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League of Legends Swarm Mode
Image via Riot Games

LoL Swarm Champion Tier List – Who Are the Best Characters To Use?

LoL Swarm is giving many of us what we have always wanted: a way to play League of Legends without really playing League of Legends. These are the best champs to use in the LoL Swarm PvE mode.

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LoL Swarm Champion Tier List

As with all lists like this, it will be subject to change over time, either as more tricks are learned for each character, or time changes my opinion, or updates just alter how they play and their power ceilings.

TierChampion
S-TierRiven, Leona, Xayah
A-TierBriar, Yasuo, Jinx , Seraphine
B-TierIllaoi
C-TierAurora

Riven

Akin to full-blown League of Legends, when you get the mechanics down, Riven is an absolute menace. You don’t really worry about building defensive stats here because she can nuke most things that get near her, and her kit has built-in sustain. Riven is definitely worth putting in the time with, because she is easily the strongest champion right now.

Make sure you build Move Speed for her signature weapon evolution.

Leona

Leona is super tanky but also has damage. Best of all, a lot of her tank can be built into shields, which means it comes back with a cast, unlike health which you need to manage to heal after you lose it. Focus on getting her shield casting time as low as possible, and you’ll have a fun time with her. And remember, when her shield is up you can kill enemies just by walking into them; it’s a hugely effective way to deal with low-health swarms. Controversial, but just ignore building her signature weapon too early. I dump everything into close range, 360-degree weapons, and ability haste and then just walk enemies down.

Make sure you build Armor for her signature weapon evolution.

Seraphine

Don’t discount Seraphine because you get her early, and she starts a little slow. She has built-in movement speed, which is an incredibly strong trait in these types of games, and shields, which is also strong. She lacks extreme tankiness or extreme damage, but occupies a really good middle ground for both because she can position really well and then has a shield for whenever the tide turns. She cannot just face tank a bad situation the way Leona or Illaoi can, so position carefully.

Make sure you build Projectile Count for her signature weapon evolution.

Yasuo

Yasuo is another character who largely plays out the way he does in the Summoner’s Rift. The early game might be a struggle but once you start to go off, it’s highly impactful. I would honestly say that in the hands of a skilled player, Yasuo is strong as hell, but part of a tier list needs to consider accessibility, and most people will likely get punched around trying to get Yasuo to the point where he can go off. In the right hands, you could bump him up a notch.

Make sure you build Critical Chance for his signature weapon evolution.

Briar

Great area-of-effect damage but with a couple of downsides. One of the characters you need to build a lot of defense on, and that kinda feels like a waste when there are strong defensive characters that you can just build raw damage on. Hello, Leona. Still, can be incredibly fun to play and is high risk and high reward.

Make sure you build Max Health for her signature weapon evolution.

Xayah

Slightly lower starting damage to start out than other ranged characters, but an ult that might get you out of a sticky situation from time to time. She also has very strong single-target damage and will rip up bosses. I feel like she is a tough character to play, as you need to be on the money with your targeting to get the most from her Signature Weapon.

Make sure you build Pickup Radius for her signature weapon evolution.

Jinx

Strong enough early game play can help most people get Jinx rolling, and she is incredibly strong later in the late game at eating up single enemies, but this is a swarm game. I would strongly advise any groups have a Jinx, but get ready to dance if you plan to play her solo.

Make sure you build Ability Haste for her signature weapon evolution.

Illaoi

Illaoi brings insane tankiness, and if you put a little bit of movement speed on her, you can keep a destructive dance going, staying near her tentacles and really taking advantage of her ult. She feels strong early, especially as you learn the game because she can just eat so much damage. Sadly, I am not massively impressed with her scaling, and later on, the cast time of her tentacle strike can be a real killer.

Make sure you build Duration for her signature weapon evolution.

Aurora

I’m not really sure what to make of Aurora, to be frank. Tough to play, and seems to scale poorly. Definitely not a kit most people will just pick up and excel with. Kind of feels like how she was translated into Swarm hasn’t quite worked out, but I am very open to changing my mind in time.

Make sure you build EXP for her signature weapon evolution.

Swarm mode is available to play now in League of Legends.


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Author
Image of Aidan O'Brien
Aidan O'Brien
Aidan has been into movies, games, tv, and tabletop since the 80s. Rather than get bogged down in pointless nostalgia, he remains excited for all the amazing art that has yet to come. When not scribbling articles for sites like Escapist, Destructoid, or Dot Esports, he is making Youtube videos about interesting lore, or how to paint little plastic models.