Introduction to League of Legends
Basics:
- Each team consists of 5 players that are all on separate roles. In best of 3’s and best of 5’s a player can be subbed out if they do not perform well enough.
- There is absolutely no time limit to League of Legends! A game can last 15 minutes long or it can go on for over an hour.
- At the beginning of the game, there is a “drafting Phase” where each team bans 5 champions and each team picks 5 champions. There are 160+ champions, so this can be very important for deciding who wins the game.
- Map Layout:
- The map is divided into 3 different “lanes” with jungle in between the lanes.
- There are multiple objectives on the map, with the Baron being towards the top side of the map, and the dragon being towards the bottom side of the map.
- Minions are small creatures that run through each lane toward the enemy’s base. When killed, these minions give gold and experience to every player around them.
- The game ends when one of the team’s base is destroyed.
Objectives:
- Turrets, also known as “Towers”, are stone structures in each lane. They deal damage to anything that is close to them, but can only focus on 1 person at a time.
- Dragon is a creature that is different each time he spawns. There are 4 different versions that give other buffs to the team that kills it. After a single team gets 4 dragons they get a bonus buff called the “dragon soul” that helps them to win the game.
- Baron is a purple, worm-like, creature. When killed he gives the team that killed him bonus stats and a lot of gold to purchase items.
Roles:
- Top: The Top Laner is the role that tends to play “tank” champions(characters that have a lot of defensive stats and HP). If they are not on a tank champion, they will be playing a “bruiser” which is a mix between a tank and damage-dealer. This player is isolated from the rest for a lot of the game, and tends to do something called “split-pushing”, which means staying away from the team and trying to destroy the enemy’s turrets.
- Jungle: The Jungler is my favorite role in the game, as they tend to have the most impact on whether your team wins or loses. This role is the closest you can get to PVE(Player versus Environment), as your main goal is to kill monsters in the jungle, that are not controlled by real players. These monsters give a lot of experience and gold, and allow the jungler to be one of the highest levels in the game. The jungle also has an ability called “smite” which does a ton of damage all at once to the objectives(dragon and baron), which is HUGE for winning the game. Lastly, the jungler has to make the decision to “gank” the lanes, which means they will gang up on a player and make it a 2 versus 1 to try and get a kill.
- Mid: The Mid laner is the 2nd most impactful. Being in the center of the map means that this player is between both of the key objectives, and they have to be sure to move out of their lane and help the jungler get Dragon or help him in fights if he is in a skirmish. Mid-laners tend to play scaling champions, meaning they are weak early on but get really strong as the game progresses.
- ADC/BOT: The Bot Laner or “ADC”(Attack Damage Carry) is a key part of the team. These players play in the bot lane with their support, and do most of their damage through “auto-attacking”, which means they do not have to use any ability to do a lot of damage, they just need to click on the enemy. The goal for the ADC is to stand behind the top laner and support, and stay away from the enemy damage dealers, AKA don’t die.
- Support: The support’s job is to keep the ADC and his other teammates alive. That is the key objective of this role. This player can be on a tank champion or can be on a more-supportive champion, meaning the typical healing and shielding.
Stream Layout:
- Top of the Screen: At the top of the screen, in the middle, you will see Each Team’s Name, as well as how many turrets they have taken, how much gold they have, and how many kills they have. Under that, you can see the time for how long they have been in the game, and if they have any dragons you will see an icon for which dragon they have taken.
- In the middle of the Screen: On each side, you will see the Blue team’s players on the left and the Red team’s players on the right. You can see their name, and under that will be the champion that they are playing, as well as the level that they are, and how much HP they have.
- Bottom of the Screen: At the bottom middle you will see a condensed list of each player’s champion and how many minions they have killed, what items they currently have bought, and how many kills/deaths/assists. These are listed in order of Top, Jungle, Mid, ADC, and Support. The Blue team is on the left, and the red team is on the right.
- NOTE: Different regions will have some additional information on the screen in certain areas as well. This can change just a tiny bit depending on what League you are watching(LPL, LCK, LCS, LEC).
