A Beginners Guide: Getting Better at Playing League of Legends

L.O.L. short for league of legends is a multiplayer online battle arena game or M.O.B.A. L.O.L. is an immensely popular M.O.B.A., which is based on the defense of the ancient or D.O.T.A. map of warcraft 3. In 2018 the M.O.B.A. had a 111 million active user base. The 2019 League of Legends World Championship, featured 100 million viewers worldwide, with a concurrent viewership of over 44 million. The prize pool consisted of a minimum of 2.2 million U.S.D., with additional earnings boosted by in-game purchases related to the championship.

It is clearly understood that being good at L.O.L. has its perks. The average earning of a League of Legends Championship professional player is 410,000 U.S.D. Not to mention the earnings from streams and external sponsorship. The competitive gaming industry has come a very long way and it’s as lucrative as any other sports industry. Specially League of Legends with its massive user base and popularity provides a unique opportunity.

Playing L.O.L. for fun is completely okay. Probably most of it’s 110 million users do the same. But, getting better at it has its benefits as we have already discussed. That is why this article will try to set you in the right direction towards getting better at it.

Accounts

Creating an account is the most basic step of playing any M.O.B.A. But for L.O.L., accounts can be a tricky one. First of all, there are multiple platforms for different regions. Garena is a popular platform in the South-East and South Asia region. The Riot client lets you play globally. Choosing the correct server, allows you to get better by providing a proper competitive environment.

The second thing about accounts is that- you can buy league accounts online. You may ask the question- why would I buy it if I can create an account for free? Well, buying accounts with high also means you get a lot of in-game content that otherwise you will have to earn through hard work.

Leveling the hard way

If you want to start from the beginning- after opening an account, start playing some bot matches in All pick. You could play custom matches too but won’t get any rewards. Start with the beginner level and go up to the intermediate level, as each level becomes easier for you.

Start playing unranked P.V.P. in all-pick after you are acquainted with the game through both matches. You will have to play unranked for a good amount of time, to get a grip on the game. Once you think you are ready for it and acquired enough champions, start playing ranked matches. In the lower Bronze ranks, the competition isn’t that hard. Once you start ranking up, you will face a lot of competition.

Leveling this way will be hard and it will take a lot of time. But you will be better acquainted with the game this way.

Champions

Champions are the main character of L.O.L. each with their unique quality. Unlike many other M.O.B.A., L.O.L. doesn’t allow free champions. Instead, in the unranked portion, you will be allowed to play 15 champions for free, every week. The pool of free champions rotates every week. This is an opportunity to get acquainted with multiple champions and build up your skill.

L.O.L. champions have to be bought using blue shards, which are won by playing matches. A lot of matches need to be played in order to get some of the champions. And you do not unlock rank unless you have 20 champions. Which allows you to gain experience with the champions in the unranked version. You can also buy champs using Riot points that can be bought via physical currencies.

Starting with solo lane tank champions, such as- Garen, Darius, Poppy could help you learn the game and also your opponents. Slowly you can move towards assassin champions, such as- Talon, Zed, Akali. Ranged champions are pretty hard to master, such as- Jhin, Jinx, Ashe. Support and junglers are the hardest to master.

For a beginner, you can play multiple champions to get acquainted with them. But, you should have your ‘main’ champ, which you are better at playing than other champions. This type of single champion mastering will allow you to level up and earn rewards faster.

Following  the game guides and watch and learn method

In most cases, game guides that can be found online are your only ally in the early phases. Game guides include some elaborate guidelines regarding champion items and runes. They also contain ability combos for each champion, play style, and valuable information about champions. Until you are properly acquainted with the in-game intricacies, the guides are your best option.

Once you start grasping the game a little, you should start watching videos and streams of pro players online. Following a high elo player, how they maneuver their champions, is a great source of learning. The biggest function of watch and learn is, you will know how different matchups for different champions look like. It allows you the insight, to use champion abilities properly against other champions.

There are many players who master one champion. Like, Yamikaze is the master of Talon. Most of the streamers provide gameplays for multiple champs, like BrickyOrchid. You can also watch the championship games recap, to learn how the minds of highest level players work.

Playing the game

Most important is, you learn how to actually play the game. What you learn from watching the streamers or from reading guides, you have to apply to the game. It is the only way for you to practically learn the game.

Each champion has a definitive set of abilities. It is through playing, you can learn how to properly access the abilities and different aspects of the plays and also how they interact with your items. Playing the game will let you know the maps- the jungle, the lanes, the buffs you get from the jungle, etc.

One aspect of playing is losing. At different stages, you will have more loss in games, than you will have wins. For instance, when you first step into play, you will be unranked then gradually you reach higher levels of rank, such as- silver or gold. But remember, losing is part of the learning curve and  M.O.B.A. L.O.L is no different.

There are two types of defeat in each game. Your stats are your personal in-game attributes, such as- KDA, damage amount, golds, etc. If you lose your lane that is a personal defeat for you. Your team can still win the match if the other members give hard carry. A team defeat is when your whole team loses the match. Learning from each mistake to improve your personal performance should be your main goal, as you cannot control the team play.

Playing the game with your friends could create an impact on your performance. It will create camaraderie among you and other players. Teamplay is at its best when the players know each other. Playing custom matches with each other will also allow you to gain valuable experiences.

League of legends is an extraordinary M.O.B.A. experience in itself. Playing it better, or better yet- reaching a professional level would be even much better. So, learn to play L.O.L. the right way.