The Ultimate Guide to Toxic Mobility
The Ultimate Guide to Toxic Mobility
Or
How to be as Toxic as you can by choosing Champs with Free Mobility
Free Mobility is mobility that has no conditions. You can use it to travel in whichever direction you want. You don’t need to target an enemy with your dash. You can use it to move left right up down, it’s up to you.
Free Mobility traditionally did not exist within League of Legends outside of a very small number of cases. But then came the age of free mobility. Champs like Lee Sin and LeBlanc opened the floodgates. Of the last 36 champion releases, over 60% have some form of free mobility in their kit. Compare that to less than 6% of the original cast of 17 and you’ll see what I mean.
But is free mobility necessarily a bad thing? I would argue it isn’t. However, in the context of certain champion kits and without being balanced properly, free mobility can feel terribly unfair. Free mobility, particularly on champions with lots of burst damage or loaded kits, can feel particularly unfair, or toxic.
Thus, I have compiled a list of champions that allow you to be toxic in the game of League of Legends without even saying a single word. Just being that champion will cause your opponents to rage and cry. How fun is that? It’s really fun! And you won’t get banned for it!
Get ready because I have a complete guide for you. We’ll also examine in chronological order how this came to be, because… knowledge. (eat your heart out Tai Lopez)
Each Free Mobility Champion will be graded on a Toxicity Scale based on how toxic you can be with their free mobility. To reach true toxic levels, a champ must score 5 or above. Anything below a 5 is non-toxic.
THE ORIGINAL 17 CHAMPIONS
Outside of the broken and quickly fixed release of Twisted Fate, the only champions with free mobility during this era were Jax and Tristana.
Twisted Fate: He was quickly changed into a form close to what we know today. That is, his mobility is on his ult. Ulti CDs are too high to be used toxically. Sure, the ult can feel a bit unfair, but hey! You get a warning when it’s about to come!
Toxicity Scale: 3 (NON TOXIC) Jax: His free mobility is dependant on ward hopping. While definitely a problem, this is mitigated partly by the fact that Jax is a melee champion that depends heavily on Auto attacks to deal damage. He is not a champion who can still deal damage while escaping or kiting back.
Toxicity Scale: 4 (NON TOXIC)
Tristana: Her mobility move has a short delay (animation time) which causes a weird interaction with CC where if the CC lands it will start after her jump. Grabs are also cancelled by her jump. Rocket Jump CD: 22/20/18/16/14 : A pretty reasonably high cooldown for a “free mobility” move. It was broken on AP Tristana when that existed, true, but as an AD marksmen, this ability feels pretty fair.
Toxicity Scale: 2 (Non Toxic)
Verdict: If you played during this time, you could not utilize toxic mobility to make people rage at their screens. It was a very boring time in deed. 0% of the original 17 champions had toxic mobility. But, that’s not to say things aren’t going to get better soon.
31 CHAMPIONS IN THE GAME
At this point two champs are introduced with free mobility. Tryndamere and Kassadin. But how toxic is their mobility? Well, let’s find out!
Kassadin: His mobility was toxic as fuck! Too bad they changed his ulti to have increased mana costs, effectively ruining his potential to be toxic. He was a decent 8-9 back in the day, but now he’s a mild 5.
Toxicity Scale: 5 (Toxic)
Tryndamere: Yes, you can be toxic with his whirlwind dash move. It can annoy the crap out of people if you dash through walls and run circles around your opponent. It has such a low cool down, they’ll be wishing you cancer in no time! His kit is not suited to team play, so you won’t be able to be toxic to everyone. Mostly just the top laner.
Toxicity Scale: 5 (Toxic)
Verdict: If you played when there were only 31 champions, only about 6% of the champions had toxic mobility. That’s a total of 2 champions. However, we can thank Kassadin, and maybe Tryndamere, for being toxically mobile, since the only way to have champions be balanced against said mobility is to make them OP AF or give them free mobility as well. Guess which way Riot Game decided to go?
