Best Champions for SoloQ

We all want to climb to reach our “deserved” Elo. However, most players make this so difficult for themselves in the pick and ban phase that they have to play much better than their opponents to have any chance of a win. That’s why I recommend three champions per position, which should make it easier for you to climb. The main criteria here are that these champions are both easy to play and, for the most part, meta-independent. This selection of champions is particularly good up to platinum. After that, the opponents might have enough experience that some matchups might become difficult.

Index

• Top: Garen / Darius / Malphite
• Jungle: Volibear / Zac / Warwick
• Mid: Annie / Malzahar / Ziggs
• Bot: Miss Fortune / Ashe / Jinx
• Support: Nami / Sona / Leona

Garen is a very beginner-friendly champion. However, that doesn’t mean he’s only suitable for “noobs”. I recommend everyone who is new to the top lane to start with Garen, as you can focus more on the game and the lane itself and not just on the champion. The champion can win most matchups as you can just bluntly press Q and run at the opponents. If this goes wrong, you can press E and retreat through Minions. This has the advantage that other champions will have a hard time chasing you. You can also survive bad matchups well, as you can heal up again with your passives in lane. From level 6 onwards, you are a major threat to most opponents as you can execute them with your ultimate ability. Later in the game, you are both a source of damage and a tanky frontliner for your team, as you can buy both tank and damage items. This has the advantage that you are almost never useless and can always find a way to help your team. Click here for our championspecific guide: Garen Guide

It is very difficult to play against Darius because even small mistakes are punished immediately. Even from level 1, your lane opponent has to be careful and must not give you too many bleeds on him. This allows you to put pressure on other melee fighters even at early levels. Pure autoatack trades are therefore often positive for you and your Q ability gives you the opportunity to heal yourself again. This can take unwary players by surprise, allowing you to fight several opponents at the same time. Later in the game, your Q makes you relatively tanky in team fights and your passive and ult resets give you the potential to carrie. If you kill a champion with your R, the second kill is often not far away. Your passive gives you an extra five seconds of AD after a kill with the ult and you inflict five bleeds on enemies with each attack. Use this knowledge to your advantage. Click here for our championspecific guide: Darius Guide

Malphite is best when opponents are playing a lot of AD champions, as armor items are especially good for Malphite and also give you extra damage. In lane, you can poke most opponents out of lane with your Q. Otherwise, it is not so important whether you win or lose the lane. Just try to group with your team later in the game and use your ultimate to engage team fights or catch individual players. With this ability, you have perhaps the best Engage in the game to start a successful fight. Nobody can stop you!

On the early levels you will win most duels and only a few champions have enough damage to kill a Volibear with a stacked passive. So don’t be afraid to look for fights in the early game. You are strong! You can also gank well, as your Q allows you to quickly run up to opponents and surprise them. A big advantage of Volibear is that he still deals a lot of damage even with pure tank items. This makes you dangerous for the enemy backline, as you can’t be ignored, but you’re also difficult to kill. This buys your team members valuable time to deal their damage. Later in the game, you can either engage in combat or help your carries by protecting them with your abilities.

With Zac you can clear jungle camps very well and thus gain a farm or tempo advantage. Furthermore, your passive usually gives you enough life to land a gank after the jungle monsters. Your E is the most important ability here, as it allows you to jump over long distances at your opponents. Most players don’t expect this and it makes Zac a very dangerous and unpredictable opponent. As your basic damage is quite high, you can build pure tank items like Volibear and still deal good damage. Later in the game, you can start team fights and tank for your team for a long time if you collect the blobs from your passive.

Warwick is a little more difficult to play at the beginning than Volibear and Zac. So don’t be afraid to practise him in normal games first. Once you get the hang of it, Warwick is a very annoying champion for opponents. You are very strong at all times in the game and can also become a good tank with your items. You become stronger when you or your opponent are low on life. In combination with your Q’s heals, this makes you a threat that should never be ignored. You are particularly good at chasing down opponents with low health, which means you rarely miss kills. Later in the game, you can start fights with your R and stay in the fight for a long time without dying thanks to your other abilities. Click here for our champion-specific guide: Warwick Guide

Annie is a good champion to climb as you don’t have any difficult abilities to miss. In lane, you have the advantage of getting mana back when you kill minions with your Q. This makes it extremely easy to get good farm stats, giving you an advantage that can pay off in early item powerspikes. By stunting on your passive, you give your jungler a good opportunity to gank your lane. This sets you apart from many other champions in the mid lane, who often don’t have such a simple and effective tanking setup. Later in the game, the combination of your stun on passive combined with your flash and ult is a game-changing combo. This combo allows you to hit and stun multiple enemies at once, allowing you to win a team fight or even the game almost single-handedly.

