Intro to League
League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena. It is free to play supported by micro-transactions. It was first announced on October 7, 2008, and released on October 27, 2009. League of Legends was generally well received at release, and has grown in popularity in the years since. According to a 2012 Forbes article, League of Legends is the most played PC game in the world in terms of the number of hours played.
Players are formed into two teams of five Champions (three on the Twisted Treeline map). As of October 10, 2013, there are 116 different Champions from which to choose. Each player begins at opposing sides of a map near a building called a Nexus. A match is won when either team's Nexus is destroyed. To destroy a Nexus, each team must work through a series of Turrets placed along a path – referred to as a Lane – to each base. Along the way, each player gains levels from killing the opposing team's Champions and Minions (non-player characters (NPCs) that regularly spawn and attack the other team) and defeating neutral monsters. Completing objectives rewards players with gold which is used to purchase items, making their Champion stronger.League of Legends is a session-based game. Matchmaking creates teams with even average MMR (Matchmaking Rating) of the constituent players. MMR uses the Elo formula with proprietary adjustments.[5]
There are five general game types: Tutorial, Custom, Co-Op vs. AI, Normal or Ranked. However, even within each type, there are many options available.
A match puts two teams with a fixed number of players against each other. Each team has its base, which contains the re-spawn point, item shop and nexus. The two bases are connected by lanes. Periodically, waves of minions spawn from the nexus, AI-controlled troops that walk down the lanes, engaging any enemies they encounter. The lanes are lined with turrets that engage enemies within range. Once a turret is destroyed, it cannot be rebuilt. Each lane has an inhibitor on both ends. Inhibitor is a building that prevents powerful "super minions" from being spawned for the enemy team. The team that destroyed an inhibitor will gain a temporary advantage, but inhibitors will respawn after 5 minutes.
Besides the lanes, the maps also contain "jungle" areas, which contain neutral monsters to be killed for bonus gold and experience. Some powerful neutral monsters grant the killer a temporary buff that will help them in battle. Another special terrain feature is the brush. Brush blocks the line of sight of units, allowing champions to hide and set up an ambush.
The goal of each team is to destroy the enemy Nexus. The first team to achieve this is the victor. Victory is also attained if the opponent surrenders, using a voting system where 70% of the team must agree (4 of 5 players usually), but only after enough time has passed.
DominionDominion is a game mode released by Riot Games in September 2011. Dominion brings faster action and tactical gameplay played on a new map, The Crystal Scar, and features a new Capture-and-Hold playstyle. The Inhibitors and Turrets have been removed – instead, the map has five Capture Points. Capturing one of these points will turn it into a Turret and allow it to start spawning minions. Item availability is also different in Dominion,. Two new summoner spells, called Garrison and Promote were released with the new game mode, with the latter also being available in Summoner's Rift. Promote is no longer available in either game mode. The Teleport summoner spell is not available in Dominion. This game mode is aimed to be much shorter than conventional 30-45-minute classic games: most Dominion games average about 15–25 minutes in duration.
Players are formed into two teams of five Champions (three on the Twisted Treeline map). As of October 10, 2013, there are 116 different Champions from which to choose. Each player begins at opposing sides of a map near a building called a Nexus. A match is won when either team's Nexus is destroyed. To destroy a Nexus, each team must work through a series of Turrets placed along a path – referred to as a Lane – to each base. Along the way, each player gains levels from killing the opposing team's Champions and Minions (non-player characters (NPCs) that regularly spawn and attack the other team) and defeating neutral monsters. Completing objectives rewards players with gold which is used to purchase items, making their Champion stronger.League of Legends is a session-based game. Matchmaking creates teams with even average MMR (Matchmaking Rating) of the constituent players. MMR uses the Elo formula with proprietary adjustments.[5]
There are five general game types: Tutorial, Custom, Co-Op vs. AI, Normal or Ranked. However, even within each type, there are many options available.
- Tutorial mode is a set of two introductory games that teach the basics. It is intended to help new players learn important concepts, which might not otherwise be obvious.
- Custom mode allows players to create games that players opt into rather than relying on matchmaking to create the teams. In custom matches, the teams can be uneven (for example, 3v4 or 2v5) and may include a mix of players and bots, which are computer-controlled champions.
- Co-op vs. AI mode matches players against a team of bots. Similar to the Tutorial mode, it is also intended mainly as a way for inexperienced players to learn, but it also used by more experienced players as a way of experimenting with new ideas or getting an easy First Win of the Day.
- Ranked mode is available to players that are level 30. Ranked uses Draft Mode: the first player on each team bans 3 champions from the game, and the two teams cannot have an identical champion. In addition, opposing Champion picks are visible before the game begins. Second, ranked players are seeded into a League system.
A match puts two teams with a fixed number of players against each other. Each team has its base, which contains the re-spawn point, item shop and nexus. The two bases are connected by lanes. Periodically, waves of minions spawn from the nexus, AI-controlled troops that walk down the lanes, engaging any enemies they encounter. The lanes are lined with turrets that engage enemies within range. Once a turret is destroyed, it cannot be rebuilt. Each lane has an inhibitor on both ends. Inhibitor is a building that prevents powerful "super minions" from being spawned for the enemy team. The team that destroyed an inhibitor will gain a temporary advantage, but inhibitors will respawn after 5 minutes.
Besides the lanes, the maps also contain "jungle" areas, which contain neutral monsters to be killed for bonus gold and experience. Some powerful neutral monsters grant the killer a temporary buff that will help them in battle. Another special terrain feature is the brush. Brush blocks the line of sight of units, allowing champions to hide and set up an ambush.
The goal of each team is to destroy the enemy Nexus. The first team to achieve this is the victor. Victory is also attained if the opponent surrenders, using a voting system where 70% of the team must agree (4 of 5 players usually), but only after enough time has passed.
DominionDominion is a game mode released by Riot Games in September 2011. Dominion brings faster action and tactical gameplay played on a new map, The Crystal Scar, and features a new Capture-and-Hold playstyle. The Inhibitors and Turrets have been removed – instead, the map has five Capture Points. Capturing one of these points will turn it into a Turret and allow it to start spawning minions. Item availability is also different in Dominion,. Two new summoner spells, called Garrison and Promote were released with the new game mode, with the latter also being available in Summoner's Rift. Promote is no longer available in either game mode. The Teleport summoner spell is not available in Dominion. This game mode is aimed to be much shorter than conventional 30-45-minute classic games: most Dominion games average about 15–25 minutes in duration.