Solo laner | Champions' roles in team League of Legends Guide

Last update: 03 February 2017

This term is used for champions who can single-handedly defend a lane, especially the Top or the Mid. Such champions usually level-up faster than others, since they do not have to share the experience points with anybody.

Top solo laner

A place for Defenders and Fighters, since they are able to keep the lane, successfully farm, and harass enemies. They also play a significant role in team fights. Since in most cases solo laners are all alone, they are fully responsible for whatever is happening on their lane. This is why it is so important not to get caught by an enemy Jungler with your pants down (e.g. near an enemy tower in 1 vs. 2 situation). To prevent that, you need to keep a good map visibility. Depending on which champion soloes the Top, they will serve one of the following roles:

 

Zoner

This group consists champions who, owing to their abilities, can hinder enemies' development, through isolating them from minions (thus preventing them from farming). Some examples of good Zoners are:

 

Splitpusher

These are champions who can quickly deal with entire waves of minions, consequently moving their own minions toward an enemy tower, which may lead to its destruction. In that case, the opponents either need to send someone to handle the splitpusher (which may weaken their own team) or let the towers be destroyed, while they focus on another objective (e.g. winning a team fight). Such champions should always be ready for quick evacuation, in case a danger appears. Able splitpushers include:

 

Pusher-Ganker

Champions of this type can both quickly deal with minions and go from lane to lane, in order to outnumber enemies. After a successful (or not so much) attempt at ganking an enemy, they usually come back to their place, so they could try that again later. Some champions who excell as Pusher-Gangkers:

 

Tank

A group of champions who during the course of a battle become living shields, absorbing damage to protect their teammates. They mainly focus on farming and pushing enemies near their tower, in order to hinder their development. However, they cannot boast of huge damage. Some talented tanks are:

 

Off-Tank/Tanky DPS

The most common type of champions. They are characterized by pretty high endurance and devastating damage. Off-Tank is mainly focused on defensive items, while Tanky DPS puts stress on attacking. These are usually champions who fight at close quarters. Some examples are:

 

Poke

These champions are able to harass enemies with long ranged attack, so to make their life harder and their development slower. They are both skilled at farming and dealing a lot of damage. In late phase their ranged attacks can weaken enemies right before a team fight. Great examples of this type of champions are:

 

Typical solo top champions

A mixture of all aforementioned traits in any combination. These are champions who slowly but persistently pursue their own objectives (farming, enemy tower, killings) and then get ready to help their team in more important tasks. Some good examples are:

Mid solo laner

Similarly to top solo laners, these champions are responsible for handling whatever happens on their lane - the Mid. This lane is meant mostly for APC (Ability Power Carry) and Assassins. This is the shortest and the most important lane, so there is a lot of fast-paced action and team battles. Champions who occupy this honourable position should be able to deal area damage in order to farm smoothly and prevent enemies from doing the same. Playing on this lane requires special being alert as well as keeping proper map visibility, because an enemy Jungler can approach from any direction. This is why a Mid solo laner may need more help from Jungler, than champions on other lanes. People who play on this position should learn to often move form lane to lane (the Top, the Bottom), to intimidate and harass enemies. Before you do this, you need to push the frontline near an enemy tower, so the opponents got busy fighting your minions, thus letting you to go hunting freely. APC deal the biggest damage in two first phases. These champions are rather vulnerable to damage, so they usually hide behind melee fighting teammates. Similarly to ADC, they need to care for the right position to stay alive and actively do their job. Their main goal is to deal much damage in a short time (so-called Burst dmg) to a given target. In best case scenario they can instantly kill an enemy or take away most of his health, thus eliminating him from a fight. APC attacks usually follow the pattern: use all abilities -> retreat until the abilities cool down -> attack again. They do not use their auto attack as a primary source of damage.

 

Burst APC

In late game these champions can kill an enemy in just one sequence of abilities, provided that they do not miss any. On the other hand, they are not the best at survival. These are some champions with powerful Burst:

 

Typical Mages

Mages are really powerful allies, although their damage is spread over a period of time. Some typical Mages:

 

Melee APC

Although these champions deal magical damage, their abilities force them to fight at close quarters, thus making them more vulnerable to enemy attacks. Good examples of the type are:

 

Assassins AD

These champions deal physical damage, but can easily fight mages on the Mid. They can deal huge damage, which enables them to instantly eliminate distracted enemies. These are some examples of skilled Assassins: