[Top 10] LOL Best Farming Champions for Fast Gold and XP

Updated:

29 Nov 2023

Farming is imperative in League of Legends as it is a sustainable source of gold and XP, and we need them in order to unlock powerful items and win games. Some champions are naturally better at farming than others due to many reasons, such as their ability to spam spells or their attack speed. In this article, we will look at some of the best farming champions for fast gold and XP.

10. Twisted Fate

Twisted Fate, the Card Master

S13 Twisted Fate MID Gameplay Guide

Twisted Fate is a ranged, AP champion who is commonly played in the mid lane. He is known for his ultimate ability, Destiny. It reveals all enemy champions on the map. He can cast the ability again to teleport to a target location.

Aside from the immense global pressure from Destiny, Twisted Fate is actually a good champion for farming. He is able to gank other lanes frequently because of his ability to push waves quickly.

Why Twisted Fate is Good for Farming:

His passive: Loaded Dice gives Twisted Fate one to six bonus gold when killing an enemy, including minions. This greatly increases his gold generation, making his farming very effective.
His W ability: Pick a Card alternates between a blue, red, and yellow card. The red card helps Twisted Fate clear minions quickly as it deals magic damage to the target and surrounding enemies.
His E ability: Stacked Deck gives Twisted Fate bonus attack speed. Additionally, every third auto attack deals bonus damage. This helps him clear waves swiftly while missing less farm.

Pick Twisted Fate if:

Your jungler is going to gank a lot: As mentioned, Destiny gives Twisted Fate incredible global pressure. With this, you can coordinate with your jungler to gank lanes together.
You want to have early agency: Twisted Fate is able to have earlier power spikes because of the extra gold he gets from Loaded Dice. Pick him if you know how to capitalise on this early advantage.
You need crowd control (CC): Pick a Card’s yellow card stuns the target. It is a point-and-click ability so it cannot miss. This is very useful for shutting down the enemy carries.

9. Sivir

Sivir, the Battle Mistress

Sivir to Master - Sivir ADC Gameplay Season 13

Sivir is a ranged, AD champion who is commonly played in the bot lane. She is quite simple to play, making her great for beginners. She is also good in teamfights because of her utility and damage.

A potential downside to Sivir is her relatively shorter range despite being a marksman. Most of the other marksmen will outrange her, so players will have to keep that in mind when playing her.

Why Sivir is Good for Farming:

Her Q ability: Boomerang Blade lets Sivir throw her blade in a target direction, dealing physical damage. It also deals damage when returning to her. This lets her hit many minions at once.
Her W ability: Ricochet causes Sivir to gain bonus attack speed, and her auto attacks will bounce to other enemies up to eight times, dealing bonus damage. The combination of Boomerang Blade and Ricochet is her bread-and-butter farming method.
Her E ability: Spell Shield heals Sivir if it successfully blocks an enemy’s effect. Even though this does not directly help with clearing minions, it does let Sivir stay in lane to kill more minions.

Pick Sivir if:

The enemy laner is not a lane bully: Sivir is weaker in the early stages of the game. If the enemy laner is very aggressive during the laning phase, she will have a hard time farming consistently.
You want someone good in team fights: Sivir’s ultimate ability, On the Hunt, gives bonus movement speed to herself and nearby teammates. This makes it a great tool for engaging or disengaging. Sivir’s auto attacks will also reduce her basic abilities’ cooldown.
You want to have more map control: Sivir can push waves extremely quickly. This allows you to push your minions into the enemy team. You will then be free to help your jungler take objectives.

8. Graves

Graves, the Outlaw

THIS GUIDE WILL GET YOU TO YOUR DESIRED ELO!

Graves is a ranged, AD champion who is commonly played in the jungle. He is known for being a jungle bully, constantly invading the enemies’ jungle: stealing camps and duelling with their jungler.

Graves’s gank potential may not be the best because he lacks hard CC. He is better when going to the enemy jungler directly and causing the laners to move towards their fight.

