League Of Legends: Your Free-To-Play Distraction

By Sydney Cooper on August 28, 2016

Weekends of laziness and being with me, myself and I, happen to all of us. You surf through Netflix and Hulu, looking for something to watch and realize you have seen what is on your watch list and have no interest in anything else.

What do you do now? This writer will tell you about the most addictive free-to-play PC game out there.

Produced by Riot Games, League of Legends (LoL), is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA). The purpose of the game is to work with your team to destroy the opposing team’s Nexus (home base). Sound too simple? There is much more detail to explain. Let’s start with the modes and maps of gameplay.

Player vs. Player (PvP) is you playing against other gamers in real time. If you want to practice with an owned champion or try out a new one, go to the Co-Op vs. Al mode. You and five other online players choose your champions and face off against random bots. Want to be in control and set up your own game? No worries control freaks, there is a customizable game option as well.

First time players should go through the Tutorial mode to educate themselves on gameplay and what keys to use. Afterwards, begin practicing, understand what kind of champion suits you best. Once you have an idea of what role you want to play in game, head to PvP and see what you are capable of. Trying to decide what to do first in PvP? Here are the three maps and their game style.

http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com

The most common map, Summoner’s Rift features 5-on-5 gameplay with three lanes (Top, Mid and Bot) along with a jungle area. Teams are separated by a river, diagonally “cutting” the map in half. In this game mode you have elements going against you such as enemy minions, tall pillars (aka turrets), inhibitors and, of course, the opposing online players.

To gain advantages (buffs), there are various monsters placed around the map to find and destroy for different perks while in game. Summoner’s Rift games, in my experience, can last from 40 minutes to an hour.

http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com

With 3-on-3 gameplay and two lanes, The Twisted Treeline is a faster paced game, lasting about 15 to 30 minutes. The objective of the game is the same as Summoner’s Rift just with a couple minor differences.

In this map, along with having minions, turrets, inhibitors and similar monsters, an additional buff added to The Twisted Treeline are altars. The team that destroys the opposing altar first, get an increase towards their total attack damage.

http://team-dignitas.net

ARAM (All Random, All Mid), is the most unique out of the game modes. This is played on a one lane map called the Hollowing Abyss. Your champion is randomly chosen by the game, then you compete in a 5-on-5 match.

During certain times, Riot Games will add a mode of gameplay for a limited time. When you have had a lot of experience in PvP, you can try out ranked gaming which is basically the gateway to going pro. Now that you have a grasp of the modes of gameplay, let’s move to how you can give instant feedback post game.

Have you ever been angry at an online player or wanted to commend them for their exemplary work in game? Riot Games understands that everyone wants to be heard and takes your reports very seriously. There are multiple ways people can be reported for good and bad gameplay. If you do not want to be banned for a certain amount of time or possibly for life from League of Legends, just remember that this is just a game and behave yourself. Now that this has been addressed, we can move on to champions.

Champions are all unique and grouped into certain roles; they can either be assassins, fighters, mages, marksmen, supports or tanks. Sometimes a champion can have a primary and secondary role. For example, let’s use Evelynn (pictured below). She is primarily an assassin, but she is a mage. Due to her having two roles, she can be built based on who your teammates choose as their champion and what role they wish to play.

http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com

Tanks are built to last longer during fights. They are high in health, magic resistance and armor. Most of the time, the role of tank goes hand in hand with fighter.

Fighter tanks are best for the front lines; mage and support tanks are better used for being a jungler. Build your tank based on their stats and secondary role. *Note: Tank can be a champion’s secondary role instead of the primary.

http://ddragon.leagueoflegends.com

Mages are a little more complex. Depending on the champion, your mage can be good at dealing massive damage for a short period of time or they are great for area damage. Mage champions are high in ability power, meaning you need to build them based around that.

http://img13.deviantart.net

Being a support champion is a difficult task if you are not: 1) a team player or 2) good with map control. The support usually is partnered with the Attack Damage Carry (ADC) in the bot lane in Summoner’s Rift. You mainly handle plays and crowd control. Damage is low, therefore you do not belong in the main crossfire. The support’s main job is to keep the ADC alive.

Other support tasks can range from displacing the enemy team to providing protection to the ADC. They also provide power that benefits the whole team.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com

What is the ADC? ADC’s are really your marksman. These champions are “squishy,” meaning they have very low defense and are most vulnerable during battle (this is why support exists). Marksman have a weak early game and will depend on their automatic attack until they can build up their damage and attack speed.

As an ADC, your job is to be in the semi-front lines. You hang back and attack the main targets (enemy champions and turrets).

http://i.ytimg.com

The champion most similar to the ADC are the assassins. Assassins build on damage and attack speed while having low defense. These champions also, to an extent, act like the support champions. They can make plays and have map control (since they are highly mobile). The difference between the two is that the assassin is meant to rack up kills.  

http://ddragon.leagueoflegends.com

What is most important to your champion in game? The answer is simple: items. There are items that boost attack, defense, magic, movement and consumables are available. Understanding which items to use for building your champion is the key to you and your team’s success.

Outside gameplay, you can have more control regarding customizing your champion. There are two components to explore when you level up: runes and masteries.

Runes are bought with in-game currency and can boost any stat on your character depending on what you buy. However, not all runes are created equal; some give more towards the targeted stat than others.

When using masteries, you have three options to choose from. You can create either a more damage based champion, a mobile and/or versatile champion, or defense based champion.  

These are the basics for League of Legends. To get better at this game, all you need to do is practice and educate yourself on various champions. Understanding the general mechanics and technical facts will help you do well and get more addicted to this free-to-play world of fun.

Once you become a big fan, check out the Lore, the back story of League of Legends and its champions. If you are a college student, try looking for a League of Legends club, or create your own! Love a certain champion? Find their Funko POP! Vinyl Figure or find a group of friends and cosplay your favorite champions together.

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