Riot GamesOver the last year, ADC has become one of the least predictable roles in League of Legends, as stalwarts in the position fall away from the top tier. The arrival of the first season in 2025 has done little to alter that chaos, with plenty of viable picks for players to take advantage of.
The way LoL is currently setup has left the ADC as the position with the most options for players to take advantage of. Designed to be the ultimate damage dealers, while avoiding damage to minimize the effect on their diminutive health pools, it’s a surprisingly easy role to pick up and play.
When deciding which Champion to pick as an ADC, a lot of it will come down to how offensive you’d like to be and which options have the best toolkits to facilitate that. That said, there are some characters that are significantly outperforming their peers in terms of raw damage potential.
With all of that in mind, here are our selections for the best ADC picks in Patch 25.S1.3.
LoL ADC Tier List
| Tier | Champion |
|---|---|
| S | Corki, Jinx, Kog’Maw, Miss Fortune, Twitch |
| A | Ashe, Caitlyn, Ezreal, Kai’Sa, Nilah, Samira, Varus, Zeri |
| B | Draven, Jhin, Lucian, Sivir, Xayah |
| C | Aphelios, Kalista, Tristana |
Our tiers explained
- S: The best
- A: Very good
- B: There might be situations where these can perform well
- C: Best to avoid unless you find yourself drawn to them
Meta Analysis
Ever since the big reset at the start of 2025, ADC has been in a bit of a weird spot. The ability to hard carry games is still there, but it’s a little harder to reach that point, even if you stomp your lane opponents. With that in mind, it’s the most traditional ADCs who have risen to the fore in this first month.
Jinx and Miss Fortune might not have the most modern toolkits of all the ADCs available, but their balance of playability, potency, and the efficacy of items like Yun Tal Wildarrows (which received a buff in the last patch) has turned them into stalwarts in the S-Tier.
Champions that saw a lot of use in pro play last year (like Kalista) haven’t pushed on with any great vigor, and have failed to grow as champs while others around them have improved. Jhin and Lucian continue to struggle in this regard, and their pick ban rate is much lower in all ELOs than it was this time last year.
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Characters like Ezreal, Varus, Caitlyn and Kai’Sa remain very strong picks, though they usually aren’t able to snowball quite as effectively as our picks for the S-Tier. A surprise rise for Zeri has also seen her improve thanks to better build options, rather than direct buffs to the Champion itself.
S-Tier Champions in League of Legends
Corki
Dexerto/Riot GamesCorki has always been a great option for those times when ADC is struggling as a role, and that has never been more true than it is right now. His hybrid damage setup should allow you to get around the Tank meta more easily, and you’ll be more reliant on his abilities than you would with some of the other picks on this list.
If you’re newer to the role or playing in a lower ELO, it can be more difficult to get the most out of Corki, but he’s well worth a go regardless. With excellent wave clear, solid damage scaling, and some of the best poke in the game, it’s a great Champ to get to know if you’re sticking with ADC for your ranked climb.
Best Runes for Corki
Dexerto/Riot GamesThe best rune page setup for Corki is a pretty standard Precision setup, building into Conqueror, Presence of Mind, Legend: Alacrity and Cut Down.
In the secondary tree, you’ll want to vary it depending on your ELO, but you can’t go wrong with an Inspiration setup that includes Biscuit Delivery, so you can stay in lane, and Jack of All Trades. Add Adaptive Force, Health Scaling and Attack Speed, and you’re onto a winner.
Jinx
Dexerto/Riot GamesJinx might not have the most exciting toolkit of any ADC in League, but she is undeniably effective at shredding through enemies with ease in this current meta. Patch 25.S1.3 has increased the Attack Speed cap to 3 for the first time in the game’s history and this plays perfectly into Jinx’s playstyle, further increasing her output, despite the fact that she was already an S-Tier Champ.
Though the character kit is a little rudimentary compared to more recent Champions, it does everything you need to as an ADC player. You can slow enemies with your W, and zone off the lane with your E, all while farming relatively safely thanks to your solid range. Building Attack Speed, crit and raw damage should have you burning through the enemy in no time at all.
Best Runes for Jinx
Dexerto/Riot GamesSticking with the Precision tree for Jinx, Lethal Tempo is by far the best bet thanks to the ramping Attack Speed. Complement that with Presence of Mind, Legend: Bloodline and Cut Down to round out the primary build.
