League of Legends for Newbies: Everything You Need to Know

When Riot Games introduced League of Legends, the expectations were pretty high. In their known fashion, they delivered something outstanding. What came after its launch was great popularity and a game that transformed the gaming world with its incredible competitiveness and the introduction of its esports elements. Whether you are an old gamer looking to get into this epic game, or a new gamer, knowing basic stuff will definitely smooth your gaming experience.

Types and Classes: Understanding the Diversity of Champions

League of Legends has over 150 champions to pick from. Even though the number sounds overwhelming, it is easy to navigate through them once you know their type and class. The types of champions are divided as physical, magical, and hybrid. Each one of these shows the source and nature of the champion's damage. On the other hand, the champions are divided in the following classes: Tanks, Fighters, Mages, Assassins, Marksmen, and Supports. With their class the champions have their own style and purpose of their gameplay. With more than 150 champions, you should really try some of them and stick to the ones you like the most. Here is short summary for each champion classes:

• Tanks are champions that can take a lot of damage and protect their allies with crowd control and initiation.

• Fighters are champions that can deal consistent damage and fight for a long time with sustain and dueling.

• Mages are champions that can deal burst damage and cast spells from a distance with poke and wave clear.

• Assassins are champions that can deal high damage and eliminate priority targets quickly with mobility and burst.

• Marksmen are champions that can deal sustained damage and take down objectives with basic attacks and kiting.

• Supports are champions that can assist their allies with healing, shielding, buffing, or debuffing.

Roles and Lanes: Finding Your Place in the Rift

One of the most important aspects of League of Legends is understanding the different roles and lanes that each champion can play. There are five roles: Top, Jungle, Mid, Bot, and Support. The thing is that they correlate with five positions on the map: the top lane, the jungle, the mid lane, the bottom lane, and the support role. Each of these roles and lanes has its own responsibilities, strengths, and weaknesses. However, they are all connected with each other and interact in various ways throughout the game.

Top Lane

The Top lane is usually occupied by Tank or Fighter roles. These types of champions can take a lot of damage and do consistent dps. The main responsibilities are farming minions, trading with the enemy laner, and joining team fights when needed. The biggest strengths of tank and fighter roles are their durability (meaning they can take a lot of damage), their sustainability and split-pushing on their lane. On the other hand, their biggest weaknesses are mobility (usually these champions are slower than other roles), they have weak CC and are really vulnerable to ganks. Some champions that are usually played are Garen, Darius, and Fiora. 

The Jungle

The Jungle is in LoL that is located exactly between the lanes, where neutral monsters spawn. The most common champions come as a Fighter or an Assassin roles. These champions can easily clear the jungle camps and when called gank on all lanes. The main role of Jungle players come from securing objectives, providing vision on specific areas on the map, and applying pressure on some lanes. For strengths, these champions are versatile, unpredictable (they can gank anyone) and impactful. Some players cannot see these players until the end game has started. For weaknesses they have a lot of competition dependency, competition, and counter-jungling. Most common champions seen on these lanes are Lee Sin, Elise, and Kha'Zix.

Mid Lane

The Mid lane is the shortest and most central lane usually populated with mages and assassins roles. They deal high burst damage and can easily roam the map because of their location. Usually, the farm minions harass the enemy laner, and more than often go to other lanes and bother other players. Biggest strengths of these champions are their high damage, different type of abilities and their end-game influence. On the other hand, their weaknesses lie in their low amount of health and mana, and very poor CC. Champions mostly seen on this lane are Ahri, Zed, and Syndra.

The Bot Lane

The Bot (bottom) lane is the longest and most crowded lane, populated by marksmen and supports champions. The Marksmans are champions that deal sustained damage and take down objectives. They are always paired with support, usually a Tank or an Enchanter, who can protect and empower the marksman laner. The Bot laners and Support's responsibilities include farming minions, poking the enemy duo, and securing the Dragon. Biggest strengths are the synergy between the two roles, scaling, and of course 2v1 fighting. For weakness sometimes falls off personal player skills like coordination and reliance. Some of the best champions for the Markships roles are Caitlyn, Jhin and Kai'Sa. Additionally, best supports come from Thresh, Lulu, and Leona champions.  

Spectator Mode: A Window into the Fray

One thing that new players should do when they start playing LoL for the 1st time is knowing how to use Spectator Mode. This mode allows you to see the game from different perspectives and angles, and gives you a lot of information and data that can help you understand the game better. You can also use this mode to have fun and admire the skills and strategies of other players.

