History Characters / LeagueOfLegends

** To explain: let's say you're in the top lane dealing with Twitch. If he should happen to disappear, it's common politeness to announce "top MIA" or "twitch MIA" into chat, so that your allies are forewarned if Twitch is setting up a DynamicEntry on one of them. This is relatively straightforward for most champions. ''Twitch'' makes life difficult by having an InvisibilityCloak; it's really not uncommon for a him to spend more of a match hiding under it than fighting. So, when he disappears from your lane, you assume he's setting up on you... but he might not be. He might be getting into position on the other side of the map. And his skills and DPS are such that, if he opens fire on you, you are now dead. The end result is that, whenever Twitch vanishes, you ought to assume that he is setting up to kill you—you, personally—no matter where he was last seen. And Twitch vanishes ''[[NightmareFuel all the time]].''

** CombatMedic: averted.

** TheLoad: As a SquishyWizard StaffChick, Soraka needs to form a SwordAndSorcerer symbiosis with a MeatShield. If she can, her superior heal rates will carry you to victory; in addition to having one of the lowest kill/death ratios of all champions in the game, she also one of the ''highest'' win/loss ratios. But some players [[IWorkAlone work alone]], [[LeeroyJenkins charging in blindly]] and accomplishing the "DivideAndConquer" tactic ''for'' the enemy; needless to say, this often causes a loss. The end result is a champion who only flourishes on ''a team'', as opposed to a mob of five players who happen to be allied with each other for this one match.

* ConservationOfNinjutsu: as originally released, he could practically solo an entire team.
* GameBreaker: He had high DPS via attackspeed rates, and possibly the highest movespeed in the game, making it difficult or impossible to outrun him. With these qualities he'd make a high-tier LightningBruiser. He also had his two disables, and was durable enough to outfight almost anyone. If it were just that he'd be a good StoneWall. And he had the ability to recycle his skills faster, not to mention his ultimate, which—at first—did a minimum of ''25%'' health, not 20%. These would make him a respected SquishyWizard. The problem? Xin Zhao had [[BeyondTheImpossible all of those things at his disposal]]. If an opponent was playing him and your team wasn't, [[ForegoneConclusion you had basically lost]].

* InstantDeathRadius

* TierInducedScrappy: instantly surpassed Jax in terms of being ridiculously overpowered. Riot suggested some balance changes to him: in particular, nerfing his slow but buffing the ultimate. The community still wonder will Zileas be banned for excessive trolling or not.
** Zileas was indeed trolling; in the end, the ult was nerfed, along with attack speed and his slow. The new version can still kill very quickly, but is no longer capable of surviving many-on-one engagements; you have to DivideAndConquer with him now.

A member of the Kinkou, an order dedicated to maintaining perfect balance, Akali is the last of the game's three {{Ninja}} to be introduced. She is a martial artist and followed fin her mother's footsteps, inheriting the "Fist of Shadow" title from her. The Kinkou's duty is to assassinate people according to portents their culture perceives in the stars to maintain the order of the world, and she works with the other two "shadow warriors", Kennen and Shen, to accomplish this.

* CaptainErsaz: Galio-[[{{Gargoyles}} Goliath]]...I see what you did there, Riot!

** To explain: let's say you're in the top lane dealing with Twitch. If he should happen to disappear, it's common politeness to announce "top MIA" or "twitch MIA" into chat, so that your allies are forewarned if Twitch is setting up a DynamicEntry on one of them. This is relatively straightforward for most champions. ''Twitch'' makes life difficult by having an InvisibilityCloak; it's really not uncommon for a him to spend more of a match hiding under it than fighting. So, when he disappears from your lane, you assume he's setting up on you... but he might not be. He might be getting into position on the other side of the map. And his skills and DPS are such that, if he opens fire on you, you are now dead. The end result is that, whenever Twitch vanishes, you ought to assume that he is setting up to kill you—you, personally—no matter where he was last seen. And Twitch vanishes ''[[NightmareFuel all the time]].''

** Zileas was indeed trolling; in the end, the ult was nerfed, along with attack speed and his slow.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: People have complained that the Kinkou don't play the way ninja would be expected to. While this is pretty true (see the next entry down), the problem is that other champions (Shaco and Evelynn) got there first.

* CrutchCharacter: Can easily gank players with some crowd-control help at earlier levels enough to secure games, but if enemy team play it safe enough, Garen will not scale well enough to make him a particular threat later in the game.

* GameBreaker: His flash grenade can damage enemy structures, and can be used from beyond a tower's range. Effectively this turns the match into a TimedMission: if you don't win fast enough, he'll win via attrition.

