Luu 1

Tyler Luu

Hatfield

ENGL-1301-SCHS3

September 23, 2019

“League of Legends” Review

Video games are a nice way to relax (sometimes,) keep some things off your mind, and

escape reality. Although most of the good video games cost money, there are some enjoyable

free to play games, like “League of Legends,”​ ​by​ Riot Games.​ “League of Legends​,” ​or​ ​“LoL,”

for short, is a competitive MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game that was launched on

October 27, 2009. This game was the first of its kind, but even after all these years, it is still very

popular among the gaming community. “League of Legends”​ ​is a prime example of what video

games should be, with its variety of characters, strategic gameplay, and replay value.

This is how the game works; there are two teams of five that go against each other. The

main objective of the game (besides having fun) is to destroy the enemy team’s Nexus (The

enemy team’s crystal in the middle of their base) which is protected by towers that shoot beams.

Before the game even starts, all decision making and the strategy starts in the game lobby. Once

the players enter the lobby, players frantically type in what role they want. There are five roles

that you can call are “Top,” “Mid,” “ADC (attack damage carry),” “Support,” and “Jg (which is

short for jungler).” Roles help determine what area of the map they go to. In the​ IGN a​ rticle

called “‘League of Legends’ Review​” b​ y Leah B. Jackson, she nicely sums up what the map

looks like in this statement, “ ​Like most MOBAs, “League of Legends’” main attraction is its

five-on-five matches on its staple three-lane map. Called ​Summoner's Rift, this map​ is brightly
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and colorfully designed, and it creates a distinct playstyle with the way its dense brush allows

you to conceal yourself and surprise enemies.”​(Jackson n.p.)​ Top goes to the lane on the top side

of the map, Mid goes to the middle lane, ADC and support goes to the lane on the bottom side of

the map, and Jg goes to the spaces in between the lanes called the Jungle. The Jungle has

different types of monsters that give levels or sometimes “buffs”, a passive ability that enhances

the player, or the team in some type of form, to the players. From simple buffs like getting vision

on the map from a green adorable ​crustacean-like creature called Scuttle Crab to getting

powerful buffs like getting an extra power boost to the whole team from a grotesque worm-like

creature called Baron. After calling their roles, players then choose the characters they want to

play called champions and then start wreaking havoc.

There is no problem with the variety of characters in “League of Legends​,”​ ​ ​especially

with its 145 characters (as of right now). Each Champion are completely different from each

other because every champion has their own abilities, and personality that makes them stand out

from the others. There are champions that protects others and supports the team (mainly called

supports), champions that uses magic (mainly called mages), champions that can just win the

game with enough time (mainly called ADC ), champions that like to take damage to protect the

team (mainly called tanks), and more (White n.p.). There is a variety of champions to choose

from, like “From Ziggs, the bomb-loving little rat, to Jinx, the blue-pigtailed maniac...” (Jackson

n.p.). From ninjas, to demons, to vampires, to a space dragon, no two champions could ever feel

the same. There is no way a player cannot find a champion that they connect with, or that fits

their play style. The variety never ends because Riot Games always releases a new champion

every couple of months. The diversity of champions adds a lot of gameplay to the game, and
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allows players to have fun with their new main (what a player’s preferred champion is, or what

champion they do the best with.).

When it comes to strategy games,​ “​ League of Legends​”​ takes the cake. The strategy

starts before the game even starts. In the game lobby, when players choose their champions, they

have to consider if their team is balanced. If the team is unbalanced (meaning if there are too

many champions of the same type.), the enemy team could easily win. Then there are the runes

the player can customize in the game lobby too. Runes enhances a champion's abilities, which

can help the player conquer their lane. For example, Conqueror is a rune that does more damage

to a champion, the more times you hit them. Runes can be put into five categories; Precision,

Sorcery, Domination, Resolve, and Inspiration. A player can select a Keystone (a rune that

greatly enhances the champion) and three lesser runes from one category, and choose another

two lesser runes from another category. Then the player can choose two Summoner spells,

which are activatable abilities that all have different effects from each other. For example, Flash

is an ability that allows the champion to teleport a short distance, and Ignite is an ability that

allows the champion to burn an enemy champion to death (sometimes they just live with a silver

of health.). Then throughout the entire game, players have to buy items, enhancements that the

players get within the game, with gold that they get from killing monsters and the enemy team. It

is insane that there is so much strategic thinking that goes into this game (before and

throughout.). Players have to constantly plan and strategize or that one misstep could spell out

defeat.

While most games get boring after a while because replaying the same exact game can

get boring, “League of Legends”​ ​does not have this problem. With the 145 champions League
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has, and the multiple team combinations that are possible, there is no way a player can get bored.

That is not even counting the different runes, Summoner spells, and items that a play can use.

“League of Legends Review”​ b​ y Leah B. Jackson also agrees that this game has a lot of replay

value in this statement, “​Even though you play on the same few maps with similar items, there’s

so much depth and strategy going on that no two matches of League of Legends ever feel the

same.” ​(Jackson n.p.)​ LoL is a game that could be played 100 times, but could never get boring.

“League of Legends” is a game that should be played by those who want to play with a

diversity of characters, play with strategic planning, and want to play the same game multiple

times without getting bored. League has been more than just a game. It has connected people

from all over the world and from different communities, and is the greatest game of all time.
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Cited Sources

Jackson, Leah B. “League of Legends Review.” ​IGN,​ IGN, 13 Feb. 2014,

https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/02/13/league-of-legends-review-2.

Giratikanon, Tom, et al. “Watch 10,000 League of Legends Games in 30 Seconds.” ​The New

York Times​, The New York Times, 10 Oct. 2014,

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/10/technology/league-of-legends-graphic.ht

ml?searchResultPosition=4.

League of Legends​, https://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/.