Riot Games’ head of champion design August Browning recently broke down one of League of Legends‘ core truths in a circulating video clip. Range is overpowered, and melee champions need serious help to compete.
“Range is intrinsically very strong,” August explained in the clip. The designer, known for creating champions like Jinx, Jhin, and Viego, highlighted how ranged champions can deal damage while staying completely safe from retaliation.
The math is simple. When you’re playing a ranged champion, you can hit enemies without them hitting back. You control minion waves from safety. You poke opponents down before they can even think about fighting. It’s a massive advantage that many players take for granted.
But here’s where it gets interesting. To make melee champions viable, Riot loads them up with extra tools. Higher base stats. More health and resistances. Gap closers like dashes and pulls. Crowd control to lock down targets. Without these compensations, melee champions would be completely unplayable.
Think about facing Quinn or Vayne in top lane as Darius. Every time you walk up to farm, you eat an auto attack. Try to fight back? They kite away while you helplessly chase. It’s torture, and every top laner knows the pain.
The community immediately connected with August’s explanation. Players shared war stories about getting bullied by Teemo and Kennen. ADC mains complained about assassins having too many gap closers. Everyone had opinions about the eternal struggle between range and melee.
Why your ARAM games feel so one-sided
ARAM showcases this problem perfectly. Teams with more ranged champions often dominate the single-lane format. Riot literally added the Snowball summoner spell just to give melee champions a fighting chance on the Howling Abyss.
Professional play tells a similar story. Teams draft entire compositions around protecting their ranged carries or diving the enemy’s backline. The dance between creating space for marksmen and collapsing on them defines most teamfights. Watch any pro game and you’ll see supports dedicating their lives to keeping ADCs at optimal range.
August’s explanation isn’t just theory. It’s the foundation of how League works. Every melee champion you love only functions because Riot gives them the tools to overcome their range disadvantage. Next time Yasuo dashes through your entire team or Irelia stuns you from two screens away, remember they need those abilities just to exist in a game where clicking from 550 units away is the default.
