League of Legends is one of the most popular games in the world, and the biggest competitive game. LoL came out in 2009 and has a well-established playerbase of veterans, is not a dying game and it’s never too late to start playing. While the game has endless depth of gameplay, the basics are, as is the case more often than not, simple. This guide is here to help teach you how to play LoL!
League of Legends is a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) where two teams of five compete to destroy the enemy Nexus in the Summoner’s Rift. Each player picks a champion, a character with its set of unique abilities, and grows in power while battling opponents. A game of League of Legends lasts about 30 to 40 minutes.
The goal of the game is to destroy the opponents’ Nexus, a structure located deep within the enemy territory. To that end, the teams attempt to take out the enemy champions to be able to attack their turrets, the defensive structures that guard the way to the Nexus.
Champions respawn a few seconds after being slain, but killing them awards gold and experience to allow the player to become stronger.
With experience, champions level up and unlock new abilities or upgrade their existing ones. Each champion has access to four abilities, including a powerful ultimate. Gold allows the purchase of items in the shop, which boost the player’s stats or provide additional effects.
How to play LoL as a team of five. Image Source: Riot Games
League of Legends has a roster of over 160 Champions, released over the years, broken down in several classes.
Each game, players can pick a different champion. The goal is to both attain a balanced team and find one’s favorite characters to stick to. Of course, some characters are more powerful and are a part of the “meta”, or the current trending setup in the game. No one is forcing you to play these “popular” Champions, though.
LoL matches are played on the Summoner’s Rift, a battle arena split into three lanes with a jungle between them. When starting a game, each player is assigned a lane that they will spend most of their game on. Different champion classes belong to different roles.
The five roles in League of Legends are:
While it is important to learn all five roles, all players end up finding their favorite lane.
The Summoner’s Rift, where people learn how to get better at League of Legends. Image Source: Riot Games
Really knowing how to play LoL is too complex to be explained in a few words, so the goal of this section is rather to teach how not to mess up, to be set on the right path to have fun and grasp more and more of the game. Watching some of the best League of Legends players also helps with learning the game!
Each lane in League of Legends starts from the base, guarded by turrets. Two more turrets stand in each lane outside of the base. These structures are each team’s main defense, and all buildings behind them are impervious while they stand.
This means that while fighting champions is the fun of LoL, destroying the turrets is the goal behind every play. However, towers are also extremely powerful, and they will attack any enemy foolish enough to enter their range.
This is where minions come in. Every 30 seconds, the Nexus spawns a wave of 6 minions, or creeps, in each lane. Those little units will march relentlessly until they meet an enemy unit or turret, which they’ll then fight. Killing minions gives gold and experience, and this is the players’ main source of money.
However, minions only give money to the player who deals the finishing blow. If no one does, that gold is lost, making it crucial to learn to time attacks so that they’ll finish them off.
Turrets are there to punish those who don’t know how to play League of Legends. Image Source: Riot Games
Besides being the backbone of the economy of Summoner’s Rift, minions grant the way to beat down turrets. A tower will prioritize hitting minions if there are any in its range, allowing a champion to attack them safely. Once the turret falls, it’s rinse and repeat with the next!
Warning: If someone attacks an enemy champion, the turret will immediately switch its focus to the attacker. Turrets are deadly, so it’s best to avoid fighting near an enemy tower. Likewise, allied towers provide the same protection against the opponents.
In summary, those are the goals of laning in League of Legends:
The Baron Nashor, the final boss when learning how to play League of Legends. Image Source: Riot Games
After roughly 15 to 20 minutes in the game, players will naturally stop defaulting to their lane and will start grouping up as a team. This will lead to teamfights and will allow for breaking into the enemy base. At that point, the best course of action is to join the group and follow suit!
Featured Image Source: Riot Games
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