League of Legends, the esports giant
One of the world’s most popular esports, this strategic team-based game is like a mashup of chess and capture the flag. LoL’s competitive scene has millions of viewers and is the most well-known MOBA.
If you’ve ever watched esports, chances are you’ve seen League of Legends.
The free-to-play game is known for its competitive objective-based, strategy-focused gameplay.
Think of it as a hybrid of chess and capture the flag. The map and champions affect how players approach the game, and you have to plan moves strategically as a team.
At first glance, LoL is simple enough. Two teams of five start from opposing sides on a map. They then follow paths (or lanes) to the enemy base. Standing in their way? A series of computer-controlled enemies and obstacles… and the entire enemy team.
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It might sound simple. But to play the game at the highest level, well, that’s where it gets crazy.
Players can pick from a pool of “champions” (currently at 140+ and growing). Each champion has different abilities that help fulfill a specific role in the team. Then throughout a match, players will get gold to buy items which help the champions get stronger. There are over 250 items in the game, each again with different effects like making champions hit harder or heal faster.
There are three different maps in LoL. The first is Summoner’s Rift, the map used for esport tournaments and the most common MOBA layout. There’s also the Howling Abyss, which is one long lane instead of three. And then you have the Twisted Treeline, which looks like the infinity symbol, and only features teams of three (instead of the standard teams of five).
Each map also has different environmental objectives -- for example, slaying a large dragon. These objectives are technically optional, but they’re also a must because they can increase a team’s power.
As a result, every game played can look completely different, and teams have to adjust strategies on the fly.
History of League of Legends
League of Legends, just like its MOBA rival Dota 2, both evolved from a custom add-on mod for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, known as Defense of the Ancients: Allstars.
College roommates Brandon "Ryze" Beck and Marc "Tryndamere" Merrill co-founded Riot Games, and worked together with Steve "Guinsoo" Feak, one of the designers of Dota: Allstars to create LoL. The game was officially announced in October 7, 2008, and exploded in the gaming community soon after, hitting 32 million registered players by 2011.
Riot Games was also one of the first companies employ a microtransaction model for their game. It’s free to play the game, and no amount of money you spend will affect gameplay -- you can’t buy better characters or weapons or skills with real money. The only thing players can buy? Cosmetic items: Things that change the look of characters, not their function.
Few publishers were pleased with that plan back in 2007, but Tencent was on board and cut a deal with Riot. That gave Riot the funding it needed to start LoL. Tencent’s partnership also opened the game up to China’s gamers, and now the country is one of the strongest regions in competitive LoL.
The rise of League of Legends World Championship
Speaking of competitive LoL, the game played a huge part in the rise of esports as a form of mainstream entertainment.
Governments are also recognizing LoL esports as a legitimate event, with countries hosting LoL tournaments in official esports festivals. Other sports teams like the Golden State Warriors and FC Schalke are also investing in LoL teams.
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