Considering that the ADC role is solely based on accumulating as much farm quickly, this list may be obsolete but bear with me. Some ADCs are exponentially better at farming than others, which this list seeks to illustrate with its 7 entries.
Whether they get bonus gold, have better tools for easier last-hitting, or other reasons – these Champions excel at farming, among other things.
Of course, to speak only of farming would be too short and uninteresting, and thus I will talk about some of the other aspects these Champions excel at. I will, however, focus primarily on the Laning Phase and things directly or indirectly relating to gold and XP acquirement.
We’ve spoken about the best farm Champions for some of the other roles – namely, Mid and Top. I highly suggest you read up on those two if you’re not an avid ADC player and enjoy those Roles more.
Indeed, reading all of them will give you a better grasp of farming and some Laning mechanics in general, so I suggest you don’t miss out.
With the introduction out of the way, let’s begin with the 7 Best Farming ADCs in League of Legends. (Despite some being better than others, this list will be in no particular order.)
7. Draven
Draven perhaps strives the most from sheer farming during the Laning Phase and even up to the late game. This ties in directly to his passive that grants stacks per every minion killed. Since Draven’s Q also grants stacks whenever he catches an ax, he will primarily use it to farm, doubling the number of stacks per minion (or even more, depending on if he‘s last hitting or slow pushing).
If you didn’t know, Draven’s stacks give him bonus gold on a kill based on the number of stacks he had. They also grant his Ultimate an execution threshold, and it will immediately kill anyone that has HP lower than the number of stacks.
This is an insanely powerful passive that makes Draven extremely dangerous. Focusing him is a must if you want to prevent his snowballing, as the passive can make Draven rich in a single kill if he stacks for long enough. Killing him takes away a large portion of his stacks, resetting him entirely.
Draven will continue to stack up his passive throughout the game. Even after the Laning Phase has ended and things start shifting around the map, he will focus on farming and stacking, making him a hazard for Junglers and sidelaners. You will have to contain him and actively try to stop him from getting fed, which is no easy feat.
Draven is, therefore, one of the best ADCs out there and one of the hardest to deal with. He isn’t easy to play by any means, and catching those axes takes some APM skills. However, I recommend him to everyone that wants to try out the Marksman class – he is his own league.
Also read: How to Play Against Vi?
6. Miss Fortune
Miss Fortune’s farming potential also comes from her passive, though in a way different to Draven. Her first attack on any enemy grants MF bonus damage, significantly reducing the margin of error for the farm. She also gets excellent harassing attacks, making her a danger on the Lane.
She can quickly and safely farm from a distance using her powerful basic attacks. As the game progresses, however, MF will not focus on farming but on positioning herself well in team fights. Her Ultimate is a menace, and she’ll seek to cut down multiple enemies in big fights swiftly.
Due to this Ultimate, MF makes taking objectives intimidating as any grouping can mean an Ult from her that deals insane damage even early in the game. Assassins are one way of dealing with this, seeking and killing MF before she has the chance of using her Ult.
However, your team is done for if you fail to do so, and she happens to have a few items. I’ve seen one too many times people get killed in 1 second of her Ult’s channeling, and it lasts for a lot longer than that.
I recommend MF to starters in the ADC role as she is straightforward. However, keep in mind that she is not a very mobile Champion despite having a lot of movement speed on her passive.
5. Caitlyn
Caitlyn is perhaps the safest ADC pick on this list and in the game generally. Farming with Caitlyn has no gimmick like the two mentioned above but rather is just a good ol’ basic attack fiesta. She does get a more potent attack every few attacks, and while that does amplify her damage, it isn’t core to her farming capabilities.
Caitlyn has a lot of range and perhaps the most extended range of all ADCs in the game. She can keep this distance constant and substantial enough for her to have no issues taking minion gold and XP without worrying about getting too close to the enemy.
She embodies the hunting role with her traps that only serve to increase her range and damage, so setting them in places from which enemies might seek to close the gap is a good idea.
After you leave the Lane and move around the map, farming becomes a bit of an afterthought for Caitlyn, who will focus more on long-range kills than the farm itself. However, her Q is an excellent pushing spell that can help her clear a minion wave quickly and move on to do whatever she does.
Caitlyn is straightforward, though packed with many complex mechanics that become apparent to you after a while. I recommend you try her out if you want a safe bet for an ADC, but I also suggest you take some time to learn her more complex combos and mechanics as it will significantly benefit you.
Also read: Best ADCs to Pair With Brand
4. Jinx
The following two entries are somewhat rudimentary in every way possible. Jinx uses her basic attacks that utilize high attack speed and a satisfying animation for farming. She’s as simple as possible and will mainly use the machine gun form for last-hitting minions.
