I started playing League of Legends as an ADC main in Season 2. However, every season it gets harder and harder to play ADCs and carry with them. One of the main reasons for this is that Riot wants to make the game more team focused rather then solo focused. What this means is solo carrying is getting harder. Even when you are fed you will need your teams help to win the game.

Biggest Weakness?

As of now the biggest weakness of an ADC is there are not many choices of who to play. For example, many people try first picking Jhin as an ADC or banning him. The reason why he is so sought after is because of his CC potential. We are at a point in League of Legends where almost every champion has some sort of CC. one of the best way to counter CC is with your own CC. So many players are choosing ADCs with CC in some way, such as Jhin's W, Miss Fortune's E, or Samira’s knock up. If you ever faced a lane with Jhin and Morgana, you know how hard that lane can be. One root from either and you are stunned for a good 5 seconds, and could probably go grab a cup of water while you are at it.

Now you may be asking, "This does not seem to be a weakness? This seems good!" The issue is that many of the ADCs are not viable anymore, at least not in solo queue. Champions such as Kog'Maw, Sivir, or even Jinx struggle a lot. The other issue for ADCs is if the team has an assassin it is very hard to survive in teamfights without being able to clearly communicate with your team. This is especially true immobile champs such as Jhin and Miss Fortune. If an assassin catches them out or goes for them in a fight, it is very hard to escape, especially if your team does not help.

However, as an ADC, you still do tons of damage and are important to the game. Your main focus should be objectives. That means getting turrets, dragons and baron. You also have the responsibility of poking the enemy team since you have the longest range in your team.

When Should I First Back? What Do I Buy?

Ideally you want to do your first back when you have 1300 gold. The reason for this is because you can fully buy your first item (a Noonquiver or BF Sword) and do tons of damage to your enemy, especially if they were not able to do a full a buy. You should be able to poke them a lot and force them to miss a lot of CS. Make sure river and dragon are warded, because they will probably ask for ganks. Try to freeze lane near your turret to be safe. For almost all ADCs, your first item will be Noonquiver. This item allows you to get a bit of attack speed and damage which is greatly beneficial. Also always keep in mind, your main priority should be to farm. Missing CS just to poke the enemy is not worth it. I have seen many people just focus on poking then losing a lot of CS and putting them at a disadvantage.

11.3 ADC Tier List

Now I know what you are thinking. “He put my pocket pick below S?”. Hear me out, the champs I labelled as S are both the most picked champs and all have different things about them that make them S. Whether it's their CC, agility, or just their pure damage. I am also aware depending on the team comp any champion can become viable (expect Teemo). Joking aside, these champs are a safe pick and will work with most team comps.

I Am Behind What Do I Do?

Well, this depends on how behind you are. Never forfeit a game though, even if you are behind and think its unwinnable. All it takes is one baron steal or one good teamfight to win. Keep in mind the longer you stall the game the higher chance there is you will catch up, the enemy team can only buy so much. What I mean by this, is the enemy will have the advantage early game because of the gold difference but later on in the game the gold difference will close, especially once they are full build. Then they have nothing to buy anymore so you can catch up. Many times, people want to forfeit when they are only behind a few kills. Also spamming FF will not help your team morale or help them improve.

You should prioritize focusing on CS without dying and rely on your team to help you catch up. Try standing under tower and farming the best you can. If your team is doing well overall, then they can carry you early game and can help you in teamfights. Once you catch up then you will be strong enough again. It is important to remember the game does not revolve around you, you have four other teammates. You have to trust that they will do good and help you catch up. Sometimes Junglers will let you secure the kill when they gank so you can get shutdown gold which would help you catch up.

What to Do in Teamfights?

ADCs shine in teamfights. You are pretty much preparing and farming the whole game for your team fights so it’s important to stay alive. Always try positioning yourself behind the team. Make sure not to get caught out by the enemy team’s assassin (if they have one). Assassins will go out of their way to kill you even if they die after. Champions like Jhin and Cait are really good because they can still do tons of damage and be far away from the enemies and it’s hard for assassins to catch them. It's important to never engage fights or face check enemy jungle. If your team is not buying sweepers, buy one yourself and make sure to check your jungle for enemy wards. Try to be in the back line near your support, who will be able to shield or protect you in case an assassin goes in on you and try’s killing you. Always stand behind the tank so he can take the chip damage. If you get poked or CCed, you will have no chance of survival and will force your team to fight. Your mid laner should be behind your tank since they can poke the enemy and CC if someone tries to engage the tank. For the jungler, it really depends on what kind of jungler you have, but for the most part they should be near the mid laner so if they stun the jungler can kill the enemy.

End Notes

Overall, even though you may feel as ADCs are struggling to keep up, they still do tons of damage. Many of the new items help ADCs (however they also help assassins too). The newer champions seem to be more viable and better picks. Many of the old champs also have some sort of slows or CC. Just always make sure to choose for your team comp.