So maybe you’ve been branching out and have been looking for a new gaming experience. Perhaps you’ve grown tired of the bickering console wars or are exhausted by the endless release of games combo’d with Mt. Dew and Doritos. Possibly you’re feeling adventurous and “New” is all you care about when it comes to games and if that’s the case then there is something we think you should know: the world’s most popular video game, League of Legends, is entering its fifth year of mainstream gaming and there’s never been a better time to jump in!
League of Legends is the world’s most popular MOBA, boasting 67 million players monthly and up to 30 million players each and every day across its global servers it is disputably the most popular game in existence. In this MOBA, you play as one of 121 characters (referred to as Champions) in teams of five fighting others in a race down their lanes to destroy the enemy base first. Ideally, teams will send one player to the top lane, one to the middle lane, two into the bottom lane and the fifth one will take the jungle that separates these lanes. Every lane will fight individually while receiving aid from their jungler until it becomes time for 5 on 5 team fights! Since the game stems from the ideals of World of Warcraft and other online games before it, there are diverse sets of roles and characters who fulfill them. What’s your play style? Are you a support, acting as a medic for the easy-to-kill champions? Or maybe “No guts, no glory” is your anthem and prefer to get right up in the face of your enemies with a Tank or Bruiser! However you play your games, League of Legends has something to suit you.
If you aren’t convinced yet, here are the top five reasons to begin playing now!
New Maps and Visual Updates!
After four years of minor updates and redraws of champions and maps, players are getting a complete makeover of the game’s beloved map Summoner’s Rift. This is the default map that recreational and pro players use. It’s a 5v5 map with the traditional 3 lanes and a jungle between them.
Although the current Summoner’s Rift is no eye sore, it won’t be able to compare to the new and improved one set to release after the current season ends on November 10.
If you are into graphic design, the teams behind these updates are always hosting Q&A sessions fans and posting works in progress to their blogs, giving you a behind the scenes first look at all the new and upcoming champions and maps!
League of Legends is officially an Esport in America!
Esports is a smaller but rapidly growing and evolving community that’s home to a wide range of games from fighters to shooters to MOBAs, such as League of Legends and DotA (Defense of the Ancients). It’s exactly like it sounds. In the United States of America, you can receive a worker’s visa from out of country just to come play League of Legends for up to five years. You can even participate in teams and receive scholarships at select colleges throughout the US!
League of Legends has a vibrant and exciting Esports scene that is worldwide and incredibly active, most colloquially referred to in America and Europe as LCS or The League Championship Series. Every year represents a season, just like any other sport, in which teams from various regions compete first at a national level in order to secure spots for playoffs where in turn they will secure spots of group stages at Worlds, the international stage of competitive play. It is with no doubt a huge sport with massive events: Season 3 Finals of Worlds had a total viewership 32 million people watching a best of five with a 1st place prize of over 1 million dollars. Casual and dedicated players alike adorn to watch these games during regular season and at special events such as Worlds or other international stages. With the growth of platforms like Twitch, Youtube, and Azubu, access to this content has never been easier. All of this free material provides entertaining and informative lessons to the viewers of how to play the game better, whilst holding their attention with nail biting close games and neck breaking speeds of crushing victories.
Season 4 Just Ended Today!
League of Legends has several different game modes with its mainstay being a cooperative five versus five layout. There is a casual game mode and then a competitive version, where every player is ranked according to how many points they earn or lose determined by wins or losses respectively. There are six tiers that start from the lowest tier Bronze, which holds the majority of all players, and goes all the way to the highest tier of Challenger where the top 200 players of any region compete for the number one spot. During the season, many players will practice in the non-competitive mode so as to avoid hurting their rank and occasionally this leads to more advanced players becoming upset with newer ones. In the offseason or pre-season, ranked play is no longer available and whatever a player has achieved for that year will be locked into place, meaning that there is much less tension between all types of players. Changes to gameplay are also in development as they are at the end of every seasons so all gameplay henceforth will put players ahead of the curve. No need to unlearn old methods of gameplay as everything post Season 4 will be fresh to everyone.
More than One Way to Play!
Although it may not be for everyone, if you are like me, you love lore. You love it in Lord of the Rings, you love it in Star Wars and you love it in your JimxDwight Office fan-fics. Stories make gameplay better every time. League of Legends has a huge in-game lore. There are detailed stories for every player, their friends, their families, and their homes. There are provinces and kingdoms, cities and towns with differing economies and cultures. From the royal family in Demacia or their warring sworn enemy Noxus, champions of each faction share quotes and abilities that affect each other exclusively, only ever helping to make the game more interesting. Every champion has a unique set of abilities and lines that deeply reflect the lore and their personality keeping gameplay entertaining and occasionally hilarious.
Besides the standard map, there are three other modes of play, a 3v3, 3 lane map, a single lane 5v5 map, and a 5v5 king of the hill each with a slightly tuned set of rules and item sets. Periodically, there will be a goofy game mode added to one of the four maps such as HEXAKILL, a game mode where each team gets an extra member, or ALL FOR ONE wherein everyone on the team has to play the exact same champion. These modes provide an excellent break for normal mode grinding, as well as creating some of the most hilarious moments and epic fights. The most notable of these modes is the ever infamous April Fool’s Day URF mode. URF stands for ULTRA RAPID FIRE mode and flips all the rules on their head. In said mode, champions could use their abilities limitlessly, could move faster around the map and spam their attacks relentlessly by receiving a special stat booster.
It made everything chaotic, goofy, and perfect! As a joke for the holiday, Riot, the company who designed and developed League of Legends, introduced the mode to “increase fun” and it took the community by storm. It was such a good mode that they kept it for several weeks after. It is additions like these that really bring the community together and make for some good memories.
Lastly and most importantly, League has three forms of monitoring and enforcing in-game rules: Riot Staff, Reports, and The Tribunal. Riot of course monitors game play and makes sure that rude or verbally abusive players are punished but they give most of the power to the players in two ways: Reports and The Tribunal. After every game, a player has the ability to honor or report a fellow teammates or opposing players. Most games have a standard mute button but in League of Legends you have the ability to make a difference with your reports and praises. The Tribunal receives these reports and determines punishment. Notably, the Tribunal is made up of regular players of every level of experience. Punishments and trials are kept private but statistics of amounts and the severity are published and with no surprise, since its institution as a self-governing body for players by players, toxicity has gone down and praises have gone up. There is always some way to enjoy League in a new fashion!
It’s Free to Play!
And not that iOS kind of free, but actually truly, honestly free! Free to download, free to play. The game is supported by its Esports involvement and by micro-transations in the game where players are able to purchase unique skins for their champions and certain in game items. In a game as fast-paced, interesting, and open-ended as League of Legends, its most notable feature is that no amount of purchases puts other players at a disadvantage. No DLC, no exclusive content or advantages can be bought by players with a fatter wallet, every player has an equal chance at being the best player they can be. Disclaimer: Although it is free to play, eventually you will give in and buy cute stuff. It’s impossible not to. Trust me.
DotA? More like Don’tA! Hearthstone? More like Barfstone. If you are feeling sexy and free, League of Legends is clearly the number one way to go.
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