league of legends primer - consolidated

League of LegendsWorld Championships 2016 Primer

Part 1: What is League of Legends?

Prepared by: Luc Ryu

This Primer is meant for individuals who are interested in learning about the basics of

League of Legends – both as a game, and as a spectacle.

The 2016 World Championships are just around the corner (October 29, 2016), and

awareness of the game is at an annual high. With that, comes a large influx of individuals

who are interested in watching, but have no idea what the game is, how its basic gameplay

functions, or even how to properly watch the game.

This Primer will be comprised of multiple sections, each designed to explain a unique

component of League of Legends – be it its history and growth, its basic gameplay, or the

head-to-head matchup at the 2016 World Championships.

Altogether, the goal of this Primer is to help beginners learn the basics of League of

Legends, such that they can enjoy the experience of watching the 2016 World

Championships.

The biggest barrier to entry for any video game is the steep learning curve involved in

learning the fundamentals. It is my hope that this Primer will help to break down those

barriers, and help introduce the fascinating world of competitive League of Legends to new

viewers.

About This Primer

What is League of Legends?

Well, yes.

It is just a video game, I guess.

But maybe it’ll surprise you to

know just how big and influential a

video game can get.

A “MOBA” is any game where a player controls a character (“Champion”), and the objective

is to destroy the opposing team’s main structure (“Nexus”) with the assistance of periodically

spawned computer-controlled units (“Minions”).

What is League of Legends?

LoL has approximately 100M monthly active users (“MAU”) [1]

League of Legends (“LoL”), is a video game released on October 27, 2009 by Riot Games

LoL is categorized within the multiplayer online battle arena (“MOBA”) genre of video games

[1] http://www.riftherald.com/2016/9/13/12865314/monthly-lol-players-2016-active-worldwide

313M 409M150M

Exhibit 1: MAU Comparison

0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

120.0

140.0

10/27/2009 7/26/2011 11/1/2011 10/1/2012 1/28/2014 9/13/2016 12/31/2017

Mil

lio

ns o

f M

on

thly

Ac

tive

Use

rs

Riot Games and LoL Through Time

Exhibit 2: Riot Games Timeline

Growth to end of 2017

approximately 130M MAU

based on projected figures.

You may have heard of

Tencent! They recently

purchased the Clash of

Clans series, and are the

developers of instant

messaging application

WeChat.

Tencent Holdings acquires

93.0% in Riot Games for

approximately $400M.

Tencent Holdings

purchases the remaining

7.0% in Riot Games.

5Million concurrent

players

1Million concurrent

players

8Million concurrent

players

World Championships Through Time

Location: Jönköping, Sweden

Prize Pool: USD $99,500

Peak CCV1: 210,000+

2011 was the inaugural year

for the World Championships,

and the only year a Western

team has ever won!

1st

2nd 3rd

1 CCV: Concurrent viewers – unique viewers watching simultaneously at any point during the broadcast of the final series.

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Location: Los Angeles, USA

Prize Pool: USD $2,000,000

Peak CCV1: 1,100,000+


1st

2nd


3rd /4th

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016



Peak CCV1: 8,500,000+


1st

2nd


3rd /4th

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

With 32,000,000+ views,

the 2013 World

Championships were

more watched than the

2013 NBA Finals.



Location: Busan, South Korea


Peak CCV1: 11,200,000+

1st

2nd 3 /4thrd

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016



Location: Berlin, Germany


Peak CCV1: 14,000,000+

1st

2nd 3 /4thrd

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016





Peak CCV1: ???

1st

2nd 3 /4thrd

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

? ?

2011 World Championships

CCV: 800,000


CCV: 14,00,000


CCV: ???

http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/101916/cbs-commissions-candy-crush-game-show-atvi-

cbs-lgf.aspx

http://www.riftherald.com/2016/9/13/12865314/monthly-lol-players-2016-active-worldwide

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/pinterest-monthly-users-2016-150-million/176314/

http://www.riotgames.com/articles/20140910/508/115-million-playing-lol-each-month

http://forums.euw.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=337971

http://www.riotgames.com/articles/20121015/138/league-legends-growth-spells-bad-news-teemo

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2014/01/27/riots-

league-of-legends-reveals-astonishing-27-million-daily-players-67-million-

monthly/&refURL=&referrer=#199b15e63511

http://venturebeat.com/2008/07/10/riot-games-raises-round-for-quick-hit-3-d-online-games/

http://www.tencent.com/en-us/content/ir/news/2011/attachments/20110519b.pdf

http://www.wsj.com/articles/tencent-acquires-full-control-of-u-s-based-riot-games-1450342769

Sources Used


Part 2: Understanding the Basics of LoL (1/2)


Understanding the Basics of LoL

Welcome to Summoner’s Rift.

