League Of Legends: Strongest Late Game Champions (2024)

Riot's League of Leagues has gone toe-to-toe with Father Time and emerged victoriously. Since 2009, the MOBA has remained among the most popular games available and continues to flourish. With over 156 champions to choose from, the selection can certainly be overwhelming for pro players and novices alike. Some of these champions might not be very impressive at first, needing to rely on help from allies in the early stages of the match, but if you're able to weather the initial storm with certain champions, you'll be rewarded greatly for your determination.

These ten champions need a bit of time to get going, but once they do, they can be the difference makers in late-game situations to win the match. While any champion can prove deadly in the hands of a skilled player, the clear advantage in late-game battles is speed and attack power. If you're capable of dealing massive damage quickly or be able to move quickly around the map, you'll be set up for success. Whether you specialize in top or mid lane by yourself, dealing damage as ADC, giving out heals as Support, or roaming through the jungle, these are the best late-game champions to play as and have on your team in League of Legends.

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Updated September 9, 2021, by Avery Lawrence Feyrer: Since the posting of this list, League of Legends has experienced a few updates that have changed how players should treat late-game situations and which champions you should hope to have on your team. In addition to new entries, each champion will have a more extensive look at their builds and abilities.

10 Karthus, The Deathsinger - Jungle

• Runes: Domination and Precision
• Dark Harvest: Deals 20-60 damage based on level, and if the enemy champ is below 50 percent health then it deals adaptive damage and harvests their soul, increasing the damage by five
• Cheap Shot: Attacking champs with impaired movement deals up to 45 bonus true damage
• Eyeball Collection: After an enemy takedown, collect the eyeball to gain an adaptive bonus of Attack Damage or Ability Power, per eyeball collection; max of ten eyeballs in your collection
• Ravenous Hunter: Stacks Bounty Hunter after each enemy takedown, increasing Omnivamp by one and a half percent per stack
• Presence of Mind: When attacking an enemy champ, your mana regeneration increase for four seconds; takedowns restore 15 percent of your maximum mana
• Last Stand: Increases damage to enemy champs by five to 11 percent when you're below 60 percent health

The Harbinger of Oblivion is an undead creature who admires the undeath. Karthus sees his embrace of this perfect merging between life and death as something beautiful. As is the case with most Jungle champs, it takes a little bit of time for them to prove useful in battle. Focus on farming the jungle monsters and unlocking your ultimate, Requiem, quickly.

Once Karthus acquires his ultimate, he truly becomes dominant. Requiem allows him to inflict magic damage to all enemy champs no matter where they are on the map. This can be a devastating ability to pick off any weak opponents trying to retreat to base. On your way to dominating late-game, be sure to focus on upgrading Kathrus's Lay Waste and Defile abilities. The former deals magic damage, while the latter restores his mana or creates a magical aura around him to deal additional damage.

9 Yone, The Unforgotten - Mid

• Runes: Precision and Resolve
• Conqueror: Dealing damage to enemy champs with basic attacks or spells grants two stacks of Conqueror; after acquiring 12 stacks, you can heal for nine percent of the damage you deal
• Triumph: Takedowns restore 12 percent of missing health and reward you with 20 additional gold
• Legend: Alacrity: Obtain Legend stacks for every enemy champ takedown, epic monster takedown, large monster kill, or minion kill that increases Attack Speed by three percent
• Last Stand: Increases damage to enemy champs by five to 11 percent when you're below 60 percent health
• Bone Plating: After taking damage from an enemy champ, the next three attacks or spells inflicted on you will be 30-60 less damage
• Revitalize: Provides five percent heal and shield power

The brother of Yasuo, Yone provides an exceptional choice for anyone who plays mid-lane. Yone excels in dealing physical damage with his Mortal Steel and Spirit Cleave attacks, increasing the amount of physical damage as he levels up. Despite sticking with physical attacks, Yone's abilities allow him to thrust forward to close any space gap between him and his opponent.

After unlocking his ultimate, Fate Sealed, Yone can begin his reign of terror down mid-lane. As the game goes longer, Yone's physical attacks become stronger until he's a one-champ wrecking crew. It's recommended to upgrade his Mortal Steel and Spirit Cleave attacks first to maximize his offensive potency, and then tackle his Soul Unbound ability. There's nothing against that ability, as it allows Yone to become transparent to inflict damage and increase movement speed, but the faster he's able to deal out the big damage the better.

