Best Champions to Climb and Gain ELO in League of Legends

Looking for the best champions to use to climb out of Iron, Bronze, Silver, or Gold ranks? It is no surprise to any player in LoL that champion selection is where the true battle begins. Picking a composition that balances AD and AP, drafting enough engage, or playing to a win condition are strategies that all five team members must consider. And over thousands of games played in each ELO, some champions have proven themselves to give a slight edge when it comes to climbing consistently. Here are some of the best champions to climb with and gain ELO in League of Legends.

Best Champions to Climb and Gain ELO in League of Legends

• Dr. Mundo
• Yorick
• Urgot
• Diana
• Garen

Gold and Below

With the change in how Riot organizes the tiering system, Gold and below now constitutes approximately 88% of the playerbase. While Gold contains roughly 27% of the players, ranked anywhere from top 13% to top 40%, its champion trends follow those of silver, bronze, and iron very similarly.

There should be an honorable mention to Brand, but the champion falls off quite drastically in Gold. Most of these champions are top laners barring Diana, who received several buffs last patch. Although this table only displays win rates, many other factors influence the number, including team composition and playstyles.

The Top Laners

Garen, Urgot, Dr. Mundo, and Yorick can all be considered top laners, although it is not uncommon to see Dr. Mundo in the jungle. For the most part, novices can easily master Garen and Urgot. They both have very simple kits, noticeable moments when to engage, and are hard to punish when one makes a mistake. Dr. Mundo is just a beef ball who charges at you while healing over 100% of his HP with his ultimate. If the purple monster lands one cleaver on the enemy, he can simply chase and smack the prey with an empowered auto-attack.  

Yorick is a more interesting case where he is more skillshot reliant with an uncommon ghoul mechanic. However, if one chooses to master Yorick, he is one of the most oppressive top laners. One hit from Yorick’s E, Mourning Mist, will deplete a top laner’s HP to half using ghouls while Yorick happily watches from safety. On top of repeated harass, Yorick’s Maiden excels at helping the ghoul guider split push towers, creating yet another win condition.

Diana

Diana has a simple kit, high assassination potential, teamfight potential, and received buffs in the recent patch. These are characteristics of a great champion to climb with before Riot decides to nerf her. Diana is seen across every ELO due to her buffs and is a great boon that could play side lane, NA-ram, or even jungle.  

It is common in the lower ELOs to see bloody battles occur everywhere on the map, regardless of whether there is an objective or after-battle consequence. As such, champions such as these are suitable for their simplicity, resilience, and dueling potential.