While some League of Legends champions wield unique weapons and cause massive damage with them, others have found ways to channel their inner strength through their fists.
And even though many ranged mages in LoL don’t use their weapons to cast basic attacks or spells, there are only 9 champions that fight melee and with their fists up on Summoner’s Rift. They are:
- Alistar
- Sett
- Galio
- Malphite
- Lee Sin
- Udyr
- Nunu & Willump
- Zac
- Blitzcrank
So let’s take a closer look at each one of them and see why they prefer to smash enemies with their fists rather than with a fancy weapon that a fantasy champion would normally prefer.
Alistar, the Minotaur
Alistar belongs to a mountainous minotaur tribe that lives near Zaun and in the past he’s even been a gladiator. He has an enormous frame and channels his raw power through his fists when he’s fighting enemies.
Alistar has only 3 fingers on each hand but that doesn’t stop him from delivering devastating blows to his targets. He can even smash the ground to knock enemies up in the air with his Q, Pulverize.
When he’s really angry, Alistar charges at his enemies and pierces them with his massive horns. And that’s evident from his W, Headbutt.
All in all, Alistar is a super cool champion that doesn’t need a weapon to win fights!
Sett, the Boss
Even though Sett’s huge body frame has been sculpted by years of fighting and training in the criminal underworld, he’s quite skilled in martial arts and has a proper fighting technique.
Most of the time, Sett punches minions and champions with both hands. He empowers his fists with Q, Knuckle Down, to do even more damage. But Sett can also store the energy of his attackers and release it against them with his passive and W.
Besides breaking faces with his punches, Sett can also wrestle. His most iconic move is “Showstopper” where he picks up a champion in the air and smashes them into their team.
Galio, the Colossus
When Riot Games reworked Galio, they also turned him into a gigantic fighting statue that smashes his enemies with his fists in melee combat.
Since Galio is made out of petricite, the Demacian magic stone, he deals lots of bonus magic damage with his punches. With his passive, Colossal Smash, Galio strikes multiple enemies at once. And with his E, Justice Punch, he can even charge at a target and smack them on the head.
In the lore, Galio is much bigger than he’s in League of Legends. And we can only imagine how powerful his knuckles can be if Riot decides to put his actual size in the game.
Read Also: The Spear-Wielding Warriors of LoL: Champions with Spears!
Malphite, Shard of the Monolith
Speaking of inaccurate size, Malphite is another champion that’s unbelievably bigger in the lore than on Summoner’s Rift. Of course, we can’t expect to play as a freaking mountain in LoL, but we can imagine how powerful of a fighter Malphite might actually be.
A large portion of Malphite’s strength is channeled through his fists. They’re made of stone and Malphite uses them whenever he auto-attacks or slams the ground with his E to deal damage and cripple his enemies.
On each skin, Malphite’s hands appear quite big to signify his strength.
Lee Sin, the Blind Monk
Lee Sin is perhaps the first character that pops into mind when we talk about League champions that fight without weapons. And he’s probably the most iconic one.
Lee Sin is part of the Shojin Order, a clan that trains to fight with the Dragon Stance. Lee both his feet and fists in combat, but his most famous move is the Dragon’s Rage kick which is the ultimate ability in LoL.
Besides this, Lee Sin can also channel his fists into a flurry and slam the ground in front of him to deal damage to all enemies nearby. And even though he’s blind, Lee can sense the position of the enemies around him before he launches his strikes.
Read Also: LoL’s Axe Masters: Champions That Wield Axes!
Udyr, the Spirit Walker
Udyr is Lee Sin’s friend who also is a master of his own martial arts. He doesn’t use any weapon but he is aided by the spirits of the Freljordian demigods – Anivia, Ornn, and Volibear.
Udyr can shift between stances during combat. And based on which stance he’s currently in, his auto-attacks deal different damage. Even his fists have unique animations in-game.
For example, when Udyr adopts the Stampede Stance, he produces Ornn’s horns on his shoulders and flares up in red. And his next punch stuns the target.
Similarly, when Udyr shifts into Storm Stance, he spawns a small AoE winter storm akin to the one Anivia does with her ultimate.
All in all, Udyr is one of the most interesting fighters in League of Legends.
Read Also: Meet the Deadliest Knife, Dagger, & Blade Masters in LoL
Nunu & Willump, the Boy and His Yeti
Many will disagree with me that Nunu & Willump belong on this list. And it’s true – Nunu can often does cast ice magic in the form of snowstorms to deal damage while Willump can roll giant snowballs and slam them against their enemies.
But when you play this champion, your auto-attacks are done by Willump who punches the jungle monsters without mercy. As a yeti, Willump has 4 arms instead of 2, so we can only imagine how strong his double-fist punches can be.
Blitzcrank, the Great Steam Golem
Some players will also say that Blitzcrank doesn’t count since he can extend his right fist to grab an enemy champion. But we can’t categorize that as a “weapon” because it’s part of Blitzcrank’s robot body.
For anything else, Blitz uses his fists. He can empower his left fist to knock up an enemy target. And Blitz even has a skin called Boom Boom Blitzcrank where he’s dressed as a boxing champion and has equipped boxing gloves on his hands.
Zac, the Secret Weapon
Zac is made out of toxic ooze that’s very elastic. He can elongate parts of his body and even split himself apart if the situation requires so.
For instance, Zac’s Q allows him to stretch his arms, punch two different targets, and even slam them against each other. And to prevent dying, Zac splits into 4 blobs before he gets up and continues fighting.
Zac can also use his flexible body to jump across great distances by flinging himself forward.
Bonus: Vi, the Piltover Enforcer
Vi isn’t technically a champion without a weapon in LoL since she uses mechanical gloves when punching enemies. But anyone who doesn’t care about that minor fact and loves champions like these will probably enjoy Vi as well.
Thanks to Arcane, we know that Vi’s gloves are powered with hextech. They’re incredibly powerful and can cause massive amounts of damage. But even without them, Vi is a skilled fighter that can knock out anyone who tries to mess with her. Or her girlfriend, Caitlyn.
