Some champions in League of Legends are just flat-out stronger than others.
For the marksmen and markswomen of League, there are several types of champions to play. There are attack-speed-focused hyper carries like Jinx and Tristana, and then there are the face-melting high early damage carries like Draven and Jhin. Fortunately for players, the ADC meta in Patch 13.5 allows players to choose whichever one suits their tastes because all the marksmen champions are mostly viable right now.
This list of top-tier champions can change depending on a number of factors. Sometimes the meta shifts for no apparent reason other than players’ tastes, but usually, there’s some kind of balance adjustment behind those changes. It can be difficult to keep up with the flavor-of-the-month champs, so let us do that for you.
Here are our top ADCs for League’s Patch 13.10.
Best AD carry champions in League Patch 13.10
Draven
Pros
- Enormous damage
- Global ultimate
- Snowballs harder than any other marksman
Cons
- The most difficult ADC to master
- Easy to shut down
- Requires exceptional positioning
Welcome to the League of Draven. The Glorious Executioner is back at the top of the ADC tier list, smashing bot lane with his spinning axes. Ever since Riot introduced the ADC buffs and item changes, he has been quite popular, and the current patch is no exception.
Despite being one of the toughest champions to master in the entire game, he’s sitting at a 9 percent pick rate. Having said that, his ban rate is even more astonishing: a whopping 45 percent ban rate at platinum Elo and above (according to U.GG), with the ban rate rising up to 73 percent at master and above. If that doesn’t prove his power…
Item build
Draven hasn’t been heavily changed throughout the years. Since his release in 2012, the Glorious Executioner has always been an auto-attack-dependent champion. In the end, his entire kit revolves around his Spinning Axes (Q) that are so powerful they can cut through the toughest bruisers and tanks.
To further empower his strengths, the best keystone rune for Draven is Lethal Tempo from the Precision tree, which increases the champion’s attack speed. Not only that, but it can also enhance his attack range when it’s fully stacking, as well as exceed the 2.5 attack speed limit.
While the main keystone rune has remained the same for the last few seasons, there is a new set of minor runes that has been rising up in popularity. In the second row of the Precision tree, Draven can choose any of the three available runes. Overheal grants an extra shield that protects him, while Triumph gives additional gold that can further fuel Draven’s snowball. Lastly, Presence of Mind can be great for early-game trading when he struggles with his mana pool. Overall, players have started running Overheal more often, but all three runes work: choose according to your needs or playstyle.
The other two runes are Legend: Bloodline for extra lifesteal, and Last Stand to increase his damage while low on health.
In the second tree, contrary to lots of other ADCs, players shouldn’t be looking for extra resources and utility from the Inspiration tree. Therefore, go for Eyeball Collection and Treasure Hunter from the Domination suit to enhance Draven’s snowball potential. Despite the nerfs to Treasure Hunter in this patch, Draven is one of the few champions that still want to run this rune.
Build-wise, Draven will now have a new Mythic item going forward: Youmuu’s Ghostblade. It’s the best lethality item among the various choices and it also synergizes with his W, Blood Rush, making Draven particularly mobile. That said, he still rushes Essence Reaver first for the mana restore on auto attacks. If you’re well ahead of the pack, get The Collector to further push your lead. Otherwise, get Bloodthirster and Lord Dominik’s Regard for more damage and lifesteal. To round off the build, get Rapid Firecannon for the additional range on auto attacks.
Ability priority
On Draven, there’s really only one sensible way to prioritize your abilities: R>Q>W>E. Your Spinning Axe (Q) is your main tool to deal damage, clear waves, and handle skirmishes that come both in the early- and mid-game. Afterward, there’s really no point in lowering the cooldown of Stand Aside (E), which is just a useful tool to run away. So once you reach level nine and can start maximizing your second ability, pick Blood Rush (W), which gives Draven movement and attack speed.
Game plan
As Draven, you have enormous trading potential from level one. Therefore, if you’re in a favorable matchup, you shouldn’t hesitate to engage in two-vs-two duels, especially if your jungler comes down to lend you a hand. With Draven’s passive, which grants you stacks of Adoration with every Spinning Axe caught and minion killed, you always want to make sure you can cash out a few stacks to build a gold lead. If you manage to do so consistently, you will be miles ahead of anyone else.
