Bot lane meta has stayed the same for a few patches, yet two bot lane picks are ascending in this League of Legends Patch 13.18. Learn who they are in this list of Best ADCs to climb ranks (the reason WHY is not what you expect).
The buffs to Tryndamere and Spear of Shojin from the latest patch were just a little bit too much for Riot's taste, so they are nerfing these two along with Jarvan IV, the biggest winner of the bruiser items buffs.
This League of Legends Patch 13.18 is going to be a minor one with adjustments to a few overperformers and minor buffs to items/champions. The reason for this was explained by Riot Phroxzon, Balance Team Boss, who stated their overall happiness on the current meta. This also makes sense if we take into account that we are one patch away from Worlds (13.19), so the last thing we want is a sudden meta-shift like with Juggernauts back in 2015 (It was that bad).
Talking about Worlds, three popular picks of the tournament are getting buffs: Irelia, Kennen, and Gwen (Jungle one).
Unlike other entries, we are going to have interesting changes to bot lane picks and items in this patch, especially to one feathered champion. Keep reading to find out.
Changes to the ADC role in League of Legends Patch 13.18
Let's start with the nerfs. First, is Rell ever going to catch a break? Even after changes to Evenshroud from the last patch that made her worse, she's still getting another round of nerfs.
- E: Full Tilt
- Movement speed reduced: 15% – 25% >>> 12% – 20%
With that in mind, Blitzcrank will continue his rampage in this League of Legends Patch 13.18.
Everfrost Blitzcrank is still dominating the bot lane.
Now, let's talk about balance changes to actual ADCs. There's one massive nerfs to a feathered champion, and as you can guess it's Xayah.
- Base Stats
- Base Health reduced: 660 >>> 630
- Health growth increased: 102 >>> 106
- E: Bladecaller
- Cooldown increased: 13 – 9 seconds >>> 11 – 9 seconds
With this change alone her spot as one of the best ADCs is no longer the case. Don't worry we have two replacements ready.
In regards to Items, there is one buff to Storm Razor (AD up), and Statikk Shiv is getting adjustments to her wave clear passive yet again.
All of these changes, fortunately, are going to move a few things. Without further ado, let's jump into the list
For more details, you can check our League of Legends Patch 13.18 Summary.
5. Sivir
The Battle Mistress just made our 5th spot on this list.
After a lot of time not being relevant in the ADC meta, Sivir is finally in a good spot now in the current meta. Did she get buffed? Not really, but there's one new build doing wonders for her.
In the Korean server, there is a new odd popular build among Sivir players. The odd build/rune setup consists of using Summon Aery as your main keystone, and Statikk Shiv, Black Cleaver, Duskblade of Draktharr as your core items.
KR Sivir Runes
The catch of the build is to use the early strength of Aery and its synergy with Ricochet (W) to dominate early laning phase. With this interaction alone is almost guaranteed that you will get to level 2 first, not many lanes can oppose you.
Recommended Sivir Build
Once you move further into the game, you build Statikk Shiv and that's when the lane gets noninteractive. With the passive Electroshock, Sivir melts the waves only using her Ricochet (W), this act alone denies the opposite laners any chance to get wave control.
The secret of this build does not only rely on its great wave clear but is mostly about using Boomerang Blade (Q) as your main poke in laning, and with the extra mana regen from Manaflow Band, Sivir takes the role of a bully in lane (Like the old Lethality Sivir).
There are drawbacks with this build though.
First, you don’t scale as hard compared to her most usual setups with Lethal Tempo. This KR build is used to win lane or go even at the bare minimum. So despite the build helps to get leads in the early game, if you don't close out the game fast, you are going to get outscaled.
Second, because you have a laning rune, if you do badly in lane it gets way harder to win.
Third, this build is not good against tanks, you want to use it against teams that punish Sivir's short auto-attack range. Against teams with strong frontline, going Lethal Tempo with Kraken Slayer + Navori Blades is the way to go.