* YouFailPhysicsForever: His line "Order, entropy, a never-ending cycle" is completely wrong. "Entropy" is a theoretical measure of how much energy has been lost in the universe (according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics), and is ''always'' increasing. Order never overtakes entropy and never will. (Of course, this is a world with [[HandWave magic]] in it, so maybe AWizardDidIt.)

Karthus is a mage-type Champion who can create small magic explosions, erect a wall of painful magical force, create an area of necromantic energy around himself, or channel an energy bolt which hits all enemy champions, regardless of where they are on the map. Finally, he can keep spellcasting for about 8 seconds after dying, so don't hang around if you just offed him.

* KnifeNut: We said "obsessed with blades and knives.", right?

*RingsOfDeath

* GameBreaker: "Infuse," the mana-restoration ability, gives her MP for free, which she can then convert into Health (via heal spells). In other words, Infuse essentially ''generates Hit Points from thin air'', theoretically giving her infinite health. (Of course, [[{{Halo}} The Master Chief]]'s energy shield gives him the same thing. Regen-rate caveats apply to both.)

* TheLoad: [[strike:She's a StaffChick and SquishyWizard who has almost no offensive capabilities. Do we really need to explain it? (Please don't ask us to; there's several different descriptions we could apply.)]] Now inverted, as she currently has the second highest win-loss ratio of any character at level 30, and the heighest overall, despite not having any offensive capabilities. May still be seen as this by {{Munchkin}}s who {{DidNotDoTheResearch}} since she also has by far the lowest KD ratio of any champion.

** ShootTheMedicFirst

* TheLoad: [s]she's a StaffChick and SquishyWizard who has almost no offensive capabilities. Do we really need to explain it? (Please don't ask us to; there's several different descriptions we could apply.)[/s]. Now inverted, as she currently has the second highest win-loss ratio of any character at level 30, and the heighest overall, despite not having any offensive capabilities.

* TheLoad: she's a StaffChick and SquishyWizard who has almost no offensive capabilities. Do we really need to explain it? (Please don't ask us to; there's several different descriptions we could apply.)

* TierInducedScrappy: Come on, try and play her in ranked! Try!

'''Galio the Living Guardian'''

Galio is a forthcoming tank/support Champion based around absorbing magic damage.

* NeedsMoreLove: lacked an alt-skin for 33 weeks. Post-release Champions come with at least one alt-skin when they debut, but a number of champions in the initial roster fell through the cracks.

Kayle's skins include [[PaletteSwap Viridian Kayle, Silver Kayle]], and [[SamusIsAGirl Unmaksed Kayle]].

A warrior who is always seen near Jarvan III, King of [[LawfulGood Demacia]]. His MysteriousPast is as follows: formerly he was a gladiator in [[ChaoticEvil Noxus]], going by the name of Viscero. Doomed to fight [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat 300 men at once]], he was offered freedom and revenge by Jarvan II, and then [[TakingTheBullet Took The Bullet]] for him (Jarvan) during the escape.

Ezreal is a ranger-type Champion at the top of the CharacterTiers list, for good reason: all his spells are manually aimed, so if you don't LeadTheTarget properly (or can't, due to a laggy Internet connection), he's useless, and so are you. Like some of the most advanced heroes, he can function as either Ranged DPS or Nuker, depending on how you [[MinMaxing min-max]] his item build. As to the spells themselves, he can: throw a wave of light that harms foes and [[slash heals allies]]; fire arrows of light that reduce his abilities' cooldown; FlashStep; and, for a LimitBreak, unleash a KamehameHadoken.

Ezreal is a ranger-type Champion at the top of the CharacterTiers list, for good reason: all his spells are manually aimed, so if you don't LeadTheTarget properly (or can't, due to a laggy Internet connection), he's useless, and so are you. Like some of the most advanced heroes, he can function as either Ranged DPS or Nuker, depending on how you [[MinMaxing min-max]] his item build. As to the spells themselves, he can: throw a wave of light that harms foes and heals allies; fire arrows of light that reduce his abilities' cooldown; FlashStep; and, for a LimitBreak, unleash a KamehameHadoken.

* GameBreaker: He had high DPS via attackspeed rates, and possibly the highest movespeed in the game, making it difficult or impossible to outrun him. With these qualities he'd make a high-tier LightningBruiser. He also had his two disables, and was durable enough to outfight almost anyone. If it were just that he'd be a good StoneWall. And he had the ability to recycle his skills faster, not to mention his ultimate, which—at first—did a minimum of ''25%'' health, not 20%. These would make him a respected SquishyWizard. The problem? Xin Zhao had [[BeyondTheImpossible all of those things at his disposal]]. If an opponent was playing him and your team wasn't, [[ForegoneConclusion you had basically lost]].

