Free Agent - NA
My take on the best and worst champions at the moment in ranked, Gold 3 and 4. Handle with caution: Paladins is in general a very balanced game, and any champion - any champion - can be OP in a skilled player's hands. However, some champions perform better in most situations, and are in general more viable in the current meta.
Side Note: Not having had enough time to observe Corvus and Tiberius in ranked as of now, they won't be included in this tierlist.
s+
Zhin, arguably the best (and easiest to use) flank right now, gets banned in roughly 70% of matches - and we can understand why. Not only is his DPS very solid, but it's his capacity to escape (Billow, Whirl) and counter many champions and their ults (two invincibility moves!) that makes him really stand out. He can also be extremely annoying to tanks with his Guillotine talent; paired with Morale Boost, he'll take out one of your tanks every 60 seconds, which can be extremely dangerous in a game.
Tanks: Khan, Ash, InaraThe three best tanks in basically every rank right now. Their versatility, usefulness in a team (Khan's stun, Ash's knockback, Inara's slow and walls) make them top-tier tanks in this split.
Healers: FuriaFuria, best healer in the Gold game as of now, has many perks to offer: two healing moves (with her Solar Blessing talent), a solid and damaging escape, a very, very good ultimate, and a good resistance to cauterize.
Damage: VivianDespite her recent nerf to her best talent, Vivian remains top-tier in Gold right now. Her DPS is just devastating, and she requires little to no skill to be played very effectively.
s
Drogoz is one of those damages who has the capacity to just sit in a corner and shoot at the payload and get incredible value from it. I've been in games as Drogoz where I literally shredded through their tanks by staying in a single point for the whole match (the elevated area at the top of the stairs in Ascension Peak, for example) and just had to take care of flanks every now and then. If you're not careful, he can absolutely destroy your entire comp without hardly any effort.
Bomb King's really good. Period. His DPS can be devastating in the right hands, and can destroy a tank in a blink if you don't have good flanks to deal with him. However, he can be very underwhelming if not played correctly.
Tanks: Barik, MakoaBarik and Makoa are very solid and have interesting perks: Barik's turrets can be a surprising asset to your team, and Makoa's hook has incredible potential, if your team's reactive enough. They also have high sustain (with Barik's healing turret and Makoa's DR cards).
Healers: YingYing's possibly the most versatile healer, letting her illusions do the work while she chills in the backline and drops some decent damage up mid. She has a pretty good escape if you place your illusions well, and can cover multiple areas with her healing at once, something very few healers can do. Her ultimate is game-saving, too.
Flanks: Moji, Koga, MaeveMoji, most annoying champ by far. I won't elaborate on her, her skill floor is just so damn low, any dingus can get 150k+ damage with her with no effort. Just ugh. Delete her, please.
Koga and Maeve are very good flanks too, being the emblem of flanky mobility. They're very versatile, and can be used in many, many different ways, being able to adapt to a lot of situations.
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Viktor's a starting champion, sure, but that doesn't mean he isn't good. Far from it. His DPS can shred through tanks, and although he's not very versatile he's always a solid attribute to your team. Just a friendly reminder: don't. play. Cardio.
Tyra's in the S- tier for basically one reason: her fire bomb. Paired with her Burn Monster talent, it can stop an entire team for trying to cap the point, and her damage potential is pretty damn high too.
Willo's deadzone is a solid asset to your team, and can neutralize many healers such as Furia or Seris. Her vertical movement and capacity to fly also gives her great versatility in your team, and she'll be really hard and annoying to kill.
Strix, hands down the best sniper (sorry, Kinessa mains, but you know it) has good kill-finish potential, and with a good player can be rather impressive in a team. His very high weakness to flanks, however, stop him from being absolutely top tier.
Tanks: Atlas, RaumAtlas is possibly the most underrated tank. His rewind and capacity to almost rise back from the dead makes him a good asset to your team. Raum's basically the same story, perhaps a tad stronger than Atlas due to his (very irritating) capacity to constantly heal himself and basically never die if your dps can't handle him well. However, his high counterability stops him from being higher on this list.
Healers: Io, SerisIo's the absolutely best healer in high ranks and professional leagues, and her strength starts to get noticed around this rank. The fact that Luna can capture the objective alone makes her really solid, especially in maps like Ascension Peak where she can just drop her wolf behind one of those boulders and whistle innocently.