50 CHAMPIONS IN THE GAME
Riot Game was spitting out new champs like there was no tomorrow. Of the next 19 champs they release, 7 had real potential to be toxic. Let’s look at Katarina, Corki, Shaco, Nidalee, Gragas, Ezreal, and Shen.
Katarina: While it’s true that Katarina needs a target to jump to, thanks to the ward jump capability, she basically has free mobility. And it is INSTANT! Holy hell does she move fast or what? It’s not a dash, it’s like a flash. No one can react to it. She moves fast and can do so many times within a fight. People will be pulling out their hair if you move around well with Katarina’s free mobility. Her kit also doesn’t suffer at all for it. She’s powerful as fuck. One of the easiest pentakill champs.
Toxicity Scale: 8 (Very Toxic)
Corki: Corki is saw a ton of play over the years in the professional scene. He was arguably the most used AD over a number of metas, and also had the ability to be flexed Mid quite well. But even though his mobility makes him very strong, it doesn’t feel terribly toxic. The CD on Valkyrie is 20/19/18/17/16. This is a pretty high cooldown for a free mobility spell. The spell also has an offensive component which encourage offensive. Thus, it’s not toxic enough to get a 5 or higher.
Toxicity Scale: 3 (Non Toxic)
Shaco: (Pronounced Shake-O) My god, if you like Shaco today, you would have loved him way back when toxic mobility was nearly non-existent. He was a 10 on the toxicity scale. Being that toxic, Riot Game actually did something and today he’s only a clone of his former self. Still, his mobility is still very toxic and is guaranteed to get you out of a lot of stickies. His play also makes fools of anyone who might try and chase you down, guaranteeing at least raised eyebrows on opponents.
Toxicity Scale: 6 (Toxic)
Nidalee: Thought Shaco was toxic? Wait till you get a load of Nidalee. Sure, she suffered a somewhat similar fate, but less so than Shaco. Her mobility was so toxic, pro players abused that shit like there was no tomorrow. That pounce, with its nearly non existent cooldown, basically ensured that no one could catch you. No one could clear the jungle and gank faster than her. And don’t forget the days of the death spear. No wonder that troll HotShotGG loved her so much. Used to be a 9 but today, a bit lower.
Toxicity Scale: 7 (Toxic)
Gragas: His mobility is on too high a CD 16/15/14/13/12, too short a range, too slow a missile speed to be truly toxic. It has CC so basically you should only use it offensively unless you’re travelling through the jungle. His overall kit doesn’t lend to toxicity either.
Toxicity Scale: 2 (Non Toxic)
Ezreal: Marksmen with mobility are a different beast. It is the class that needs free mobility the most, arguably. For it to be toxic on a Marksman, the rest of their kit really needs to be overpowered. Ezreal’s is decent, but not frustrating. Plus, his free mobility’s CD is 19-13. 13 at max, and who maxes this ability anyway? It also has a short cast animation. You probably would rather save this ability to gap close since it has damage on it too.
Toxicity Scale: 4 (Non Toxic)
Shen: Shadow Dash is not only on a pretty high cooldown, it is his principle engage tool and used early on in a fight. While there are instances of it being used to escape, and it can go over walls, it rarely feels unfair for the opponent.
Toxicity Scale: 3 (Non Toxic)
Verdict: At this point, 5 out of 50 champs have free mobility. That’s 10%! But still not enough for all of them to be banned out of ranked play. If you played during this time, baddies had it easy. And if you wanted toxic mobility, you were in short supply. But that was then, and this is now. Let’s jump to LoL at 75 champs.
75 TOTAL CHAMPINOS
Of the next 25 champion releases, we only have a few to consider for mobility toxicity. They include Akali, Galio, LeBlanc, Caitlyn, Renekton, Jarvan IV, and Lee Sin. Oh boy… Lee Sin (Grin)
Akali: She gets a mention only because that dash, while not being free, was fast AF and if the enemy could finally click on her, she could simply go invisible to avoid being targeted. The hairs that got pulled! The keyboards that got bashed! Akali’s shroud was even changed to allow her to hop over walls with it. With the outrageous damage she has, this pushes her over the limit into toxic mobility!
Toxicity Scale: 7 (Toxic)
Galio: He came out here, but had a full scale rework. Hold onto your pants. We’ll talk about him later.
LeBlanc: Oh, where to start? Before she came out, the game was way too friendly to noobs. But LeBlanc was a game changer. The level of mobility she was gifted was unprecedented. Not only does Distortion allow her to dash, it allows her to dash back to a starting position! As soon as the enemy thinks they got you in their sights, poof, you’re gone. The dash is pretty fast, but going back to starting position is instantaneous! That’s right. It’s like flash! At max rank, it’s cooldown is only 10 seconds, baby! Oh boy does this ability frustrate. It barely uses any mana as well, but then again, neither do any of her abilities! You’ll only run out of mana on LeBlanc if you’re as dumb as a Bonobo. But here’s the real kicker! You can use the dash two times consecutively without CD! Two dashes! And then poof back to your starting point. You’re covering an entire screen’s worth of travel in two abilities! Toxic mobility at it’s finest. Your opponents will be kicking themselves for not banning LeBlanc. Some might even put their hand through their monitor!
Toxicity Scale: 9 (Highly Toxic)
Caitlyn: Her mobility spell is arguably a necessary kiting/peeling tool. It’s long casting animation means that very little ground is actually made up. You have to hit the slow to make this one worth. Sure, that range can be frustrating, but this mobility isn’t the cause of it.
Toxicity Scale: 3 (Non Toxic)
Renekton: Very short range dash that requires hitting something to activate a second time. Not very reliable as an escape tool.
Toxicity Scale: 1 (Non Toxic)
Jarvan IV: A lot of his power budget has to be used to activate his free mobility. Two abilities must be used concurrently to use it! Its high CD (13-11) and mana cost make it an all in tool more than anything else. Not very toxic at all.
Toxicity Scale: 3 (Non Toxic)
Lee Sin: Good ol’ Ilene S. Who was Ilene S. and how mobile was she. Was she mobile enough to inspire this jumble of overloaded abilities? Well, we can thank Ilene S. for providing this inspiration. If you like being toxic, and don’t want to be banned for it, play this guy. Save for perhaps Yasuo, no one can bring out the rage like this guys can. And unlike Yasuo, it’s his mobility that causes most of the rage. It is single handedly the most toxic thing about this champ. His mobility is not only free, he has two ways to dash, both are super fast missile speed, and both are extremely versatile. You thought LeBlanc took the cake? Think again. At this point, League of Legends was virtually ruined for anyone who appreciated fair play. Who gives a shit about fair? The world ain’t fair. And neither should Lee Sin be.
Toxicity Rating: 10 (Supremely Toxic)
Verdict: 75 takes us from 5 champions with toxic mobility, to 8. At this point you had a decent chance of getting one of these champs in ranked play with 10% of the roster having toxic mobility. But it only gets better from here.
100 CHAMPIONS! Of the next 25 champs, here are the ones with free mobility that could potentially be toxic: Vayne (he he he), Talon, Riven, Graves, Fizz, Ahri, Sejuani, Ziggs, and Fiora. That’s a good amount. But exactly how many of those will fall under the toxic category?
Vayne: Yes, if you don’t play her you probably think the true damage is the most toxic thing about her. But did you know that TUMBLE is on a 2 second CD at maxed rank. 2 bloody seconds! 2 bloody seconds! 2 BLOODY SECONDS!? YES!? And considering you can be invisible for 1 second on cast if ulti is activated!? And for only 30 mana!? What can be more troll than that!? Think! At max rank, Vayne with full CD reduction will basically become untargetable for 12 seconds after activating her ulti. And you move faster when moving towards enemies! Of all the marksmen, Vayne definitely takes the toxic cake.
Toxicity Rating: 9 (Extremely Toxic)
Talon: Release talon was toxic for reasons other than mobility. I’ll talk about his rework further down the line.
Riven: One word. FOUR. As in: Four dashes. 4 free, untargetable dashes. One more word: MANALESS. 3 more words. SIX SECOND COOLDOWN. Yep, one of her dashes has a 6 second CD at max rank. Broken Wings, Broken Champ. If you like to make people want to bash in their faces with their keyboards, this could very well be the one for you.