But with every pro, there comes a con. Draven is a powerful champion who can slice through enemy tanks as easily as he cuts through squishy opponents. The price for his massive damage is his low mobility and sustain. Despite having Blood Rush, which grants him a small boost in movement speed, he doesn’t have any other defensive tools, making him easy prey for enemy assassins and fighters.
Therefore, you should always stand by your support or tank, who can delay enemies’ attacks and dives targeted at you. This way, you will be able to stay alive and have an impact on many late-game teamfights. Last but not least, don’t forget that you have a brilliant finisher in the form of your Whirling Death, but you can also use it as a poking device before a battle starts.
Kog’Maw
Pros
- One of the best late-game carries
- Hybrid damage
- Incredible DPS
- Extra damage after dying with passive
Cons
- Terribly weak early
- Suffers in certain matchups
- Relatively immobile
Ever since Riot revealed the item changes with the mid-season patch, Kog’Maw became one of the most anticipated picks thanks to Guinsoo’s Rageblade changes. The magic and armor penetration coming from the Mythic passive is perfect for a hybrid damage dealer like himself and he gets additional on-hit damage on top of it.
Given the new changes which favor scaling champions, it’s not a surprise to see him dominate the meta, boasting one of the highest win rates across all ranks, sitting at nearly 53 percent, according to U.GG.
Item Build
Just like most hyper-scaling ADCs, Kog’Maw is a heavy Lethal Tempo user: he can abuse the extra attack speed at all stages of the game and the extra attack range is perfect to further increase his DPS potential around teamfights. For the main rune tree, you always go for Presence of Mind, Legend: Bloodline, and Last Stand. Given the low amount of lifesteal he gets from the items early on, Legend: Bloodline is a good way to increase his sustain, while Last Stand synergizes perfectly with his passive and it’s typically good during teamfights if Kog’Maw is focused.
When it comes to the secondary rune tree, choose Resolve and go for Conditioning and Overgrowth. More than other scaling marksmen, Kog’Maw struggles from a lack of mobility and he can be easily targeted by the enemies. Getting extra resistances and bonus health is a great way to counter this weakness.
With the introduction of the new items, Kog’Maw’s build changed slightly compared to the past. He now always rushes Berserker’s Greaves for the attack speed and additional movement speed, which is essential to improve his low mobility. After that, you want to rush Guinsoo’s Rageblade and Runaan’s Hurricane so you can start dealing important on-hit damage to multiple targets.
The third item choice depends on the game state: Wit’s End is best if you’re playing against heavy magic damage comps or if they have a fed AP champion, while Blade of the Ruined King is optimal for chunking down beefy frontliners. Regardless of the order, you should build both anyway to increase the hybrid damage output. To round off the build, get a Randuin’s Omen if you need extra health, or a Guardian’s Angel for the revival passive. If you’re fed, Titanic Hydra might be a great alternative to increase the AoE damage. When facing heavy crowd controls, instead, Mercurial Scimitar is a great item to consider.
Ability priority
Kog’Maw has only one max order: R>W>Q>E. His W, Bio-Arcane Barrage, is his main ability to deal extra damage from afar thanks to the added attack range. Caustic Spittle (Q) is maxed second for the additional passive attack speed and the ability to shred the enemies’ resistances. Considering Void Ooze is a situational spell with a fixed cooldown, always max it last.
Game plan
Kog’Maw is one of the weakest ADCs in the early game, usually even more so than other scaling champions. Therefore, it’s always advised to play the game slowly and not trade aggressively.
The goal is to farm as much as possible and wait for the right item spikes, which is typically after closing out the first two core items, Guinsoo’s Rageblade and Runaan’s Hurricane. Once those are bought, you should feel an important increase in DPS and overall damage output.
That said, there are always chances to get early leads, especially if you’re able to get free auto attacks with the extra range coming from his W, Bio-Arcane Barrage. Try to harass the enemies with that and look for a potential kill, especially if your jungler is coming to help.
Being a hyper-scaling champion, Kog’Maw gets stronger the more items he gets. This is perfect for the late-game teamfights since he can single-handedly carry teamfights, as long as he doesn’t die.
