5 Easiest Top Lane Champions for Beginners in LoL
By Roger on Mar 30th, 2025, 11:06
Starting now as a beginner in League of Legends can be daunting, especially in the isolated, crucial top-lane role. But worry not—choosing the right champion can drastically simplify your learning curve and lay a strong foundation in League. Here, we identify the 5 easiest top laners perfect for new players, highlighting essential strategies, strengths, weaknesses, and more to improve your gameplay.
Selecting beginner-friendly champions involves:
Mastering top lane mechanics is essential for climbing the ranks in League of Legends. Your success depends heavily on fundamental skills such as last-hitting minions, effective trading, and strategic wave management. These fundamentals form the foundation of a strong laning phase, helping new players transition smoothly from beginner to experienced top laner.
To build a robust understanding of the top lane in League, focus on these core mechanics and strategies:
Consistently securing minion kills to maximize your gold income. Higher Creep Scores per minute often correlate with more victories, providing resources needed for choosing the right items.
Effectively control minion waves by learning to freeze, slow push, or fast push based on the game situation. This level of control allows you to set your lane’s tempo, establish advantageous trades, and create opportunities for your team.
Mastering wave management is key for every top laner:
Ideally, manage every third wave (cannon wave) strategically to maintain lane pressure and security.
Maintaining river vision control, checking void grubs, and securing Rift Heralds with jungle assistance are essential for avoiding ganks and controlling objectives.
Understanding your champion’s power spikes and cooldowns makes timing your trades intuitive. Engage when your champion is strongest, and play defensively when your abilities are on cooldown. Defensive positioning often leads opponents to underestimate your threat level, setting up surprising kill opportunities.
Pay close attention to the minimap, particularly the mid lane area, to identify moments when roaming can secure kills or objectives. Effective communication using pings can significantly influence outcomes in critical team fights by alerting teammates of enemy positions, potential ganks, and objective timings.
By consistently practicing these mechanics, you'll significantly strengthen your laning phase, positioning yourself as an experienced top laner ready to dominate in crucial late-game team fights. Without further ado, let's look at each best top laner in detail.
Simple mechanics, high durability, and sustain during the laning phase. Garen’s passive regeneration makes him one of the best champions for beginners.
Vulnerable to ranged champions and predictable gameplay.
Garen excels by timing your trades using Q (silence) followed by E (spin), then executing weakened opponents with your ultimate.
He performs well against most melee fighters or bruisers but struggles against ranged champions like Vayne, Kayle, or Quinn. Counter him by selecting mobile or ranged top laners.
Stridebreaker, Dead Man’s Plate, Sterak’s Gage
Conqueror or Phase Rush for mobility and sustain.
Flash and Ignite or Teleport.
E > Q > W
Exceptional regeneration, high tankiness, and forgiving gameplay.
Vulnerable to champions with healing reduction effects.
Stay in lane, harass with cleavers, and leverage Mundo’s passive, allowing him to stay healthy even after aggressive exchanges.
Counters champions with low sustained damage but suffers against healing reduction users like Darius or Kled.
Heartsteel, Warmog's Armor, Unending Despair, Spirit Visage, Thornmail
Grasp of the Undying or Fleet Footwork.
Flash and Teleport.
E > Q > W
Infinite scaling through Q stacks, dominant late game.
Vulnerable early game and weak against aggressive laners.
Focus on stacking Nasus's Soul Eater passive by securing minion kills with your Q. Master the laning phase by cautious positioning until late game dominance.
Struggles early against aggressive lane champions like Darius or Renekton but excels late game if allowed to farm safely.
Divine Sunderer, Trinity Force, Frozen Heart
Fleet Footwork or Grasp of the Undying.
Ghost and Teleport.
Q > W > E
High armor, reliable all-in engage, impactful team fight presence.
Weak against AP-heavy champions, predictable ultimate.
Trade using your Q, and carefully manage mana. Utilize your ultimate strategically for initiating crucial team fights.
Great against physical damage champions like Fiora or Tryndamere but weak against magic damage dealers such as Mordekaiser or Maokai.
Iceborn Gauntlet, Sunfire Aegis, Thornmail
Grasp of the Undying or Arcane Comet for poke.
Flash and Teleport.
Q > E > W
High damage output, strong split-pushing, easy to start aggression, and sustainability from lifesteal.
Vulnerable to crowd control, struggles against ranged poke.
Use your fury effectively to enhance critical strikes. Leverage your ultimate for aggressive all-ins or strategic escapes.
Dominates against squishy targets but is vulnerable to champions like Malphite or Teemo, who can easily kite and disrupt him.
Kraken Slayer, Phantom Dancer, Infinity Edge
Lethal Tempo for sustained damage output.
Flash and Ghost or Ignite.
Q > E > W
Each of these top lane champions in League of Legends offers distinct advantages—allowing players to confidently engage in fights, control lane pace, and develop a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of the game. Choosing champions like Garen, Mundo, Nasus, Malphite, or Tryndamere lays a robust groundwork, preparing you for advanced tactics and ultimately setting you on a fulfilling journey in Riot Games leading title.
If you're looking to get better at these champions or become a better top laner, our expert League of Legends coaching can help fast-track your progress and perfect your gameplay. Get your free trial today.
