Most Popular Roles in League of Legends (2024)

League of Legends is played on a map with five roles: top, jungle, mid, bottom lane marksman (ADC) and support. New players often ask which role is the most popular, which is the easiest and which is best for climbing. The honest answer is that popularity changes with rank, region and patch, and Riot does not publish a simple official ranking of roles. This guide explains what each role does, what kind of player enjoys it, and how to choose one using evidence from your own games instead of a single statistic. Where we mention popularity, it is community perception, not a measured figure.

The Five Roles at a Glance

Role	Where you play	Main job
Top	Top lane	Win your lane, tank damage or split push
Jungle	Between the lanes	Clear camps, gank lanes, secure objectives
Mid	Middle lane	Deal burst damage, roam, support other lanes
ADC	Bottom lane	Deal sustained damage in team fights
Support	Bottom lane	Protect the ADC, control vision, start fights

Top Lane

Top lane is often called the "island" because it is far from the other lanes and a lot of the early game is a one-on-one fight. Many top laners play tanks, fighters or champions that push waves. The Teleport summoner spell is common here, since it lets the top laner return to the lane and join fights elsewhere.

• Strengths: You can learn the game one lane at a time, and a lot of the early game is in your hands.
• Challenges: You depend on your own decisions. A jungler's ganks and your own wave management can change the whole lane.
• Good for: Players who like duels and controlling space. See our guide on how to recover from a 0/3 start in the top lane.

Jungle

The jungler has no lane opponent. Instead, they clear camps, gank lanes and decide when to fight for dragons or the Baron. The role asks for map awareness, because you need to track both your own laners and the enemy jungler.

• Strengths: You can affect every lane, and your choices matter a great deal for the team.
• Challenges: There are many things to track, and mistakes can be costly. Learning efficient clear routes and what to do when you cannot gank takes practice.
• Good for: Players who like making decisions for the whole team. See our guide on jungle pathing mistakes and our explanation of epic monsters.

Mid Lane

The mid lane is in the centre of the map, so mid laners reach side lanes and objectives quickly. Mages and assassins are common here, with strong burst damage and roaming.

• Strengths: A wide champion pool and a central position that lets you roam.
• Challenges: You are exposed to ganks from both sides of the river, and you are expected to help in many places.
• Good for: Players who like mechanical champions and working with the jungler. Many players describe mid as the most popular role, but we cannot give you a number you could rely on. Check a current statistics website if you want data for your rank.

Bottom Lane: ADC

The ADC, or attack damage carry, is the main source of sustained damage in team fights. ADCs usually have long attack range and low health, so they need protection and good positioning. Early on, the goal is to farm safely and survive; later, the ADC becomes the main damage source.

• Strengths: Strong in the late game, and you can carry fights when you are well positioned.
• Challenges: You are fragile, and you need your support and team to stay alive. See what an ADC does and our list of ADC attack range.
• Good for: Players who like careful positioning and consistent damage.

Bottom Lane: Support

Supports protect the ADC in lane, place and clear wards, and use crowd control or healing to help the team. Supports include enchanters who shield and heal, tanks who start fights and mages who poke from range.

• Strengths: You can affect the game through vision and decisions without needing as much gold as other roles.
• Challenges: Your success depends on your partner, and you take responsibility for vision and engages. Our guides to supports for Jhin and supports for Zeri show how supports pair with different ADCs.
• Good for: Players who like helping teammates and thinking about the map.

Which Role Is Easiest or Best for Climbing?

Players often claim that support is easiest, or that jungle is best for climbing. These opinions come from individual experience and change with patches. We do not state a universal answer. Think about it this way instead:

• Easiest is the role whose tasks you understand and enjoy. A new player who likes helping others may find support natural, while another may prefer the clearer one-on-one of top lane.
• Best for climbing is the role in which you win the most games. A role with more influence on the match can increase your win rate if you play it well, but the same influence punishes mistakes. For a longer discussion, read our article on the best lane to climb ranked.

How to Choose Your Main Role

1. Try each role in normal games. Play several games in every role before judging it.
2. Look at your results. Compare your win rate, deaths and damage across the roles you tried. A match history site or the client's history shows this.
3. Pick two roles. The role select screen lets you choose a primary and a secondary role. A strong second role protects you from being placed in a role you dislike.
4. Learn a small pool of champions. Two or three champions in a role are better than a long list you play badly.
5. Review your replays. Look for patterns such as dying to the same ganks or missing the same objective timings.

When You Are Placed in a Role You Did Not Choose

In the queue, you may be given a role that is not your first choice. Do not lose games to frustration. Pick a champion you know, even if it is not your best role, and follow the simple objectives of that role. If you often struggle in certain roles, keep a simple backup champion for them.

Next Steps

Once you pick a role, the next gains come from learning how ranks and ratings work and from feedback on your own games. Our LoL ranks guide explains the divisions, and our LoL coaching service pairs you with a coach who reviews your replays and helps you build a plan for your role.