Welcome to the tale of two cities that couldn’t be more different if they tried—and oh, they have tried. Piltover, the gleaming City of Progress, where the air smells faintly of hextech ozone and ambition. And then there’s Zaun, the City of Iron and Glass, where the air smells, well, interesting, and ambition comes with a side of chemical burns. They’re like a Jekyll and Hyde relationship that got stuck in an elevator together. One invents a marvelous flying machine; the other retrofits it to spew toxic glitter. But out of this chaotic duality spring some of Runeterra’s most legendary champions, whose stories got a fresh burst of fame thanks to that little show called Arcane. You know the one—left us all emotionally compromised in 2024 and somehow still has us analyzing every single frame in 2026.
Now, let’s be real: Piltover’s elites would probably faint at the thought of being lumped together with Zaun’s self-appointed doctors and exploding enthusiasts. But legends don’t care about property values. So grab a hextech-infused beverage and meet the top ten champions who turned a classist nightmare into their personal playground. Some punch problems, some shoot them, and one just “helps” people with a bone saw and zero medical training. It’s a vibe.
10. Ezreal, The Prodigal Explorer (or, Indiana Jones with a Glow-Up)
Imagine growing up with two world-famous archaeologist parents who tell you epic bedtime stories—and then one day they just don’t come home. Most kids would maybe angst in their room. Ezreal decided to become an explorer so legendary that his parents would have to hear about him, wherever they are. Kid logic? Unassailable. After raiding the lost tomb of Ne’zuk, he snagged a magical gauntlet that now doubles as his main personality trait. On the Rift, he flings Mystic Shots like confetti and blinks away from danger with Arcane Shift so quickly you’d think he practiced on Vi’s punch timing. “You belong in a museum” might be his catchphrase, but let’s be honest—Ezreal belongs on the front page of a Piltover gossip tabloid.
9. Caitlyn, The Sheriff of Piltover (Also Known as “The Only Sane Person Here”)
Caitlyn Kiramman was born with a silver rifle in her hands—figuratively, but maybe not far off. As Piltover’s Finest, she brings the long arm of the law to anyone who sneezes without a permit. She’s a sniper so precise her bullets probably file their own paperwork. Between setting Yordle Snap Traps that some people mistake for adorable pet carriers and netting criminals like particularly grumpy fish, she somehow still finds time to deliver Headshots and an ultimate called Ace in the Hole that basically says, “You can run, but you’ll just die tired.” Off-duty, the rumor mill works overtime about her and a certain pink-haired enforcer. Piltover nobility: clutching pearls since 2022.
8. Jinx, The Loose Cannon (Therapy? She’d Rather Explode It)
If chaos had a mascot, Jinx would have blown it up and painted over the remains. Once a little girl named Powder, she took a tragic narrative detour, got separated from her sister Vi, and was lovingly raised by a chem-baron who thought “emotional stability” was a disease. The result is a ranged marksman who literally gets Excited when she’s causing mayhem—increased attack speed included. Her arsenal reads like a shopping list from a demolition enthusiast: Pow-Pow the minigun, Fishbones the rocket launcher, Zap the shock pistol, Flame Chompers that look like they were designed by a deranged toymaker, and the iconic Super Mega Death Rocket. It’s global. It’s personal. It’s probably illegal in seventeen city-states. And her theme song “Get Jinxed” still slaps so hard it’s probably responsible for at least one noise complaint in every dorm on campus. She and Vi share splash art backgrounds that are mirrors of each other—one pristine, one wrecked. Subtle, Riot. Real subtle.
7. Seraphine, The Starry-Eyed Songstress (A Pop Star Who Literally Hears Your Inner Tune)
Seraphine arrived in Runeterra like a glitter bomb at a funeral. People either adored her or wanted to silence her for all eternity—there was no middle ground. But that’s what happens when you’re a pop sensation from Piltover who can actually hear the music in people’s souls. Creepy? A little. Profitable? Extremely. With Stage Presence, she makes sure everyone’s looking, then delivers High Notes that could shatter a chandelier, and Surround Sound that makes her support plays annoyingly effective. When the crowd demands an encore, she drops Encore literally—charming entire teams into a conga line of death. She’s the heir to Sona’s rework and the K/DA universe, which means she exists simultaneously in two realities. One sings about giant lasers; the other dodges them. Work-life balance goals.
6. Renata Glasc, The Chem-Baroness (CEO of Your Demise)
Renata didn’t get the alchemical touch her parents had, but she got something scarier: a mind for business. After Piltover’s elites arranged a little “accident” that left her family dead and her missing an arm, she rebuilt the Glasc name into a Zaunite empire with nothing but grit and a serious lack of forgiveness. Her Leverage ability basically reminds people that she owns a piece of their soul, and if they play nice she might Bailout an ally. Her Handshake can forge a Loyalty Program—corporate speak for injecting allies with volatile chemicals so they berserk for a few seconds. And if someone really annoys her, she triggers Hostile Takeover, making enemies fight each other while she watches like a mildly amused HR director. She’s the color of toxic ambition and class warfare rolled into one impeccably dressed package.
