Getting Started: Choosing beginner-friendly champions in League of Legends
League of Legends offers a vast roster, with more than 170 champions to choose from. For newcomers, the sheer variety can be overwhelming. The most successful way to start is by picking champions with straightforward kits, forgiving mechanics, and reliable roles. Below are five champions that are consistently recommended for beginners across roles, along with a quick note on what makes each one easy to learn and effective in early games.
01. Garen: the best top lane champion for beginners
Role: Fighter/Tank
Why it’s beginner-friendly: Garen has a simple, forgiving kit with no skillshots, high sustain from his passive, and a dependable early-game presence. His abilities focus on farming safely, landing straightforward engages, and trading effectively in the top lane. His ultimate, Demacian Justice, rewards well-timed executions and provides a satisfying payoff when opponents are weakened.
Learning outcomes: Learn last-hitting, position for trades, and how to apply a simple engage plan in lane and teamfights. Garen’s toolkit helps newcomers understand front-line role responsibilities without overly complex mechanics.
Alternative: Malphite
Malphite offers an even simpler path into tanks. His shield, heavy armor, and a game-changing ultimate teach players how to time engages and protect carries, especially against AD-heavy opponents. It’s a safe pick for learning teamfight timing with minimal micro-management.
02. Annie: the beginner’s best mid laner
Role: Mage/Support
Why it’s beginner-friendly: Annie features a clean, easy-to-understand kit. Her Q helps with last-hitting minions, her passive rewards good ability usage with a stun, and her burst windows create simple, high-reward opportunities for lane wins. Her ultimate, which brings forth the bear Tibbers, is iconic and easy to execute for beginners who want to feel powerful without complex rotation patterns.
Learning outcomes: Practice precise positionings, cooldown management, and understanding when to engage. Annie’s straightforward kit makes it easy to grasp mid-lane farming, potions management, and map awareness through roam opportunities.
Alternative: Lux
Lux is another solid beginner mid-laner. She offers long-range poke, a safety shield, and reliable crowds control with a forgiving kit. Her ability to roam and influence side lanes helps new players learn map awareness and objective timing.
03. Ashe: the best beginner bot lane champion
Role: marksman/support
Why it’s beginner-friendly: In the bot lane, Ashe excels due to her ranged attack pattern and reliable kit. Her auto-attacks slow targets with passive Frost Shot, her W is a wide skillshot that frequently lands for new players, and her ultimate is a global stun that can turn skirmishes into wins. E (Hawk Shot) provides valuable vision and simple wave control guidance, reinforcing basic lane management and proper positioning.
Learning outcomes: Mastering kiting, warding basics, and how map pressure translates to objective control. Ashe gives beginners a safe way to grow comfort with ranged trading and teamfight initiation.
Alternative: Miss Fortune
Miss Fortune offers straightforward trades and damage spikes, requiring less complex movement patterns. With a simple kit, she remains forgiving for new players focused on farming and learning engage timings during fights.
04. Janna: the easy-to-learn support for beginners
Role: Support/Mage
Why it’s beginner-friendly: Janna is a classic Enchanter support known for protecting allies and controlling fights. Her kit emphasizes utility over complex mechanics: a shielding E, a shielding/damage-boosting shield, a damaging W and a reliable, arena-changing ultimate. Her passive increases ally movement speed toward her, aiding safe engages and disengages. This makes learning support fundamentals approachable: vision, peel, and a big-picture understanding of team fights.
Learning outcomes: Grasp lane sustain, peel prioritization, and how to leverage crowd control and heals to swing teamfights in your favor. Janna is an excellent stepping stone to more demanding supports later on.
Alternative: Leona
Leona is a strong choice for those who want a more aggressive support. She teaches early game aggression, reliable engage, and how to fulfill a high-utility, tanky role even when the rest of the team makes mistakes.
05. Amumu: the jungle starter for beginners
Role: Tank/Support
Why it’s beginner-friendly: Amumu’s kit is straightforward for new junglers. His Q is a reliable skillshot stun to start fights, W deals damage and enhances survivability, E provides instant AoE damage, and his R is a game-changing, wide-area stun in teamfights. His jungle clear is accessible, and his crowd control makes him a strong initiator with forgiving mechanics for new players.
Learning outcomes: Learn jungle pathing, objective timing, and the essentials of ganking. Amumu helps new players understand how to coordinate with teammates and control objectives in the early game.
Alternative: Warwick
Warwick is another beginner-friendly jungle option with a forgiving kit and strong sustain, making it easy to learn jungle basics like tracking, ganks, and objective control while staying resilient in the early game.
Putting it all together: getting the most from your first champions
When you’re starting out, focus on five goals: simple mechanics, reliable farming, good map awareness, healthy vision control, and solid positioning in teamfights. The champions above hit these marks and provide a gentle ramp into higher-skill characters later. As you play more games, rotate through them to understand which roles you enjoy most, and gradually explore more advanced champions with confidence.
