League of Legends is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game with 170 champions to choose from. With so many options, picking the right champion can feel overwhelming for new players.
Beginners should pick a champion that’s simple to learn, strong in the laning phase, and helps them understand core mechanics like trading, wave control, and map awareness. The best champions for beginners in top lane are tanky bruisers with high durability and sustain.
Malphite
A massive creature of living stone, Malphite struggles to impose blessed order on a chaotic world. Born as a servitor-shard to an otherworldly obelisk, he used his tremendous elemental strength to maintain and protect his progenitor, but failed. Now, he endures Runeterra’s soft folk and their fluid temperaments, while searching for a role worthy of the last of his kind.
Passive: Basic attacks hit units near Malphite for bonus physical damage based on their armor. Active: Summons a rock shield that absorbs 10% of Malphite’s maximum health. The shield deals 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 (+ 20% AP) physical damage in a cone around Malphite and steals movement speed from enemies in range.
For this build, we recommend using Grasp of the Undying as your keystone. For the rest of your runes, pick a combination of Attack Speed and Health Scaling in the primary tree and flex. For items, start with Sunfire Aegis and then build Plated Steelcaps and Thornmail. Then, finish with Frozen Heart, Kaenic Rookern, and Jak’Sho, the Protean. This build currently has a 55% win rate in Plat+ games.
Garen
League of Legends is a complex game that can be intimidating for beginners, especially in the top lane. However, by picking the right Champion, new players can simplify their learning curve and build a solid foundation in the early game. Champion picks for beginners should be easy to play, forgiving of mistakes, and offer a balanced gameplay experience.
Garen is a great beginner-friendly champion for top lane because of his simple kit and powerful late-game scaling. His Q ability lets him poke enemies and stun them for easy trades, while his passive allows him to heal and restore mana with every kill. He also has great crowd control with his ultimate, which can turn teamfights around with its knock-up and silence.
Moreover, his W ability offers a huge wave clear for his team. As a result, Garen can easily clear the first wave of minions and establish a lane lead, allowing new players to feel comfortable and confident in the early game.
Garen is a straightforward champion to play, but it’s important to take into account your opponent’s team composition and current situation when choosing his items and runes. Depending on the matchup and game state, you might want to take some of his auxiliary items and runes to improve his performance. For instance, if you’re facing a high-damage champion, you might want to take his E item and runes to increase his attack damage.
Darius
League of Legends has more than 170 champions, but picking the right one can dramatically lower your learning curve and lay a foundation for advanced gameplay. The best beginner top laners for new players are tanky, forgiving of mistakes, and teach fundamental skills like trading and wave control. Choosing champions like Garen, Mundo, Malphite, Shen, and Darius will give you the tools to confidently engage in teamfights and dominate the lane.
With a simple kit and huge carry potential, Darius is one of the easiest champions for beginners to play in top lane. His basic attacks deal heavy physical damage and his E, Infected Bonesaw, allows you to poke enemies from range while slowing them down. His Q, Decimate, deals a huge amount of damage over time to enemies within a circle around him and increases in power when enemies are closer together. And his ultimate, Noxian Guillotine, deals massive amounts of damage and can slay an enemy champion instantly when activated.
But while his kit is easy to pick up, the general consensus is that he’s currently overpowered. Riot has a history of nerfing new champions quickly once they hit the live servers, and Darius is likely to receive a major rebalance in the near future.
Teemo
Teemo is a fun and easy-to-learn champion that teaches players how to play defensively and with map awareness. He’s tanky, scales well into the late game, and his kit makes him a great choice for new top laners looking to learn core fundamentals like positioning and trading.
He’s a tank that deals poke damage through his Q and E combo, while also bringing in burst damage from his passive and ultimate. His ultimate is a great way to start teamfights and secure kills against enemy champions, especially when paired with his aegis.
A simple and forgiving champion, Garen offers a safe and reliable starting point for new top laners. His kit offers great durability and sustain during the laning phase, as well as solid ganking potential in team fights. His Q ability allows him to poke enemies from range while staying safe, and his E can be used to taunt enemies for easy trades or ganks.
He’s a squishy but hard-hitting champion that can dominate the lane and punish over-aggressive enemies. He’s easy to pick up and teaches players how to farm using his jungling abilities, while his W enables him to quickly engage and damage opponents in teamfights. His ult can also be a good way to practice effective team coordination in the early game by allowing him to instantly execute low-health enemies.
Nasus
League of Legends beginners face a steep learning curve, especially in the crucial top lane role. However, choosing the right champion can significantly ease that process. Beginners should opt for champions with simple mechanics, high durability and sustain during the laning phase, and a playstyle that allows them to learn and master core fundamentals such as last-hitting minions, effective trading, and strategic wave management.
Nasus is one of the most beginner-friendly tank champions in top lane, with a straightforward kit and massive carry potential. His passive bleeds enemies, and his Q allows him to poke from range with poison damage. His E taunts enemies for easy 1v1 fights, and his ult lets him teleport to an ally’s location and give them a shield.
Teemo is another beginner-friendly top laner, with a simple mechanic that makes it difficult for opponents to survive his auto attacks. His squishy playstyle requires careful positioning, but once mastered, he can dominate the laning phase and punish over-aggressive opponents. His ability to freeze, slow push or hard push the enemy team depending on game situation teaches players how to control lane tempo and establishes consistent gold income. Additionally, his laning ability allows him to secure river vision control and check for void grubs and Rift Heralds, ensuring safe jungler ganks.
Dr. Mundo
A towering enforcer, Dr. Mundo was tortured at Osweld Asylum after infuriating his boss. His already large frame became more muscular, and his brain deteriorated. He now suffers from a psychotic delusion where he believes everyone around him is one of his patients—and he often injures, dismembers, or even kills them. Despite this, he seems to care for his “patients,” and is sad when his ‘cures’ fail. He also enjoys masochism, and gains an AD bonus the lower his health is.
Nevertheless, he’s still a very tanky champion with solid sustain. His passive lifesteal allows him to withstand an early-game beating, while his Q can poke enemies from range and slow them for easy trades. His ultimate can be a game-changer in teamfights, granting him a massive amount of health and bonus damage if he consumes minions or champions. He’s a great pick for beginners because he’s forgiving to play and rewards patience with unstoppable late-game strength.
Easily the most beginner-friendly tank in the game, Shen is a great option for beginners who want to learn how to impact the map with their play. He can block basic attacks with his Q and stun enemies with E, while his ultimate can teleport to an ally for help in teamfights. Plus, his aoe abilities provide additional damage and crowd control for quick fights. He’s also a good choice for beginners because he’s very forgiving to play and teaches important top-lane fundamentals like wave control and positioning.