8 Azir, The Emperor Of The Sands - Mid

• Runes: Sorcery and Domination
• Arcane Comet: After inflicting damage on an enemy champ, the ability hurls a comet at their location that deals between 30-100 Adaptive Damage, based on your level
• Manaflow Band: Attacking an enemy champ with an ability will permanently increase your max mana by 25, up to a max of 250
• Transcendence: Gain Ability Haste and takedown bonuses at levels five, eight, and 11
• Scorch: Your next ability with cause the enemy champion to be set ablaze, dealing 15-35 bonus magic damage, based on your level
• Cheap Shot: Attacking champs with impaired movement deals up to 45 bonus true damage
• Ravenous Hunter: Stacks Bounty Hunter after each enemy takedown, increasing Omnivamp by one and a half percent per stack

As is the case with most of these champions, they tend to be a bit on the weaker side in the early stages of the game. Azir starts with low damage and remains squishy throughout most of the time, but with the right items and attack upgrades, can become a destructive force. When starting, you want to focus on upgrading Azir's Arise, which will increase his Attack Speed. If the Sand Emperor has more than three Sand Soldiers summoned, his Attack Speed is enhanced even further.

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Although his ultimate doesn't pack the heaviest of punches, it still comes in handy. Emperor's Divide allows Azir to summon a wall of armored soldiers that will knock back enemies and also deal magic damage. The wall will remain for five seconds to block the path of enemy champions, which can also allow Azir's allies to escape if they're in danger. Regardless, a perfectly positioned Azir in a team fight can melt down the health of the adversaries in a couple of seconds.

7 Vladimir, The Crimson Reaper - Mid

• Runes: Sorcery and Inspiration
• Phase Rush: Hitting an enemy champion with three attacks or separate abilities within four seconds grants an increase in Movement Speed between 15 and 40 percent, based on level, and 75 percent Slow Resistance
• Nimbus Cloak: After casting a Summoner Spell, you gain an increase in Movement Speed that lasts for two seconds and allows you to pass through other units
• Transcendence: Gain Ability Haste and takedown bonuses at levels five, eight, and 11
• Gathering Storm: Every ten minutes you gain additional Ability Power
• Magical Footwear: You get free Slightly Magical Footwear at the 12-minute mark, but you cannot buy boots before then; for each takedown, you acquire the boots 45 seconds sooner that grants an additional ten Movement Speed

If you haven't caught on to the trend, well here it is: quite a few of the premiere late-game champions are predominately in the mid-lane. Next up on the mid-lane carousel is The Crimson Reaper, Vladimir. When used properly, Vladimir can be downright annoying for enemy teams with his Life Steal abilities, sapping the life of his opponents and converting it into health restoration for himself.

On top of draining lifeforce, Vladimir is also effective from long-range with Tides of Blood. The champion charges up an excessive amount of blood and fires blood missiles at enemies that deal a wide range of damage depending on how long he charges up the attack. Vladimir possesses a unique ultimate ability, Hemoplague, that not only inflicts damage but also heals him as well.

6 Kassadin, The Void Walker - Mid

• Runes: Domination and Resolve
• Electrocute: Hitting a champ with three separate attacks or abilities within three seconds will apply bonus adaptive damage
• Taste of Blood: When you damage an enemy champ, restore between 18 and 35 health based on level
• Eyeball Collection: After an enemy takedown, collect the eyeball to gain an adaptive bonus of Attack Damage or Ability Power, per eyeball collection; max of ten eyeballs in your collection
• Ultimate Hunter: Your ultimate gains an increase in Ability Haste, plus additional Ability Haste increases per Bounty Hunter stack; Bounty Hunter stacks are earned the first time you defeat an enemy champion
• Bone Plating: After taking damage from an enemy champ, the next three attacks or spells inflicted on you will be 30-60 less damage
• Overgrowth: Restore health by absorbing life essence from monsters or enemy minions that die near you

Kassadin lost his family to the Abyss so, to fight back, he combined a series of forbidden technological pieces and magical artifacts to become one of the strongest creatures to step on Summoner's Rift. He is one of the most known Hyper-Carries in the game.