However, there are several alternatives when using Sivir with this setup that allows versatility. For instance, instead of going Black Cleaver in a game with full squishies, you can skip straight to Lethality items to make your Boomerang Blade (Q) do even more damage.
There are many variations, you can check them on her build page.
If you like simpler ADCs or got auto-filled against dive champions, Sivir with this build is a great alternative. Her Spellshield (E) is a great tool to stop that pesky Blitzcrank's Rocket Grab (Q), and On the Hunt (R) will help you escape many situations, or create engage opportunities for your team. And the poke play with Boomerang Blade + Ricochet is really forgiving for new players.
To learn Sivir you can check our recommended MOBAFire Guides. The best OTPs tell you all their secrets and tips to get you ahead in the learning curve.
To counter the Battle Mistress, one tip is to freeze to encourage trading (Just dodge her Q's). Check Counterstats to learn the best picks against her.
4. Jhin
The Virtuoso is back in our 4th spot on the list.
Every time Stormrazor gets buffs it usually means that Jhin will be also busted. Although his current pick rate is not too shabby, with 11.8% of presence in games along with a 50.2% win rate, expect these numbers to improve once we get more deep into the patch's life cycle.
Recommended Jhin Build
Jhin and Stormrazor is a match made in heaven.
The synergy of the Energize-powered attack from Stormrazor with Jhin's AD scaling, especially in the 4th shot, turns into just too much damage in the early parts of the game.
Add to that mix the extra mobility given by the item and Jhin's Hit-and-Run Playstyle reaches new heights.
Now... You need to remember that Jhin's effectiveness improves by a ton when pairing him with powerful engage supports such as Blitzcrank, Rakan, and Thresh.
These picks will help to get the ball rolling for the Virtuoso to stack kills and take advantage fully of the Captive Audience (E) traps along with the Deadly Flourish (W) roots from his kit.
Despite these strengths, one of Jhin's biggest drawbacks is his late-game scaling. If Jhin does not get advantages in the early game, he struggles a ton against tankier champions and lacks DPS compared to other ADCs in the later stages of the game.
Last but not least, Jhin needs at least a hefty amount of games to be proficient with him. This fact alone makes the Virtuoso less stellar compared to the coming pick, which is far easier to pick.
To learn the way of Jhin, check our recommended MOBAFire guides.
To counter the Virtuoso, check Counterstats to learn the best picks against this maniac obsessed with the number four.
3. Miss Fortune
Miss Fortune is still rocking our 3rd spot on the list.
The Bounty Hunter has been for quite some time one of the best ADCs in Season 13. Her Lethality one-shot build has been a staple in the bot lane, especially on how deadly can be in the early stages of the game when pairing up with engage champions like Blitzcrank.
Recommended Miss Fortune Build
Apart from having good results already, there's a new build that uses the buffed Axiom Arc with Miss Fortune. With the reduced cooldown numbers from Axiom Arc, you can cast up to two Bullet Times (R) in a single teamfight.
Despite all of this strength, Miss Fortune has glaring flaws. For instance, she does not have any true escape ability, making her vulnerable to the likes of Jarvan IV. Her lethality build is not good against tanks, due the lack of constant DPS, and even if you go with her DPS build, she is simply outclassed by other ADCs. Finally, her easy kit helps newer players but hinders creativity and outplay potential in higher MMR.
For the reasons listed above, she's not quite the ADC for higher elos, but, for most of the player base, she's among the best bot lane picks, especially if you are learning the role and want to have success.
To learn how to play Miss Fortune optimally you can check our recommended MOBAFire Guides.
To counter Miss Fortune, check Counterstats to learn the best picks against her.
2. Ezreal
Still the 2nd pick on this list.