Twitch
Pros
- One of the best late-game carries
- Long-range auto attacks with ultimate
- Can go invisible for unexpected flanks
Cons
- Weak laning phase
- Squishy
- Immobile
Twitch is one of the strongest AD carries of the new season. While he always found himself on the cusp of being an S-tier marksman, he never found a way to promote himself up into top-tier territory.
Even though Twitch received changes at the start of the season, it was specifically to nerf his AP version which was considered oppressive in the support role. His AD version, instead, has been untouched and with other marksmen getting nerfed, he’s slowly rising back up again.
Item build
Just like most ADCs, Twitch relies on his auto attacks to deal damage. Now the AP build is no longer meta, Twitch is going for Lethal Tempo once again as the main keystone rune. It grants him a great boost of attack speed that is strong both during early game skirmishes, as well as during teamfights.
For the other runes of the Precision tree, opt for Presence of Mind, Legend: Alacrity, and Coup de Grace. Legend: Alacrity is self-explanatory since it grants additional attack speed. Presence of Mind grants additional mana and allows Twitch to keep fighting without worrying about running out of mana. Coup de Grace works better than Last Stand (in most scenarios) because Twitch can quickly shred through multiple targets with his ultimate and bring them below the 40 percent threshold to proc the rune.
The secondary tree for Twitch is Domination, with Taste of Blood and Treasure Hunter as the filler runes. The first gives extra sustain to survive the weak laning phase, while Treasure Hunter accelerates his core items purchases.
Build-wise, Twitch is another of those champions who got his build tweaked. While he does still build some crit items, the best Mythic for him is Guinsoo’s Rageblade, thanks to the on-hit damage and overall hybrid penetration (armor and magic resistance).
You still rush Blade of the Ruined King first for the extra lifesteal but then you get Guinsoo’s Rageblade and Runaan’s Hurricane. Twitch has a fairly similar build to Kog’Maw, even though the former prioritizes attack damage over on-hit damage.
Thus, the rest of his item build usually includes Lord Dominik’s Regard, especially when playing against tanks. Bloodthirster and Guardian Angel are the two typical items to finish the build, although he can swap them out for Wit’s End or Mercurial Scimitar for additional magic resistances.
Ability priority
When you’re playing Twitch, you should go for R>E>Q>W in terms of ability priority. Contaminate (E) is the main ability Twitch uses during his trades for additional damage. Ambush is mostly used to quickly reposition himself or attempt surprise attacks after exiting invisibility; it’s maxed second because of the increased attack speed bonus. Max Venom Cask since it’s only used to apply the slow and additional Deadly Venom stacks.
Game plan
While Twitch is one of the strongest late-game ADCs, his early game is weak and sub-par compared to most marksmen. For this reason, the main goal when playing Twitch is to survive the early game and keep up with the enemy opponents in farm. Even if you drop a few CS, it’s not an issue as long as the enemies don’t snowball out of control.
Once you get to your item spikes, you will become the main damage dealer of your team. Use Ambush (Q) to find the right position to use your auto attacks empowered by your ultimate. If you manage to do that, you will be able to win most of your team fights. To become a strong Twitch player, learning to do quick attack move animations is key to getting maximum damage output while also dodging enemies’ spells.
Xayah
Pros
- New build offers an absurd mid-game spike
- Self-peeling ultimate
- Unstoppable in the right hands
Cons
- Struggles early on
- Mechanically demanding
- One of the hardest champions to master
Xayah is the hidden pick of the patch. With other ADCs likely getting banned often, she will emerge as one of the strongest picks that can be played in champ select.
The fact that she can now build Navori Quicklblade as a second item and take advantage of its passive has pushed her into S-tier territory. That said, she is not as straightforward to play as other champs in this list.
Item build
Xayah’s main keystone rune is Lethal Tempo: just like most marksmen, attack speed is an indispensable stat for her. In the late-game teamfights, the attack speed bonus can amount to hundreds of additional damage to enemy champions.
For the remaining runes, go for Presence of Mind, Legend: Bloodline, and Cut Down. While the first two are standard runes, Xayah is the only champion that goes for Cut Down. This is because she doesn’t need extra damage to kill squishy champions but wants the extra damage against tanks.
When it comes to filler runes, choose Magical Footwear and Biscuit Delivery. The first saves her 300 gold, allowing her to use those resources to rush the two core items. Biscuit Delivery, on the other hand, grants extra mana and health to survive the early laning phase.
