Best Champions for Beginners in League of Legends

League of Legends (LoL) is one of the most popular online multiplayer games, but it can be overwhelming for new players due to the sheer number of champions, abilities, and strategies involved. Choosing the right champion as a beginner can make all the difference in how quickly you learn the game and how much you enjoy it. This guide will help you pick some of the most beginner-friendly champions in the game, allowing you to start your journey with confidence and skill.

Why Choosing the Right Champion Matters

Before diving into the specific champions, it's important to understand why picking the right champion is crucial for beginners. Every champion in League of Legends has unique abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Some champions are extremely complex, requiring precise mechanics and deep game knowledge, while others are simpler to play but still very effective.

By starting with easier champions, you can focus more on learning the game’s fundamentals, such as map awareness, farming (earning gold from defeating minions), and understanding objectives, without getting overwhelmed by complex combos or difficult playstyles.

Key Factors for Beginner-Friendly Champions

When selecting champions suitable for beginners, there are several factors to consider:

1. Ease of Learning: Champions with straightforward abilities and mechanics are less likely to confuse new players. Simple champions help players focus on learning the game without being distracted by overly complex abilities.

2. Durability: Beginners often struggle with positioning and may die more often than experienced players. Durable champions, such as tanks or bruisers, can survive more mistakes and are thus more forgiving.

3. Effectiveness in Multiple Roles: Some champions can be played in multiple positions (such as top, mid, or jungle), giving beginners flexibility and allowing them to experiment with different roles as they learn the game.

4. Impact in Team Fights: Beginner-friendly champions should also provide noticeable value in team fights, helping to contribute to their team's success without needing to make difficult or precise plays.

Top Beginner-Friendly Champions

1. Garen – The Might of Demacia

Role: Top Lane
Difficulty: Very Easy
Playstyle: Tank, Fighter

Garen is often recommended as the quintessential beginner champion in League of Legends. His abilities are straightforward and highly effective, making him an excellent choice for new players. He is a tanky champion with a lot of survivability, which means you can make mistakes in positioning without immediately dying. Garen's kit allows you to deal significant damage and remain durable in fights, making him an excellent option for learning the basics of combat.

• Abilities: Garen’s abilities revolve around dealing damage to enemies and staying alive. His passive, Perseverance, gives him strong health regeneration, allowing you to sustain in the lane. His Q ability, Decisive Strike, silences enemies and deals decent damage. His E ability, Judgment, is an iconic spin attack that damages multiple enemies at once. Finally, his ultimate, Demacian Justice, is a powerful execution tool that deals damage based on the enemy’s missing health.

• Why Beginners Love Garen: Garen is forgiving due to his tanky nature and self-sustain. His ultimate ability is easy to understand, and you’ll find that Garen can dominate games even at lower skill levels.

2. Annie – The Dark Child

Role: Mid Lane
Difficulty: Easy
Playstyle: Mage, Burst Damage

Annie is another fantastic pick for beginners, especially if you want to play in the mid lane and focus on casting spells. She is a mage with simple yet impactful abilities that can easily burst down opponents.

• Abilities: Annie’s passive, Pyromania, allows her to stun enemies after casting several spells, making it an excellent tool for initiating fights or escaping danger. Her Q ability, Disintegrate, is a targeted fireball that refunds mana if it kills the target, making it ideal for last-hitting minions. Her W ability, Incinerate, is a cone of fire that damages multiple enemies. Her ultimate, Summon: Tibbers, brings her giant teddy bear, Tibbers, into battle to deal damage over time and attack nearby enemies.

• Why Beginners Love Annie: Annie’s playstyle revolves around straightforward mechanics, and her passive stun adds an extra layer of crowd control that is easy to execute. Tibbers, her ultimate, is visually impressive and deals a lot of damage, which feels satisfying for new players.

3. Ashe – The Frost Archer

Role: Bottom Lane (ADC)
Difficulty: Easy
Playstyle: Marksman, Utility

Ashe is an excellent marksman for beginners who want to play the ADC (Attack Damage Carry) role. Her basic attacks are enhanced by her passive, and she has long-range abilities that can provide utility for her team.

• Abilities: Ashe’s passive, Frost Shot, slows enemies with her basic attacks, making it easier to kite and control opponents. Her W ability, Volley, fires multiple arrows in a cone, dealing damage to all enemies hit. Her E ability, Hawkshot, gives vision of large areas of the map, allowing you to scout for enemies. Finally, her ultimate, Enchanted Crystal Arrow, is a global skillshot that stuns the first enemy hit and deals damage based on distance traveled.

• Why Beginners Love Ashe: Ashe’s kit is easy to grasp, and her utility-focused abilities provide a lot of value in both early and late game. Her ultimate, in particular, is a great initiation tool that can turn the tide of a team fight when used correctly. She’s also one of the more forgiving ADCs thanks to her built-in slow and range.

4. Malphite – Shard of the Monolith

Role: Top Lane
Difficulty: Easy
Playstyle: Tank, Initiator

Malphite is another fantastic champion for beginners, especially those interested in playing a tank role. His kit is designed to absorb damage and engage in fights, making him a durable champion who can initiate teamfights and survive skirmishes. Malphite is highly effective in team-based fights, and his abilities allow him to be impactful with minimal mechanical skill.