You may be tired of reading this over and over, but really, the Prodigal Explorer in this engage-heavy meta is one of the most versatile champions to play. Arcane Shift (E) allows Ezreal to counter most of the meta champions, and if you add into that the sheer power of Trinity Force, not only chasing Ezreal is essentially a waste of time, but escaping from him too.
Despite not being put in the first spot on this list. Don’t get confused though, Ezreal can be the best ADC in the game.
Recommended Ezreal Build
Ezreal with Trinity Force is one of the best champions in the game. When Ezreal has his Muramana along with Trinity Force and Serylda's Grudge, he is unstoppable. The ability to play teamfights in the front while being safe makes him an obnoxious pick. That's why is not uncommon to see Ezreal topping the damage charts in most games.
Safety and burst is Ezreal's biggest strength... as long as you hit everything. And that's what hinders him, the natural skill cap of Ezreal that relies on hitting your Mystic Shot (Q) and all of your skill shots to keep your passive attack speed buff up and do big DPS.
Another Ezreal flaw is the lack of fast wave clear, making him prone to be pushed constantly to his turret.
Overall, Ezreal has been one of THE champion picks in this second split, so if you want to invest in learning him or want to get that extra mile of mastery, like the pros, check our recommended MOBAFire Guides.
To counter Ezreal, check Counterstats to learn the best picks against himr. One Tip: Stay behind the minions.
1. Ashe
She’s still the Queen
Despite Ashe's reign over Solo Queue across a multitude of patches, she’s still not nerfed, and this is the same case with her strongest Mythic Item, Trinity Force. So again, Ashe remains the best ADC to climb ranks in League of Legends.
What makes Ashe great? There's no more well-rounded ADC than Ashe in the game currently.
The Frost Archer is very safe in lane thanks to having one of the longest auto-attack ranges in the bot lane (600), slows, and great poke/utility.
What makes Ashe even better is that she's one of the few ADCs who can dictate the pace of a game by herself. Thanks to her Enchanted Crystal Arrow (R) and Hawkshot (E), not only she can create plays but she can also prevent them from afar with vision.
Ashe has been in a tear since patch 13.10, there’s simply no better ADC than her in Solo Queue as of right now.
Recommended Ashe Build
Obviously, you want to build her properly, starting first with Kraken Slayer and then going for Trinity Force.
Cons on Ashe
- Ashe has no escape built into her kit, so you depend solely on your ability to position in fights.
- Despite being labeled as an easy champion, in higher skill levels, using her passive Frostshot to the max gets difficult.
- Using her Enchanted Crystal Arrow (R) takes time to master.
If you want to climb ranks in League of Legends Patch 13.18, don't look further than Ashe. Of course, to best learn Ashe, check our recommended MOBAFire guides.
For Ashe counters, check them here.
Honorable Mentions
These are the picks that didn't make it into the list but are still very worthy to note.
- Draven – According to stats the Glorious Executioner is one of the best ADCs in Diamond+, sadly his proficiency gets really hindered by the ability of its user. However, if you love Draven you can pick it up and do fine. In the end, play what you want enjoy.
- Nilah – She may be the most Broken ADC and players still don’t play her. For quite a while Nilah is without a doubt one of the stronger ADCs, her setup with The Collector + Navori Blade one-shot enemy carries more than often. There’s not much to say about her if you like to aid your team while being a 1v9 carry in the late game, for real use Nilah.
- Kai’Sa – She's still one of the strongest ADCs in the game after receiving huge nerfs. You can still play her, in higher MMR she's still among the best ADCs. One tip: Prioritize her AD build.
- Vayne - The Night Hunter is one of the best solo carry picks thanks to the ability to make plays with herself with a good-placed Condemn (E) or by using the stealth on Final Hour (Ultimate). Another aspect that she truly shines it is shredding tanks with her Silver Bolt (W) true damage. The nerfs to Statikk in this patch did hurt her wave clear, that's why she's here. However, once she gets her Trinity Force, she can solely win team fights if you play her well.