Why Graves is Good for Farming:

His passive: New Destiny causes enemies that are not champions to be knocked back by Graves’s auto attacks. This lets him farm jungle camps without taking much damage from them.
His E ability: Quickdraw lets Graves dash a short distance, reloading his gun in the process. This enables him to cancel his auto attack animation, making him much more efficient at farming.
His tankiness: Graves gains bonus armour from Quickdraw. It can stack up to eight times. This causes him to be deceptively tanky, so he does not need to worry about his health when clearing jungle camps.

Pick Graves if:

The enemy team lacks tanks: Although Graves is strong throughout the game, he can struggle against tanks. He is better at bursting squishy champions.
The enemy jungler is weak in the early game: Graves is good in a 1v1. If the enemy jungler is unable to fight him, he will be able to gain control over the entire jungle. The enemy laners will have to try and step in to deal with him.
Your team has CC: Since Graves does not have any hard CC, it will be good if your team has CC. They can help to set up a gank, allowing you to deal damage easily.

7. Anivia

Anivia, the Cryophoenix

I AM ONE WITH ANIVIA!

Anivia is a ranged, AP champion who is commonly played in the mid lane. She is known for her passive, Rebirth. Upon taking fatal damage, Anivia transforms into an egg, resurrecting after six seconds. Enemies can still deal damage to her though.

Anivia lacks any mobility. This makes her fairly susceptible to ganks since it will be hard for her to escape. She does have her W ability, Crystallise, which creates a wall to block enemies from getting to her.

Why Anivia is Good for Farming:

Her W ability: Although Crystallise does not deal damage, Anivia can use it to block both enemy champions and minions. This allows her to manipulate the minion wave to her advantage, if needed.
Her ultimate ability: Glacial Storm deals damage and slows enemies in a circle every 0.5 seconds. This is an extremely powerful ability for farming as it makes quick work of large amounts of minions at once.
Her Q ability: Flash Frost deals damage, slows, and stuns enemies hit. It is better to use it on champions, but since it can hit multiple targets at once, it can also help Anivia clear waves.

Pick Anivia if:

Your team needs CC: Being a control mage, Anivia has amazing CC. Most of her abilities provide some form of CC, forcing the enemy to be careful when engaging.
You want to scale: Anivia has stellar scaling power. Games that last longer favour her as team fights become more important. She will be able to have a huge impact on the game.
The enemy is immobile: Anivia’s skillshots are relatively slow. If the enemy champions dash around a lot, it will be hard for her to CC them, making her less effective.

6. Irelia

Irelia, the Blade Dancer

Pro Irelia Gameplay

Irelia is a melee, AD champion who can either be played in the top or the mid lane. She is known for her Q ability, Bladesurge. Irelia dashes to a target, dealing damage. If she kills them, the ability refreshes, allowing her to dash again.

Irelia is a very strong laner and enemies have to be careful when going up against her. She can get easy kills on them if they step up too far. She just has to close the gap by using Bladesurge on minions.

Why Irelia is Good for Farming:

Her Q ability: Since Bladesurge refreshes if the target is killed, Irelia is able to reset this ability a lot on minions. She can even one-shot minions with it if she is strong enough.
Her W ability: Defiant Dance causes Irelia to charge up, reducing damage taken. Upon release, she deals damage to enemies around her and in front of her. This can be used to deal damage to minions to make them low enough for Bladesurge to kill them.
Her passive: At maximum stacks, Ionian Fervour grants Irelia bonus attack speed and her auto attacks deal extra damage. Since Bladesurge also receives on-hit bonuses, it will deal even more damage with this.

Pick Irelia if:

You find her fun: Dashing around using the minion wave can be quite fun! If you spend the time to master her, you can outplay a lot of opponents.
You want a mobile champion: As mentioned, Irelia is able to dash around quickly. She will be able to be mobile enough to make it tough for the enemies to land their skillshots on her.
The enemy has many mages: Aside from dodging their abilities, Irelia can also prevent them from killing her in one shot. Defiant Dance will just mitigate a lot of their damage, letting her walk over them.

