If you searched for League of Legends heroes, you are probably coming from Dota, Heroes of the Storm, or a mobile MOBA — all of which use "heroes". League calls them champions, and the difference is not only vocabulary: the way you get access to them works differently too.
Short answer
Champions, not heroes. There are over 160 of them, all obtainable for free with in-game currency, and a weekly free rotation lets you try a handful without owning them. Start by learning one champion per role rather than sampling widely.
How access works
Unlike Dota, where every hero is available immediately, League gates champions behind blue essence — a currency earned by playing. That means a new account has a small pool and grows it over time.
Three ways to play someone you do not own: the weekly free rotation, which cycles a set of champions for everyone; the practice tool and custom games, which let you try anyone; and simply buying them with earned currency. Real money is never required.
See also: League of Legends System Requirements — the same League question from the other direction.
The roles
| Role | What the job is |
|---|---|
| Top | An isolated one-on-one lane. Self-sufficient champions who often win or lose alone. |
| Jungle | No lane. Clears neutral camps, controls objectives, and decides which lanes win. |
| Mid | Central lane, shortest distance to everywhere. Usually high-damage and high-agency. |
| Bot (ADC) | Ranged damage that scales with items. Fragile early, decisive late. |
| Support | Shares the bot lane. Vision, protection or engage — the role that most changes games. |
See also: League of Legends Create Account — the same League question from the other direction.
Where to start
Pick one role, then one champion in it, and stay there for a couple of weeks. League's difficulty is not mechanical execution so much as knowing what is supposed to happen next, and that knowledge is role-specific.
- Top: a straightforward tank or juggernaut. Forgiving, and teaches wave management.
- Jungle: a simple clear pattern with a strong gank. The role has the steepest learning curve of the five.
- Mid: a mage with clear range limits, rather than an assassin. Assassins punish inexperience brutally.
- Bot: a marksman with an escape, since positioning is the skill you are learning.
- Support: an enchanter. The lowest mechanical bar and the fastest way to understand why games are won.
See also: Dota 2 Hero List — the same question, but for Dota 2.
Champion difficulty is not about combos
The hardest champions in League are rarely the ones with the most buttons. They are the ones whose mistakes are unrecoverable — assassins who die if the dive fails, split-pushers who lose the game by being in the wrong lane, junglers whose pathing decides three lanes at once.
A champion with a complicated combo and a forgiving failure state is much easier to learn than a simple champion with none.
Coming from Dota
Two adjustments matter more than the vocabulary. First, there is no denying and no buying items from the fountain mid-fight — the economy is simpler and mistakes compound differently. Second, champion abilities scale primarily with levels and items rather than with long cooldowns, so the rhythm of a lane is faster and less punishing per individual error.
League of Legends FAQ
How many champions are in League of Legends?
Over 160, with several added each year.
Do I have to pay for champions?
No. Every champion can be unlocked with currency earned by playing.
Are heroes and champions the same thing?
Yes — "hero" is the term other MOBAs use. League says champion.
How many champions should I learn?
One properly, then two or three in the same role. Breadth is worth much less than depth at every rank.
Pick the role first, the champion second, and ignore the other 159 for a while.