Roscoe's Rapid Rudiments: Intro to LoL

Hey all you new summoners! Welcome to the first of a series of basics guides to the game League of Legends. You may have seen some cool LCS games, heard about it from friends or just happened to pick League of Legends up on your own. Either way, you’re battling it out on Summoner’s Rift like the rest of us. I know from experience that learning the inner workings of the game can be tough and there are many flamers that could shoot you down, so here are the fundamentals to becoming the very best, that no one has ever seen! I also know you'd rather be spending time on the game than reading some essay so I'll keep it rapid. Get it?!

The first step I advise is to play a few games with any champions that spark your fancy. In the client you can check up on a champion’s offensive or defensive capabilities, and whether they deliver damage through magic or attack damage. To help narrow your search, every Tuesday 10 champions become free through rotation. You can play those while they’re available, or you’ve got the option of buying with either RP (in game currency purchased with real cash) or IP (currency earned through finishing a match). Unless you feel like shelling out your own money into RP to buy a champion, you’re going to have to stick to the free week champions.

In order to find a champion you like, you’ll have to simply pick one, and if you enjoy playing them, then you can try to build up enough IP to buy them before they are no longer free. I’ll be honest, it may take a couple games before you find someone you enjoy playing, but trust me, you’ll find one pretty quickly out of the 111 available choices. Once you’ve got a favorite, play around with them and get a feel for how their abilities work. I would suggest playing a few Coop vs. AI games or ‘bot’ games. Even much more advanced players test out new champions, strategies or builds in bot games. At the beginner and even intermediate settings, the computer programs are quite easy to outsmart and practice against. Once you feel confident in your abilities, take on other players in a normal match!

I’ll advise from an early level to practice many roles. AD carry, AP mid, top, jungle or support are all in the current strategy (and I say current because the meta can be quite malleable) and having competence in all roles will go a long way. If you find yourself with a sour taste in your mouth (figuratively) after losing a game, find some friends to play with. They're usually easier to work with and less likely to flame at you for a mistake!

Check back in next time for your quick guide to etiquette on the rift!