One of the best Game Modes in League of Legends history is back, and it is great to see so many Summoners experience this game mode. The Doom Bots have made a return after many, many years, and boy, has it changed a lot! Some champions have remained, but a lot of different champions are wreaking havoc on Summoners’ Rift.
Doom Bots is hard- it’s supposed to be! However, picking the right champion can make the game mode significantly easier, and if you’re struggling with your first win, then perhaps you should consider one of these five overpowered champions.
What Makes a Champion Strong in Doom Bots?
Champions who are strong in Doom Bots in 2025 are those with high mobility, as they can dodge abilities and close the gap on ranged enemies. They tend to have strong all-in and can stick to their targets and hit them with auto attacks and abilities. Champions who can stack damage over time are really good, too.
What Makes a Champion Weak in Doom Bots?
There are a ton of useless champions in every game mode that Riot has created. It is just the nature of the game. The weakest champions are champions who are generally immobile, tanky, lack AOE damage, are AP casters, Supports or anyone who is melee/relies on cooldowns.
Of course, you can still win with them, but it is better to pick a champion with characteristics that make it strong.
It is also rather important to note that this game mode is extremely chaotic and RNG. You could have the best stack and still not win, as it depends heavily on matchups, team comps and individual skill.
1. Darius
The first champion on our list is Darius. Darius is one of the best beginner-friendly Top Laners in the game, and in Doom Bots, he is amazing too. Making excellent use of his Passive and auto-attacks, he can deal tons of damage over time just by auto-attacking the enemy. He can run at the enemy and just keep auto-attacking them. When you pair him with another strong all-in champion like Yasuo, you can easily pick up kills together and get a huge early lead.
When it comes to the final boss, Darius will be extremely tanky and can deal a significant amount of damage, so you don’t need to worry too much. There isn’t anything special that you need to do. Just be prepared to move around to dodge incoming damage, as the damage does stack up quite quickly.
Start with Boots + Phage as your starting items. You’ll then want to get Stridebreaker as your first core item, followed by Sterak’s Gage and then Dead Man's Plate as your main items. Most likely you’ll pick up Mercury’s Treads if the enemy is mostly AP, or Plated Steelcaps if they’re mostly AD.
How to play Darius
2. Yasuo
The second champion on our list is Yasuo. Yasuo is a very mobile champion, which is rather key in this game mode, as there are tons of abilities flying at you every second of the game. If it’s not your lane opponents' throwing abilities at you, it’s those random missiles or abilities being thrown at you, too. Yasuo can make dodging some of these easier due to his W and his E. Yasuo’s Passive shield is also really good against the random events like Karthus’ Ultimate. The shield will be up in time for his Ultimate, allowing you to survive without having to recall like many other champions during this event.
He can use his E on minions to escape the damage, and also use it to close the gap between him and them. Yasuo has a really strong all-in, so you can keep doing this whenever you want to. A thing I like to do is kill the enemy, recall and regen, and then kill them again as soon as I get back to lane.
Start with Dagger and Berserker’s Greaves. You’ll want these Boots 95% of the time, but you might want to trade them in and get Mercury Treads instead when playing vs full AP team comps. Your core items will be Blade of the Ruined King, followed by Immortal Shieldbow, and then Infinity Edge, topping off your core item path for Yasuo.
How to play Yasuo
3. Volibear
The next champion on our list is Volibear. Volibear is similar to Darius, where you just want to keep trading and fighting with the enemy. You should easily secure kills during the laning phase by simply running at the enemy. Once you have got your first item, you’re pretty much set, as this is a core power spike for Volibear. Volibear thrives in those 1v1 and 2v2 fights, so don’t be afraid to fight from the get-go. Once you get a few kills, you can easily start a snowball.
In the later parts of the game, you just need to move around the map and group with your team: soaking up damage and taking down the Doom Bots. When you survive long enough, you just need to keep auto-attacking Veigar and dodging his abilities. Volibear is really simple to play in the final rounds of Doom Bots!
Start with Catalyst of Aeons to give you the best chance of getting ahead in the early game. You will want to get this first, as your first core item is Rod of Ages, and this builds into it. After Rod of Ages, you should get Navori Flickerblade, which will help with ability spamming, wave clear and all-ins. Your next core item is Spirit Visage, which is usually a must-buy for Volibear, as it synergises well with his kit.
How to play Volibear
4. Sett
The fourth champion we recommend you play is Sett. Sett is just like Volibear and Darius, who want to just keep fighting and skirmishing with the enemy. Sett is a good pick as he has built-in CC and can start those early fights or close the gap between him and the enemy. Sett can easily 1v1 or 2v2 in the early game, so don’t be afraid to try and fight the Doom Bots at level 3. Once you have acquired some levels and items, simply continue running around the battlefield and amidst the chaos to gain further ground and increase your KDA.
To play Sett effectively in the late game, simply keep auto-attacking Veigar whenever possible and deal significant damage with your team. There are no secret methods or strategies you can use when playing Sett that differ from those of any other melee champion on our list. Just keep auto-attacking the enemy, dodge the Veigar’s abilities and wield your abilities when possible.
On Sett, you’ll want to start with Giant’s Belt and a Ruby Crystal. These items will give you a lot of health and help you in those early fights. You should also pick up Mercury Treads vs AP teams, as the magic resist and tenacity are really helpful against AP teams or teams with lots of CC. You’ll then want to pick up Stridebreaker as your first item, followed by Overlord’s Bloodmail, which works great with Sett’s kit and the other items. After that, you should choose between Stereak’s Gage or Warmogs.
How to play Sett
5. Vayne
To finish off our top 5 list, we have Vayne. Now I won't beat around the bush- Vayne sucks early, and you really need a good lane partner if you want to do well early on. She is squishy, lacks damage and is immobile, which makes her really vulnerable to strong all-in bots like Nautilus or poke champions like Brand and Corki. However, as long as you do not fall too far behind and eventually obtain your three core items (which we will recommend shortly), you’ll be pretty good when it comes to the later levels and when fighting Veigar. It is just getting there that is the hard part.
When you have your core items, you can easily take down enemies with enough stacks and attack speed. This is crucial in the late game when you’re facing both the Doom Bots and Veigar. When facing Veigar, you need to just keep auto-attacking as much as you can: using your Q whenever it is up for additional damage and to also dodge his projectiles and AOE abilities.
Start with Dagger and Berserker Greaves like Yasuo. You’ll then want to pick up Blade of the Ruined King as your first core item, followed by Guinsoo’s Rageblade, and then finish it off with Terminus as your third core item. You might want to consider Mercury Treads vs. full AP teams, but Boots of Swiftness is also a good option.
How to play Vayne
Honorable Mentions
Mel
- Her abilities can counter the enemy's abilities, launching them right back at them! She can honestly be really stupid versus some champions, which is not only fun but also heavily increases your chances of winning games as Mel.
Yunara
- Very broken when it comes to fighting late-game Veigar. She does need time to come online, and she does need a strong duelist/fighter to be paired with during the laning phase, but she can be really dominant later on, just like Vayne.
Sylas
- Sylas can steal the enemies' OP Ultimates! This is pretty funny to watch to begin with as you get the same Ultimates as the Doom Bots. So you'll get super OP Xerath Ult, which is auto-targetted, a massive Amumu Ultimate, and much more!
Conclusion
This game mode is really difficult, so don’t be disheartened if you have a really bad win rate. You need to have good synergy with your team, and when you’re playing with bad teams or people who do not understand the game mode, then you’re going to struggle a lot.
This guide will provide the basis for achieving more wins in Doom Bots, and stay tuned as we create more handy guides for Doom Bots soon!