Platform: Mac
Release Date: October 27, 2009
Developer/Publisher: Riot Games
Genre: RTS
Nerd Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Reviewed by Budroo
L.A. Staples Center full of gamers, CRAZY-excited to witness the 2013 League of Legends World Championship
League of Legends is piping hot right now; some of the best known developers are working on it every day in order to satisfy millions of gamers. It’s technically a MOBA (Multiplayer online battle arena) which is a sub-genre of RTS (Real-time strategy) games. It exemplifies a growing demand for eSports worldwide. Last year, the League of Legends World Championship was hosted at the Staples Center in LA. Tickets sold out an hour after they went on sale.
The gameplay is beyond exciting. It’s a bloody battle out there. I love the mix of cognitive strategy and primal intensity in League of Legends. One minute, you’re debating with your team about which move to make next. The next minute, you’re going balls to the wall in a full team face-off.
It’s a fight to get kills for most of the game, with the ending being the destruction of either team’s Nexus. The Nexus is just another word for base. The Nexus is located where you spawn in the beginning of the match, respawn after death or teleport back to to buy equipment.
Killing minions, neutral jungle monsters, turrets, champions and inhibitors generates gold. The more gold you acquire, the better the items you can purchase. Stocking your champion with top tier weaponry allows you to push further into enemy territory.
Take note of the image below, it’s the most popular League of Legends map called “Summoner’s Rift”. The top, mid and bottom lanes are where minions travel toward after they automatically spawn from each team’s Nexus. The jungle areas are where neutral monsters reside. They can be killed for experience, gold and even buffs. The inhibitors are prime targets. Teams destroy enemy inhibitors in order to automatically spawn super minions. The Nexuses are located behind all the defenses. Destroying the Nexus is the final objective.
In League of Legends, you get six slots in your inventory for items and one slot for a trinket. An example of a trinket is a ward that can be set down to reveal a small area on the map for a few minutes. A general strategy is to buy four offensive items and two defensive items by end-game.
Inventory Layout: 6 items, 1 trinket
The diverse number of champions to choose from makes League of Legends worth playing. Each champion is unique in its own way. They all have five abilities. One ability is passive, three are active and one is ultimate. Some champions’ abilities grant passive bonuses. For example, Sivir, a marksman champion, has an ultimate ability called “On the Hunt” that increases her movement speed. Even when she doesn’t cast “On the Hunt”, she gets a passive attack speed bonus from it.
As you can see, there are plenty of champions to choose from. Which one fits you?
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There are six types of champions in League of Legends. The assassin is high damage, low health. Assassins are known to come into a heated battle, take out one or two enemies quickly and then back away. The marksman is similar to the assassin. It’s fragile and deals a lot of damage, but at a range. The Mage is just the same. It can deal immense damage but only with protection from enemies. Fighters lead the team into battle, taking a lot of the initial heat while assassin and marksmen allies go to town on enemies. Tanks are similar to fighters except they take more damage and deal less. Support champions play a subtler role than others. Teams count on them to heal, boost, inhibit enemies and reveal the map.
Brand: this mage blows up the battlefield
Whichever champion you choose, remember to play smartly. Don’t feed the enemy (die carelessly). That allows your enemy to become increasingly stronger, eventually to a point where you can’t win. Aim for low deaths, high assists and let the kills come naturally. Collaborate with your teammates to seize opportunities when they come.
The pursuit of becoming a better League of Legends player motivates me to play all the time. I hope you find the same passion for this game.
Don’t forget to add me on League of Legends… username: MECHBless