In the secondary tree, go with Sorcery and build Absolute Focus and Gathering Storm. Then, build further Attack Speed, Adaptive Force and raw health to give you a bit more of a buffer in the early game.
Kog’Maw
Dexerto/Riot GamesKog’Maw has changed as a Champion over the last few years, going from a late-game hard carry to an ADC that can dominate from the mid-game onwards. The big advantage to playing Kog’Maw is his immense range, allowing you to stay relatively safe in the face of Champions with fast, modern movement and gap-closing abilities. He’s also great in the current Tank meta, and can destroy lower-health enemies with his ult.
Once locked down by enemy CC or caught out of position, Kog’Maw becomes pretty useless, so keep your distance and pepper enemies from as far away as possible. Play it very safe in the early game (easily the weakest portion for Kog’Maw) and scale into things by building raw damage and crit. The only other thing to be aware of is that he’s a little more skillshot dependent than other S-Tier options, so you might want to sharpen up in the Practice Tool first.
Best Runes for Kog’Maw
Dexerto/Riot GamesSticking with the theme of a primary Precision tree, you’ll want to go with Lethal Tempo, Triumph, Legend: Bloodline and Last Stand. This will give you access to some life steal and lane sustain, as well as additional damage in those close fights against lane opponents.
In the secondary tree, the best play is to go with the Resolve tree, negating some of Twitch’s major weaknesses in the process. Conditioning and Overgrowth are the best nodes here, with Attack Speed, Adaptive Force and Health scaling in the tertiary slots.
Miss Fortune
Dexerto/Riot GamesMiss Fortune has been a standout pick in the bottom lane for a long time, and 2025 has done little to change that. For new players, it’s difficult to look beyond MF as a recommendation, with high auto attack damage and abilities that don’t require much in the way of skill to hit. Her E is a much more forgiving slow to hit than Jinx’s W, and you should be able to poke more consistently than most with that in your toolkit.
Equally, her Ult is both very high damage and easy to hit, with a short enough cooldown that you’ll be able to pop it regularly throughout the game. Team up with a high CC support and you will be largely unstoppable in lane. Watch out for early game ganks and secure your farm consistently and Miss Fortune quickly becomes a shredding machine that works equally well in most ELOs.
Best Runes for Miss Fortune
Dexerto/Riot GamesIn a change from most ADCs, you’ll want to build into the Inspiration tree as your primary focus, thanks to the true damage focus, gold generation and lane sustain. The best picks are First Strike, Cash Back, Biscuit Delivery and Jack of All Trades.
In the secondary tree, go with Sorcery and Manaflow Band for the additional mana, with Gathering Storm for the adaptive damage increase. In the final slots, you’ll want two lots of Adaptive Force and raw Health to counter MF’s squishiness somewhat.
Twitch
Dexerto/Riot GamesPlaying as a poisonous rat might not appeal to everyone but Twitch has come into 2025 with a vengeance. His scaling into the late-game is second to none and if you can get through the tricky early exchanges, you should be on course to dominate teamfights throughout. Just as with Teemo, the ability to stealth is hugely underrated in League of Legends and positioning correctly has never been more important, so this tool allows you to do that with ease and even correct potential mistakes.
Maxing out Twitch’s E gives you a route to genuine AP output and it serves as a nice way to skirt the massive amounts of attack damage resist that you will regularly encounter. The only caveat to getting the most out of Twitch is that he does require excellent map and positional awareness, or you’ll be out of the fight before you even know that it’s started. Sit back and poke your way through the early game, then you should be in a great position to dominate the enemy team.
Best Runes for Twitch
Dexerto/Riot GamesBack to the Precision tree for Twitch, your best bet is to run with Lethal Tempo, Triumph, Legend: Alacrity and Cut Down. This furthers the character’s push towards Attack Speed, while adding to damage potential and overall lane sustain.
In the secondary tree, go with Sorcery and Axiom Arcanist, with the latter being one of the best ways to improve your Ult. Gathering Storm will give you Adaptive damage scaling, with Attack Speed, Adaptive Force and health in the final slots.
That’s all there is to know! Make sure to check out our tier lists for the Jungle and Top Lane, if you fancy trying out a new position. We also have breakdowns of the least and most-played champions in the current meta