5. Seraphine

Seraphine, the Starry-Eyed Songstress

The New BEST Seraphine Build

Seraphine is a ranged, AP champion who can be played in the mid lane, bot lane, or as the support. She is strongest in the bot lane because of her scaling. She just has to play safe in the early game and she will be very strong in the late game.

Seraphine has extremely long range, allowing her to poke enemies easily. She can play from such a long distance that it is difficult for them to get on top of her.

Why Seraphine is Good for Farming:

Her Q ability: High Note deals damage to enemies hit, dealing extra damage based on their missing health. Since it can hit multiple opponents at once, she can clear waves really easily.
Her E ability: Beat Drop deals magic damage and slows enemies in a line. If the enemy is already slowed, it roots them. If they are already rooted, they are stunned. Using this with High Note is really effective when killing minions.
Her passive: Stage Presence causes every third ability that Seraphine casts to cast again at one mana. This just enhances her farming strength even further.

Pick Seraphine if:

You want utility: Seraphine has great utility, letting her carry the game. She can both support the team and kill enemies, making her really powerful.
You want someone good in team fights: Seraphine’s ultimate ability, Encore, deals damage and charms enemies hit. If it hits any champion, the ability continues going further. This ability is so strong in team fights as she has the potential to CC the entire enemy team at once.
The enemy team is immobile: Seraphine is quite reliant on hitting her skill shots. If the enemy champions can dash around a lot, she may become less successful as it will be hard to land her CC.

4. Jinx

Jinx, the Loose Cannon

Jinx is OP in Every Meta.

Jinx is a ranged, AD champion who is commonly played in the bot lane. She can snipe people from across the map with her ultimate ability, Super Mega Death Rocket. It is always so satisfying if you manage to pull it off.

Although Jinx can do well on her own, she does much better if she has teammates to assist her. She can be quite squishy and bursted down quickly. If she has support from her allies, she’ll be able to dominate the game.

Why Jinx is Good for Farming:

Her Q ability: Switcheroo changes Jinx’s auto attacks between Pow-Pow and Fishbones, a minigun and a rocket launcher respectively. Both weapons are really productive at killing minions fast.
Her passive: Get Excited gives Jinx bonus movement and attack speed after helping to kill an enemy champion, turret, or epic monster. This just makes her kill things even quicker.
Her W ability: Zap deals damage and slows the first enemy hit. Since this ability has a long range, Jinx is able to use it if she is too far away to auto attack. It is useful for securing the important cannon minions.

Pick Jinx if:

Your team can support you: As mentioned, Jinx greatly benefits from having a team that can assist her, whether it is by being a tank or providing utility. She can freely gun enemies down as they are unable to retaliate.
The enemy laner is not a bully: Jinx is relatively weaker in the early stages of the game. If the enemies in the bot lane are very aggressive, Jinx will have a hard time surviving until the late game.
The enemy doesn’t have many assassins: Jinx is a glass cannon. Although she has her E ability, Flame Chompers, to peel for herself, it is not the most reliable form of self-defence. If there are too many assassins, she will die instantly.

3. Nocturne

Nocturne, the Eternal Nightmare

How to Nocturne & CARRY

Nocturne is a melee, AD champion who is commonly played in the jungle. He is known for his ultimate ability, Paranoia. It reduces all enemies’ field of vision for six seconds. He can then fly to a target, dealing damage.

Paranoia makes Nocturne a fearsome jungler as he can gank any lane from far away. With their field of vision getting reduced, enemies will be forced to retreat as Nocturne could be coming for any one of them.

Why Nocturne is Good for Farming

His passive: Umbra Blades enhances Nocturne’s next auto attack, dealing damage to opponents nearby while healing him. This helps him clear jungle camps rapidly and healthily.
His Q ability: Duskbringer deals damage to enemies hit, while also leaving behind a shadow trail. Nocturne moves faster and does more damage while on the trail. This allows him to swiftly move between camps, optimising his farming speed.
His W ability: Shroud of Darkness passively grants Nocturne bonus attack speed. Upon cast, it shields him. If it successfully blocks an enemy effect, he gains even more attack speed. More attack speed leads to more damage, making him farm even faster.