Toxicity Scale: 8 (Toxic)
Graves: Very little needs to be said about Grave’s dash. It’s not toxic. It has a short range, high CD, offensive use highly recommended.
Toxicity Scale: 2 (Non Toxic)
Fizz: You know what’s coming here, doncha? The answer is YES. Fizz not only gets free mobility that makes him untargetable. He also has a targetable dash, leading to a really unfun trade proposition for the opponents of said fish. If you like to have the most useful CC in the game at your fingertips (death) while also being able to get out whenever you want, Fizz if your man.
Toxicity Scale: 9 (Totally Toxic)
Ahri: This one is a tough one to decide on. Her mobility is on her ultimate. Normally I’d say that’s not toxic, but she gets 3 dashes! Enemy junglers who go to gank you post level 6 will wish they hadn’t even bothered. But still, I don’t think this is enough. It’s close, but if you want to be toxic with your mobility, you’re better off choosing someone else. Although, that charm combo is pretty sickening, I know.
Toxicity Scale: 4 (Non Toxic)
Sejuani: See Gragas
Toxicity Scale: 2 (Non Toxic)
Ziggs: An interesting proposition. But satchel charge just isn’t versatile enough to be toxic. It’s got massive CD even at max rank. You have to throw the damn thing which takes cast time. It is better used as a peeling tool than anything else.
Toxicity Scale: 2 (Non Toxic)
Fiora: Like talon, she will be revisited later on because of a rework. At this point, only her very binary playstyle could be considered potentially toxic.
Verdict: At 100 champs we only get 3 new toxic mobility champs. Not many, sadly. The total now comes to 11, which makes them even more difficult to ban out. 11 out of 100 is 11%, an increase from before, if only slight. Still, considering the original lineup had none, it’s progress. Just wait till we get through the final stretch!
ALL CHAMPIONS (136 Champions)
It’s the homestretch! Let’s dash, blink, jump, bounce, and flash to the very end. Out of the following 36 champion releases a whopping 20 of them have some form of free mobility! That’s more than half. Considering only 1 or 2 of the original 17 had these abilities, it’s amazing progress! We’re going to be looking at Kha’zix, Elise, Zed, Vi, Thresh (You’ll see). Zac, Lissandra, Aatrox, Lucian, Yasuo, Gnar, Azir, Kallista, Rek’Sai, Ekko, Kindred, Taliyah, Kled, Camille, and Rakan. I’m getting giddy just thinking about all the potential!
Kha’zix: While it doesn’t exactly scream toxic, Kha’s free mobility is quite versatile. As a jungler, he makes really good use of it. The only problem is it’s CD is pretty long at early ranks, and you’re not likely to level this one up first. Still, with your amazing 1v1 damage, that ability becomes super egregious.
Toxicity Scale: 5 (Barely Toxic)
Elise: Compared to others, Elise’s mobility is barely free. She can jump very short range to an enemy target, yes, but it’s her rappel that has the potential to frustrate. Still, the ability loses points for being telegraphed and having a high CD. If only she could become invisible for a few seconds a la akali. Sorry, if you want toxic mobility, there are many better option for prospective junglers.
Toxicity Scale: 4 (Non Toxic).
Zed: Almost passed this guy by on my first write up. Zed's use of shadows gives him very free mobility. You'll be able to flabergast the most salty of immobile opponents with these shadows. Walls be damned, (and Mundo) Zed actually goes where he pleases. Zed's ult also provides a moment where he is no longer targetable, meaning you can dodge out some damage using it, kind of like Fizz's trickster. Once the AD version of Leblanc, he has been toned down a bit through the patches. Still toxic enough to play though.
Toxicity Scale: 7 (Toxic)
Vi: I like to think of Vi as a sort of dumbed down version of Lee Sin. Vault’s CD is pretty low, sure, but it’s also got slow missile speed, short ranged, and requires a channel time to get the most out of it. Not to mention it is usually the gap closer used to engage. Good luck getting anyone frustrated with Vi’s mobility.
