If you’re determined to make it above Masters (aka the top 0.5%), then you’ll want to consider a high skill ceiling Champion. There are several Champions in the game who are known for their high skill ceilings. However, some are better equipped for this season than others. We’ll provide a rundown of the best in this post.
Some players prefer to “spin to win” their way to Victory, or in the case of Yuumi, hitchhike their way to the Nexus. While beginner-friendly Champions certainly have their perks, they do come with a drawback: They lack a high skill ceiling. This can hinder your climb to the top in the long run.
If you’re determined to make it above Masters (aka the top 0.5%), then you’ll want to consider a high skill ceiling Champion. While they involve more mechanical complexity, they truly have limitless potential. And once mastered? They will allow you to effortlessly carry your games, no matter your elo.
There are several Champions in the game who are known for their high skill ceilings. However, some are better equipped for this season than others. We’ll provide a rundown of the best below, covering their abilities, difficulty, and why they offer limitless potential in the right hands.
Thresh is famous for being the most difficult support Champion in the game — and there’s a pretty good reason for this. Practically every ability in his kit requires a great degree of both mechanical skill and macro awareness. In particular, his hook is notoriously hard to land. It has a significant (and visible) windup animation and a narrow hitbox, as well as a much slower travel speed when compared to the likes of a Blitzcrank’s hook.
While mastering Thresh may feel torturous (and make even his unholy lantern look like heaven), the payoff is certainly worth it. His kit offers remarkable playmaking potential and allows him to take on any role for his team. He can play offensively and secure game-changing picks with his hook, serve as a damage-absorbing frontline, or play defensively and peel for his ADC.
Even Thresh’s lantern has limitless potential and allows for versatile gameplay. While its primary use is to save an overextended ally from certain death — provided they remember to take it, that is — he can also use it to set up an engage, disrupt his target’s positioning, or create a cheesy gank path for the jungler.
To top it off? Thresh isn’t dependent on his ADC getting ahead like most other supports. Even if his ADC falls behind, he can effortlessly roam to apply pressure across the map and help his other lanes.
Lee Sin’s kit at first glance seems like it’s pretty simple. However, if you’re looking to use him to his fullest potential? He quickly becomes one of the most mechanically complex Champions in the game, with a virtually limitless skill ceiling.
This is primarily thanks to his combos. He can quite literally leverage his combos to control his target’s every move, isolate them, and catch them out from any angle. He can even use combos like the iconic inSec kick to knock his target straight into the clutches of his teammates.
However, these combos require a great deal of precision and game sense. One wrong misstep can leave Lee Sin vulnerable and with no means to escape… And likely featured on an “Iron Spectates” montage.
Lee Sin also has one of the strongest early games around. He can clear jungle camps quickly, has phenomenal 1v1 potential vs the opposing jungler, and can even gank with ease from the very first few levels. In short, he has everything he could possibly need to snowball himself (and his teammates) to victory before the 30-minute mark.
But again, this limitless “snowballing” potential comes at a price: He falls off hard. This adds another layer of complexity, as it means you have the added pressure of time. If you’re not able to use your early game advantage to close out the game quickly, the enemy team has a good chance of making a comeback.
Riven is the queen of versatility in the top lane — she can split push, duel, and teamfight, and can build just as well as an assassin as a tank. This versatility means she can suit any team comp and has plenty of possible win conditions.
She also has phenomenal roaming potential due to her high mobility, especially during the early stages of the game. Even if her opponent decides to hug their turret, she can apply pressure elsewhere on the map through ganks, pressuring out the opposing jungler, or helping her own jungler secure objectives.
What’s more, Riven has one of the most powerful all-in engages in the game. Her R quite literally allows her to execute low-health Champions with a single click, and she can combine her dashes and W to stun multiple targets at a time.
However, like every Champion featured here, this is only the case in the right hands. To truly make the most of her kit, you need to master a painstaking number of combos alongside the art of animation cancelling. In fact, Riven’s kit (and damage) relies on ability cancellations more than any other Champion in League.
If you’re a veteran LoL player, you’ll be all too familiar with the sense of dread that comes when an ally locks in Yasuo. The reason? A great Yasuo can turn any game in their favor, no matter the team comp and matchup… But a bad Yasuo? They’ll end up 0/10 in a matter of minutes.
Let’s touch on his strengths first. Played right, Yasuo has all the tools needed to destroy any enemy in his way. He’s got heaps of damage, high mobility, great gap closing potential, and reliable CC. His windwall even lets him block all incoming projectiles for several seconds, allowing him to hold his own against ranged Champions.
His multi-man stun ultimate is also one of the strongest abilities in the game. If he manages to land it, it’s almost a given that he’ll secure a kill (or five).
….And now it’s time for reality to set in.
Yasuo’s playstyle is insanely hard to pull off effectively. The way his abilities work mean you need to be conscious of several additional factors on top of the basics. For instance, you need to manage your stacks, keep track of the minion waves for possible dash paths, and determine which abilities need to be windwalled.
It also involves making a lot of split-second decisions in a pressurized environment. Often, these decisions have to be based on predictions like the enemy’s pathing, and if you make the wrong call? Yasuo isn’t a forgiving Champion by any means and your LP will quickly pay the price.
Thresh, Lee Sin, Riven, and Yasuo are all Champions with steep learning curves, but if you’re willing to grind it out in the practice tool? You’ll unlock their limitless potential and will be able to confidently carry practically any match.
Rather than fearing counter matchups or unfavorable team comps, the only thing you’ll have to fear is the dreaded “champ banned” sound effect.
Jokes aside, if you’re feeling ready to master a high skill ceiling Champion, be sure to check out the rest of our blog (https://dignitas.gg/articles). You can find plenty of dedicated guides on the Champions above.
Here are a few reads to get you started:
