A beginners guide to League of Legends

If, like me, you have seen League of Legends being played and, like me, still have absolutely no idea what is going on this is the guide for you.

League of Legends, also known as ‘League’ or ‘LoL’, is the Massively Online Battle Arena (MOBA) sweeping across the globe.

Success in LoL means destroying the enemy Nexus, this can be thought of as the enemy base. In order to storm the enemy base your team must destroy all of the Towers in one of three Lanes. Towers are AI controlled elements that do damage to the opposition. Lanes are divided up into: Top, Middle and Bottom.

‘Classic’ games or ‘Norms’ are 5 versus 5 battles taking place in Summoner’s Rift, as depicted above. This is LoL gameplay at its best and the standard game type for tournaments.

Games taking place in the Howling Abyss consist of 5 versus 5 on one lane, also known as ‘ARAM’ or ‘All Random All Mid.’ More akin to a team death match these ‘ARAM’ games are more frantic, relying on precision hits and split second decision making.

For those wishing to make their mark, a ‘ranked’ game type is available. The rankings range from ‘Bronze 5’ to ‘Challenger.’ This is the most competitive, high-stakes game type and should be entered with caution; a bad day in ranked play can have devastating consequences.

The characters available to play, in LoL referred to as Champions, have distinct abilities making them specialists in various areas of the map.

Top Lane champions generally have high health and the ability to inflict high damage on the enemy. Top Lane Champions also have crowd control (CC) abilities, while not exclusively belonging to Top Lane Champions; CC is a general feature in this Champion class. CC means the potential to impair a rival Champion in some fashion, for example stunning or slowing.

Mid Lane Champions are defined by their high damage abilities and potential to ‘Gank.’ The practice of ‘Ganking’ involves a surprise attack on one or two members of the enemy team by two or three members of an attacking party.

Jungle Champions control the paths in between Lanes, referred to as the Jungle; this is prime location to coordinate a Gank. Handled correctly the Gank can be a hugely effective play. While most of LoL’s Champions can handle themselves in the Jungle, a good Champion here is defined by strong attack damage early in the game and the ability to Gank.

Attack Damage Carried, or ‘ADC’, are specialists in ranged attacks and work in partnership with Support Champions.

Support Champions protect the ADC class in early rounds, as they can be vulnerable before obtaining higher quality items. CC and defensive abilities are the Support Champions specialities.

Items are used to upgrade the Champion’s abilities; in LoL these items are purchased using gold. Earning gold is done through killing minions, Champions or Towers. Minions are AI controlled teammates spawned in waves; these little creatures deal small amounts of damage to enemies. They are used tactically in gameplay, primarily for the practice called Farming.

Farming is performed to pay for more powerful items. It is an aspect of gameplay crucial to success and involves timing, as it is the last Champion to hit the Minion who gets the gold.

Minions are also used for attacks on Towers; they are the primary target of an enemy Tower and can be used as a distraction while allied Champions destroy it.

Every one of the 120 Champions available is constantly tweaked through Nerf’s and Buff’s, making the Champion roster a dynamic environment. This means that tactics must change with the Champions and is a contributing factor to LoL’s fiendishly difficult game play.

A Nerf means certain abilities are reduced or downsized, attack damage in a certain Champion for example. A Buff, the rarer of the two, is the converse.

Overall, success in League of Legends comes down to intelligent item creation, teamwork and tactical nous.