How many LoL champions are there?

The cast of characters in League continues to grow and evolve.

Image via Riot Games

Nearly 13 years after its original release, League of Legends remains one of the most popular games in the world, with millions playing every month. That is mostly down to new champions, with the Riot Games MOBA regularly getting new characters.

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Every few months, Riot teases the release of a new League character coming. Each champ has various abilities and is intended to be played in specific roles around the Summoner’s Rift map, as well as in limited-time modes like Nexus Blitz and more recently the extremely popular League Arena. The devs also issue “reworks” for champs who have aged poorly, updating their visuals and abilities to modernize them.

At launch, League only had 40 champions, many of which have since changed quite a lot. Back then, Riot released champions on a very frequent schedule, quickly leading to a surplus of unique characters to play.

How many champions are there in League?

There are now 168 different champions on the League roster, despite the Riot team gradually slowing its character release schedule to around five or six a year.

This gradual drip when it comes to new Rift debuts should continue through 2024 as well, so we can expect to hit the 170 mark by the time the end of this next League season wraps up. Then, if things stay on a similar path through the ’20s, the MOBA’s ballooning roster could boast 200 unique characters by around 2029.

Which new League champs came out recently?

Smolder's base splash art.
This little guy nearly counts as two because he brings his mom to fights. Image via Riot Games

The three most recent League champions added to the roster were Aurora (July 2024), Smolder the Fiery Fledgling (January 2024), and Hwei the Visionary (December 2023).

Each has brought something new to the League experience, ranging from Smolder’s ultimate where he summons his mom to battle to Aurora’s Spirit-themed powers or Hwei having a dozen abilities to use instead of the usual three to four.

The 2023 League season was actually one of the quieter years when it came to new debuts too. On top of those listed above, only Briar, Naafiri, and Milio landed on the Rift. The 12 months before were a little busier, with K’Sante, Nilah, Bel’Veth, Renata Glasc, and powerful AD carry Zeri all arriving from January to December.

This article will be updated as new League champions are released.

Author
Image of Isaac McIntyre
Isaac McIntyre
Isaac McIntyre is the Aussie Editor at Dot Esports. He previously worked in sports journalism at Fairfax Media in Mudgee and Newcastle for six years before falling in love with esports—an ever-evolving world he's been covering since 2018. Since joining Dot, he's twice been nominated for Best Gaming Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism Awards and continues to sink unholy hours into losing games as a barely-Platinum AD carry. When the League servers go down he'll sneak in a few quick hands of the One Piece card game. Got a tip for us? Email: isaac@dotesports.com.
Author
Image of Ethan Garcia
Ethan Garcia
Ethan Garcia is a freelance writer for Dot Esports, having been part of the company for three years. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Magazine Journalism from Syracuse University and specializes particularly in coverage of League of Legends, various Nintendo IPs, and beyond.