If you've ever loaded into the League of Legends client and stared at the champion select screen wondering if you'll ever learn every kit, you're not alone. I still remember being a new player in Season 3, when the roster only had 110 champions, and feeling like I'd never learn all their abilities. One of the first questions new and returning players ask is how many playable characters in League of Legends exist right now, and the answer changes more often than you might think. Riot Games adds new champions every few months, plus reworks older ones to keep the meta fresh, so it's easy to lose track of the total count even if you've played for years. This guide breaks down the current number, what each class of champion does, how the roster has grown over time, and what you can expect for future releases.
Current count of how many playable characters in League of Legends
As of the latest mid-season patch, there are 165 playable champions in League of Legends, with that number set to rise by 3 to 4 new additions every calendar year. That number counts every fully released champion available in all standard game modes, including Summoner's Rift, ARAM, and Ultimate Spellbook, but excludes limited-time event characters that only appear in special game modes like Ultra Rapid Fire or One For All variants.
Note that reworked champions are not counted as new additions — even if a champion's kit, visuals, and lore are completely overhauled, they still count as one entry on the official roster, so you don't have to worry about counting re-releases separately. If you only play ARAM, you'll encounter every champion eventually, but you don't have to memorize every ability to have fun in the mode, either.
That number might feel overwhelming at first, but you don't have to learn every champion to enjoy the game. Most casual players stick to 3 to 5 main champions for ranked play, and only learn the basics of other kits to know what to expect in lane. You can easily get hundreds of hours of playtime out of just a handful of picks if you find ones that match your preferred playstyle.
How the League of Legends champion roster is organized
Riot splits all champions into 6 core classes, each with a specific role on the team, to make it easier for new players to find picks that fit how they like to play. Some champions fit into multiple classes, called hybrid picks, that work in multiple roles depending on your build and rune setup, but every champion has a primary class listed in the client.
- Tanks: High health and defense champions that lead team fights, protect allies, and soak up damage for the team. Popular picks include Malphite, Leona, and Sion.
- Mages: Long-range ability-based damage dealers that excel at wave clear and bursting down groups of enemies. Picks like Ahri, Syndra, and Veigar fall into this class.
- Marksmen: Also known as ADCs, these are ranged auto-attack focused damage dealers that scale hard into the late game. Common picks include Caitlyn, Jinx, and Ashe.
- Assassins: High mobility, burst damage champions that specialize in picking off isolated high-priority targets like enemy mages and marksmen. Zed, Talon, and Katarina are top assassin picks.
- Fighters: Also called bruisers, these are balanced champions with a mix of damage and defense that can hold their own in 1v1 fights and deal consistent damage in team fights. Popular fighters include Darius, Garen, and Irelia.
- Supports: Utility focused champions that heal, shield, and buff allies while disabling enemies, with little focus on dealing damage directly. Picks like Lulu, Thresh, and Soraka are core support options.
You don't have to stick to the "official" role for any champion — plenty of off-meta picks work great in casual play, and some even make their way into professional play when players find unexpected strong builds. For example, I've seen full AP Sion played in mid lane to great effect, even though he's officially classified as a tank for top lane.
How Riot Games adds new playable characters to the roster
Riot has a standardized process for adding new champions, with each new pick taking anywhere from 6 months to a year to develop from initial concept to full release. First, the team identifies gaps in the current roster — for example, if there are no tank champions that specialize in anti-mage play, or no assassin picks that work well in the support role, they'll build a concept to fill that gap.
Next, they develop the champion's lore, visual design, and kit, running multiple internal playtests to adjust damage numbers, ability cooldowns, and overall balance before moving to public testing. All new champions are tested for 2 to 4 weeks on the Public Beta Environment (PBE), where players can try them out and report bugs or balance issues before the champion is added to the live client.
New champions are usually released with a temporary increased cost for the first week, so if you're waiting to unlock a new pick with Blue Essence, you can save 20% by waiting 7 days after their launch date. Riot also releases one "rework" of an older, underplayed champion every 2 to 3 patches, updating their kit, visuals, and lore to make them more viable and fun to play without adding a new entry to the champion count. For example, the 2023 rework of Sion completely changed his passive and ultimate ability, but he still counts as the same champion in the official roster total.
Tips for navigating the large League of Legends champion roster as a new player
With 165 champions to choose from, it's easy to feel overwhelmed when you first start playing, but there are simple ways to narrow down your picks without spending hours testing every single one. First, figure out which playstyle you enjoy most: do you prefer staying back and dealing damage from a safe distance, or leading the charge into team fights? Test 1 or 2 champions from each class in normal blind pick games to see what feels most natural for you.
Stick to 2 to 3 main champions when you first start playing ranked — mastering a small pool of picks will help you climb faster than trying to learn a new champion every game. You don't need to own every champion to have fun, either: Riot rotates 10+ free champions every week, so you can test new picks without spending Blue Essence or Riot Points to unlock them first.
If you're worried about counter picks, you only need to learn the basic abilities of the 20 most popular champions in your current rank to know what to expect in lane, and you can look up more details on less common picks during loading screens if you're not sure what their kit does. Don't feel pressured to unlock every champion as fast as possible, either. Most players who have been playing for years still don't own every champion, and there's no reward for unlocking the full roster outside of personal satisfaction.
Whether you're a new player just downloading the client for the first time or a returning player coming back after a few years off, knowing how many playable characters in League of Legends are currently available helps you set expectations for how much you have to learn. The roster will keep growing as Riot adds new picks and reworks old ones, but you don't have to keep up with every new release to enjoy the game. Focus on finding the champions that fit your playstyle, and don't be afraid to test off-meta picks if they look fun.