This is the Rift!

…but, of course players

don’t play with a bird’s-eye-

view of the entire map.

That would make it too easy

to see everything that’s

happening on the map.

Although players can move

their cameras to anywhere on

the map, they can only zoom

out to the size of this square!

Although players can move

their cameras to anywhere on

the map, they can only zoom

out to the size of this square!

And so, this is the

amount of the Rift a

player sees on their

camera at any time.

But, they do also have this thing

called a “Mini-Map”.

The areas of vision that any

teammates have will be illuminated

on the Mini-Map.

So essentially, a player can see what’s

directly on their screen through their

camera, but…

…they can also see what their

teammates see indirectly through the

Mini-Map!

But, they do also have this thing

called a “Mini-Map”.

The areas of vision that any

teammates have will be illuminated

on the Mini-Map.

All the un-illuminated portions of

the map are called the “Fog-of-War”.

That means that no one on the team

currently has any vision of this area.

So, Fog-of-War can be illuminated if

anything from the Blue team is

around it!

“Why is any of this important?”

Good question! It’s because LoL is

a decision-based game.

In order to make good decisions,

you need information. At the most

basic level, you need to know

where your enemies are!

You wouldn’t want to walk into the

entire enemy team!

Now, back to the Rift…

There are two teams in every game of LoL, and

they start on opposite ends, as highlighted on

this bird’s-eye-view of the Rift.

You have the Red team on the top-right, and you

have the Blue team on the bottom-left.

A team wins when it destroys the opposing

team’s main structure (their “Nexus”), as

highlighted.

There is no time limit.

There are three pathways that connect the two

teams together (“Lanes”).

Top Lane

Mid Lane

Bot Lane

There are also portions of the Rift that aren’t

covered by the Lanes.

This entire area is generally known as the Jungle.

Jungle

Remember that the goal is to destroy these

things (the Nexuses)!

So, in a standard game of LoL, the two teams

will start by splitting their team up into the

different Lanes and the Jungle, in order to start

working their way towards the Nexus.

I’ll explain why it’s

ineffective to send

the entire team into

one Lane later!

So, in a standard game of LoL, the two teams

will start by splitting their team up into the

different Lanes and the Jungle, in order to start

working their way towards the Nexus.

I’ll explain why it’s

ineffective to send

the entire team into

one Lane later! With that said, players are

not forced to stay in a

specific Lane.

They can move around and

help their teammates in

other Lanes if they want!

However, it’s not as easy as simply avoiding the

enemy team, running to the Nexus, and

smacking it a few times.

Each team has two defensive structures in each

Lane (“Turrets”).

You can think of these as checkpoints.

A team can’t destroy a Turret if the one

immediately before it hasn’t been destroyed.

Think of each Lane as its own onion!

Each Nexus also has two Turrets guarding it

(“Nexus Turrets”).

The Nexus can’t be destroyed until both Nexus

Turrets are destroyed.

And the Nexus Turrets can’t be destroyed until

at least one of these things are destroyed

(“Inhibitors”).

…which you can only destroy after you destroy

the Turrets directly guarding them

(“Inhibitor Turrets”).

So essentially you just have to destroy a lot of

things in a sequential order…

Outside – inside!

But don’t worry – you get help!

To help the teams out, the Computer will

generate lesser units (“Minions”) at regular

intervals.

Each Lane spawns its own set of equally strong

minions, and they are programmed to walk down

the Lane and attack the first thing they

encounter – be it an opposing player, opposing

Minions, or an opposing structure.

This could eventually mean

the Nexus if there’s nothing

left in front of it!

When a Lane’s Inhibitor is destroyed…

(remember, it’s these circled things!)

…the opposing team’s Minions in that Lane will

be much stronger (“Super Minions”) until the

Inhibitor fixes itself over time.