Xin Zhao is a [[strike:GameBreaker]] Melee DPS hero, focusing on speed and disabling. His passive heals him on every third attack. His skills: increase his attackspeed and the refresh rates of his abilities; add bonus damage to his next three hits and a juggle to the third; allows him to FlashStep to his target with a slowing effect on impact; and, as a LimitBreak, use a HerdHittingAttack that takes a ''minimum'' of 20% health off of anyone caught in it.

* InstantDeathRadius: ''very'' high DPS.

** If you've read ''any'' of the descriptions of Xin Zhao's [[GameBreaker Game Breaking]] that have existed on this page, you'll notice we can't decide how to describe it. Why do we keep changing it? Well, because [[strike:we aren't GameFAQs]] there ''isn't'' just one: he's ''several'' top-tier characters rolled into one. This is why the community assume Zileas was joking when he suggested that XZ needed to be re-spec'ed instead of nerfed. (Or, at least, we ''pray'' he was joking...)

Ezreal's alternate skins include [[PaletteSwap Nottingham Ezreal]] and [[PaintItBlack Frosted Ezreal]].

Malzahar is a Mage-type champion with spells revolving mostly around dealing lots of damage quickly. He also has the ability to summon "Voidlings," little spider creatures that the player can control.

* ScrappyMechanic: voidlings. They are uncontrollable.

The paragon of [[LawfulGood Demacia]], who's military and citizens alike follow a strict moral code; and may never make excuses, retreat, or surrender in combat; their leaders in turn lead by this example indeed. In a battle against Demacia's rival [[ChaoticEvil Noxus]], Garen fought Katarina. Their clash was described the two as "locked in a mortal waltz set against a symphony of clashing blades". Both survived, Garen breathless after the battle for the first time in his career. Thereafter, he consistently sought to fight her again, considering the pursuit of a WorthyOpponent on the battlefield the validation of a true warrior's existance. He is a melee fighter champion that automatically heals quickly while out of combat, can move swiftly and strike a powerful blow that will silence his target, become hardier from killing enemies and be temporarily take less significantly less damage for a few seconds, spin his blade in a whirlwind, and strike a strong finishing blow.

Karthas is a mage-type Champion who can create small magic explosions, erect a wall of painful magical force, create an area of necromantic energy around himself, or channel an energy bolt which hits all enemy champions, regardless of where they are on the map. Finally, he can keep spellcasting for about 8 seconds after dying, so don't hang around if you just offed him.

Fiddlestick's alternate skins include [[OlympicGames Union Jack Fiddlesticks]] and [[OurGhostsAreDifferentSpectral Fiddlesticks]].

Xin Zhao is a [[strike:GameBreaker]] Melee DPS hero, focusing on speed and disabling. His passive heals him on every 5th attack. His skills: increase his attackspeed and the refresh rates of his abilities; add bonus damage to his next three hits and a juggle to the third; allows him to FlashStep to his target with a slowing effect on impact; and, as a LimitBreak, use a HerdHittingAttack that takes a ''minimum'' of 20% health off of anyone caught in it.

* SkillGateCharacters, TierInducedScrappy: In comparison to the other champions capable of stealthing (Shaco, Twitch & Teemo), Evelynn relies on her invisibility almost completely. This means a 400-gold "Oracle Potion", which reveals cloaked characters to your entire team, will basically render her completely useless.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: The irony is that if she approached while visible, the enemy would [[MaleGaze come to a drooling halt]] at the sight of her.

* SkillGateCharacters / TierInducedScrappy: Teemo is highly effective in low-skill games where teams of melee dps are popular because his mushrooms and blindshot are hard counters to simple melee characters. Teemo is also highly effective at being a lone wolf, but at the same time not having very many skills (he really only has two offensive spells) that can deal with more than one enemy at a time. At higher levels where mages, support-casters, and tanks become more prevalent, Teemo becomes useless because his skills aren't effective against those character types and there's much more emphasis on team vs team competitive play. And with his single-target Q and mushrooms that are delayed and need to be set up, Teemo can't contribute much to that playstyle.

