If you’ve ever loaded into a League of Legends lobby and stared at the champion select screen wondering how you’ll ever pick from the massive roster, you’re not alone. Even veteran players lose track of new releases every few months, so it’s normal to ask how many champions in League of Legends 2024 there are to choose from. Riot Games drops new champions and reworks older ones on a regular schedule, so the count shifts at least 3 to 4 times a year. Whether you’re a new player just finishing your tutorial, or a main looking to branch out to a new role, knowing the full roster size and breakdown can help you plan your grind and avoid getting caught off guard by new picks in ranked.
How Many Champions in League of Legends 2024? Official Roster Count
As of the latest mid-patch update in Q3 2024, there are 167 playable champions in League of Legends, with the 167th champion, a burst mage support from Ionia named Lira, released in early August 2024. Riot has confirmed they plan to release 2 more champions before the end of the year, so the count will rise to 169 by the time pre-season rolls around. If you’ve seen conflicting answers when you search how many champions in League of Legends 2024, that’s usually because people are counting temporary event champions or retired reworks in their total.
This official number doesn’t include temporary game mode exclusive characters, like the one-off champions featured in Ultra Rapid Fire or Arena game modes that are only available for limited windows. You also won’t find retired versions of reworked champions like the original Aatrox or old Sion on the live roster, as those full reworks replaced the original kits entirely rather than being adjusted with balance patches. I remember when I first started playing back in Season 3, there were only 110 champions, and I thought that was overwhelming. Now, with nearly 60 more added over the last decade, it’s easy to see why even long-time players struggle to keep track of every ability and interaction.
Only champions available on the live Summoner’s Rift, ARAM, and rotating permanent game modes count toward the official roster number, so don’t count event-specific variants you see in seasonal or holiday events. Riot only adds a champion to the permanent count once they are available for all game modes and have gone through their initial two weeks of balance testing after launch.
Breakdown of LoL Champions by Class and Role
Every champion in the roster fits into one of 6 core classes, and most are optimized for 1 or 2 of the 5 standard roles on Summoner’s Rift. Knowing this breakdown can help you narrow down your picks if you’re new, instead of scrolling through 167 options every time you load into champion select. Even with how many champions in League of Legends 2024 there are, sorting by class makes the selection process way less stressful.
- Tanks (29 champions): High health, high crowd control, and low damage output, designed to soak up damage for your team and initiate fights. Most tanks play top lane or support, and are perfect for players who prefer leading team fights over getting kill counts.
- Mages (38 champions): Ability power based damage dealers, split between burst mages that delete single targets, and artillery mages that deal damage from long range. Mages mostly play mid lane or support, and are great for players who like using ability combos to take down enemies.
- Assassins (27 champions): High mobility, high burst damage, and low health, built to delete priority enemy targets like ADCs and mages before escaping. Assassins mostly play mid lane or jungle, and are ideal for players who like high-risk, high-reward playstyles.
- Marksmen (24 champions): Also called ADCs, these are attack damage based ranged dealers that scale hard into late game. Almost all marksmen play the bot lane carry role, and are perfect for players who like being the main damage source for their team.
- Fighters (34 champions): Also called bruisers, these are a mix of damage and tankiness, able to both deal damage and soak up a few hits. Fighters mostly play top lane or jungle, and are great for players who like being in the middle of fights without dying instantly.
- Supports (15 champions): Built to buff their team, heal allies, and provide crowd control, with very low solo damage output. Almost all supports play the bot lane support role, and are ideal for players who prefer helping their team win over getting individual stats.
Keep in mind that some champions fit into multiple classes, like Gnar, who is a tank when in mega form and a marksman when in mini form. Riot categorizes these flex picks based on their most common playstyle, so don’t be surprised if you see a champion listed under two different classes in the client filter. I’ve had plenty of lobbies where someone picks a support mage as a mid laner, or a fighter as a support, so these class lines are far from hard rules for off-meta plays.
Riot adjusts class labels for champions after major reworks, so if you haven’t played in a few months, you might find an old main is now categorized under a different class than you remember. Always check the latest class tags if you’re using filters to find picks for a specific role.
Newest Champions Added to the 2024 Roster
Riot released 4 new champions in the first 9 months of 2024, each filling a gap in the current roster that the dev team said was missing for specific playstyles. These new releases are the main reason the answer to how many champions in League of Legends 2024 changes every few months, instead of staying static for entire seasons.
The latest release, Lira, is an Ionian burst mage support that can tether to allies to amplify their damage and shield them from incoming burst. Her unique ability to swap places with her tethered ally makes her a perfect pick for aggressive bot lane duos that want to all-in early. She’s already become one of the most picked supports in low elo, thanks to her simple kit and high impact even with low gold income.
Earlier in the year, Riot released Kael, a jungler fighter from the Freljord that uses ice magic to slow enemies and summon spirit wolves to help him clear camps faster. Kael was designed to give new jungle players an easy entry point to the role, with a simple kit that doesn’t require complex mechanical inputs to be effective. Two other champions, a Piltover marksman named Veyra and a Noxus assassin named Kren, were released in Q1 and Q2 respectively, both aimed at higher rank players who want more mechanical challenge.
If you’re returning to the game after a break, it’s worth spending 10 minutes in practice tool testing these new champions so you don’t get caught off guard by their abilities in your first few ranked games. Riot typically releases a teaser for new champions 2 to 3 weeks before their launch, so you can follow official dev updates if you want to get a head start on learning their kits.
Tips for Navigating the Massive LoL Champion Roster
With 167 champions to choose from, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, especially if you’re a new player who hasn’t unlocked most of the roster yet. You don’t have to learn every single champion to climb ranks, but there are a few simple tips that can make the process much less stressful.
First, stick to 1 to 3 main champions per role if you want to climb ranked quickly. You don’t need to know how to play every champion, you just need to know how to play a small pool of picks really well, and how to counter the most common picks you see in your elo. I’ve been a support main for 8 years, and I only play 4 different champions regularly, and that’s been more than enough to get me to Diamond every season.
Second, use the client filter to narrow down picks based on your playstyle preference. If you like sitting back and dealing damage from far away, filter for artillery mages and marksmen. If you like being in the middle of team fights, filter for fighters and tanks. Don’t waste time testing champions that don’t fit your preferred playstyle just because they’re meta – you’ll always perform better on a pick you enjoy playing, even if it’s not considered a top tier pick that patch.
Third, take advantage of the free champion rotation every week. Every Tuesday, Riot unlocks 15 free champions for all players to test, no blue essence required. This is the best way to try out new picks without spending the blue essence you earn from playing games to unlock them permanently. If you find a pick you love on free rotation, you can save up to unlock it later, instead of wasting essence on a champion you end up hating.
One last tip: If you’re struggling against a specific champion in your games, go into practice tool and play a few minutes as that champion to learn their ability cooldowns and weaknesses. That’s the fastest way to learn how to counter them, even if you never plan to main that pick. You don’t have to master every champion, but knowing their core abilities will help you avoid unnecessary deaths in lane and team fights.
Whether you’re a new player just getting started or a veteran looking to catch up on recent updates, knowing how many champions in League of Legends 2024 there are can help you make better decisions in champion select and plan your grind for the rest of the season. The roster will keep growing as Riot releases new content every year, so don’t stress if you can’t keep track of every single pick right away. Focus on learning the picks you enjoy playing, and the rest will come naturally as you play more games. The 167 champion count might feel overwhelming now, but once you find your main, you’ll barely notice the rest of the roster scrolling by in select.