This will eventually put

pressure on that Lane since

the opposing Minions will get

to the Nexus!

So we know what the Computer does…

…and we know how to win…

…so what does a player do?

Each player selects a unique character to play

for the entire duration of the game

(“Champion”).

Along with a standard basic attack, most*

Champions have four unique abilities (“Skills”). Teemo The Swift Scout

* Some have more!

There are currently 133 Champions

and 724 Skills in LoL.

Professional players, and even most

competitive players, probably have

the basic details of most of these

memorized.

By controlling their Champion and using a

combination of skills and basic attacks, players

look to destroy the opposing team’s Nexus…

…and of course, any of the opposing

Champions, Minions, and Turrets, that stand in

their way!

Teemo The Swift Scout

It might be a good time to explain that…

If a Champion ever dies, they will

eventually respawn back in their

base. The dead player is not

penalized, other than the fact that

they are dead for a period of time.

By controlling their Champion and using a

combination of skills and basic attacks, players

look to destroy the opposing team’s Nexus…

…and of course, any of the opposing

Champions, Minions, and Turrets, that stand in

their way!


It might be a good time to explain that…

If a Champion ever dies, they will

eventually respawn back in their

base. The dead player is not

penalized, other than the fact that

they are dead for a period of time.

For you hockey fans out there, think

of this as a Powerplay - the enemy

team is one player down, so you have

to take advantage of it!


Every source of experience (killing a

Minion) gives a set amount of

experience.

This means that if you have

teammates around that that

experience is split!

Champions all start at level one.

A Champion levels up by gaining experience

(from killing, or assisting in the killing, of

opposing Champions and Minions, etc.).


Every source of experience (killing a

Minion) gives a set amount of

experience.

This means that if you have

teammates around that that

experience is split!

This is why having all five team

members push one lane won’t

work.

You’ll all still be level one when

your opponents are all level

three!

Champions all start at level one.

A Champion levels up by gaining experience

(from killing, or assisting in the killing, of

opposing Champions and Minions).


Skill One: Blinding Dart

Skill Two: Move Quick

Skill Three: Toxic Shot

Every time a Champion gains one level, they

can make one of their Skills stronger.

“Hey, but why would anyone

use basic attacks if they have

these special skills!?”

Well, because Skills are so

special, they require more

energy! In LoL, this is usually

called “Mana”.

More impactful Skills usually

use up more Mana.

Don’t worry, though - Mana

replenishes over time!


Skill One: Blinding Dart

Ultimate Skill: Noxious Trap

Skill Two: Move Quick

Skill Three: Toxic Shot

“So can players just buy items

that give them lots of Mana

then?”

Nope! After using a Skill, it

can’t be used again for some

time (a “Cooldown”)!

Stronger Skills usually have

longer Cooldowns.

Ultimate Skills typically have

the longest Cooldowns, so

it’s important to use them

wisely!

At level six, they gain access to a special

Skill, called an Ultimate Skill.

It’s important to keep an eye out for when

Champions hit level six, as it typically

results in a big spike in power!

Furthermore, all players are allowed to select

two unique abilities (“Summoner Spells”).

There are 10 Summoner Spells that can be

selected. The following are the ones I believe are

the most important to know as a new viewer:





the most important to know as a new viewer: Flash

Instantly teleports a Champion a short

distance.

Can use every 300 seconds.

Useful for escaping from enemies, or

for surprising them by instantaneously

positioning yourself in a new location.

Almost all players will select Flash as

one of their two Summoner Spells.





the most important to know as a new viewer: Heal

Instantly heals and speeds up the

player and the most wounded nearby

ally.


Useful for keeping the player and/or

their teammate alive and running away

or chasing an enemy.

Heal is typically selected by ADC*

players, and situationally, Mid players.

* ADC is explained in Part 3.





the most important to know as a new viewer: Smite

Instantly deals damage to a neutral

monster or Minion.


Only selected by Jungle players, as it

helps them clear Camps* faster.

Used to deal the killing blow on neutral

monsters, such as Drakes and Baron

Nashor*.

*Explained soon!





the most important to know as a new viewer: Teleport

After 4.5 seconds, teleports the

Champion to an ally ward, unit ,or Turret.


