While there are many Champions in League of Legends that are known for their beginner-friendly kits and all-round reliability, there are also Champions that are notorious for the exact opposite: being incredibly difficult to play and master!

The main draw of difficult Champions is that they virtually always provide players with a “high-risk high-reward” experience. And by that, we mean that you’re either going to go 20/0 and climb to Challenger…

Or you’re going to end up going 0/20 and become a permanent resident of Iron.

Jokes aside, if you’re interested in flexing your mechanical muscles, you’ll want to pick up one of the Champions below. These Champions are widely considered to be the most difficult Champions in League of Legends (and they come with a very high reward once mastered):

5. Lee Sin

First up is none other than Lee Sin! Lee Sin is an incredibly popular Champion in every elo, and he’s also renowned for his difficulty. If you want to avoid kicking your 1% health target away from your turret and into the safety of their teammates, you’ll need to become a master of his mechanics. This is especially the case for his Q skillshot — his whole kit is pretty reliant on landing this ability.

You’ll also need to learn the ins and outs of his combos, from the iconic Insec Kick to ward hopping. These combos give Lee Sin fantastic carry potential and allow him to thrive in various matchups and game situations. However, they’re incredibly hard to master and require a precise aim and quick reaction times. You’ll also need to be able to perform them consistently.

4. Nidalee

Nidalee is an aggressive, early-game jungler who particularly excels at counter jungling. In the right hands (ahem, paws), she can effortlessly dominate the map and prevent the enemy jungler from farming, placing deep wards, and ganking her team — all things that put her allies at a major advantage.

However, to pull off this early game, you need to land her spears… And if you thought Lee Sin’s Q was hard to land? Well, you’ll probably be traumatized by Nidalee’s spears. The hit box is extremely misleading, and you have to launch them from a far distance to ensure they deal enough damage. It’s tough stuff.

What’s more, you’ll also need excellent macro to even know when (and where) to invade throughout the game. This is something that doesn’t come naturally with practice like mechanics do, and must instead be honed through experience, reading in-depth guides, and spectating high-elo junglers or pro games.

3. Gangplank

Gangplank is a late game Champion who particularly thrives at dishing out health bar-destroying AoE damage. In fact, once he has a few items under his belt, he can quite literally 1v5 the enemy team and obliterate ADCs in seconds.

While Gangplank’s kit may seem simple at first glance, it’s actually one of the hardest kits to master. His barrels, which are the main source of his damage, are incredibly complex. They require you to chain them together at the perfect time to catch your targets out.

There are also plenty of barrel combos you need to learn, all suitable for different situations and ranging in difficulty. SaltMining’s dedicated barrel mechanics guide covers the main ones, if you want to delve further.

But you don’t just have to master his barrels; you also need to know how to effectively manage his passive in trades, play around his powerspikes, and turn bushes into deadly “traps.” You even need to have exceptional map awareness to make full use of global ultimate.

Put simply: Gangplank isn’t for the fainthearted.

2. Qiyana

Qiyana is an assassin who brags a nifty engage tool, fantastic CC, and phenomenal burst damage. While her kit has everything an assassin could possibly want, it does come at a price. Her abilities are notoriously difficult, and her playstyle revolves around impeccable spatial awareness.

You need to position carefully, be confident with all her different elements, and make full use of the environment around you to unleash her full potential.

Qiyana also lacks an escape tool like traditional assassins. While she does have some invisibility at her disposal, she can’t dash in and out of a fight as effortlessly as the likes of Zed and Akali. She has to commit to any decisions she makes — both the good and the game-ending bad ones.

1. Yasuo

Let’s be real. This list wouldn’t be complete without a mention of Yasuo, the ultimate 0/10 powerspike Champion.

Yasuo has earned a reputation among the LoL community for drawing in players with his charming aesthetics and alluring playstyle… And then leading them on loss streak after loss streak.

Unsurprisingly, the reason for this particular ‘phenomenon’ is Yasuo’s high skill ceiling. You need to weave in auto attacks while landing your skillshots, have lightning-fast reflexes to pull off various combos, and also know how to “predict” your opponent’s attacks to block them with Windwall.

And to make things even more difficult? You need to know how to position and kite during teamfights. Yasuo is very squishy, meaning a single misstep is going to leave you looking at the defeat screen.

Closing Thoughts

What do you think of our list of the most difficult Champions in League of Legends? What has your experience been with these Champions, and would you take them to your ranked games? Join our Discord community to let us know your thoughts, and feel free to share any other Champions you find insanely hard to play!