On the top of the screen, you can see the Top bar, which shows you the important data of the game, such as the number of towers, inhibitors, and kills for each team, the amount of gold and experience for each player, and the time and score of the game. These data can help you see the flow and progress of the game, and the direction and outcome of each team's efforts.

On the sides of the screen, you can see the Sidebars, which show you the details of each player's champion, such as their health, mana, and ultimate ability. These details can help you see the potential and readiness of each champion, and the signals and opportunities for combat. In the middle of the battle, these panels can help you see the strategic implications and decisions of each player.

On the bottom of the screen, you can see the Bottom Block, which shows you the portraits of each player's champion, according to their role, such as Top, Jungle, Mid, Bot, or Support. Next to the portraits, you can see the Creep Score, which shows you the number of minions that each player has killed, the K/D/A ratio, which shows you the number of kills, deaths, and assists that each player has, and the inventory, which shows you the items that each player has bought. This information can help you see the skill, contribution, and tactics of each player.

On the corner of the screen, you can see the Small Card, which shows you the map of the game, where you can see the position and movement of each player and objective. This map can help you see the vision and pressure of each team, and the proximity and possibility of victory or defeat.

Spectator Mode is a great way to learn and enjoy League of Legends, but nothing can replace the experience of playing the game yourself. So, go ahead and try out the champions, use your strategic skills and get deeper into the gameplay.

Game Modes and Maps

LoL is not like DOTA 2, it is not just one game. On the contrary, it is a collection of different game modes and maps that provide different experiences and challenges for players. Each game mode and map has its own objectives, rules, and strategies, and they require different skills and knowledge to play well.

Summoner's Rift - The most popular and classic game mode and map is Summoner's Rift which originates from the original Dota scenario in Warcraft 3. In this mode two teams of five players compete to destroy the enemy's Nexus, the core of their base. 

ARAM - Another game mode in LoL is ARAM. ARAM stands for “All Random All Mid” which explains the type of game. Basically, two teams of five players are randomly assigned a champion, and they have to fight in a single lane, with no recall or healing. 

Teamfight Tactics - The 3rd game mode in LoL and map is Teamfight Tactics. This mode is completely different from the other two we mentioned before. The main goal in this auto-battler, is where eight players compete to build the strongest team of champions and items, and watch them fight each other in rounds.

We’ve chosen just some of the game modes and maps available in League of Legends, but be certain that there are more for you to explore and enjoy, especially with each seasons and tweaks of the current modes.

Tournaments and Esports: Joining the Competitive Scene

As we mentioned before, LoL is not just a game, but it is an eSport as well. As the most popular MOBA genre game in the world, it has a huge and thriving esports scene, where professional players and teams compete in different tournaments and leagues around the world. If you want to learn the best plays, keep an eye on these tournaments:

The World Championship - This is the biggest and annual global tournament that crowns the best team in the world. In this tournament, the top teams of each region battle each other and play in competitive games. The tournament is held in different locations each year, and attracts millions of viewers and fans.

The Mid-Season Invitational - This is another annual international tournament that takes place between the spring and summer splits of each region. It features the champion teams from each region, who compete for the title of the best team in the mid-season. Same as the World Championship, this tournament is also held in different locations each year, and showcases the different styles and strengths of each region.

The Regional Leagues - These leagues are part of the regular seasons and playoffs of each region, where the teams compete for the regional titles, the qualification for the international events, and the regional pride. The regions are North America (LCS), Europe (LEC), China (LPL), Korea (LCK), Southeast Asia (PCS), Brazil (CBLOL), Turkey (TCL), Japan (LJL), Latin America (LLA), and Oceania (LCO).

The All-Star Event - This is an annual fun and casual tournament that takes place at the end of the year. It features the most popular and talented players from each region, who are voted by the fans, and who participate in various game modes and show matches. The event is a celebration of the game, the players, and the community.

Crypto tournaments and eSports are a great way to enjoy League of Legends, whether you want to watch, play, or bet on them. As you get more knowledge by visiting CCN, you can easily predict the outcomes of games. That’s why you can always use Bitcoin or crypto withdrawal or make some extra cash for purchasing your next gaming PC! 

Embracing the Odyssey

The main goal of this article is for us to help you navigate through the existing world of LoL. Further knowledge about this game will be learned along the way when you play, spectate and try new champions. Do not be afraid to ask from veteran players, and help you with the choices of your spells and items. The journey is just starting, enjoy every moment of it!