Can be used to return to Lane quickly,

or to surprise enemies by teleporting to

a ward behind enemy lines.

Used primarily by Top Lane players

since they are so far from the Bot

Lane. Can situationally be taken by Mid

Lane players as well.

A ward is a special item that

can be placed around the

player to provide vision for a

few minutes!

A player could, for example,

go deep into the enemy

team’s half of the Rift, and

place down a ward.

The vision from the ward

would illuminate a portion of

the Mini-Map!





the most important to know as a new viewer: Teleport

After 4.5 seconds, teleports the

Champion to an ally ward, unit , or

Turret.


Can be used to return to Lane quickly,

or to surprise enemies by teleporting to

a ward behind enemy lines.

Used primarily by Top Lane players

since they are so far from the Bot

Lane. Can situationally be taken by Mid

Lane players as well.

A ward is a special item that

can be placed around the

player to provide vision for a

few minutes!

A player could, for example,

go deep into the enemy

team’s half of the Rift, and

place down a ward.

The vision from the ward

would illuminate a portion of

the Mini-Map!

If a ward is placed in a

good spot, it could help

you see an enemy from

another Lane try to

come flank you for an

ambush (a “gank”)!

You’d have to be

looking at your Mini-

Map, though!

Players can also empower their Champions by

purchasing items in their base with gold.

Gold accumulates over time, but can also be

earned from killing opposing Champions, killing

opposing Minions, and destroying opposing

Turrets*.

*Among other things…

There are over 175 items available for

purchase, each with their own unique

effects.

A Champion can have six items, max.

Stronger items cost more gold, and are built by

combining multiple items.

The items a player buys will depend on the

strengths of their Champion, but also how well

they’re doing and how much gold they have!

If they’re dying a lot and not earning gold, they

might have to settle for weaker items.

Here’s a brief summary on the different sources of

gold, and how much gold they pay out!

Source Notes Gold

Start of Game 500

Minion [1] 19

Champion Kill [2] 300

Assist on Champion Kill [2] 150

Outer Turret [3] 250

Inner Turret [3] 175

Notes

[1] Average of melee and ranged Minions.

[2] Represents minimum.

[3] When nearby at time of destruction.

One last thing!

Remember that there’s an area of the Rift called

the Jungle.

Jungle

Minions do not spawn in the Jungle. Instead,

neutral monsters spawn (“Camps”).

Camps also provide gold and experience.

Securing the killing blow on certain Camps

provide power-ups (“Buffs”).

Drakes(Fire, Cloud, Mountain, Ocean)

• Securing the killing blow on the Drakes will provide

the team with a permanent Buff.

• The first Drake spawns 2:30 into the game.

• After the first / previous Drake is killed, the next one

will spawn after six minutes.

• There are four types of Drakes, and the type of

Drake spawned is random.

Because Drake Buffs are permanent,

they’re hotly contested!

Look for lots of fights around this area

early on in the game.

Increases the damage done by the

entire team.

Infernal Drake

Increases the team’s damage to

structures, and monsters in Epic Camps*.

Mountain Drake

Increases the team’s Health and Mana

regeneration when not fighting.

Ocean Drake

Increases the team’s movement speed

when not fighting.

Cloud Drake

Elder Dragon

• The Elder Dragon takes the place of Drakes after the

35 minute mark.

• If a Drake already exists, it must be killed before the

Elder Dragon can spawn.

• The Elder Dragon increases the power of all

previous Drake Buffs by 50%, as well as the

damage of the team that dealt the killing blow for

two minutes.

• After it is killed, a new Elder Dragon will respawn after

10 minutes.

In most games, about four Drakes will have been

killed by the time the Elder Dragon spawns.

That means four Buffs that can be amplified!

• The Rift Herald first spawns at the 6:00

mark.

• One member of the team that secures

the killing blow on the Rift Herald will

have their basic attack empowered for

20 minutes.

• There is only one Rift Herald per game.

Rift Herald

• Baron Nashor replaces the Rift Herald at

the 20 minute mark.

• After it is killed, it will respawn every seven

minutes.

• For 3.5 minutes, grants bonus damage

to the team that secured the kill, and

empowers all Minions around members

of the team that have the Buff.

• If a Champion dies they will lose the

Buff, regardless of how much more

time they had with it.