Xayah’s build is also undergoing some minor changes. Now that Kraken Slayer is no longer a Mythic item, she now builds Navori Quickblade. That said, her first core item is Stormrazor since it deals absurd damage whenever applying Energized attacks. After that, she builds Navori Quickblade and Rapid Firecannon, granting her 60 percent critical strike chance, ability haste, and two Energized effects. Her three-item spike is one of the best in-game so make sure to take advantage of it.
The last two items of the build are usually Bloodthirster and Guardian’s Angel to get substantial sustain and resistances. Build Lord Dominik’s Regard against tanky team compositions to maximize the damage output.
Ability priority
On Xayah, there is only one ability order: R>E>W>Q. Bladecaller (E) is Xayah’s main damage source that allows her to also root champions. Deadly Plumage (W) gives her a substantial attack speed and movement speed bonus to kite or chase after enemies. Since Double Daggers (Q) only reduces the ability’s cooldown by half a second per level, max it last.
Game plan
Xayah has to wait until the two core items are completed to start dealing consistent damage. Before that, she is likely going to get out damaged by other ADCs. Therefore, her main focus is ensuring she gets farm and the resources needed to reach the crucial two-item spike.
Avoid fighting during the first levels and don’t greed for minions if you’re vulnerable to ganks. While you have the ultimate to save you from an engage or a lethal ability, don’t think you can get away with it every time.
Once you have the E fully maxed and you complete the Navori purchase, you can start playing more aggressively and carry the teamfights. Try to find narrow spaces so that enemies cannot dodge your feathers. Use your spells to get place them on the Rift and wait for the right moment to use Bladecaller (E) to finish off as many enemies as possible.
Jhin
Pros
- Safe laning phase
- Long-range ultimate
- A pleasure to play when fully mastered
Cons
- Reload mechanic takes time to get used to
- Can be shut down easily
Thanks to the new Energized items, Jhin has been on the rise again as a strong ADC, especially at lower Elos. The new Galeforce and the new Stormrazor make him one of the strongest two-item ADCs in the game. Once you try him out, you will find joy kiting champions left and right with the added movement speed.
Item build
Jhin’s reload mechanic doesn’t make him rely on attack speed, so Fleet Footwork is the best rune you can go for. It gives him additional healing and a movement speed bonus that can be used to kite enemies and quickly reposition from dangerous spots.
The minor runes from the Precision tree are Presence of Mind, Legend: Bloodline, and Coup de Grace. We mentioned how attack speed is not effective on Jhin, so getting extra lifesteal is always better. For the secondary rune, choose Sorcery and get Nimbus Cloak and Celerity instead. This will further boost Jhin’s movement speed and increase his chances of escaping from enemy threats or dodging spells.
Jhin’s build now has Stormrazor as the first core item, followed by Galeforce. The Energized attack, in particular, works perfectly with Jhin’s hit-and-run playstyle. Thanks to the added movement speed, he can quickly charge up new auto attacks and shoot down enemies.
Following these two, you always want to get Rapid Firecannon to further increase Jhin’s mobility and attack range. Round off the build with Bloodthirster and Lord Dominik’s Regard to get the 100 percent critical strike chance. If you’re having trouble surviving enemies’ damage, Guardian’s Angel is always the go-to defensive choice.
Ability priority
Jhin has only one max order: R>Q>W>E. Dancing Grenade (Q) is his most important because it allows him to clear minions and also potentially harass enemies with the bouncing mechanic. Deadly Flourish (W) allows Jhin to root people from afar and deal significant damage, so max it second.
Game plan
Jhin doesn’t differ much from other ADCs in terms of item spikes. He’s at his strongest at two items and keeps up his spike until the fourth or fifth item. Therefore, taking advantage of that time window is key to success.
During the early game, try to harass the enemies with grenades or your fourth shot. Even if the enemy manages to trade back slightly, the damage from the critted shot will always be higher. Jhin also offers a great setup or follow-up with his W, making it easy for junglers to gank the lane.
To be a great Jhin player, it’s essential to have a strong understanding of your positioning. Avoid fighting at close distances or in narrow spaces since it kills your kiting potential. During teamfights, you can use your ultimate to initiate a fight or to clean up low-health targets: assess whether your team has good engage tools and adapt accordingly.