Toxicity Scale: 3 (Non Toxic)
Thresh: Yep, The Wifestealer is on here. And I bet some of the cleverest of you have already figured out why. Thresh has been toxic for having an overloaded kit. And guess what is one of the most ennervating parts of this kit: GIFTING free mobility to all champs through his lantern. That’s right, even champs who already have toxic mobility can have access to even more toxic mobility thanks to Thresh Lantern. Even champs with no dashes can click on the lantern and get out, frustrating even the most planned out of ganks.
Toxicity Scale: 7 (Toxic)
Zac: Very high CD at low ranks. Channel time. Health Cost. It has a long range, but it’s not toxic. He has to channel to use it for Phreak’s sake. Even the rework, while adding more mobility, still is a move that functions primarily as an offensive tool. And once you’re in, you’re in with Zac all the way.
Toxicity Scale: 3 (Non Toxic)
Lissandra: Ah yes, the glacial path. It can be pretty annoying to deal with, particularly since in some instances it can even get you over multiple walls. But it’s telegraphed nature allows for players to react. It feels more fair than other mobility moves. People won’t get frustrated. They’ll feel outplayed by a mostly fair champion. 12 seconds at max rank wraps this one up.
Toxicity Scale: 3 (Non Toxic).
Aatrox: Very similar to Tryndamere, but his mobility move’s high CD and weaker overall kit (lots of counterplay) leads me to put Aatrox in the not toxic side of mobility.
Toxicity Scale: 4 (Non Toxic)
Lucian: Get this! At max rank, Lucian’s dash costs 0 mana. The best part about Lucian’s dash is it has no cast time! It has a very fast missile speed. Cast time and missile speed are things very few people take into account when the balance of a free mobility spell is discussed. These two things more than make up for the fact that the dash is a bit on the short end. And yes, it’s CD is pretty high for a dash, but that can be mitigated with its CD reduction mechanic. If you play right, and with some CDR, you’ll be dashing at least 3 times a team fight! That’s an Ari ult in a regular ability! Trust me, your enemies will hate you for playing Lucian.
Toxicity Scale: 6 (Toxic)
Yasuo: Yes, each and every part of this overloaded kit is capable of making your opponent want to quit league for good. And mobility is just one small part of this equation. And while not completely free, it is completely unfair for the opponent! It’s really quite toxic, so I had to include Yasuo in this guide. Here’s how you do it. Use your fast dash to go through the minion line to the enemy, hit them up, and then dash back out through the same minion line. If you did it right, you just won a great trade. It works on a lot of different champions, but mostly immobile ones. My god the lols you’ll get. Then comes the Ulti, which allows you to dash an entire screen away to a knocked up enemy. It’s CD is super low too! You can use that as an escape too!
Toxicity Scale: 9 (Highly Toxic)
Gnar: His Hop/Crunch allows him to get out of stickies very reliably. While it has high CD at low ranks (12 at max) he really has no reason to use it offensively unless he needs it to secure a kill. It’s 3 second attack speed bonus he gets from using hop just isn’t enough offensive pop to make this an offensive tool. As a result, the only time he wants to hop in is when he’s about to turn to mega gnar. That makes Gnar’s hop mostly a defensive tool and one that is sure to frustrate any and all prospective ganks.
Toxicity Scale: 7 (Toxic)
Azir: Shifting sands is an ability that requires the use of another ability to use effectively to escape. It has high CD for all ranks. It’s a great tool to use as an engage in combination with his ult. But ultimately it feels fair more than toxic.
Toxicity Scale: 4 (Non Toxic)
Kallista: Kallista has access to dashes on every auto attack. It’s not free mobility though. I think Kallista’s dash mechanic is actually not that toxic at all. Her ultimate, however, like Thresh’s lantern, does provide free mobility for other champions, often to save them from stickies. However, since it is on an ult CD, it’s not enough to put Kallista into toxic territory. If you want toxic marksmen, use Vayne or Lucian.