Pick Nocturne if:

You want to gank lanes often: Paranoia is an extremely strong ability for ganking enemies. You will have good global presence and can easily help teammates who are in trouble.
The enemy team has a strong marksman: Nocturne can easily prioritise enemy marksmen in fights, assassinating them quickly. He will be able to give his team a number advantage by removing one of the enemies’ carries.
The enemy team lacks tanks: Nocturne is better off against squishier opponents, which is why he can deal with marksmen easily. If the enemy has many tanks, he will have a hard time killing them.

2. Nasus

Nasus, the Curator of the Sands

NASUS TOP LITERALLY NEVER FAILS TO 1V9!

Nasus is a melee, AD champion who is commonly played in the top lane. He is known to be a late-game monster, being able to take on the whole enemy team. The longer the game goes on, the better it is for Nasus.

Patch 13.20 introduced some snowballing adjustments, making it hard for teams to snowball. This means that matches will drag out. This is great news for Nasus as he will be able to have more time to reach his full potential in the late game.

Why Nasus is Good for Farming:

His Q ability: Syphoning Strike empowers Nasus’s next auto attack, dealing extra damage. If it kills the target, Nasus gains stacks that cause the ability to deal more damage. This is usually used to execute minions when farming.
His passive: Soul Eater lets Nasus have more life steal, allowing him to heal for a portion of the damage he deals. This lets him have some sustain in lane so he can farm more.
His playstyle: Nasus is primarily picked for farming. Your team will know that you need to farm in order to gain stacks. This means that you are more likely to get as many minions as possible. They will even give you the killing blow on objectives.

Pick Nasus if:

The enemy laner is not a lane bully: Nasus is weaker in the early game as he mainly focuses on farming and staying alive. If the enemy is very aggressive, he will really struggle in lane.
The enemy team is immobile: Nasus has really low mobility. If the enemy champions can dash around easily, he will have a hard time getting on top of them to dish out damage with his auto attacks.
The enemy team cannot deal with tanks: While not a pure tank, Nasus can soak up a lot of damage. If the opponents do not have true damage or maximum health damage, they will struggle to kill him.

1. Ziggs

Ziggs, the Hexplosives Expert

T1 Gumayusi Plays Ziggs ADC vs Nilah!

Ziggs is a ranged, AP champion who was played in the mid lane. However, he is becoming more commonly played in the bot lane now. He can easily spam his bombs, making him annoying to play against.

Ziggs is quite reliant on landing his abilities, with all of them being skillshots. If you are not as good at hitting spells on the enemies, you will lose some effectiveness. You inevitably miss out on a lot of potential damage.

Why Ziggs is Good for Farming:

His Q ability: Bouncing Bomb explodes after bouncing twice, dealing damage to all enemies nearby. This ability can be spammed constantly, with a four-second cooldown at maximum rank. Ziggs will use this to clear waves quickly.
His E ability: Hexplosive Minefield deploys eleven bombs that deal damage and slow enemies that step on them. When used together with Bouncing Bomb, enemy minions do not stand a chance.
His ultimate ability: Mega Inferno Bomb deals damage to all enemies hit. Even though it is usually saved for enemy champions, it has a very large radius so it can also be used for clearing large clumps of minions, if needed.

Pick Ziggs if:

The enemy team lacks assassins: Being a mage, Ziggs is on the squishier side. If there are many assassins on the enemy team, he will have to be extremely cautious to avoid getting deleted.
The enemy team is immobile: Since Ziggs has to land his skillshots to deal damage, he may not be that good when against enemy champions with many dashes. They can dodge his abilities easily.
Your team has enough physical damage: Since Ziggs is getting picked in the bot lane now, your team will be losing out on a traditional marksman. Your team should ideally have a balance of both physical and magic damage.