League of Legends

The game League of Legends comes from a unique sub-genre of video games that have to do with two opposing sides trying to destroy each other’s main building, or in League of Legends case, a Nexus.

Pre-Pre-Game

Preparation is one of your best allies in games like these. Each player gets a “page” which they can fill with store-bought bonuses from points they get for winning battles. These bonuses are very small by themselves, but over time, they can add up. Trust me, the average attack speed bonus is around 1% increase in speed, but I got about thirty of them, so I start out with significantly higher attack speed than any player. You also can accrue more bonuses through masteries. Which are separate from store-bought bonuses, but all you really need to know is that they are both bonuses which give you better stats. Mmkay?

Pre-Game

Before the actual game starts people select which character they want to play as. They also select what pre-made bonuses and special abilities they want to use. Each character can be played differently so this stage can sometimes mean victory or defeat for a team. Teams should coordinate when they are in this phase so they don’t fail miserably when they are playing the real game.

The Game

Now you actually play the game! Woo! Each player starts at level one and has to rise up through the game, with level eighteen being the maximum level achievable. They battle the other team through three main routes called “lanes.” They also have to sequentially destroy the turrets in the lane to move forward, or else they will probably die, as the turrets beyond that are invulnerable and very powerful. Once a team gets past the turrets they will have to destroy the nexus, which is quite easy if no one is guarding it, but, the other team will do everything in their power to guard it. Each team has a store that they can fall back to, to heal and buy items that make them even more powerful.

Characters

Play-styles can differ so much from each other you’d never think it was the same character being used. For example, some characters can be used with items that give more health and defense over attack power. But if you go another route, and instead of giving them health, give them ability power, or attack damage, you can create a damage character instead of a tank, which can alter the game significantly. This is the reason why I think so many people like the game; it offers so many different ways to be played. It’s so easy to mix and match different things, it’s like a whole new game each time you play.