Baron Nashor

Sometimes all a team needs is some empowered

Minions in order to take down the last few Turrets

and get to the Nexus!

Look for big fights here as teams try to close out

the game!

And with that, you know enough to sit down,

watch a game of LoL, and actually have an

idea of what’s happening!

You don’t need to know everything…

…but the more you know, the more you

understand, and the more you understand,

the more fun you have watching.

• http://league-analytics.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Prolly-Coaching-1024x683.jpg

• https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--

MxYUj6CJiY/Vxbk214uSiI/AAAAAAAA6AE/K1xZwuJboRYbuGDwbcwsahiRFWAd59NHQCLcB/s640/%255EFFDDA78945E1D6C0F99381C91E7B75158CA848C6DD883E16B

C%255Epimgpsh_fullsize_distr.jpg

• http://riot-web-static.s3.amazonaws.com/images/news/June_2014/SRDB3/srdb3-1.jpg

• http://blog.gaming.stackexchange.com/files/2011/05/nexus_0.jpg

• https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rx3WR65cmncWySHYdy3oaw16eGI=/0x17:700x484/1310x873/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50496089/uhhhh.0.png

• http://s3wc0.goplay.com/wysiwyg/2016/02/26/inhibitor-LOL.jpg

• http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/d/d6/Minions.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20141107214159

• http://pre11.deviantart.net/aa5b/th/pre/f/2015/186/9/1/pixelol___teemo_animated_by_serklaz-d903dnv.png

• http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/d/d6/Teemo_Render.png/revision/latest?cb=20150416175359

• http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/1/1d/Fire_Dragon_Ingame.png/revision/latest?cb=20160420053204

• http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/6/6c/Air_Dragon_Ingame.png/revision/latest?cb=20160420050520

• http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/c/c4/Water_Dragon_Ingame.png/revision/latest?cb=20160420052104

• http://image2.redbull.com/rbcom/010/2016-06-20/1331801643319_2/0010/1/1500/1000/2/the-cloud-drake-not-up-to-scratch.jpg

• http://lkimg.zamimg.com/assets/000/002/479.png

• http://de.easy-lol.com/images/articleImages/elementalDragons/elder-dragon.jpg

• http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/f/f0/BaronSquare.png/revision/latest?cb=20141023045837&path-prefix=de

• http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pbdlkcLbbuo/VjPIRO71LhI/AAAAAAAAzpM/5PaCEOv_HXk/s1600/SRURiftHerald_Circle.png

• http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/1/1e/Rift_Herald.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20151213174828

• http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/5/5b/Baron_Nashor_VU.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140618120136

• http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uxnxaxOC-aw/VM_lNb9qsdI/AAAAAAAAjMc/vcW6c8eXJzM/s1600/blueeoff.jpg

• http://i.imgur.com/TPfw18d.png

• https://images.alphacoders.com/574/574521.jpg

• http://i.imgur.com/0b2KH5j.png

• https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E_pm3Tdxthw/VwhU2SpzihI/AAAAAAAANUY/8e4hq5xCx8I0muVluWXftx--h0Eqs1sgQ/s1600/zhonyas.jpg

Sources Used


Part 3: Understanding the Basics of LoL (2/2)


In the previous segment, we learned about

the underlying basics involved with a game of

League of Legends.

Now, we’re going to put all that knowledge

together, and learn about how the game is

played as a team.

1/3

The most important part of a team in any

MOBA, is its composition of Champions.

Remember, that all five members of a team

are required to pick different Champions who

they’ll control over the course of the game.

They are not allowed to switch partway.

2/3

There are 133 Champions in League of

Legends. Each Champion has their own set of

unique strengths and weaknesses, and

therefore, is best suited to play a certain role

and playstyle on a team.

It’s imperative that a team picks a team of

Champions that can fill these roles, so that

the team is more well-rounded.3/3

And here come the 2017

Toronto Raptors to help me

explain this next part!

