Ask any bot laner which champion is best and you will usually get a very confident answer – and a completely different one five minutes later. That is exactly why a structured LoL ADC tier list is so useful: it gives you a clear, data-backed picture of which carries reliably win games, instead of just repeating whatever your last smurf instalocked.
The LoLNow article starts with a simple question most ADC mains eventually ask themselves:
“Looking for the strongest ADC champions in League of Legends right now? This LoL ADC Tier List… highlights the best bot lane carries for solo queue, ranked climbing, blind picking, and counterpicking.”
That is the core of what a good ADC tier list should do. It is not just a popularity chart. It is a ranking of which champs actually convert lane pressure and item spikes into wins in normal solo queue conditions – messy engages, late roams, random invades, and all.
The same guide explains what it emphasizes when choosing those champions:
“Updated every patch with a focus on lane pressure, DPS uptime, safety, and objective control, it helps you choose the right marksmen (and bot laners) to win lane with your support and carry teamfights from the backline.”
Those four points – lane pressure, DPS uptime, safety, and objective control – are basically the checklist for “does this ADC actually feel like a carry or just a Gold income minion?”
At the top of the LoLNow list are the S-tier carries – the champions that show up in highlight clips, ranked discussions, and, of course, your promos. The article describes them like this:
“S-Tier ADCs offer the ideal mix of safe laning, high DPS uptime, and consistent value in solo queue. They secure lane priority in many matchups, have flexible builds, and stay relevant from early skirmishes all the way to late game teamfights.”
That combination is why these champions feel so oppressive. They are rarely useless early, they spike hard on items, and they keep scaling. On top of that, many S-tier picks bring some form of self-peel or range so you are not instantly doomed when your support roams:
“What makes these bot laners so strong is how often they turn even lanes into winning games. They shred objectives, clean up fights once frontlines have engaged, and punish any team that mispositions around dragons or Baron.”
If you are serious about stacking LP as a bot laner, this is where your “core two” champions usually come from.
Just below that, the A-tier group is full of champs that can look even more explosive if you know what you are doing. LoLNow frames them like this:
“A-Tier ADCs are strong and consistent but usually come with clearer counters, slightly higher execution requirements, or heavier reliance on specific supports and item spikes.”
They are perfect for players who already have decent mechanics and spacing and want more playmaking power or burst windows. The article also points out that, in the right games, they can rival or beat the top tier:
“They can take over games when played well, often matching or outperforming S-Tier picks in the right drafts, but they’re less forgiving when you misposition or fall behind early.”
In practice, a healthy ADC pool for ranked is usually one or two S-tier “workhorses” plus one or two A-tier picks that fit your style – go-in hypercarries, lane bullies, or utility-focused options.
The LoLNow guide is also very honest about the fact that lower-tier champions are not automatically troll. On B-tier, it says:
“B-Tier ADCs are fully viable, but they’re more dependent on draft, matchup, and personal comfort.”
They often need the right support, favorable lanes, or specific enemy comps to really shine. But if one of those B-tier champs is your long-time main, the ranking does not mean you should drop them. In fact, the article stresses that comfort can beat pure tier placement:
“When you have deep comfort on a pick and understand its matchups, wave states, and damage limits, you can easily outperform what the raw tier ranking suggests.”
C-tier is where things get more niche. Those champions tend to require heavy mastery or perfectly tailored comps, and there are usually more flexible alternatives above them. The article’s advice here is pretty reasonable: keep them as pocket picks or for fun, not as the backbone of a climbing strategy.
Anyone who has played a few dozen bot lane games knows the feeling of losing to the “easy” marksman over and over. LoLNow explains why certain carries show up as “OP in low elo”:
“ADCs feel oppressive when they have simple trading patterns, reliable shove, and clear two item spikes. Range and built-in sustain punish poor engage timing and late anti-heal.”
That description alone explains half of your solo queue nightmares. The guide then connects that directly to climbing:
“If you’re climbing from Iron to Platinum, these ADCs are some of the easiest and most consistent champions to win with.”
So if you want a straightforward path to improvement, starting with a couple of those forgiving, spike-based carries is rarely a bad idea. You can always branch into more demanding champions later.
The LoLNow article has an entire section answering the classic question: what actually makes an ADC strong, regardless of the exact patch? It starts bluntly:
“Regardless of patch, the strongest ADC champions tend to share a few core traits that translate well into solo queue wins.”
Those traits line up with what you see from the best bot laners on stage and on streams:
If you look at the champions sitting in S-tier on the LoLNow list, you will see those boxes ticked again and again.
A lot of tier lists stop at “here is the ranking, good luck.” LoLNow goes a bit further and treats its LoL ADC tier list as a practical tool. It frames it like this:
“This tier list isn’t meant to restrict your champion pool; it’s meant to help you build a small, efficient set of ADCs that give you the best chance to win in solo queue.”
The suggested approach is simple and realistic:
Instead of swapping champions every time a small buff or nerf appears on LeagueofLegends.com, you use the tier list to narrow your pool and then build real mastery on that small group.
Once you know which champions sit near the top of the LoLNow rankings, it is worth seeing how they are played at the highest level. That is where LoL Esports comes in. Watching pro ADCs on those same champions gives you concrete examples of wave management, spacing, and objective setups you can adapt to your own games.
If you want to understand why certain marksmen get buffed, nerfed, or reworked, Riot Games often posts dev blogs and features that explain their goals for the role. Combined with live patch notes on LeagueofLegends.com, you get the context for why certain champs move up or down the tier list over time.
At the end of the day, a good ADC tier list will not last-hit for you or dodge that last hook – but it can stop you from wasting time on champions that ask a lot and give very little back in the current state of the game. LoLNow’s version explains its logic, talks honestly about comfort picks and low-elo monsters, and shows you how to build a focused champion pool instead of chasing every balance change.
If you want a practical reference between games, keeping the LoL ADC tier list open alongside official info from LeagueofLegends.com, Riot Games, and LoL Esports gives you both a meta snapshot and a deeper understanding of what actually makes a good bot lane carry. From there, it is all about farming well, respecting engage tools, and letting your item spikes – and champion choices – do the heavy lifting.