Kassadin has a weak lane phase but when he reaches level 11, he should have enough power to start ambushing and wiping out squishier champions. By the time Kassadin reaches level 16, he becomes an absolute force to reckon with. If you max out Kassadin's Force Pulse in the early game, he should have an easier time holding his ground until he reaches his optimal stage. His ultimate cooldown will be quite low, so take advantage of teleporting around the map with Riftwalker dealing substantial magic damage to unsuspecting opponents.

5 Veigar, The Tiny Master Of Evil - Mid

• Runes: Domination and Sorcery
• Electrocute: Hitting a champ with three separate attacks or abilities within three seconds will apply bonus adaptive damage
• Taste of Blood: When you damage an enemy champ, restore between 18 and 35 health based on level
• Eyeball Collection: After an enemy takedown, collect the eyeball to gain an adaptive bonus of Attack Damage or Ability Power, per eyeball collection; max of ten eyeballs in your collection
• Ravenous Hunter: Stacks Bounty Hunter after each enemy takedown, increasing Omnivamp by one and a half percent per stack
• Manaflow Band: Hitting an enemy champ with an ability permanently increases your max mana up to 250; once you reach the 250 max, restore one percent of your missing mana every five seconds
• Transcendence: Gain Ability Haste and takedown bonuses at levels five, eight, and 11

Champions that scale infinitely always have the potential to one-shot targets during the late game. Any skill or passive that allows the champion to get even stronger as the game progresses makes playing at a faster pace a requirement to the adversaries. And if they fail, someone like Veigar will be ready to one-shot anyone. As Veigar connects with his Baleful Strike, he'll stack Phenomenal Evil that will reduce the cooldown for his Dark Matter ability. A deadly combo of Veigar's abilities is trapping enemies with his Event Horizon and then unleashing the bolt of dark energy to deal solid magic damage.

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Surprisingly, Veigar is even more powerful if the opposing team has characters that scale with AP. The stronger the enemy mages become, the deadlier Veigar's ultimate is. So, no matter what, if picked for the right match Veigar will be a problem to his adversaries in the late game, even though Deathfire Grasp is no longer a thing.

4 Senna, The Redeemer - Support

• Runes: Inspiration and Precision
• Glacial Augment: Basic attacking a champion slows them for two seconds
• Magical Footwear: You get free Slightly Magical Footwear at the 12-minute mark, but you cannot buy boots before then; for each takedown, you acquire the boots 45 seconds sooner that grants an additional ten Movement Speed
• Biscuit Delivery: Gain a Total Biscuit of Everlasting Will every two minutes, until the six-minute mark; Biscuits restore ten percent of your missing health and mana
• Approach Velocity: Gain a boost in Movement Speed towards nearby enemy champs that are movement impaired
• Presence of Mind: When attacking an enemy champ, your mana regeneration increase for four seconds; takedowns restore 15 percent of your maximum mana
• Legend: Alacrity: Obtain Legend stacks for every enemy champ takedown, epic monster takedown, large monster kill, or minion kill that increases Attack Speed by three percent

Champions with a mechanic that allows them to scale forever can never be considered weak in the late game. This is why even though she was originally designed to be a support, Senna can also deal solid damage against her enemies. And although her ultimate, Dawning Shadow, might not be one of the top 10 in the game, it's extremely effective in dealing damage to enemy champs while also healing her fellow allies.

Units that die near Senna might drop a soul which she can collect to increase her attack damage, attack range, and critical chance. Eventually, Senna can become a hybrid support-ADC with her combination of incredible attack speed and range. Senna is very flexible, as her Piercing Darkness (which should be maxed first) can hurt enemies but also heal her teammates, similar to her ultimate.

3 Jax, Grandmaster At Arms - Top

• Runes: Precision and Inspiration
• Conqueror: Dealing damage to enemy champs with basic attacks or spells grants two stacks of Conqueror; after acquiring 12 stacks, you can heal for nine percent of the damage you deal
• Triumph: Takedowns restore 12 percent of missing health and reward you with 20 additional gold
• Legend: Alacrity: Obtain Legend stacks for every enemy champ takedown, epic monster takedown, large monster kill, or minion kill that increases Attack Speed by three percent
• Last Stand: Increases damage to enemy champs by five to 11 percent when you're below 60 percent health
• Magical Footwear: You get free Slightly Magical Footwear at the 12-minute mark, but you cannot buy boots before then; for each takedown, you acquire the boots 45 seconds sooner that grants an additional ten Movement Speed
• Time Warp Tonic: Consuming a potion or biscuit grants 50 percent of its health or mana restoration immediately and also gains a five percent increase in Movement Speed while under their effects

The first champion that spends the majority of their time in the top lane, Jax can be a handful for opponents or a godsend for allies. By using his Leap Strike, Jax literally leaps toward an enemy to deal physical damage, or he can utilize this ability to escape any danger. But what makes Jax even more dangerous is his ability to charge his attacks to cause more destruction.