In basketball, there are five positions:

i) Point guard;

Kyle Lowry

Point Guard


i) Point guard;

ii) Shooting guard;

Kyle Lowry

Point Guard

Demar Derozan

Shooting Guard


i) Point guard;

ii) Shooting guard;

iii) Small forward;

Demarre Carroll

Small Forward

Kyle Lowry

Point Guard

Demar Derozan

Shooting Guard


i) Point guard;

ii) Shooting guard;

iii) Small forward;

iv) Power forward; and

Jared Sullinger

Power Forward

Demarre Carroll

Small Forward

Kyle Lowry

Point Guard

Demar Derozan

Shooting Guard


i) Point guard;

ii) Shooting guard;

iii) Small forward;


v) Center

Jonas Valanciunas

Center

Jared Sullinger

Power Forward

Demarre Carroll

Small Forward

Kyle Lowry

Point Guard

Demar Derozan

Shooting Guard


i) Point guard;

ii) Shooting guard;

iii) Small forward;


v) Center

Each position plays its own unique

role on the team, and are defined by

certain generic traits*.

Just a tall dude

Center

Main rebounder

Power Forward

Versatile player

Small Forward

Enables the team

Point Guard

Shoots a lot

Shooting Guard

*I’ve simplified the positions. Like, really simplified them.


i) Point guard;

ii) Shooting guard;

iii) Small forward;


v) Center



certain generic traits.

In LoL, there are five positions:

i) Top Lane;

ii) Jungle;

iii) Mid Lane;

iv) Attack Damage Carry (Bot Lane); and

v) Support (Bot Lane)



certain generic traits.The traits that define Champions to

certain lanes are set by what’s known

as the current “meta”.

Riot Games updates LoL weekly, and

this can make certain Champions and

playstyles stronger or weaker. This is

how the meta is determined!


i) Point guard;

ii) Shooting guard;

iii) Small forward;


v) Center




In LoL, there are five positions:

i) Top Lane;

ii) Jungle;

iii) Mid Lane;

iv) Attack Damage Carry (Bot Lane); and

v) Support (Bot Lane)



certain generic traits.The traits that define Champions to

certain lanes are set by what’s known

as the current “meta”.

Riot Games updates LoL weekly, and

this can make certain Champions and

playstyles stronger or weaker. This is

how the meta is determined!

Think of it as how in the past, big

center players used to dominate

basketball, but now the focus has

shifted to smaller players who can

shoot well.


i) Point guard;

ii) Shooting guard;

iii) Small forward;


v) Center




This next section will delve into the

details of these five different roles, so

that we can get a basic level of

understanding as to what their

generic traits are.

We’ll focus on the generic traits

that are desired when the team, as

a unit, is strategically playing to

always fight as a team

(a “team-fight) composition).


i) Point guard;

ii) Shooting guard;

iii) Small forward;


v) Center




This next section will delve into the

details of these five different roles, so

that we can get a basic level of

understanding as to what their

generic traits are.

We’ll focus on the generic traits

that are desired when the team, as

a unit, is strategically playing to

always fight as a team

(a “team-fight) composition).

Other types of playstyles include:

“Poke composition”: Where the team deals chunks of damage

from long-range to try and whittle the opponents down.

“Engage composition”: Where the team just runs straight at the

opponents.

Top Lane

Top Lane Champions are

typically characterized by Skills

which allow them to lockdown

multiple enemies.

Top Lane is played 1v1, so most

Top Lane Champions have

Skills that allow them to heavily

abuse the opponent if they

make a positional mistake.

Top Lane Champions will almost

always take Teleport as one of

their Summoner Spells so that

they can travel across the map

faster to help their teammates.

Top Lane

Common Top Lane Champions

PoppyKeeper of the Hammer

Key Skill: Keeper’s Verdict

After winding up her hammer for a few

seconds, Poppy smashes the ground

sending a rippling shockwave.

The first enemy Champion hit by the

shockwave will be launched towards their

base, shooting them out of the fight!




multiple enemies.











Top Lane


PoppyKeeper of the Hammer

Key Skill: Keeper’s Verdict




multiple enemies.











At 0:12, look at how all

those Champions go

flying away – isolating

the one player!

Top Lane


GnarThe Missing Link

Key Skill: GNAR!

Gnar takes a huge swipe around him and

throws enemies in a direction. If they’re

thrown into a wall, they’ll be stunned!

If enemies are grouped together near a wall,

this stuns a lot of enemies at once, and make

them unable to fight for some time!




multiple enemies.











Top Lane


GnarThe Missing Link

Key Skill: GNAR!




multiple enemies.











