[Top 10] LOL Most Popular Roles You Need To Understand

Updated:

18 May 2022

So you think you know everything. From placing wards in the correct spot to throwing out left hooks like it was nothing. Well, let me help you out and teach you about the roles in League of Legends. You might think that there are only the standard 5 roles but oh no you’d be mistaken for that one.

There are also champion roles on what they should do. And you should learn those roles before picking up a champion to play. Today I will explain the basic 5 roles in League of Legends and add 5 main champion roles to the equation as well. So shall we get into the list?

10. ADC

Let’s start this article off with the most depressing role in the existence and that’s the ADC role. Why is it so depressing playing this role? Well, because you get killed by literally anything. Nothing can save you from your imminent death and impending doom.

Yeah on paper this role is great for doing damage from a distance but what’s that good when every other champion released has some kind of gap closers or a dash in their kit. Of course, you’ll do fine if you play ADCs that are impossible to kill or impossible to catch or play some kind of meta ADC champions.

That’s the only way to get out of that mess. But on a real note, the ADC role is great if you get ahead or start snowballing early allowing you to help out your teammates in need.

ADC responsibilities:

Doing damage from afar.
The only threat to you is the assassins.
Pushing towers.
Doing an insane amount of damage.

9. Support

“The most chill role in existence!” (video by ProGuides Challenger League of Legends Guides)

Ah yes the role that’s meant to protect the ADC but fails at that because ADCs are so fragile and no amount of help could save them. When it comes to playing the support role your main job is to protect your team and make sure that they stay alive as long as possible during the team fight.

There are a lot of different champions for the support role that you could play. They range from tank supports to burst mages. Yes, you could potentially be that kind of “support” and help out your team as much as possible by doing as much damage as possible.

You won’t be liked by a lot of people but at least you’ll be doing what you love to do. And that’s not playing the role you were assigned to play. I also love playing this role from time to time especially when I don’t feel like doing anything or carrying people.

Support responsibilities:

Protecting your team and making sure nobody flanks you during a team fight.
Placing wards and having vision over the enemy team.
Healing your team or taking damage if you’re a tank champion.

8. Fighter

Now we are onto our first sub role and that’s the fighter role. The main point of these guys is going in and fighting people pretty simple right? Well, it’s deeper than that. Some fighters are meant to dive deep into the enemy and disable the enemy's support or ADC.

Trust me that sounds easier when said out loud. These champions excel at 1v1 and can only be bested against another fighter. If a fighter goes against an ADC in a fair 1v1 the fighter will always win no matter what.

These guys can be played in multiple lanes depending on their respective champions. Some champs go to the jungle, some top and rarely mid. But then again it’s all up to the player to choose.

Fighter responsibilities:

Taking out the backline.
Staying alive as long as possible in a team fight.
Excel at 1v1, so try to get yourself in those situations.

7. Control Mage

“Control is everything!” (video by Astralis LoL)

The point of a control mage is to control the tide of battle. It might not sound cool the first time you hear it but trust me it’s fun when you play it and do what you’re supposed to. Most control mages are played in the mid lane but some can even go top such as Ryze.

Your main point is to control the tide of battle and make sure that your team comes out on top. Of course, that might be hard sometimes if your team won’t listen to you but hey you can always improvise on the spot. All of the control mages are AP and don’t expect to deal a massive amount of damage because that’s not their job.

So don’t get disappointed if you deal no damage. Control mages are also really great at clearing out waves and doing lots of AoE damage, not enough to kill someone but good enough to kill minions.

Control Mage responsibilities:

Control the battle.
Be strategic about using your abilities.
Clear out the waves.

6. Assassin

“We live and die by the blade!” (video by ProGuides Challenger League of Legends Guides)

Probably the most famous role to play in League of Legends. People love playing this role because you’re always on the hunt for some poor soul who wandered off. They can one-shot any squishies with their full combo. Not only that but they come in all different shapes and sizes.

From AP to tanky assassins. Of course, most of the assassins are squishy themselves but there are a few out there who are also tanky. And most assassins can be played in multiple lanes such as mid, top, jungle, or even as a support in rare instances. As I stated before their main priority is doing damage and taking out the backline in a few seconds.

