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League of Legends Champion Classes: All 7 Classes Explained
26 Sep, 2026, 07:46
|Last updated: 26 Sep, 2026, 07:46
League of Legends plays host to a great array of different champions, each unique enough in design and playstyle to give room for everyone to get a taste of a champion they enjoy playing. While the typical separator has these champions separated by more vague notions such as mages and tanks, there are actually 7 dedicated classes, much like the MMO genre it drew inspiration from.
*Last updated: 19/09/2026
Champion Classes vs Roles: What's the Difference?
The first distinction to note is the difference between Champion Classes and Roles. Roles describe the lane position/assignment, that being: Top, Jungle, Mid, Bot, Support.
Meanwhile, Classes serve to describe the champion's playstyle and informs their core design (kit, trajectory in-game, etc). While there are few hard-set rules for which class populates each role, there are tendencies for where the classes usually appear.
| Roles | Expected Classes |
|---|---|
| Top | Fighter, Tank, Specialist |
| Jungle | Fighter, Slayer, Specialist |
| Mid | Mage, Slayer, Specialist |
| Bot | Marksman |
| Support | Controller, Tank |
All League of Legends Champion Classes at a Glance
| Class | Sub-Class |
|---|---|
| Controller | Enchanter, Catcher |
| Fighter | Juggernaut, Diver |
| Mage | Burst, Battlemage, Artillery |
| Marksman | - |
| Slayer | Assassin, Skirmisher |
| Tank | Vanguard, Warden |
| Specialist | - |
Controller
Definition and Playstyle
The Controller is a support class specializing in assisting with utility or crowd control. They are generally characterized as amplifiers for their team's strength, but are balanced by being easy prey when alone.
There are 2 subclasses for the Controller class: Enchanters and Catchers. Enchanters are fragile champions that specialize in amplifying ally effectiveness through direct augments. This can come in the form of shields, speed boosts, damage amplifiers, heals, and more.
While less reliant on their team than the Enchanters, Catchers are crowd control specialists. They excel at creating zones of threat during fights and often function as the first to lock down a target.
Strengths and Weaknesses
| Strengths | Greatly amplifies team strength and threat. Improves team's success rate in teamfights. |
| Weaknesses | Team-reliant. While they can initiate a fight, they cannot close one out. They are also vulnerable when caught alone. |
Best Roles
The Controller class shines best in the Support role where they are able to best utilize their amplification to affect as many lanes as possible without the burden of farming in their lanes.
Example Champions
| Enchanters | Janna, Karma, Lulu, Milio, Nami |
| Catchers | Bard, Jhin, Neeko, Rakan, Thresh |
Who It Suits
The Controller class suits team-first players who gain the most satisfaction from enabling or play-making. Think of Enchanters as guardians for your teammates; healing, shielding, and peeling in lieu of scoring kills. Catchers are fearless playmakers who can see the angles for initiation and take the initiative to deliver the key targets for their team.
Fighter
Definition and Playstyle
The Fighter is a brawler class that specializes in dealing and surving damage. Designed as short-ranged combatants, what they lack in reach, they make up for with heavy, continuous damage and innate defenses, thriving in extended fights.
There are 2 subclasses for the Fighter class: Divers and Juggernauts. Divers are distinguished from their Juggernaut counterpart by their ability to blitz towards a single target with great mobility. Divers tend to excel at forcing picks or kills on a single high-priority target by having a method of charging the backline.
While Divers excel at leaping into the the fray, Juggernauts are the exact opposite. Designed as goliaths, they are melee titans that demand opponents approach and answer them. While they lack the mobility and gap-closer of their more nimble Diver counterparts, Juggernauts can deal and take significant amounts of damage.
Strengths and Weaknesses
| Strengths |
Divers excel at single-target access and damage, notably on squishier champions such as Mages or Marksmen. Juggernauts are powerful presences that can both frontline for their team and pull pressure and attention to themselves. |
| Weaknesses | Divers have the tools to leap into a fight but rarely do they have the opposite, making their engage a one-way ticket — win and survive, or perish and lose the fight. Juggernauts have next to no gap closers generally and rely on becoming a large enough threat that they can draw attention and survive the engages. |
Best Roles
The Fighter class shines best in the Top and Jungle roles. Divers in particular are popular in the Jungle role due to the ability to initiate and find picks for their team. Juggernauts by contrast, lean towards the Top role where they can often scale and become a side lane menace.
Example Champions
| Divers | Ambessa, Camille, Hecarim, Jarvan IV, Vi |
| Juggernauts | Aatrox, Dr. Mundo, Illaoi, Nasus, Sett |
Who It Suits
The Fighter class suits players who gain the most satisfaction from constant fighting. If you find yourself wanting to be in the middle of every fight — and surviving — then you are most suited for this class. The Juggernaut subclass are more straightforward champions, often classified as stat-checkers. Whereas Divers are more for those who enjoy leaping into fights and causing chaos.
