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It’s easy for many to become obsessed with League of Legends. But it’s not always simple to understand everything about the game or remember it after an absence, as in my case. Whether you’re like me or it’s your first time, I designed this League of Legends guide with beginners in mind. It’s a helpful way to learn or pick up from where you left off, especially with the Season 14 update. Let’s dive into how to get started from the champions to how the lanes work.
League of Legends – A Guide
Before you jump into League of Legends, beginners and returning players should study all the Season 14 changes. An easy way to do it is to read through the patch notes. It’s a good way to learn about any major updates like discontinued items or new enemies.
Additionally, there are some other things beginners especially should understand when playing League of Legends:
- Game Mode
- Enemies
- Items
- Missions and Rewards
League of Legends Game Mode Selection
Beginners in League of Legends have a built-in guide. When you first start, there’s a tutorial section you must get through before you can truly dive into the game. Before you do though, there are a handful of ways you can play:
- PvP
- Co-Op vs. AI
- Training
- Custom
PvP and Co-Op tend to be 5v5. Co-Op only has the Summoner’s Rift you can play in, while PvP offers that plus Aram and Teamfight Tactics. Summoner’s Rift is a common place to start for beginners in League of Legends. It places you in a 5v5 battle to destroy the enemy’s nexus whether it’s against other players or bots.
I strongly advise you to play around with the Summoner’s Rift as much as possible. It’s the perfect way to understand the game and the champions. If you have friends who play, you can even create or join custom lobbies to learn the ropes. You want to do all this before even considering playing ranked, especially at the start of a new season.
Enemies
The enemies you face depend largely on how you’re playing. There are over 100 champions, so it’s difficult to learn everyone’s skills. Plus, how well a champion is in battle is partially due to the person controlling them whether that’s an AI or another player.
What you want to focus on are the other enemies on the field. Baron Nashor has a creepy update for those familiar with it. For the rest of you League of Legends beginners, just know that this beast is three times more dangerous than before. He has three new forms to make him that much more difficult to battle.
Alongside that are the new Voidgrubs that spawn at the Baron spot. You want to get to them fast and kill them because it’ll earn your entire team a buff. Each one killed enhances the buff, so aim to slay them all before the opponent can.
Items in League of Legends
The items are another aspect that you may want to refresh yourself on if you haven’t played in a while. Season 14 overhauls the item system, removing more than 20, adding over a dozen, and reinventing even more.
Although you may want to rush from the Nexus (and the game does well at making you feel rushed), take some time to understand what each item does. This isn’t just for beginners of League of Legends either as veterans and returning players could use a guide too on the new items. Most importantly, it’ll help you understand what you need.
Several items increase attack, improve mana, health, etc. Once you understand both your Champion and your playstyle, you’ll do better when it comes time to buy more items.
League of Legends Missions and Rewards
Keep an eye on the available missions and rewards. Sometimes they want to use a certain spell a set amount of times, or they want you to simply play a Summoner’s Rift game. No matter how big or small the mission seems, aim to complete it. In many cases, you’ll do it without realizing it. They net some helpful rewards like XP gains and Blue Essence, one of the in-game currencies.
Another note for beginners is that League of Legends rewards you as you level up, which makes earning that extra XP worth it. When you level up, you can unlock more spells, Blue Essence, and even Champions. On the topic of Champions, doing the Daily Play Rewards gives you a chance to unlock someone new. So, don’t forget to check in with it.
Beginner’s Guide To Champions
As I mentioned, League of Legends features more than 100 Champions, which makes it easy to overwhelm beginners. You can’t pick them all right away though, so you have some breathing room. Instead, you can access one in the beginning thanks to the tutorial. From there, you have to unlock more. You can head to the store to speed things along and buy Champions, but note that you must put real money toward that. Otherwise, unlock as you play.
If you still don’t know much about the Champions, it’s okay to choose just anyone you like at first glance. You’ll learn more about them all later on before settling on one or a few. It also never hurts to learn more than one character. Players can use their ban and boot your chosen character. So, have a backup or two in mind.
Plus, your choice of Champions can determine how you want to play the game. Are you into tanking? Choose a heavy hitter or one that can soak up damage for their team. If you like to hang back instead, aim for a support character like a magical or ranged one. Learn their abilities too. As you earn points and level up during the match, you’ll unlock more abilities and get the chance to upgrade what you already have.
All About Lanes in League of Legends
Another vital feature for beginners in League of Legends is understanding how the lanes work. In Summoner’s Rift, there are three lanes:
- Top
- Middle
- Bottom
Knowing your lane position can help determine how successful you are in the match. Some Champions easily dominate any lane as they’re considered roamers. Other Champions work best in a specific position based on their skills.
If you go for the top lane, you should do well relying on just yourself. It’s a good place to dominate. With the middle lane, it’s the shortest one, but it’s also the easiest one for farming. Plenty of minions, a few turrets, and several openings to dip around the other lanes if need be. Middle is great for tanks to work in too.
As for the bottom, it’s a goldmine for battles. It helps to have someone support you there though (or act as the support for someone else). Speaking of support, it’s another position that can see itself in all three lanes. Team symmetry is key here so you know who needs more backup. So, roaming around pays off. Also, there’s a jungle position for Champions adept at eliminating jungle creatures.
Extra Tips
Minions and enemy Champions aren’t the only enemies rushing the lanes. With the jungle, there are a host of other things you can face off against. Plus, don’t forget to attack the turrets and inhibitors when you can. Taking down those turrets is an easy way to score points and cut off extra damage (just get out of range when it turns red as those hits can hurt). Removing the inhibitors ensures you can spawn better minions to support your team.
Some players like to rush it to reach the enemy Nexus in Summoner’s Rift. If you think you can tank it, by all means. Otherwise, it never hurts to whittle down the enemies in between. It scores you gold, if anything, and you can land more Champion kills.
With all that said, the guide should help beginners become more familiar with League of Legends. Even so, one of the best ways to fully learn or re-learn the game is to play it. You can always check back here or do some more research on the various Champions. But the greatest practice is hands-on. So, let’s jump into the game and get started.
League of Legends is available on PC.