** If you've read ''any'' of the descriptions of Xin Zhao's [[GameBreaker Game Breaking]] that have existed on this page, you'll notice we can't decide how to describe it. Why do we keep changing it? Well, because [[strike:we aren't GameFAQs]] there ''isn't'' just one: he's ''several'' top-tier characters rolled into one. This is why the community assume Zileas was joking when he suggested that XZ needed some sort of compensatory buff. (Or, at least, we ''pray'' he was joking...)

A StaffChick who decided to harness the power of the stars. She used to be a god before she let TheDarkSide cloud her judgment for just a moment, which led to her "losing several EvolutionaryLevels" on the spot. Now she's TheMedic. She has a HerdHittingAttack that spams [[ColonyDrop falling stars]] for CherryTapping; a spell to restore Hit Points; a nuke that either silences (an enemy) or restores ''Mana'' (to an ally); and an ultimate that heals all her allies no matter where they are (being essentially the opposite of Karthus' ultimate).

* ImplacableMan: Most heroes have to retreat for healing by the time they've got about 1000 Gold, sometimes 500. With luck and care, Soraka can stay on-station into the 3,000s. (Some players will only head back to base because they've just got so much gold that they might as well spend it.)

* TheLoad: Soraka's job isn't to kick ass, it's to help ''others'' kick ass on her behalf. Without that symbiotic relationship, she's easy meat. [[LeeroyJenkins Not all players understand this]]. This creates an interesting InvertedTrope where the people ''accusing'' her of being TheLoad are actually the useless ones... Which you should feel free to argue about while you inevitably lose the match.
* TheMedic, StaffChick, SquishyWizard

* ImprobableAimingSkills: Well, it can be tough for players to use at a decent distance, but it is not unknown for Ashe to make some ridiculous shots with her ultimate. (If you're bored, shoot it at the enemy's fountain and see if you hit anyone healing there. It is ''astronomically'' unlikely that you'll kill them, but hopefully you'll at least get a laugh out of them.)

* [[SkillGateCharacters Skill Gate Character]]: an InvertedTrope in that he teaches useful skills not to his player, but to his ''opponents''. If Yi can get you to fight him one-on-one, there's a good chance you'll lose. Thankfully, you have a fairly obvious counter-strategy available.

Warwick is a Fighter-style champion who can: take a chunk out of a foe for HP restoration; increase allies' attackspeed no matter where they are; make him faster if a Champion under 50% health is nearby; and, as a LimitBreak, teleport to an enemy and stun them while striking. His passive gives him astonishing lifedrain, which his players often maximize; a Warwick with a decent item build can have more heal-per-second than you have damage-per-second.

** His lifedrain does unlock one more tactic: the ability to "jungle". When you and your lane partner are fighting together, EXP gain is slower because there's two of you. So a lot of Warwick players TakeAThirdOption: they go kill neutral mobs in the forest. This speeds up LevelGrinding for both of you ''and'' allows Warwick to [[DynamicEntry introduce himself]] to foes in other lanes, hopefully [[DeadlyGuest with lethal results]]. (Of course, this augmented lethality only adds to his status as TheScrappy.)

Xin Zhao is a [[strike:GameBreaker]] Melee DPS hero, focusing on speed and disabling. His passive heals him on every 5th attack. His skills: increase his attackspeed; add bonus damage to his next three hits and a juggle to the third; allows him to FlashStep to his target with a slowing effect on impact; and, as a LimitBreak, use a HerdHittingAttack that takes a ''minimum'' of 20% health off of anyone caught in it.

* SingleStrokeBattle: between his diables, InstantDeathRadius and damage rates, if he lands a single hit on you, you're basically dead—and so fast that you can't really do any meaningful damage as you go. Add the FlashStep and he can just daisy-chain his way through your entire team without taking a scratch.

** If you've read ''any'' of the descriptions of Xin Zhao's [[GameBreaker Game Breaking]] that have existed on this page, you'll notice we can't decide how to describe it. Why do we keep changing it? Well, because [[strike:we aren't GameFAQs]] there ''isn't'' just one: he's ''several'' top-tier characters rolled into a single spear-wielding package. This is why the community assume Zileas was joking when he suggested that XZ needed some sort of compensatory buff. (Or, at least, we ''pray'' he was joking...)

* TrainingFromHell: Culminating in a test requiring him to [[ExtremeDoormat show no emotion whastover]] as his own father is tortured before him. Shen aced it.

Shen is a support-type Champion who can taunt foes with a rapid dash, grant his allies lifesteal, block enemy attacks, and shield an ally from harm. He has an Energy Meter instead of a ManaMeter.

* TrainingFromHell: Culminating in a test requiring him to [[ExtremeDoormat show no emotion whastover]] as his own father is tortured before him.