Mage
Definition and Playstyle
The Mage is a damage class specializing in long-range area-of-effect damage through ability casts. While they possess incredible range and burst potential, they are balanced by abilities being more telegraphed, therefore requiring skill to land, as well as longer cooldowns on their abilities.
There are 3 subclasses for the Mage class: Artillery, Battlemages, and Burst. Artillery mages exemplify the Mage class' range superiority, raining damage and destruction from afar. However, they lack mobility and durability, making them extremely vulnerable to being run down.
Battlemages are close-ranged counterparts, relying instead on damage over time as opposed to bursting down targets with big numbers. The necessity for them to be closer to their targets mean that they are more durable than the other Mage subclasses.
The last Mage subclass, the Burst are the middleground between Artillery and Battlemages. They do not have the range of the former nor the range of the latter. However, they have incredible single-target damage at medium range paired with some form of crowd control.
Strengths and Weaknesses
| Strengths | Mage strengths are different between the 3 subclasses. Artillery shines at hitting the backline and key targets. Battlemages can provide sustained AP damage. Burst excel at taking out a key single-target before or during fights. |
| Weaknesses |
Low mobility, small health pool, long cooldowns. Positioning is the most crucial skill for Mages. If caught, their generally small health pools mean they have little chance of surviving (Battlemages have a slightly better chance). Using all your spells in a vulnerable position means that when opponents charge at you, you have nothing to deter as Mages' damage almost entirely stem from their abilities. |
Best Roles
The Mage class shines best in the Mid role where they can scale safely in the shortest lane. This also allows them to have greater impact on early teamfights as they are one of the classes with high damage in the early and mid game.
Example Champions
| Artillery | Hwei, Lux, Vel'Koz, Xerath, Ziggs |
| Battlemages | Cassiopeia, Viktor, Rumble, Swain, Ryze |
| Burst | Annie, Brand, Lux, Orianna, Syndra |
Who It Suits
The Mage class suits players who enjoy dealing damage with abilities rather than basic attacks. It is a challenging class that rewards spacing, proper cooldown management, and spell combo knowledge.
Marksman
Definition and Playstyle
The Marksman is a ranged class specializing in dealing damage almost exclusively through basic attacks. They are generally characterized as champions who, while squishy, are also the ones capable of dealing the most sustained DPS across teamfights.
Strengths and Weaknesses
| Strengths | Excels at sustained DPS over long teamfights. Also the primary damage dealer when taking neutral objectives. |
| Weaknesses | Low mobility. Small health pool. Very gold and item dependent. |
Best Roles
The Marksman class is unique in that they generally only occupy the Bot role, outside of several outlier champions. Their reliance on support during the early game phase, vulnerability to ganks and dives, and need for gold to scale into a threat all restrict them to a lane where they have a partner (Support).
Example Champions
| Marksman | Ashe, Jinx, Caitlyn, Jhin, Yunara |
Who It Suits
The Marksman class best suits players who want to be the damage carry in their games. They welcome the challenge of positioning and kiting in fights and accept their fragility in exchange for being able to deal consistent damage at range.
Slayer
Definition and Playstyle
The Slayer class is defined by their high mobility and single-target burst damage. Epitomised as the high-risk, high-reward playstyle, the champions in this class are opportunists who specialize in taking out priority targets.
There are 2 subclasses for the Slayer class: Assassins and Skirmishers. Assassins enjoy unrivaled mobility to access enemy backlines and assassinate squishy targets, however, their lack of defensive capabilities often mean timing and windows are the most crucial skills to master.
The Skirmisher subclass enjoy a high-degree of mobility as well, however, they lack the one-shot burst damage that their Assassin counterparts have access to. Instead, they have greater survivability in the form of situationally powerful defensive tools.
Strengths and Weaknesses
| Strengths | Capable of covering large distances and target access. They have high damage and specialize in eliminating squishy targets. |
| Weaknesses | Highly susceptible to crowd control. Their damage is typically skewed towards flat damage, meaning while they excel at eliminating squishy targets, they struggle against more defensive-oriented ones. |
Best Roles
The Slayer class shines best in the Mid and Jungle roles. They want to assert threat pressure on as many targets possible while maintaining access to gold that allows them to retain their damage edge.
Example Champions
| Assassins | Akali, Diana, Ekko, Naafiri, Talon |
| Skirmishers | Ambessa, Jax, Master Yi, Viego, Yasuo |
Who It Suits
The Slayer class best suits players who enjoy an aggressive, high-risk playstyle. Assasins are more tempting for players who want the cathartic burst damage on squishies. Meanwhile, Skirmishers are more for players who just want to take duels.
Tank
Definition and Playstyle
The Tank is a frontline class that sacrifices damage in exchange for specializing in engaging, disrupting, and locking down targets. They typically also have high durability and defenses, and can remain on the battlefield for long thanks to the ability to amplify their own durability.