• Abilities: Malphite’s passive, Granite Shield, provides him with a shield based on a percentage of his max health, allowing him to take more damage before being hurt. His Q ability, Seismic Shard, steals an enemy’s movement speed while dealing damage, making it easier to chase or escape. His W, Thunderclap, empowers his next basic attack and provides extra armor. His ultimate, Unstoppable Force, is one of the most powerful initiation tools in the game, launching Malphite at enemies, knocking them up, and dealing heavy damage.

• Why Beginners Love Malphite: Malphite’s tankiness and straightforward abilities make him perfect for new players. His ultimate is a game-changer in teamfights, and even if you don’t have great positioning or timing, it’s usually impactful. As a bonus, Malphite’s build usually focuses on defensive stats, meaning he can soak up a lot of damage, making him a forgiving champion for those learning the game.

5. Sona – Maven of the Strings

Role: Support
Difficulty: Easy
Playstyle: Healer, Utility

Sona is an excellent support champion for beginners who want to learn how to assist their team in various ways. She provides healing, shields, and crowd control, making her a versatile choice. Her abilities automatically target allies and enemies, which means you don’t need perfect precision to be effective.

• Abilities: Sona’s passive, Power Chord, adds bonus effects to her basic attacks after casting three abilities. Her Q, Hymn of Valor, damages enemies and boosts allies’ attack damage. Her W, Aria of Perseverance, heals herself and a nearby ally. Her E, Song of Celerity, grants bonus movement speed to her team. Finally, her ultimate, Crescendo, stuns all enemies in a line, allowing for strong teamfight control.

• Why Beginners Love Sona: Sona’s auto-targeting abilities make her an easy champion to pick up for beginners, especially those learning the support role. Her healing and shielding help her stay relevant throughout the game, while her ultimate offers a powerful crowd control effect that can turn teamfights in her team’s favor.

6. Master Yi – Wuju Bladesman

Role: Jungle
Difficulty: Easy
Playstyle: Assassin, Fighter

Master Yi is a popular pick for beginners looking to play in the jungle role. His abilities focus on auto-attacks and mobility, making him an easy champion to learn for players interested in the jungle. Master Yi is known for his ability to carry games with high damage and fast attack speed, making him both powerful and simple.

• Abilities: Master Yi’s passive, Double Strike, allows him to strike twice after several auto-attacks. His Q, Alpha Strike, allows him to dash between enemies, dealing damage while being untargetable. His W, Meditate, heals him, making it useful for survival during fights. His E, Wuju Style, boosts his attack damage for a short time. His ultimate, Highlander, grants him bonus movement speed and attack speed, making him a terror in teamfights.

• Why Beginners Love Master Yi: Master Yi is an incredibly strong champion at lower levels of play due to his high damage output and ability to dodge damage with his Q. His auto-attack-based playstyle is easy to understand, and his ultimate allows him to chase down or escape from enemies with ease. For beginners, he offers a powerful option for learning how to jungle and how to position well in fights.

7. Miss Fortune – The Bounty Hunter

Role: Bottom Lane (ADC)
Difficulty: Easy
Playstyle: Marksman, Burst Damage

Miss Fortune is an excellent ADC for beginners thanks to her simple mechanics and high damage output. She’s known for her ability to deal a lot of damage with both single-target and area-of-effect (AoE) abilities, making her an easy champion to master while still having a significant impact in teamfights.

• Abilities: Miss Fortune’s passive, Love Tap, deals bonus damage when she switches targets with her basic attacks. Her Q, Double Up, is a simple yet effective shot that bounces to a second target, often critting for large amounts of damage. Her E, Make It Rain, slows and damages enemies in an area, while her ultimate, Bullet Time, is an AoE barrage of bullets that can devastate an enemy team if positioned correctly.

• Why Beginners Love Miss Fortune: Miss Fortune’s abilities are straightforward, and her ultimate can deal massive amounts of damage with minimal setup. She excels in both laning and teamfights, making her a solid choice for new players looking to play an ADC role. Her AoE damage is easy to land, and she’s forgiving thanks to her high range and damage.

Tips for Playing as a Beginner

While picking beginner-friendly champions is a great start, there are a few other tips to help you succeed in your early games:

1. Focus on Last-Hitting Minions: Whether you're in the top, mid, or bottom lane, learning how to last-hit minions is essential. This ensures you earn gold efficiently, which will help you buy stronger items faster.

2. Learn Basic Positioning: For champions like ADCs or mages, staying at a safe distance from enemies while dealing damage is critical. Try to stay behind your tanky teammates during teamfights to maximize your survivability.

3. Map Awareness: Keep an eye on the minimap to track where your enemies are. This will help you avoid getting ambushed and ensure you can assist your team when needed.

4. Understand Objectives: In addition to killing enemies, League of Legends is about controlling objectives like turrets, dragons, and the Baron Nashor. Make sure you're helping your team secure these objectives to win the game.

Conclusion

In League of Legends, starting with beginner-friendly champions is a great way to ease into the game and learn its mechanics without being overwhelmed. Champions like Garen, Annie, Malphite, Sona, Master Yi, and Miss Fortune are all excellent choices for new players. They are simple to play, effective in multiple situations, and offer a good balance of durability, damage, and utility.