In this guide, we will discuss the 5 best early game champions to play in League of Legends, one for each role.
Image Credits | Riot Games
Best Early Game Champions in League of Legends
Each champion scales and different points in the game, and their spikes also differ from one another. This brings great diversity when it comes to the game, but it can also be confusing for newer players looking to play LoL. While we explained what scaling is in better detail, here are some of the best champions you can play in the early game. It will help you learn and become a more aggressive laner since you will be forced to look for opportunities to snowball.
1. Top Lane – Darius
Darius is one of the best early game top lane champions in the game and one of the first that can come to behind. Not only does he have insane base damage but he can also make you consistently bleed with his passive, Hemorrhage. If he’s able to apply all stacks on you, it can amount to several hundreds of damage in the first levels already.
Image Credits | Riot Games
This, alongside a user-friendly kit, makes him one of the strongest champions if you want to play aggressively during the laning phase. His ultimate also deals a fair bit of damage when Hemorrhage stacks are applied, making it easy for Darius to just blow a player up from half-health. Below are some of the best tips to quickly pick up the champion:
One of the most common combos is AA-W-AA, since the W is an auto-attack reset and applies a slow which will guarantee your second normal auto-attack.
The best way to hit a Q is to cast it right after the knockback from his E. Be careful when the latter is on cooldown since the enemy can dodge the Q by walking inside the inner circle.
As long as you’re able to apply multiple stacks, you don’t have to chase after the enemy — the bleeding will do the job for you.
Make sure to check which summoners’ spells champions have. You’re at your strongest when you have Ghost available, as you will be able to chase most people down with it and won’t get kited in the process.
Read also: Best champions to climb SoloQ
2. Jarvan IV
When it comes to the jungle pool, there are quite a lot of strong early-game champions, but some are obsolete in the current meta. That said, there are what are called the “evergreen” champions, which function in almost all types of meta. And among them, the best early-game champion is Jarvan IV.
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The Demacian champion has a strong early-game passive which deals % damage based on the enemy’s current health, as well as the Q which has an armor penetrating effect. Considering J4 also has a higher-than-average attack speed thanks to the passive effect from his E, Jarvan IV has everything he deals to prevail in early game skirmishes. Having Conqueror as a keystone rune only further amplifies that gap.
On top of that, he also has exquisite gank potential thanks to the gap close with his E-Q combo and ultimate when available. The combo allows J4 to jump through walls and make unexpected flank ganks to surprise the enemy. Here are some tips and tricks to master him:
You’re one of the few champions that can gank at level two right after clearing one jungle camp. That said, you will be down on tempo if you do that, so make sure to think carefully about what you can get from a level two gank (important enemy summoner or kill).
J4 doesn’t want to fully clear the jungle most of the time so always pay attention to the lane and how they are positioned.
Don’t usually use E-Q to gap close if you can walk toward the enemies and slow them down with W. Once they use their abilities to run away, use the combo to chase after them.
3. Pantheon
Mid lane has been primarily a scaling lane in the latest seasons so there are only a few choices when it comes to the best early game champions. One of them is Pantheon, who is finding success more as a mid laner than a top laner.
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His recent small rework turned him into a more oppressive laner thanks to the lower mana costs on his main source of damage, the spears (Q), while also maintaining his early-game power. A fast W-E-Q combo can amount to hundreds of damage, and thanks to the crit damage when an enemy is below 20% max health, it’s easy for Pantheon to find some early kills. In addition, he has the ultimate Grand Starfall to exert a strong map presence and gank the side lanes. These are tips and tricks for Pantheon:
Tips and Tricks:
Always try to start combos with the passive ready so you can further amplify your damage.
Use spears while the enemy is farming to increase the chances of hitting them.
If you want to roam around the map, make sure to have the waves pushed so you lose the least amount of minion gold and experience.
Read also: LoL Patch Tier List
4. Kalista
Even though the champion is not performing well, if you’re looking for a great early-game ADC, then Kalista is going to be one of your primary choices.
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Her kit is specifically designed to make the most during the first minutes of the game thanks to the spear stacking effect as well as Kalista’s ability to attack and kite at the same time. As long as she has a good support that synergizes with her, she can prevail in nearly all 2v2 bot lane situations.
Tips and Tricks for Kalista:
W passive damage is an underrated part of the early game damage Kalista can deal. So wait for it before beginning to go for heavy trades.
Try to focus on one target at a time and apply as many stacks as possible.
Apply stacks on multiple minions so you can regain the mana lost when last hitting them with the E.
5. Karma
There are quite a lot of strong early-game supports, but when it comes to the damage output and how oppressive the champion can be, Karma is one of the best at doing that.
Image Credits | Riot Games
She has low cooldowns on her abilities, giving her lots of early game opportunities and good snowball potential. That said, Karma does fall off later on so she is one of the few champions that needs to get the most during the laning phase, or else she will have little to no impact:
Use Qs whenever the enemies walk up to farm minions to poke.
Be careful to not get engaged since Karma is quite squishy and can be burst down quickly.
Take advantage of the E’s movement speed to quickly draw distance from the enemies if needed.
Read also: Best Beginner Champions in LoL
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