Riot Games’ widely popular MOBA League of Legends has been around since 2009 and it’s remained one of the most popular esports since its inception.
Even though it’s been available for so long, there are always new players getting their hands on the game for the first time. For those players, it can be daunting to get a grasp on how the game works and what they should be doing to maximize their potential for success.
Here’s everything new players need to know about the basics of League.
The goal
The goal in League is to work as a team to destroy the enemy Nexus or crush the enemy’s hopes of victory to the point that they surrender.
The Nexus is the primary objective in each team’s base. Once its health hits zero, the team who destroyed it wins. The objective lies deep inside the enemy’s base on their side of the map. Getting to it will be a challenge, though, since there are many obstacles in the way.
Champions
League boasts 150 unique champions. They can be unlocked by using in-game currency acquired through playing games or purchased using real-life money to buy Riot Points. The game also offers a weekly rotation of 15 champions that are free to play.
Each champion offers a unique playstyle and ability set that can be more beneficial depending on the role you’re assigned in the game. Each team will be set up with five champions that will try to defeat the enemy by making their way to and destroying the enemy’s Nexus.
Controls
Movement: League has a simple movement system. Players use the right mouse button to click on the screen where they would like their champion to move to.
Map navigation: Once you begin moving, you’ll notice that the camera follows the mouse and not the champion. Holding the spacebar will focus the camera on the player, making it easy for them to see combat around them. If the player wants to look around the map, they can do so by moving their mouse or by clicking on the mini-map in the bottom right corner.
Abilities: Champions have four abilities that can be unlocked as they level up. These will be bound to the Q, W, E, and R keys. Each champion has unique abilities that will be activated in a variety of different ways. Players will be able to level up their abilities as their champion’s level increases in-game by holding Ctrl and selecting the corresponding key. Some abilities will be targetable and will require the player to right-click on an enemy or teammate after they click the ability key. Other abilities will automatically take effect from the press of the key.
Recall: Players are able to return to base quickly when out of combat by recalling. This can be done by clicking the B key. If a player takes damage while they’re recalling, it will automatically be canceled.
Items: Each item will correspond to a numbered key. Some items offer active effects that the player can choose to initiate, offering a variety of different effects. All they must do to accomplish this is select the number corresponding with that item’s slot in their inventory.