League of Legends: The 5 Best Top Laners on Patch 10.17

This is a list of the 5 best top laners in League of Legends on Patch 10.17

As we approach the end of the ranked season, the League of Legends top lane meta is shifting towards more utility, engage focused champions, particularly in pro play. While this is also the case in solo queue, the best top laners on Patch 10.17 all remain capable of winning their 1v1 and single-handedly carrying games through damage output alone.

Although the Patch 10.17 notes were relatively short, there was still space for a few top lane changes.

Hecarim, who often features in the top lane despite predominantly appearing in the jungle role, saw his Devastating Charge bonus movement speed reduced to combat his sharp rise up the tier list on Patch 10.16. Meanwhile, Aatrox’s World Ender was buffed with an increased AD ratio at ranks 2 and 3.

Here are the 5 best top laners on Patch 10.17 along with their main strengths and weaknesses:

5) Camille

51.13% Win Rate | 11.0% Pick Rate | 5.3% Ban Rate

Strengths: Camille is unstoppable in a side lane during the late game. The Steel Shadow’s Hookshot is an excellent escape and engage tool depending on the situation and she can obliterate her opposite number if allowed to proc Precision Protocol twice. It could be argued that Camille is one of the strongest split-pushers in League of Legends right now.

Weaknesses: The top laner is incredibly reliant on her Flash in order to stun an enemy carry with Hookshot due to the duration of the animation. This means that Camille becomes both predictable and ineffective when her primary summoner spell is on cooldown.

4) Jax

50.73% Win Rate | 8.5% Pick Rate | 11.2% Ban Rate

Strengths: In a similar fashion to Camille, Jax offers one of the strongest split pushes in League of Legends. Camille’s Hookshot is traded in for Jax’s Leap Strike which can also be used offensively or defensively in a side lane.

Weaknesses: Jax offers very little in a team fight and is dependent on his team to open up opportunities to split push. If forced into a 5v5, the Grandmaster at Arms only has one avenue for success: Dive the enemy ADC and hope they aren’t peeled by their support.

3) Shen

52.40% Win Rate | 9.9% Pick Rate | 5.9% Ban Rate

Strengths: Shen’s global ultimate is one of the most game-changing abilities in League of Legends and could decide the course of the game in the opening 15 minutes. Whether it’s following up a gank or joining the fight for a major objective, Stand United is the perfect way to influence the game from a role that is often criticized for having little impact on the map.

Weaknesses: Unlike the other four champions on this list, Shen’s damage output is pretty lacklustre and he is incapable of blowing up a squishy carry without aid from his teammates. The Eye of Twilight can play a vital part in team fights by taunting multiple targets with Shadow Dash, but outside of that, he relies on his teammates to do the damage.

2) Fiora

51.69% Win Rate | 7.5% Pick Rate | 10.8% Ban Rate

Strengths: Fiora is the Queen of duelling with unmatched outplay potential provided by Riposte and Duelist’s Dance. In the right hands, the top laner doesn’t need help in the top lane and can inch out an advantage through mechanics alone in order to build a lead and snowball it with endless solo kills.

Weaknesses: With no long-range gap closer or hard crowd control, the Grand Duelist finds it difficult to get on top of enemy carries and shut them down in team fights. Instead, Fiora players are forced to manoeuvre around the front line and slowly whittle them down before pushing towards squishier targets.

1) Darius

50.84% Win Rate | 8.1% Pick Rate | 42.4% Ban Rate

Strengths: After what seems like months at the top of the top lane tier list, Darius continues to dominate solo queue with a 50.84% win rate. This is mainly due to his ability to control the Rift throughout all stages of the game. In the laning phase, he excels at aggressively trading and setting up ganks. In teamfights, the top laner has access to Noxian Guillotine resets to execute whichever target is closest after a few auto attacks and a cast of Decimate.

Weaknesses: With Ghost, Darius can walk through an entire team with ease, closing the gap to enemy squishies with little to no effort. Without Ghost, the Hand of Noxus is much less effective and can be effortlessly kited before reaching his first target.

Which top laner do you think is strongest on Patch 10.17? Which top laners would you like to see buffed on Patch 10.18?