There are 2 subclasses for the Tank class: Vanguards and Wardens. Vanguards are more offensive oriented and are the engage and disrupter specialists. Meanwhile, Wardens specialize in holding the line for their team and prevent their own members from being vulnerable targets.
Strengths and Weaknesses
| Strengths | High durability and lock-down. Vanguards have the additional strength of a powerful engage tool whereas Wardens often have disengage tools. |
| Weaknesses | Mobility and damage output are the primary weakness of this class. They are also often melee champions, so range is also a consideration. |
Best Roles
The Tank class shines best in the Top and Support roles. The former due to the durability allowing them to survive early gank attempts in the longer lane and still come out of lane useful for the team, and the latter due to not being as gold dependent as other classes.
Example Champions
| Vanguards | Leona, Malphite, Rammus, Ornn, Sion |
| Wardens | Braum, Poppy, Shen, Tahm Kench, Taric |
Who It Suits
The Tank class best suits players who enjoy initiating fights and soaking up damage. The Vanguard subclass specializes in the initiation and staying alive once in. Whereas the Warden subclass is more fitting for players who enjoy protecting their allies.
Specialist
Definition and Playstyle
The Specialist class essentially exists to include every champion that doesn't quite fit into any of the other classes for one reason or another. The majority of the champions in this class include at least one form of 'zone control' that can either hold or seize an area.
Strengths and Weaknesses
| Strengths | Strong area control (generally) with windows of high threat. |
| Weaknesses | Their area of control tends to be 'conditional'. If they are forced to reposition, their power and threat drops massively. They also tend to be immobile or have more telegraphed escape tools. |
Best Roles
Unlike other classes, the Specialist class does not have a best role in the same sense. However, the majority of champions within this class tend to populate either the Top, Jungle or Mid role.
Example Champions
| Vanguards | Azir, Cho'Gath, Fiddlesticks, Gangplank, Singed |
Who It Suits
The Specialist class is unique in that there isn't a particular aspect of the class that would attract a subset of players except for the unconventional kits. With the Specialist class, it is more about enjoying a particular champions within it than the class as a whole.
The Design Idea Behind Champion Classes
The idea behind the Champions Classes in League of Legends is similar to Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), where a multitude of classes exist to each shine in particular aspects of the game.
In the case of League of Legends, each role is naturally strong against one and weak to another.
[caption align="aligncenter" width="800"]
(L-R): Fighter, Tank, Controller, Slayer, Mage, Marksman. Credit: League of Legends Wiki[/caption]
Each class' attribute is described by the adjacent arrows, both preceding and suceeding.
"Tanks characteristic properties are toughness (tankiness), control, and some sort of typically high-downtime mobility or gap closer. Tanks can easily deal with the burst from Slayers and Mages, but struggles against the sustained damage of Fighters and Marksmen." - LoL Wiki.
Controllers are considered special in that unlike other classes, they are not designed to duel 1-on-1 with any other class. They are linked to Tanks as the two classes share a commonality of crowd control and disruption in their kit.
Old vs New Class System: What Happened to Support and Assassin?
Between 2016-17, Riot Games reworked the old class system. Among the changes:
- Assassins renamed into Slayers.
- Supports renamed into Controllers.
- Removed secondary classes from the majority of champions, sharpening their design identity.
- Disrupter removed as a subclass of Controller.
- Catcher added as a subclass of Controller.
- Unclassified formally added as a role, named to Specialist.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many champion classes are there in League of Legends?
There are 7 champions classes in League of Legends. They are: Fighter, Tank, Controller, Slayer, Mage, Marksman, and Specialist. All classes save Marksman and Specialist have further subclasses.
What is the strongest class in LoL?
There is no one 'strongest' class in LoL. Each class inherently has strengths against some classes and struggle against others. Identifying and picking the correct class in Champion Select is considered one of the core skills to develop for a burgeoning player.
What is the easiest class for beginners?
Fighter and Tank are the most beginner-skewed classes due to their forgiving nature. Tanks are capable of soaking up massive amounts of damage and do not require high mechanical precision to be useful in fights. Fighters enjoy straightforward kits centered around taking fights.
What class is ADC?
Attack Damage Carry belong to the Marksman class.
What is the difference between a Slayer and an Assassin?
Slayer is a class in LoL. Assassin is a subclass of Slayer that is characterized by high mobility and burst damage.
What is the difference between a Fighter and a Tank?
Fighter enjoy a mix of damage and durability, whereas Tanks sacrifice damage for additional durability and crowd control.
Do classes decide which role a champion plays?
To an extent yes. Each class has different strengths and weaknesses, and that is accentuated depending on the role they are in. Slayers isolated in the Top role or without gold in the Support role will have a much harder time snowballing into a threat.
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Featured Image Credit: Riot Games
