Season 16 Role Quests Explained: Every Reward and How to Complete Them Fast

Season 16 role quests are the biggest gameplay shift since Elemental Drakes. Riot took the quest system that junglers and supports already had and expanded it to every single role. Top, Mid, Bot — everyone now has a quest that starts at game begin and rewards you with something genuinely game-changing when you finish it.

The problem? Most players in Gold and Platinum are treating these like a passive thing that just happens eventually. They're not. The player who finishes their quest first gets a massive spike that can snowball the entire game. A top laner who completes their quest gets a free Teleport AND a Level 20 cap. An ADC who finishes theirs gets an extra item slot. That's not a small buff. That's a win condition.

I've been grinding ranked on multiple accounts since patch day, and the pattern is obvious: the team that completes more quests first wins. Here's how each one works and how to finish yours before the enemy.

How Role Quests Work in Season 16

Every role quest progresses through a point system. You earn points by doing normal game things — killing minions, taking plates, getting takedowns, destroying towers. You earn bonus points for doing these things in your assigned lane.

The quest is tied to whatever role you queue as. If you queue as Top, you get the Top quest. If you get autofilled, you get the quest for whatever role you're assigned. No choosing.

Completion time varies, but expect to finish around the same time supports currently upgrade their quest items — roughly 12-18 minutes depending on how active you are.

Top Lane Role Quest: Teleport + Level 20

This is the strongest quest in the game right now. It's not even close.

Read that again. You get a third summoner spell. You can take Ignite + Flash into lane, bully your opponent, and still have Teleport for map plays after you complete the quest. That's absurd.

The Level 20 cap is the real prize though. Two extra levels means roughly 600-800 gold worth of free base stats. In a side lane at 25 minutes, you'll be Level 19-20 while the enemy ADC is Level 15. That stat gap is disgusting.

How to Complete It Fast

Stop picking scaling tanks. Darius, Renekton, and Sett are kings right now because they want to fight early. Every trade you take, every plate you grab, every solo kill — it all feeds the quest. A Darius who takes 3 plates and gets a solo kill can finish this quest by 12 minutes. A Kayle who farms passively under tower might not finish until 20.

The passive point generation is also worth noting — you get significantly more points just for being in top lane. Don't roam early. Don't TP bot for a questionable play at 8 minutes. Stay top, take plates, finish your quest, THEN start making map plays with your free TP.

Mid Lane Role Quest: Tier 3 Boots + Empowered Recall

Mid lane's quest is more subtle than top's, but the Tier 3 boots are genuinely strong.

Tier 3 boots are no joke. With Feats of Strength gone from the game, the mid lane quest is the only way to get them. That means only one player per team has access to Tier 3 boots. Sorc Shoes become Spellslinger's Shoes with 8% magic pen. Lucidity boots become Crimson Lucidity with 20 summoner spell haste. The stat bumps are real.

The empowered recall is sneaky good for roaming mids. Shove wave, recall in 4 seconds, buy, walk back. Your tempo advantage over the enemy mid is massive. Assassins like Talon and Katarina love this — shove, roam bot, get a kill, empowered recall, back to lane before you miss a cannon.

How to Complete It Fast

Mid lane's quest has a unique mechanic: champion damage converts to quest progress. Melee mids get 3% conversion, ranged get 1.5%. This means poke mages like Xerath and Lux actually progress faster than you'd think just by harassing. But assassins who all-in and deal burst damage can chunk massive quest progress in a single combo.

Katarina and Talon are S-tier for quest completion. One roam bot that nets a double kill gives you +30 points from takedowns plus all the damage conversion. Combined with mid lane plate gold, you can finish this quest by 14 minutes on a good game.

Bot Lane Role Quest: 7th Item Slot

ADC mains have been complaining about feeling weak for years. Riot's answer: give them an extra item.

This is the "carry fantasy" quest. The 7th slot is specifically for boots — you can't stack 7 Legendary items. But having 6 full items plus boots in the late game is a massive power spike that no other role gets. A 6-item Jinx with boots on the side is a different champion than a 5-item Jinx who had to sacrifice a slot for Berserker's Greaves.

The bonus gold generation is also quietly strong. +2 gold per minion adds up fast when you're farming 8-10 CS per minute. Over a 30-minute game, that's an extra 500-600 gold just from the passive bonus.

How to Complete It Fast

Draven is the obvious answer. His passive gold from kills counts toward takedown points, and his aggressive lane style means more champion takedowns. But any ADC who can take plates early — Caitlyn, Tristana, Lucian — will complete this quest faster than a passive farmer like Jinx or Kog'Maw.

The key is plates. Bot lane plates give +40 points each. If you and your support can take 3 plates before first tower falls, that's 120 free quest points. Pair that with good CS and a kill or two, and you're finishing the quest by 15 minutes.

Jungle Role Quest Changes

Jungle already had a quest (Smite upgrade), so the changes here are more of a tune-up than a revolution.

The Smite damage buff is significant for objective control. 1400 damage Smite makes it much harder for the enemy jungler to steal Baron or Dragon. The movement speed in river is also quietly strong for rotating between lanes.

The pet stacks requirement dropped from 40 to 35, so you'll finish the quest slightly earlier. Not a massive change, but junglers were already in a good spot.

Support Role Quest Changes

Support's quest also got a tune-up rather than a rework.

The Control Ward slot is the big one. Supports have always had to choose between a 6th item and vision control in the late game. Now you get both. The ward slot holds up to 2 Control Wards at the discounted 40g price, so you never have to sacrifice itemization for vision again.

The gold generation buff (9g/10s up from 5g/10s) is also huge. That's almost double the passive income. Supports will actually be able to afford their items at a reasonable pace now.

Which Role Quest is the Strongest?

Let's be honest: Top lane's quest is overtuned right now. A third summoner spell plus Level 20 is more impactful than anything else on this list. Bot lane's 7th item slot is strong but only matters in late game. Mid's Tier 3 boots are nice but not game-breaking.

Riot has already acknowledged that top and bot quests were intentionally made stronger because those roles had the least agency. But the top lane quest in particular is warping the meta. Champions who can fight early and complete the quest fast (Darius, Renekton, Camille) are dominating, while scaling picks that can't interact (Kayle, Nasus) are struggling to keep up.

Expect nerfs. Probably by patch 26.3 or 26.4. But until then, abuse it.

Role Quests on a Smurf: Why It Matters

If you're playing on a fresh smurf in Gold or Platinum, role quests give you an even bigger edge than usual. Lower-elo players don't optimize for quest completion. They don't take plates. They don't trade aggressively. They AFK farm and wonder why the enemy top laner is Level 20 at 25 minutes.

On a smurf, you should be completing your quest 3-5 minutes before the enemy laner. That timing gap is where you snowball the game out of control. A completed top quest at 12 minutes vs an enemy who finishes at 17 minutes means you have a free TP and XP acceleration for 5 minutes before they catch up. That's enough to take Herald, TP bot, and crack the game open.

Check your MMR to see where you'll land, or read our Season 16 changes overview for the full picture of what's new.