In this beginner’s guide, I would like to explain the game to newcomers and those who want to learn something about League of Legends and provide tips.
Foreword: So, you want to play League of Legends
League of Legends is a real-time strategy game and belongs to the “MOBA” (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) genre. In a MOBA, you compete against an opposing team in an arena with other players – 2 teams play. Unlike other strategy games, in LoL you don’t control an entire army, but focus on a hero that you play yourself.
The match map is mirrored and divided into 3 different paths called “Lanes”. The lanes are named (from top to bottom) Top Lane, Mid Lane, and Bot Lane. Additionally, there is the jungle, which is located between these 3 lanes. The goal is to destroy all towers on at least one of these lanes so that you can attack the main structure of the opponents, the Nexus. As soon as the Nexus has no health points left, or a team surrenders, the game is over. This can take between 20 and 60 minutes (in rare cases even longer) depending on the game.
League of Legends has become so popular that it is constantly among the top 3 most popular games on streaming websites like TwitchTV. Viewers are attracted not only at home in front of their screens but also to various live events. For example, around 11,000 people filled Madison Square Garden in 2015 to watch their favorite teams play live. World Championship broadcasts now reach over 300,000 viewers online at the same time.
To be successful as a League of Legends player, you don’t necessarily have to belong to a professional team. Streaming LoL has become the profession of many players. Over 20,000 people simultaneously watch streamer Nightblue3 on Twitch as he tries out new strategies in the game while entertaining his fans. Former professional players like Dyrus, who played for the popular eSports team TeamSoloMid for many years but then took a break from the professional career, also regularly stream their games online for their fans.
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