Such as the enemy ADC or support. If you get caught off or maybe even stopped by the enemy support don’t worry you have a million dashes in your kit to get away. Like a real assassin pretty much.

Assassin responsibilities:

Taking out the backline during a team fight.
Searching for an opponent who wandered away from their team.
You should always have an escape route if you get caught.

5. Tank

“If tanks stay alive then victory follows my friend.” (video by Virkayu)

Tanks play a major role in a team fight. Even more than the control mages or assassins. I mean who else is going to keep a whole team alive for the whole match if not tanks. Supports can die easily and control mages become a bit useless after they use their abilities.

That’s why we have tanks to solve that issue for us. The point of the tank is to absorb as much damage for your team as possible before dying and possibly CC the enemy as well. If you kept your ADC and mid laner alive for the team fight duration you did your job correctly if they ended up dying you messed something up brother.

Because that’s not how it’s supposed to go. If you’re having trouble keeping your team alive maybe you should try playing a different role or champion.

Tank responsibilities:

Absorb as much damage as possible during a team fight.
Protect your squishy teammates.
CC the enemy team until you die.

4. Jungle

“In the jungle, in the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight.” (video by Skill Capped Challenger LoL Guides)

One of the more important roles in the whole game is the jungle role. This role alone can decide if the game will be won or lost. Of course, there are other factors as well but this is the main reason. Simply for the fact of the huge impact that the jungle role has on the game.

If you constantly gank your lanes, clear out your jungle, and do objectives you have secured yourself a victory. Keep in mind that this is also the hardest role to play in the whole game. Also, as a jungler, you will get blamed for everything and you will become toxic no matter what but that doesn’t mean you won’t have fun playing the role. You should at least give it a try.

Jungle responsibilities:

Gank lanes.
Do objectives.
Push turrets.
Invade the enemy's jungle.

3. Burst Mage

“A mage's soul is forged in the crucibles of magic!” (video by Randomonium)

Burst mages are completely different from control mages. They’re more squishy and they deal a large amount of damage. Buying magic resistance against burst mages won’t do you any good as they will just melt through that resistance.

The best you can do against burst mages is to kill them fast as possible. Most of these champions that belong to this category have some sort of root or shield that they can give themselves to survive longer since most of them are played in the middle lane.

This role aims to single out vulnerable targets, root them in place, and burst them down with a huge amount of AP. They work the best when their powers are used to the maximum.

Burst Mage responsibilities:

Single out vulnerable targets to burst them down.
Root the enemy tank in place so your team can get to the backline.
Shield or heal your teammates depending on your champion.

2. Top

“These people want to be left alone in their misery.” (video by Skill Capped Challenger LoL Guides)

The top lane might not be as important as the jungle but it’s a hell of a lot easier to play. Don’t get me wrong it’s way more important than the ADC role that’s for sure. As a top laner, your priority should be pushing the lane and getting turrets.

If you’re playing a tank then your priorities shift a bit. But it doesn't matter. As a top-laner, you should be split pushing the waves and taking care of the huge minion waves without stealing from your teammate's mouths.

The top lane is also versatile so you can break it up a bit on what you exactly want to play and how you want to play it. It will take you a bit of time before you exactly know what you want to play.

Top responsibilities:

Splitting pushing.
Pushing turrets.
As a bruiser, you should focus on fighting.

1. Mid

“The favorite lane of all LoL players.” (video by Mobalytics)

For our number one, we have the one and the only mid-lane. It’s not even a surprise that we see this role as our number one. Almost any champion could be played in the mid-lane if it’s against the right match-up. As a mid-laner, you’re free to choose what to play but you can also help out your team by picking up an AP or AD champion.

Depends on the team composition. When playing mid you’ll want to focus on ganking the enemy and helping out your jungler. For the love of god please help out your jungler once in a while. It will pay off immensely. Also when roaming you should clear and push your wave to the enemy turret so when you come back the lane will be in your favor.

This is called lane manipulation and it’s easy to learn. Most of the champions that you play in this role will have some sort of a gap closer so ganking should be on your list.

Mid responsibilities: