If you’re brand new to League of Legends, your first trip to champion select can feel totally overwhelming. You’ll scroll through pages and pages of unique characters, each with their own abilities, backstories, and playstyles, and it’s normal to lose count fast. If you’ve ever stopped to wonder how many champions does league of legends have, you’re far from the only player asking that question. Riot Games adds new characters to the roster regularly, so the number shifts every few months, and this guide covers all the latest details you need to know, plus useful breakdowns for new players.
How Many Champions Does League of Legends Have Right Now?
As of the latest official Riot Games release, there are 167 playable champions available in standard Summoner’s Rift matches. That number doesn’t count limited-time game mode exclusive characters, or retired champions that were removed from the game permanently, like old Aatrox before his full rework. Riot typically releases 3 to 4 new champions per year, so you can expect this count to go up by 3 or 4 every 12 months, unless they shift their development priorities to reworks instead. If you play on the PBE, you might get access to new champions a few weeks before they launch to the general public, but they’re not counted in the official total until their full release. It’s also worth noting that some regions get new champions a day or two later than others, so you might see a small delay if you play on a less populated server.
Breakdown of the LoL Champion Roster by Role
All League of Legends champions are designed to fit into one or more of the five standard roles on Summoner’s Rift. The counts below add up to more than the total roster because a lot of champions are flex picks that work well in multiple positions, depending on how you build them and what your team needs.
You don’t have to stick to the “intended” role for any champion if you find a build that works for you. Plenty of players test off-meta picks all the time, and some off-role picks even become part of the meta after pro players use them in tournaments. Just be prepared for your teammates to be confused if you lock in a Soraka jungle in a ranked match, unless you can prove you know what you’re doing.
How Riot Expands the League of Legends Champion Roster
Riot doesn’t just add new champions randomly. Their development team starts by identifying gaps in the current roster, like a specific playstyle or thematic niche that no existing champion fills. For example, when they released Briar in 2023, they wanted to make a jungler that was hyper aggressive, with a unique bloodthirst mechanic that forced players to play more recklessly than they would on other jungle champs. Before any new champion launches to the main servers, it goes through weeks of playtesting on the Public Beta Environment (PBE), where players can test abilities, report bugs, and give feedback that the dev team uses to adjust balance before full release.
Sometimes Riot decides to rework an old champion instead of adding a new one, especially if the character has an outdated kit that doesn’t fit the current meta, or has a low pick rate for multiple seasons. Recent full reworks like Aurelion Sol and Sivir brought old characters back into the meta, and gave long-time players a reason to try champions they might have ignored for years. Riot has said they’ll continue to balance new releases and reworks moving forward, so they don’t make the roster feel too bloated for new players to learn.
Tips for Navigating the Large Champion Roster as a New Player
The huge champion count can feel really intimidating when you’re first starting out, but you don’t have to learn every single champion’s kit to have fun or climb ranks. The first thing you should do is use the free champion rotation that refreshes every Tuesday to test out new characters without spending Blue Essence or RP on them. That way you can try out different roles and playstyles before you commit to buying a champion permanently.
It’s also a good idea to pick 2 to 3 main champions to learn first, instead of bouncing between a dozen different characters every game. Once you’re comfortable with your main champs, you can start learning the basics of the 10 to 15 most commonly picked champions in your main role, so you know what to expect when you face them in lane. Focus on learning ability cooldowns and win conditions for the champs you face most often, instead of trying to memorize every single detail of their kit. You’ll pick up small details about less common champions the more you play, so there’s no rush to cram all that information at once.
If you’re stuck trying to pick a main, think about what parts of other games you enjoy most. If you love being the front line for your team and absorbing damage, try a tank top laner or support. If you love getting as many kills as possible, try a mid lane assassin or bot lane ADC. There’s no wrong choice, and you can always switch to a new champion later if you get bored of your current main.
So if you’ve been scrolling through champion select trying to wrap your head around how many champions does league of legends have, the current count of 167 gives you almost endless options to find a playstyle that fits you. Even as Riot adds more champions over the coming years, you don’t have to keep up with every single release if you don’t want to. You can stick to your 2 or 3 favorite champs for years and still have just as much fun as players who try every new release the day it comes out. Whether you’re a new player just picking your first champion, or a veteran looking for a new main to grind in ranked, the massive League of Legends roster has something for every type of player.