Toxicity Scale: 3 (Non Toxic)
Rek’Sai: Tunnels! Tunnels for days! Being able to hop into formerly placed tunnels without penalty or CD over and over again makes Rek’Sai’s mobility supreme. People not only will be unable to catch up to you, but they’ll be forced to stand on your tunnel entrances while the rue the fact that you just got away with 100 health. Really unfun to play against. The only problem with Rek is her offense has been pretty much gutted from day one. Her mobility and tankiness, along with the knock up, are all she has. If you want a jungler that has it all, you gotta go with Ilene S.
Toxicity Scale: 5 (Barely Toxic)
Ekko: Yes, the dash is a short distance. But it’s CD is 11-7! Chrono break is on a very short CD as well. With some CDR, you’ll be hopping all over the map, frustrating the hack mountain out of your opponents.
Toxicity Scale: 6 (Toxic)
Kindred: Dance of Arrows? More like, dance around the arrows. This champino has just enough mobility to get out of stickies quite easily.
Toxicity Scale: 6 (Toxic)
Taliyah: She only gets a mention because her ultimate has amazing upside. Still, it’s her ultimate and it’s on a massive CD. It’s great if you can trap your enemy inside your wall. But if your enemy has some of the toxic mobility, they’ll just hop back over no problem.
Toxicity Scale: 3 (Non Toxic)
Kled: Very similar to Renekton. I believe Kled’s mobility is not toxic enough. It’s got a very short range, not terribly fast missile speed, and can’t go through terrain on first cast.
Toxicity Scale: 2 (Non Toxic)
Camille: Riot Game really gave us a gift with this one. Hookshot/Walldive is an amazingly toxic mobility move. It’s low CD and high range makes it such an amazing get out of jail free card.
Toxicity Scale: 7 (Toxic)
Rakan: Riot Game finally decided to gift us with a free mobility support! But sadly, this one isn’t really all that toxic. Supports already have it bad since they lack the most powerful CC (death) and usually have the least amount of gold to spend in a game. Tahm Kench and Thresh can be pretty trolly, but not for their own mobility. Rakan’s abilities cost a ton of mana. Grand entrance’s CD is 12 at max (18 to start). Not to mention, the knock up portion of this ability takes up a huge portion of his power budget. If you’re not using this offensively then you’re getting a lot less out of his kit. His base damages are low, even for a support. And his ultimate puts him right in the face of danger. I like Rakan, but his mobility is just not toxic enough.
Toxicity Scale: 4 (Non Toxic)
There we are, all 136 champs. PSYCH! We haven’t even mentioned the reworks yet! So here goes.
Reworks with free mobility: Galio, Talon and Fiora
Galio: Terrain stops his dashes. No wall hopping with this guy. That really weakens mobility. While it has decent range and really fast missile, it also starts with a windup animation which provides decent amount of time for reactions. His ulti only can be used to an allied champ… just not toxic enough.
Toxicity Scale: 3 (Non Toxic).
Talon: Thanks Riot Game for this phantastic rework! Hopping over every wall on the map like doing Parkour is an amazingly broken mechanic. I love seeing my opponents left behind in the dust after 1 shotting their support!
Toxicity Scale: 8 (Very Toxic)
Fiora: The amazing thing about Fiora is that her dash has a very fast missile speed and loses 60% of its already short CD if it “stabs” a nearby champ. That means dashing close to an enemy! No, you don’t need an enemy target to use this. It can be used FREELY! HAHAHA! It has no draw back for being used defensively either, considering it’s on a 8 second cd at max rank! With some CD reduction, she can dash away twice every 10 seconds. No one will catch you. And even if they do, you got riposte to stop their CC. Some of the best toxic mobility in the game is on this champ.
Toxicity Scale: 9 (Extremely Toxic)
Verdict: So the reworks brings out total toxic mobile champs to 23 out of 136. Yep, 17% of all LoL champions have toxic mobility. There’s no way all 23 champs will be banned out of ranked games. You got options, bud! Lots of them! So keep playing with toxic mobility so that all the baddies in your ranked games will finally rage quit and give up, leaving the whole rift to yourself. It won’t be very lonely. At least you’ll have Lee Sin to talk to. I’m sure he’s great at conversation too.
