But yes. I'm not sure if you've noticed by now, but I love video games. They are crucial for me and my unstable personality with horrible revenge fantasies against the world and all it's inhabitants for unknowable and possibly tragic reasons. When people ask me "What kind of video games do you play?" I usually respond with League of Legends, because I play that game a lot (I have maybe clocked over 1000 hours of it, yeesh.) and it's generally well known (Being one of the most played games on the planet.) so people usually understand what I'm talking about.
Then they might start asking questions like "What is that game like?" and it's a really hard thing to describe to someone without knowledge of video games in general, I always brush off the question with an answer like "A strategy game about destroying people's bases" Which is a really awful generalization of League but hey, people get it so fuck you, nerd.
But someone more knowledgeable of games and maybe even League itself might ask a question like "Why do you play that game?" Which is really hard to answer due to the popularity and the nature of the game. League of Legends is after all infamous for it's utterly toxic fan-base, and with the game's insistence on teamwork and communication- sometimes among complete strangers under anonymous usernames. There's no question that matches can get high strung and frustrating.
That isn't even taking in-depth game mechanics into account, it's very possible that you can get behind- and maybe by extension your enemies getting further ahead in the game which can make you ineffective- and very easy to kill. And in the event you do end up practically giving away kills to your opponents, you will draw a lot of ire from your teammates.
"But Brandon..." you stutter out nervously among the million other people that for sure read this blog. "You make this 'League of Ledgers' sound like an awful experience! Are there any redeeming qualities to it?" It is at that point that I force you back into your cage, I was just getting to that you little shit. Learn to be patient!!
There are a lot of barriers that can easily put many people off League, but for the so many that stick to it, why do we do so? There are a lot of different answers people could give, so let me just start with positions and roles in the game. Assuming you stick to the very strict meta (which is dictated mostly by League's pro players) there are four positions in the game: Top, Mid, Bot, and Jungle.
Let's run over these positions in more detail:
(But before we do let me just lay down some lingo: When I say farming I don't mean we're going to break out some motherfuckin' tractors or some shit, in the game waves of little NPCs called minions rush down the lanes and start smacking each other up, delivering the killing blow on your enemies' minions gives you gold, this is called last-hitting, and casually last-hitting these guys for a while is called farming.)
(Also the playable characters are called champions.)
TOP: Probably the most versatile lane in League, as anyone can go there depending on your team composition (a very important thing in League, as it promotes synergy between champions) But it's typically reserved for tanks and fighters, up here you're going to try and farm and get as big and as nasty as possible, come mid-game. You're an unkillable monster with powerful crowd control and the front-line for team-fights.
MID: You'll find mages and assassins here, and most champions want to accomplish different things in this lane. Some want to farm farm farm until they can one hit people, while others want to keep the other laner preoccupied while they go roam elsewhere to fuck up someone's day, but the means to said goals are the same. You tend to kill people really fast and really fancy-like.
JUNGLE: Basically single-player career mode for the longest time. With a little help from your teammates at the start, you will begin your life of ruining everything for the monsters that roam the rift, different champions can accomplish different things in the jungle. Some will just happily farm in their own, others will go help out other lanes by forming an attack on their opponent (commonly called ganking) and some will counter-jungle the opposing jungler. Usually by stealing their farm or maybe even their life. There's an awful lot to do as the jungler, and everyone will want you to be everywhere at once. It's kind of like being an older brother, by which I mean it's thankless motherfuckin' work. And someone you like will probably end up dying. (Or does that just happen to me?)
BOT: Now here's where it gets interesting. Bot lane is the duo lane, two people are down here rather than the usual one, the two in question are
The ADC (Or Attack Damage Carry) is a late-game powerhouse of incredible sustained damage (whereas late-game mages or assassins specialize in one-target burst potential) but early-game ADCs can die to someone sneezing at them really hard. The objective of an ADC is- like most people in this game- is to farm farm farm until you have enough gold to make yourself relevant. But due to your little damage output, small health pool and no effective abilities. You're going to need some help, and that help will be...
The SUPPORT (A.K.A the designated bitch) Your job is to protect the ADC, (and the whole team in general really, but MOSTLY the ADC) you keep an eye out for any potential threats and bat away enemy laners as your ADC tries to farm safely. Come late-game and if everything's gone to plan, your little boy/girl is all grown up and is wrecking house with their immense damage, but your job is far from over, as you still offer a shit-load of utility for team-fights and- no matter how strong your ADC is, if they get caught out, they're dead in seconds. Unlike the Jungler, who nobody gives a shit about. Everybody loves the support and wants to play them so they can show off their skill, and nobody will hesitate to praise your crazy plays.
Now that you understand all the roles that can be played in League, you might see that they can all feel like a completely different game, and that's not even considering the different champions you can play as. As of writing there are about 120+ champions in League of Legends, all lovingly tailored to a specific role and play-style, there's no doubt in my mind that everyone will find at least one person they'll like (or at least find one that looks the prettiest SPOILER ALERT: Urgot is best waifu)
Aside from the immense variety present in the game, there's also the satisfaction in playing to the best of your ability. Making oh so wacky plays feels great. Winning in general feels great. It all comes down to so many factors, skill, knowledge, mechanics, even mind-games are satisfying to utilize. And when they work- holy fuck is it great. It's like Chess, but better and with more explosions.
So I think that's why I love playing League of Legends, and why other people might want to consider it if you can put in the time and effort. No one match is ever the same and pulling off crazy plays feels motherfuckin' glorious. But the game's biggest problem is that it's full of noobs and feeders gg holy shit my team is so bad Nidalee is OP as shit nerf plz holy fuckaglajgahsdgjasdgjlkjshflKGJHlakgjhitsmetLEAUHGLAJDGHALSJDG