Seris has some of the best burst heals in the game, and is hands down the best healer at keeping herself alive. Her HP restore on her Q ability is just nuts, and her ultimate can devastate your team if paired with another ult or even just an area damage champ shooting into the stack. However, her very high weakness to cauterize makes her very unhelpful in late game.
Flanks: AndroxusAndro's definitely in the Top 5 hardest champions to aim with, which is why I haven't put him higher here. He can be devastating with a perfect aim, and often seems OP in the hands of streamers or professionals, but in Gold he's usually not as great. His flying capacity, which he can use to escape or get into fights all the same, makes him very hard to kill.
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These damages are solid with the right team comp... but can be rather underwhelming in other cases. Don't get me wrong... they're good, and all possess high potential. In the right hands, they shred, but that's the case of every single champion. They just don't possess that much utility apart from raw damage, with the exception of Cassie and her ult.
Tanks: Terminus, RuckusBoth solid offs with surprising damage. Ruckus lacks survivability and self-healing, however, and Terminus is useless against long-range or even medium-range champs. Both their ultimates sound really good on paper, but during the game will be very easily escapable/counterable, many champions having a solid escape move or temporary immunity.
Healers: Jenos, GroverJenos is an amazing healer with a double damage comp, but his low heals make him a kinda terrible tank healer, and in Gold damages will often not draw as much value from his Luminary damage boost as in higher ranks.
Grover's zone heals can be really good, but there's just something about his mechanics that seem off. The closer he is to enemies, the weaker he is... but he has to be close to his allies, and therefore his enemies, to actually be able to heal them. Which can lead to pretty awkward situations.
Flanks: EvieEvie's just either batshit or incredible. She's arguably the hardest champion to master in the game, but once you get there she can be really satisfying to play. Unfortunately, in Gold people usually haven't had the time to fully understand her yet.
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Both can be good, but simply lack the burst to deal with a lot of champs. Kinessa's 1800 headshot damage can seem appealing, but let's be honest, unless you're a god walking amongst mere mortals you'll get a headshot maybe three times, tops, in an entire match.
Imani's versatile, sure, but feels underwhelming in many situations. Her ultimate can either be completely wasted or save your entire team.
Tanks: FernandoFernando's... okay. He's a good off, but the fact he can't attack within the duration of his shield makes him pretty weak most of the time.
Healers: PipMost of the time I wouldn't recommend using Pip as a healer. His potion has a massive cooldown for what it has to offer, although his Combat Medic talent can offer good healing... but then again, why go Pip when you can get Furia or Seris?
However, he remains a very versatile healer, having the potential to be used as damage.. unfortunately, hybrid doesn't work on him, since you can't take two talents at once.
Flanks: Skye, TalusThey're okay. Skye's invisibility can be really annoying, and you'll get a jump on champs a lot of the time, but her damage is just trash, which is really disappointing because she could have the potential to be really solid. Awaiting a buff.
I've never really understood Talus's mechanics - you're constantly poking champs, not really dealing any decent damage, and then teleporting away, waiting to heal, and come back. But by the time that happens your enemies will have healed. Same as Skye... good potential, just DPS-lacking.
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Sha Lin's really ehhh. His arrows are super hard to hit, especially with that FPS drop everyone rants about... and aren't very rewarding. 1.5 seconds for 1000 damage? C'mon, Hirez. You can do better. Strix, for instance, deals 1200 damage every second. I don't understand why you'd pick the archer over the sniper.
Even his invisibility doesn't last very long, and is usually easily predictable.
Tanks: TorvaldTorvald's not a good tank. Sure, he can offer good support by shielding your damage, but his sustain is terrible. His only asset would be his right-click, and perhaps his ult to secure a point.
Healers: Mal'Damba, GrohkBoth their heals are low. Nothing more to say, really. A support heals, and if you can't do that, well, you're not a good support, period. With Mal you'll either be trying to heal your buddies and fail because, well, 325 healing per second on your gourd is really damn low, or pretending to be a high skilled player and be flanking and spamming reload for a tiny stun, then die
Grohk damage is really fun and surprisingly efficient, though. His ultimate can save your team, and I suspect a rise in the ranks soon.
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Lex is Lex. No matter your rank, he's just batshit. Don't play him, ever. Please.