NOT recommended for beginners. The learning curve is very high. Sure, you may have a decent score early game, but if you lose consistently, then you should reconsider the reason why you're losing (hint: it's not your teammates, it's you!). Only recommended for pro players wishing to win tournaments. NOT recommended for noobs or for daily pug stomping! (See my tier list for pug stomping madness!)
Wukong PLAY THIS GUY AS A TANK.
He is really great at soaking up damage and all around mischief. I find that he does great throughout the entire game, so I highly recommend this champion to everyone, even if you are just starting out. Just build survivability items and then get Sheen. Easy win.
You should get runes in the following areas: Red Armor Penetration Marks, Yellow Armor Seals, Blue Magic Resistance Glyphs, Violet Armor Penetration Quintessences. Masteries 0/21/9 - focus on defense and grab some utility for mana, regeneration, and gold. Summoner spells should be Clarity and Ghost. Clarity so you don't need to buy any mana items which will allow you to get heavy hitting items like Atma's Impaler (Which goes great with Warmog's Armor and Sunfire Cape). Use Ghost to catch enemies while using your ultimate.
Review Sheet: Difficulty - 2 Stars - Easy to pick up, easy to play, easy to win. All you need is some armor, health, and magic resistance. Usefulness - 4 Stars - Great tank, excellent damage, but still a learning curve to use super effectively. ALWAYS jump into battle and wreak havoc on the enemy team. Recommendation - Highly recommended for all game types. Great for daily pug stomping! (See my tier list for pug stomping madness!)
Well that's it for now folks, please keep the emails and comments coming! And don't forget that we do have a FaceBook page so you can just click the LIKE button (it's at the right side bar). While you're there, grab your copy of our book, Top 10 Player Skills That Win League of Legends Games by signing up for our Email Newsletter.Well, that's about it for now, Summoners! See you on the battlefield!
I recently queued with someone from the European (EU) who claimed that the EU server was better than the North American (NA) server. He said that I could never get to his ELO on the EU server. I wondered if this was true, but upon comparing his 0/0 Jarvan to my 5/2 Tryndamere that game, I thought I'd give it a try.
"You will get eaten alive on the EU server, they are so much better than you are," he said after hearing about my plans. "I am only smurfing here on the NA server, I assure you that I can completely stomp you on the EU server."
I look forward to challenges.
So today, I started a new account on the EU server under the name "LXRemmixS2" (Click here to signup for an EU account - make sure to change the Region setting to "Europe", otherwise you will be signing up for the NA server!) . I used the "Server Switcher v4" software (designed by Silviuvlad) to avoid having to reinstall my League of Legends client all over again. After downloading the file, I simply copied them into my League of Legends folder, and opened the "N2E.exe" file, which brought me to the EU server login. I actually recommend it because of its convenience. To obtain it, just click here. You need to complete a quick survey in order to download it, but it only takes a minute and the software is well worth it! Just make sure to make a copy of your entire League of Legends directory before using this, just in case you want to remove any changes.
(But if you insist on reinstalling a fresh copy of the game for use on the EU server, click here to signup to the EU League of Legends server. Make sure to change the Region setting to "Europe", otherwise you will download the NA copy, which is not what you want! It is a small download for the first file, but the patcher will download the complete client which is ~2GB in size, so be prepared to wait for it to download and install!)
Then, I proceeded to use my League of Legends Digital Collector's Pack which provided all of the champions I needed, $10 worth of RIOT Points, a few runes, and a skin included in the bundle. I did this so that I could hit the ground running and start kicking butt immediately! After that, I looked at my tier list, Remmix's Normal 5v5 Solo Queue Champion Tier List, and picked a champion from the top two tiers which I was comfortable using. I chose Annie, since my team needed a mage.
As expected, my first game was a success! It was fairly easy to distinguish just who the new players were against who the experienced players were... like me, there were veteran gamers who created new accounts as well. Still, they did not stand a chance against my Tier 2 Annie! I accompanied my two tanks (Rammus and Malphite) into battle and spammed my spells to the best of my ability. It wasn't long before we achieved victory!
So far so good, and I have quite a ways to go before I reach level 30! I can't wait to reach level 30 and face the more experienced EU players! I will definitely have to keep you guys posted about my experiences... so stay tuned for updates!
Are you tired of losing games? Do you want to win more games, but need help choosing strong champions before spending your hard-earned IP and RP? What if I told you that you can start winning more games today just by playing a handful of champions more frequently? Well, now you can win games all day long!
The wait is over!
After many, many, many cups of coffee, Remmix's League of Legends Tier List is here! I have carefully crafted this champion tier list with you (my readers) in mind and with the mindset of choosing champions for you to use and for you to win easily! Each champion has been hand-picked and categorized into different tiers based on strength, ease of use, versatility and some other mumbo jumbo.
Tier 1 champions can help you win over 75% of your normal games. Tier 4 champions are meant for players who have already learned those champions and are really really skilled with those champions. And everyone else is in-between.
Do you ever wonder which champions are best picks in ranked games? Well, many people have wondered this, so it's no wonder that someone would make a post about it! Below is an excerpt from famed League of Legends player, Elementz:
Please note: this tier list was created for Ranked Game (Draft Mode) in the higher ELO brackets! This tier list is used by the pros, and the skill level required in order to achieve the same results is different from that of normal solo queue players! (It assumes that the player is high-ranking and has stellar experience with those champions).
If you were not looking for this Ranked Game Tier List, then you will want to check out: Remmix's Champion Tier List (5v5 Normal Solo Queue) which will give you a better idea about the champion picks for the rest of us normal game players! What are you waiting for? Go check it out now!