It's recommended to upgrade Jax's Empower skill first because it charges his next attack or Leap Strike to deal additional bonus physical damage. The same can be said for his ultimate, Grandmaster's Might. In its passive state, every third attack for Jax to deal additional magic damage, but when activated, he also receives a boost in armor and magic resistance for eight seconds. Jax is an incredible mix of defensive and offensive capabilities that can take over late-game situations.

2 Nasus, The Curator Of The Sands - Top

• Runes: Precision and Resolve
• Fleet Footwork: Attacking and moving builds Energy stacks; once you've collected 100 stacks, your next attack is Energized which will heal you up to 100 health and grant a swift increase of 20 percent Movement Speed for one second
• Triumph: Takedowns restore 12 percent of missing health and reward you with 20 additional gold
• Legend: Tenacity: Gain five percent Tenacity, plus an additional two and a half percent for every Legend stack
• Last Stand: Increases damage to enemy champs by five to 11 percent when you're below 60 percent health
• Second Wind: Restores four percent of missing health over ten seconds after taking damage from an enemy champ
• Unflinching: Gain a ten percent increase in Tenacity and Slow Resist; these can increase up to 30 percent depending on missing health

For quite some time, Nasus has remained a top option for players who wish to control the top lane. The Curator of the Sands is an extremely strong physical champion that can earn additional gold and deal bonus damage with his Syphoning Strike ability. His three abilities work in complete unison with each other, as Nasus can slow his enemies with Wither then hit them with a one-two combo with his Syphoning Strike and Spirit Fire. The latter ignites an area in flames, dealing magic damage to anyone inside the designated area.

Nasus has one of the most powerful physical ultimate abilities in the game with Fury of the Sands. When activated, Nasus becomes supercharged with energy and grows in actual size. His health, armor, and magic resistance are greatly increased, and the cooldown for his Syphoning Strike is cut in half. When used properly, Nasus can become an absolute tank in the top lane and control much of the late-game.

1 Vayne, The Night Hunter - ADC

• Runes: Precision and Domination
• Press the Attack: After hitting an enemy champion with three consecutive basic attacks, you'll deal additional adaptive damage between 40 and 180, based on level, and can also make them vulnerable
• Triumph: Takedowns restore 12 percent of missing health and reward you with 20 additional gold
• Legend: Alacrity: Obtain Legend stacks for every enemy champ takedown, epic monster takedown, large monster kill, or minion kill that increases Attack Speed by three percent
• Coup de Grace: Deals eight percent more damage to champions with less than 40 percent health
• Taste of Blood: When you damage an enemy champ, restore between 18 and 35 health based on level
• Ravenous Hunter: Stacks Bounty Hunter after each enemy takedown, increasing Omnivamp by one and a half percent per stack

The remorseless, ruthless Shauna Vayne secures her place as the best late-game champion in League of Legends. Vayne does decent damage compared to most from the onset of the match, while also being able to constantly turn invisible during team fights, and knock people away. As the only ADC listed, it's clear that Vayne excels in one category that most other champions do not: dealing damage.

The secret to Vayne's high damage output is her Silver Bolts. Her bolts are a passive ability that causes bonus damage on every third consecutive hit. The important thing to remember is that bonus damage is actually true damage based on the target's maximum health. With that being said, it's extremely important to first upgrade her Silve Bolts to consistently have high damage in her basic attacks. On top of Vayne increasing her damage through Silver Bolts, her ultimate ability, Final Hour, also gives her a boost in attack damage that can be extended if a champion she damages is killed within three seconds. Before you know it, Vayne will turn into a freight train of destruction and will quickly turn the tides in most late-game situations.

NEXT: League Of Legends: Best Top Lane Players Of All Time, Ranked