5. Ekko, The Boy Who Shattered Time (Literal Ctrl+Z)
Growing up alongside Jinx and Vi would either give you superpowers or a lifetime of therapy. Ekko chose superpowers—specifically, time manipulation. With a chunk of hextech crystal and a childhood’s worth of tinkering, he built the Z-Drive, letting him rewind his personal timeline whenever things go south. Missed that skillshot? Hit Chronobreak and watch the last four seconds evaporate like they never happened. It’s the ultimate “actually, I decided I don’t want to die today” button. His Phase Dive and Parallel Convergence let him zip around and stun entire teams, and his Z-Drive Resonance makes hitting him feel like slapping a speeding bullet. Off the Rift, Ekko moonlights as part of True Damage, dropping bars in “Giants” that still make fans lose their minds. He’s the boy savior that Zaun doesn’t deserve but desperately needs—and he does it all with a giant hourglass bat. Style points: infinite.
4. Jayce, The Defender of Tomorrow (Hextech’s Golden Boy with a Hammer Fetish)
Jayce of House Tallis is the sort of person who wakes up, invents a new energy source, and then poses dramatically on a rooftop by lunch. Childhood friend to Caitlyn, research partner to Viktor (spoiler: that gets complicated), and star pupil of Heimerdinger, he poured his prodigious brain into the Mercury Hammer/Cannon. It’s one weapon with two forms because why settle? In hammer form he goes To the Skies! and brings down a Thundering Blow that rearranges faces. In cannon form, he creates a Shock Blast through an Acceleration Gate that makes physics cry. His Hextech Capacitor passive lets him switch forms with a speed that confuses enemies and allies alike. He’s Piltover’s poster child, and if you don’t like it, he’ll probably build a device that proves you wrong. With science.
3. Vi, The Piltover Enforcer (Fists First, Questions Never)
Violet, a Zaun kid turned enforcer, handles every problem the same way: punching it until it ceases to be a problem. Her Vault Breaker lets her charge across a lane like an express train of doom, while Denting Blows reduces armor like she’s filing down tin cans. Relentless Force? That’s just her raw passion for violence translated into game mechanics. And when someone really needs to be taught a lesson, she uses Cease and Desist, an ultimate that singles out one unfortunate schmuck, smashes through everything in between, and gives them an uppercut that probably registers on the Richter scale. She’s got her own theme song, “Here Comes Vi,” which is less a musical number and more a threat set to rhythm. And that “close professional relationship” with Caitlyn? Let’s just say the pair share more than case files. Piltover’s finest, indeed.
2. Camille, The Steel Shadow (Grandma’s Got Blades and Zero Patience)
Camille is over eighty years old, heavily augmented, and still moves like a dancer designed by a military contractor. Her human heart was swapped for a hextech crystal decades ago, so she’s more machine than woman—but the machine has excellent posture. As the chief intelligencer of the Ferros clan, she operates just outside Piltover’s nice legal framework to maintain “order.” Her Adaptive Defenses spawn a shield that decides whether physical or magic damage is more annoying today. She then conducts a Precision Protocol and Tactical Sweep to appraise her prey. When the time is right, she Hookshots into a Wall Dive and locks them down with The Hextech Ultimatum, a zone you cannot leave unless you came with a notarized permission slip. She’s elegance, lethality, and slightly terrifying grandmotherly judgment combined into one razor-sharp package.
1. Dr. Mundo, The Madman of Zaun (Medical License Not Found)
You know a champion is special when his backstory begins with “forgot who he was after being admitted to an asylum.” A chem-baron turned this poor soul into a monstrous experiment, and while his body bulked up, his mind noped out entirely. Now he believes his torn straitjacket is a lab coat and that he’s a qualified doctor. He runs a practice in the abandoned asylum, “helping” whoever wanders in—or doesn’t. His treatments include Blunt Force Trauma (it’s exactly what it sounds like), Heart Zapper (defibrillator paddles the size of a car door), and Infected Bonesaw (sterilization is for the weak). His ultimate Maximum Dosage turns him into a regenerating purple nightmare that literally Goes Where He Pleases. Nobody can stop him, and honestly, by this point nobody wants to try. The man is a healing tank who thinks pain is just a high-five from the inside. In a world of hextech geniuses, scheming barons, and time-warping prodigies, a giant purple doctor with zero medical knowledge takes the top spot because he’s the purest distillation of Zaun’s chaotic, terrifying, and inexplicably lovable spirit. Ah, Mundo. Never change. (Please, do not change. We like you just like this.)