Playing Champions that are only good at one thing is often not that interesting. It’s boring to walk around soaking in damage as a Tank and dealing it as some plain DPS.
But what if I told you that you could do both and do it well?
Welcome to Bruisers (also known as Fighters). A class of Champions that both tanks like hell AND does a lot of damage. This class is one of the more versatile in the game, making for an enjoyable experience.
In this list, I compiled the 7 Best Bruisers in League of Legends based on how well they perform in the lane and how good their late game is.
Prepare to have your head bashed in by heavy objects as we start our list.
7. Pantheon
Everyone loves League’s best Spartan. A mighty, mobile spear-wielding warrior is an excellent pick for players who love to maintain distance.
His Q has an insane range that you can snipe with safely from the other side of the lane. His E is a fantastic damage-soaking spell, and with proper utilization, you can win trades with barely any effort.
If you require a quick CC, your W will prove more than enough to lock an enemy down so you can stab them to death. If they somehow manage to retreat under the tower, your Ultimate – Grand Starfall – will help you jump on their head from massive range.
Pantheon has all he needs for a top lane bruiser but also a roamer. He can jump across the map with his R and help out when the need arises.
He shines in the early to mid-game but remains viable in the late game as a solid initiator that can block damage, apply valuable CC, and finish off that pesky ADC that has too many escape abilities.
6. Mordekaiser
Mordekaiser is one of the best top lane champions, period. He has great damage, superb sustain, and can fight for days.
Every player that indulges in bruisers has played and loved, Morde at least once. His kit is super fun. I mean, who doesn’t want to forcefully invite enemies into a duel to the death and steal their stats in the process?
In the early game, you can control the lane and apply heavy pressure on your opponent. Zoning is a no-brainer as they will barely be able to get near you. Of course, some Champions will outperform you eventually, but that is rarely the case if played correctly.
Mordekaiser is a crucial element in the late game. His Ultimate – Realm of Death – is the sole best isolation spell in the game. You can take out any vital target from the fight (along, of course, with yourself). This can help your team swipe up the enemies and win the game altogether.
Also read: 3 Best Supports for Draven
5. Warwick
Our second diver on this list, and certainly not the last, is the bloodthirsty werewolf everyone hates to see. Warwick is capable of many things, but what he excels at are lockdowns and heals. Lots and lots of heals.
Primarily found in the jungle, he is an annoying ganker. He can fear you and stun you with his E and R while he rips you to shreds and runs you down with his W. His basic attacks are buffed by a ton by his passive, making him one of the heaviest hitters among the bruiser class.
Everything in his kit has some sort of vamp/lifesteal about it. His passive heals him when he’s below 50%; his Q heals him for a portion of damage dealt, his R heals him for its entire damage done, etc. Due to this, he can be hard to kill as he can run away with his high movement speed and come back just as fast, fully healed up.
An awful foe to face and have roaming around you in the jungle, Warwick is definitely one of the better picks in the current patch.
4. Yorick
Going back to Juggernauts next up is the infamous grave digger from the Shadow Isles.
Yorick is one of the more annoying Champions to play against. His Ghouls and Maiden are a nuisance to deal with, especially when present on two sides of the map simultaneously.
Differing from the rest in this list, Yorick is more of a utility bruiser. He rarely has to fight by himself (though it hurts when bonked by his Q shovel). Instead, he utilizes his spawns – the Ghouls – that he can create from nearby fallen minions and Champions using his Q’s second cast.
Apart from the Ghouls, which can deal massive damage to Champions in the early game, he can spawn the Maiden with his Ultimate ability – Eulogy of the Isles. The Maiden can spawn Ghouls herself, though you won’t be able to spawn new ones if she already has them.
Sending the Maiden and the Ghouls down one lane, Yorick can teleport to another and push it himself, often sporting the Demolish rune to enhance his tower rushing power.
This omnipresence around the map can drive the enemy team insane, which is precisely what you want in a ranked match.
His early and late games are different but both excellent and viable from start to finish.
3. Jarvan IV
Next up is one of the best initiators League has ever had. His E and Q combo can roll into the entire enemy team, knocking them up in the process. Followed up by a precise Ultimate, Jarvan can trap opponents in a ring with him.
He scales incredibly well with a lethality/pure damage build, but balancing it between damage and defense is the best way to go with this diving Bruiser.
Early on, his ganks are lethal and hard to escape, as he has various CC abilities to prevent escape, such as his E-Q combo mentioned above and his W that applies a 2 second slow.
Moving on into the mid-late game Jarvan becomes an excellent initiator and diver, with a kit built around this very playstyle. Keep in mind not to overextend. Carefully plan out your attack, so you make the most out of your basic yet vital kit.
All in all, a good pick; keep Jarvan in mind if you’re starting out in the jungle role.
2. Darius
One of my favorite Champions in the game is also one of the most powerful. This Juggernaut defines the class itself with insane damage, high sustain, and versatile builds.
Darius is an executioner both in the lore and the game itself. His passive gives him damage over time that stacks five times. When paired with ignite, this lethal duo can easily chunk half of the opposing Champion’s HP in just a few seconds.
This makes Darius’ early game a nightmare to face. His DPS output is incredible, and building armor is more or less futile due to his E passive granting % armor penetration that only gets more powerful with each level.
His Q is a solid heal that allows him to fight for longer, giving him time to stack the passive up. The more stacks he has, the more damage he does with his Ultimate – Noxian Guillotine – that refreshes its cooldown if it lands the killing blow.
As Darius approaches the mid and late game, he does tend not to scale that well, but in the right hands, Darius can be an unstoppable killing machine that can obliterate multiple enemies in just a few dunks. Pentakills are not unusual with Darius in the game, especially in lower ranks.
He is also easy to play, making him a good option for newcomers to the top lane and role.
1. Irelia
Though Darius may be one of my favorites, I have to finish off the list with one of my most hated champions in the game. I know most will agree that Irelia is blatantly overpowered.
She has insane heals, tons of true damage, and a kit so overloaded you often feel compelled to leave the game altogether.
Her resetting Q makes her completely uncatchable. She can go in, burst you down and go out to safety in split seconds. Even if you manage to pin her down, her fighting abilities are tough to counter in the early game and especially so in the late.
If she picks the Conqueror rune, her heals become so unbearable that it makes you want to give up.
This, of course, is Irelia in the hands of a good player as she does fall on the more difficult side, and I wouldn’t recommend you first time her into a ranked match.
Witnessing how well she scales into the late game, you might be tempted to try her out. But, I recommend you take your time and study the Champion as well as you can before rushing in to play her. Despite being one of the best Champions in the game, she also has one of the worst win rates.
Conclusion
The Bruiser (Fighter) class is one of the most versatile in the game. It encompasses Champions from several roles and with varying skill levels. All in all, it is personally my favorite class to play as the fun and variety know no limits.
There is rarely a good League game without a good Bruiser present, and I would strongly recommend you try some of them out. And if by chance you already regularly play the Bruiser class, who are your favorites? Is your pick on this list, and why would you include them if not? We always love to hear your thoughts, so don’t miss out on letting us know.
