Least Played Champions | LoL

Riot Games has introduced over 150 champions to League of Legends, with the number increasing each year. 

Adding new characters is essential for MOBA games to stay exciting and shift the meta regularly, giving the game a refreshing feel despite the core mechanics staying the same. 

However, a large number of champions also mean that there is bound to be some who will be placed at the bottom of the popularity tier list. Here are some of the least played champions LoL.

Aurelion Sol | Pickrate 0.5%

Aurelion Sol takes the top spot on our list because he has always been the least popular champion in the history of League of Legends. This champion has almost no presence, be it in solo queue or other game modes.

Most players attribute it to the fact that this champion has very little appeal in his overall champion identity.

His abilities, aesthetics, and even competitive value are unimpressive at first glance, even though he is a powerful champion at the hands of a master.

Aurelion Sol isn’t a champion that’s subpar in terms of his performance on Summoners Rift, but his abilities do give players a lot to think about. He is considered one of the most difficult champions to play in the game, giving him even less appeal in all ranked tiers.

The reason why Aurelion Sol has such a low win rate is that curious players try him out once in the mid lane only to never play him again in the future.

Shen | Pickrate 0.5%

Shen is a champion that doesn’t appeal to solo queue players because his abilities force him to be a team player, which is something that players in solo queue do not tend to be.

The champion also doesn’t have any flashy skills or anything that catches the eye of the average League of Legends player aside from the aesthetics, so many people tend to pass him up. Besides, if you were given the option to play a ninja-themed champion in League of Legends, you’d rather go for Zed or Akali.

The most unappealing part about Shen is that he doesn’t have any solid damage abilities (aside from his E). This means that he mainly relies on his empowered basic attacks to deal damage in combination with his hard CC.

For many League of Legends fans, not having an ability that deals damage is a deal-breaker. Fortunately, the champion is popular in high-tier competitions like the World Championships due to his capabilities as a team-based champion.

Ivern | Pickrate 0.6%

When Riot Games made Ivern, they were thinking about making a champion with a unique jungling style to give a little spice to the role. Unfortunately, Ivern’s kit is mainly seen as weird by many League of Legends fans, and the thought of playing him makes the thought of jungling an absolute chore.

He’s like a champion specifically requested by a PETA or something to help raise awareness that slaying monsters in an RPG are a bad thing. That, in itself, makes you want to play a more ruthless champion instead.

The only people who would play Ivern are the type who claims not to like mainstream strategies or self-proclaimed mad scientists that like to do weird tactics on the rift.

There are also the League of Legends memers who simply want to have fun. There’s nothing wrong with that but the moment you pick Ivern, you can expect that there’s a 30% chance one of your teammates will dodge the game rather than going through a 20-40 minute game with an Ivern.

Rumble | Pickrate 0.6%

Rumble always finds himself at the bottom of the rankings in any League of Legends tier list. Whether it’s popularity, win rate, ban rate, or anything that requires himself to be ranked, he’s always at the bottom.

Luckily, when we rank the least played champions in LoL, he’s one of the names that immediately come to mind.

This might not exactly be something worth celebrating, but this champion has seen very little play that it’s easy to forget that he exists sometimes. Maybe that’s why Tristana hasn’t taken an interest in him either.

The main reason why Rumble is so low in the rankings is that he is extremely difficult to play. If we were to rank the most difficult champs in League of Legends, he’d be high on the list. Even though he has incredible damage potential and a powerful kit, he’s tough to master, which is why his win rate is so terrible. There are so many things that players need to keep in mind when playing him that you’d rather just play something else altogether.

Kayle | Pickrate 0.6%

Riot Games created Kayle as a champion that has a solid win condition by the time she reaches Level 16.

The problem with this concept is that solo queue players want to play the game as soon as it starts and be proactive around the map once they reach level 6.

Kayle is duty-bound to farm minions until she gets to the late game, which turns most people off once they hear about it.

If Kayle even tries to stop farming and start joining fights, she becomes useless throughout the game. It’s like a less impressive version of Nasus.

It’s amusing once Kayle reaches Level 16 because she starts melting down even the healthiest tank on the enemy team.

However, no one will wait on her to reach the late game since most games end by the 25-minute mark nowadays, so she’ll just waste her time playing PvE.

In higher ELOs, junglers and mid laners tend to camp Kayle lanes to prevent her from getting free EXP. This is why she’s one of the least played champions in the game.

Elise | Pickrate 0.7%

We know Elise used to be one of the most popular junglers in League of Legends, but ever since Riot Games introduced more AP junglers, she started appearing less in champion select screens all over the world.

She used to be the Queen of monster ladies in the jungle, but Evelynn’s rework has made it so that all eyes are focused on her instead. Poor Elise badly needs a rework if she wants to make a grand comeback that will boost her popularity standings on the rift.

Anything Elise can do, another champion can do better. There’s no reason to play Elise in ranked games because there is no valid situation where she is the better choice of jungle champs.

Right now, the only reason why players still choose to play her is because of her aesthetics and the fact that many Elise players are loyal to their Queen.