However, Jinx has a second option, and that is the rocket launcher. Costing a bit of Mana per attack, the rocket launcher has more range, does more damage, and even has an AOE. Jinx is, thus, one of the better slow pushers around in the ADC sphere and can utilize this spell to get a lot of farm quickly.
But, alas, we all know the terrible thing about crashing a wave constantly. You’re going to be open to ganks at all times and never have the ability to push that tower properly. There is no situation in the world where the enemy Jungler will ignore a pushed Bot Lane. Well, of course, if you’re not in Iron.
Balancing between these two is a good idea, pushing when you want to recall or roam, and last-hitting if you’re going to freeze/farm safely. Whatever you do is viable, but be careful not to overextend in any regard.
As I’ve said, Jinx is simple and is a good starter ADC. I love her, and she’s been one of my favorite ADCs to play, right up there with Draven and Kai’Sa.
3. Vayne
Vayne has an even simpler situation than Jinx does, though she has some tools of her own. Primarily, she’ll farm using her basic attacks and not much else. However, Vayne has a solid passive on her W that grants bonus damage on every third attack. This spell makes Vayne a solid slow pusher and is likely why she’s one of the best ranged Top Lane picks today.
If you require an auto-attack reset, and we all know those are a welcome sight, Vayne has the Q that amplifies her attack and even rolls her for a distance, acting as a sort of dash. Other than this, she’s plain and simple and will just use basic attack after basic attack.
I was tempted to put Tristana in instead of her on this list, but as Tristana has a lot of issues – namely, the inherent AOE and slow pushing, I decided to use Vayne instead since she has one of the strongest snowballs in the game. Though her farming and laning phase may not be as significant as some other Champions, she’ll outscale all of them eventually.
Vayne is powerful and not too hard to learn, so I recommend you give her a spin, especially on the Top Lane.
Also read: Best Ahri Skins
2. Lucian
Lucian is, similar to Jinx, a Champion that balances between slow pushing and last-hitting frequently. His core spell, the Q, utilizes minion positioning to harass the enemy Champions that may be nearby. This spell can hit multiple minions at once, slowly pushing the Lane.
However, Lucian can time the spell and use good opportunities to last hit and poke the enemy without pushing the rest of the Lane. I’ll opt for Lucian’s position as more of a slow pusher than last-hitter because this is highly situational.
I highlighted that I omitted Tristana due to her inherent slow pushing, and now you might wonder why Lucian is here. You see, while Lucian can opt not to slow push and use his basic attacks and attack resets to farm, Tristana cannot and will always deal AOE upon last-hitting a minion.
Lucian is great for clearing waves which will serve him well later on in the game. As one of the most mobile ADCs, he does this fast, too, and can then quickly take down a tower or leave the Lane altogether to join his team.
Whatever Lucian does, he does it well, and it is up to the player to find the best playstyle for every situation. He is a bit difficult to master, and I recommend him only to intermediate ADC players well-versed in the Role.
1. Ezreal
Ezreal is more of a Mage than an ADC, and he can even be played as one with an AP build. Though his versatility is not the topic of this article, it is essential to be highlighted as it is a core part of his playstyle.
Ezreal, as a Mage, will primarily use his spells to do almost everything. His Q is an extension of his basic attacks. It deals more damage and applies all on-hit effects. Couple this with a low cooldown, and you’ve got a second source of damage other than just attacking. The W also amplifies the damage done, though it doesn’t apply to minions.
The spell also has a nice range, meaning Ezreal can safely farm from a solid distance and not worry about being ganked. He will, however, use his basic attacks a lot more than his Q early on in the game as it does get Mana-hungry, postponing its potential until Ezreal completes Muramana and other Mana amplifying items.
He doesn’t have a great wave clear, but his low cooldowns mitigate that somewhat. As a single target-focused Champion, Ezreal does not suffer some of the formerly mentioned Champions’ issues.
He’s one of the mechanically most complex and challenging Champions in League of Legends and certainly among the most difficult ADCs. It takes a lot of time to learn and master Ezreal, primarily because of his high reliance on skill shots.
Therefore, I recommend him to intermediate ADC players and those versed in skill shot Mages. It pays off eventually but does take great effort.
Also read: Best Bot Lane Duos
Conclusion
As we all know, accruing a lot of XP and gold is crucial in League of Legends. Having a constant advantage in power above your enemies speaks for itself, and farming is one of the easiest ways to achieve that. Denying your enemy farm and getting it yourself will give you such an edge that you’ll feel as if you’ve had tens of kills.
I mentioned in our other lists that 15 minions are worth as much as a kill, and that itself tells you how vital the farm is. The ADCs are focused on farming up a lot, so this list will help you choose the right Champion for the job.
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