Here are our top five ADC recommendations to help you during your ranked climb, along with a current tier list for the champions in the role.
Bot lane has been one of the quintessential carry roles ever since League started its existence, even though sometimes it didn’t feel as rewarding in the past. Well, Season 13’s multiple changes to the ADCs definitely shifted the perception of the role, as well as its strength. Nowadays, bot lane is the focal point at all different levels of play, from low elos to pro play.
The meta is also a lot less important when it comes to bot lane. Most champions can be viable in the role, especially in lower elos like Silver in Gold, which is the brackets this guide aims to help. Still, it doesn’t mean picking a strong champion doesn’t help or make climbing easier, it definitely does. So let’s take a look at which champions are best in the bot lane meta and can give you the best chance at winning at the moment.
Best ADCs to climb with on LoL patch 13.11
Jhin
Pros
- Strong laning phase
- Can safely clear waves if your support roams
- Longe range target access with W and Ulti
- Good late game scaling against other squishies
Cons
- Has a hard time dealing with tanks unless massively ahead
- No defensive tools or itemization options
- Not the fastest when doing objectives
Jhin runes and items
When it comes to runes, Jhin isn’t the most versatile champion. Thanks to his synergy with the movement speed from Fleet Footwork and the fact that he cannot utilize Lethal Tempo means the most optimal option is Fleet. You can try out Dark Harvest if you want to, but the Precision tree is more valuable than Domination.
Itemization is also very set in stone. Galeforce has been pretty much the only Mythic for Jhin ever since the first item update, and it stayed that way even with the Infinity Edge as the alternative. You can try out IE if you want to, but Jhin doesn’t mind trading off some damage in favor of some mobility and the potential playmaking of Galeforce plus fourth shot.
Kog’Maw
Pros
- One of the best scaling carries in the game, especially paired with enchanters
- Can opt into some defensive items and become a lot more tanky
Cons
- Doesn’t have the best laning
- Struggles against the other top meta ADCs (Twitch, Ezreal and Jhin)
- Hard to play against certain team comps without an enchanter
Kog’Maw runes and items
The new Mythic Rageblade brought Kog’Maw back into the meta with a vengeance. Unlike most on-hit champions, Kog really likes rushing the new Rageblade and has a decent power spike on one item. Runaan’s is the other core item, but you are free to experiment after that. You can go for a damage heavy build with Blade of the Ruined King and Wit’s End, or you can opt for a tankier build with items like Randuin’s and Titanic Hydra.
Runes aren’t as flexible since Kog’Maw really enjoys the extra range from Lethal Tempo. Maybe you can change your secondary tree from Resolve, but the extra resistances and health is always a great fit for him.
Twitch
Pros
- Has the longest range in the game post level six
- Can roam for easy kills with invisibility
- Hyper-scaler with enchanters
Cons
- Weak laning phase if you cannot cheese kills
- Almost no waveclear without Runaan’s
Twitch runes and items
Twitch has become one of the most flexible ADCs in the game when it comes to itemization. Usually, you want to build first item BotRK, but you can always skip it if you want a Noonquiver item. When it comes to Mythic, Infinity Edge is probably the most consistent option but you can always go Rageblade if you want a more on-hit build.
Also, there is a new trend of rushing Trinity Force as your Mythic then following it up with Runaan’s and Titanic. This build has a lot fewer games played, but its win rate is higher than IE. AP Twitch is another thing you can consider if your team is heavy AD, but it isn’t as good as it was at the start of the season.
Ezreal
Pros
- Very safe in lane
- Can be played with almost every support in the game
- One of the best poke champions
- Very strong level 2-3 all-ins with passive stacked
Cons
- No waveclear
- Doesn’t have the consistent damage of a traditional marksman
- Not the best champion into tanks
Ezreal runes and items
Newly buffed Trinity Force made Ezreal one of the best bot laners in the game again. His two-item power spike of Triforce and Muramana is very hard to match by any other ADC, and he has a lot more agency during mid game. You can also still go the Essence Reaver and Navori build if you want to play for more poke rather than longer fights.
Karthus
Pros
- Unexpectedly good all-ins with engage supports
- Easy laning phase with Q spam to farm
- Global map presence with Ultimate
- Can snowball out of control with early kills
Cons
- Very easy to kill
- Reliant on landing an easily dodgeable skill shot during teamfights (if not fed)
- Can’t blind pick if there is a lot of AP on the team
Karthus runes and items
Karthus has been the off-meta pick in the bot lane for a while now. If you pair him with an engage support, you can keep killing your opponents over and over or at least poke them out of lane with the threat of your Ulti. That’s where the Dark Harvest comes into play. It gives you a lot of extra damage if you can stack it, plus the Domination tree gives you access to Ultimate Hunter. Taking Precision secondary is a must since you need Presence of Mind for mana sustain.
On itemization, you can go Luden’s or Liandry, but the latter is the standard since the Ability Haste and applying the item’s passive to all enemy team is very beneficial. After that rushing a Rabadon’s can be great, but you can always go Shadowflame or Void Staff if you aren’t getting as much gold. Mejai’s is also an option, but considering Karthus really likes to run at the enemies, it might be a dangerous investment.
Patch 13.11 ADC tier list
These five champions aren’t your only options, of course. There are a lot more strong champions in the meta, and most picks can work regardless of the meta if you get proficient enough. Our overall tier list for the bot lane in patch 13.11 is below.
- S: Best bot laners in the meta right now
- A: Champions you can still blind and not get punished by counter matchups as much
- B: Strong champions under the right conditions
- C: Viable champions but need some degree of mastery
- F: Not recommended in the current patch
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