At the beginning of the game, you can use your E to effectively push lane as well as poke your opponent, often allowing you to win the early stages. Once you have the Lost Chapter, you can use your E-W-Q combo to wipe out a minion wave in an instant without missing much farm. This guarantees you a lot of gold and puts pressure on the enemy to kill your minions under their own tower, meaning they can lose some quickly. Later in the game, your task is to use your ult to catch opponents who have moved too far away from their team. You can use your CC to hold them effectively so that your team can kill them. You are also very useful in team fights with your R and , as both are quite long and annoying CCs. You can also use the R against tanks to melt them away. If you were able to cast your E on them before activating your W, then even the toughest enemies will take quite a bit of damage during your ult. This makes it easier for your team to take down even the strongest tank.

With your Q, you can farm in lane from a safe distance and can farm safely even in bad matchups. However, your Q is not only good for farming, but also for poking your opponent. You can use your W to push opponents away, get yourself to safety and even blow up towers with little life. Try it out, it’s a lot of fun! Later on in the game, you can deal devastating damage in team battles, as each of your abilities can hit multiple opponents. Thanks to your ult, you can even contribute to the fighting from a great distance. No matter how long the game lasts, you will always deal a lot of damage. You also give your team the opportunity to end the game quickly after a successful battle thanks to your high damage to towers.

Miss Fortune is already strong at early levels. This sets her apart from other shooters, who often need more levels or items to become strong. In the lane, you try to poke your opponents with your Q. This is most efficient if you kill a minion with your Q and the projectile flies on to an opponent. Inexperienced players in particular can be surprised by this. Later in the game, you can use your ult to inflict large amounts of area damage from a safe distance in a team fight and sometimes even win it on your own. Click here for our championspecific guide: Miss Fortune Guide

Due to her long range, Ashe is already dominant in the lane at early levels. Combined with the slows of your passive and your W, you’ll make your opponents’ lives a living hell. Later in the game, your item build not only deals a lot of damage to tanks, but also gives you the opportunity to open up fights or catch individual opponents with your ult. Even if things don’t go well at the start of the game, you can still make a comeback with a few successful plays. Ashe is also very strong when the game takes a long time. Click here for our championspecific guide: Ashe Guide

With Jinx, you have the opportunity to constantly push the minions under the enemy’s tower and put them under pressure. If you manage to kill the opponents in lane, you can also use your passive to knock down the enemy tower quite quickly and get a lot of gold from the tower plating. This gives you the advantage of making the game fast and shaping it to your liking. Later in the game, you are very dangerous in team battles, as you can put the other opponents in a lot of trouble after being killed by your passive and hardly any opponent can escape you. In combination with the item “Runaan’s Hurricane”, your Q can cause massive damage to opponents standing close to each other in team fights. What’s more, you can use your ult to influence gameplay anywhere on the map. Click here for our champion specific guide: Jinx Guid

Nami is a very long-dominant champion and you can put pressure on your opponents from level 1. Your heal gives you the opportunity to heal yourself and your ADC back up after a bad trade. This allows you to gain an advantage early on in the game, as tight trades are always to your advantage. Later in the game, you will have many supporting items to choose from, which you can use to help your team to victory. You can also use your ult to disengage bad fights and regroup. Opponents will find it difficult to pursue you after a well-placed ult. Click here for our champion-specific guide:Nami Guide

Sona offers you various ways to play the lane. You can deal damage yourself in easy matchups and bring your opponents to their knees with your poke. Equally, in bad matchups, you can also rely on your heals to scale extremely well into the later game and relax and wait for the right time to help your team win the game. Accordingly, you can also adapt the item build to your playing style. You can either build damage items to pose a threat yourself or items to support your team. Both are possible, so depending on the game situation, decide which approach suits you better and what will help your team the most. More damage or more heals? No matter what you decide, Sona will become a very unpleasant problem for your opponent over the course of the game. Click here for our championspecific guide: Sona Guide

With Leona, you don’t have to think long about what your task is. It’s very clear and simple – JUST DO IT! I recommend you play Leona if you think you know which Engages are good and which you shouldn’t take. Because once Leona goes in, she won’t get out so easily without her team. Apart from that, you are very strong for a Supporter. Thanks to your W, you are very tanky and can usually even win the 1v1 against the opposing shooter. You can win the lane and the later stages of the game with good engages. With your ult, you even have the option of starting a fight over a slightly longer distance. You can then use the other abilities to hold your opponents in place while your team takes them out. Click here for our championspecific guide: Leona Guide

Have fun climbing!