0:13 – Got all 5 of the

enemies! They didn’t

all hit a wall, but he

caught them for his

team to clean up.

Jungle

Remember that the Jungle is

usually covered by fog-of-war.

Opponents must be cautious

and respect the fact that the

Jungle player can be almost

anywhere on the Rift.

A strong Jungle Champion is

one that has a Skill that allows it

to efficiently ambush (“gank”)

opponents in Lanes.

Jungle Champions will always

take the Smite Summoner Spell

since it helps kill Camps and

secure the killing blow on Epic

Camps.

Jungle










opponents in Lanes.





Camps.

The most opportune time for a

team to contest an Epic Camp

would be when the opposing

Jungle Champion is either dead or

far away.

Jungle










opponents in Lanes.





Camps.





far away. This is because Smite deals a large

amount of damage instantaneously, so

regardless of which team is winning, it

almost always ends up being a battle of

reflexes between Jungle players which is

super risky for the team that’s ahead!

Jungle










opponents in Lanes.





Camps.





far away. This is because Smite deals a large

amount of damage instantaneously, so

regardless of which team is winning, it

almost always ends up being a battle of

reflexes between Jungle players which is

super risky for the team that’s ahead!

If you watch in slow-motion, you’ll see

Team 8’s Jungle player misuse his

Smite around 0:16, dropping Baron

Nashor from 884 health to 204 health.

GV Move then uses his Smite to

secure the killing blow.

Jungle










opponents in Lanes.





Camps.

Common Jungle Champions

Lee SinThe Blind Monk

Key Skill: Dragon’s Rage

Lee Sin kicks an enemy in the direction that

he’s facing.

Other Skills Lee Sin has revolve around

quickly repositioning himself. Watch to see if

Lee Sin can get behind a target and kick

them into his team so that they can kill them!

Jungle










opponents in Lanes.





Camps.


Lee SinThe Blind Monk

Key Skill: Dragon’s Rage

0:12 – Special delivery!

Lee Sin uses all of his

Skills and Flash to get in

position to kick the enemy

into his teammates.

Jungle










opponents in Lanes.





Camps.


OlafThe Berserker

Key Skill: Ragnarok

Olaf goes complete man-mode and can’t be

slowed or stunned!

Perfect for an engage composition – watch

for Olaf to find a target out of position and

just run right at them to kill them quickly.

Mid Lane

As the name suggests, the Mid

Lane is right in the middle of the

Rift. This gives the Mid Lane

player the opportunity to quickly

roam to either side lane to help

their teammates!

A strong Mid Lane Champion is

one that can absolutely delete a

priority enemy target by using

all of their Skills (“bursting”).

Mid Lane Champions take the

Summoner Spell that enables

them to sustain the most

pressure in their Lane.

Mid Lane






their teammates!









Losing pressure in a Lane (“getting

pushed”) is especially detrimental

in the Mid Lane. This is because

this allows the enemy to begin a

roam first, which allows them to

impact a side lane first!

Mid Lane






their teammates!









Common Mid Lane Champions

OriannaThe Lady of Clockwork

Key Skill: Command: Shockwave

This Skill sends out a shockwave around

Orianna’s ball, which deals a large amount of

damage and pulls enemies towards the ball.

Grouping multiple enemies together may

help increase the effectiveness of any of her

teammates’ Spells that affect an area.

Mid Lane






their teammates!










OriannaThe Lady of Clockwork


It happens at 0:11, but

keep an eye on the ball

just flying around - you

could imagine how hard it

is to keep track of it!

At 0:03, the ball is flying into the middle

of the screen

Mid Lane






their teammates!










ViktorThe Machine Herald

Key Skill: Chaos Storm

Viktor throws out a contraption that creates a

storm around it which deals a lot of initial

damage, then damages over time as well.

If a teammate can stun enemies within the

storm, they’ll take serious amounts of

damage over time since they can’t escape!

Bot Lane

(ADC)

The Bot Lane is the only Lane

that is played 2v2. One of the

two players in the Lane is the

Attack Damage Carry (“ADC”).

ADC Champions typically start

off relatively weak compared to

the Champions in other Lanes,

but get stronger over time

because the damage of their

Skills scale at a greater rate.

ADCs will take the Heal

Summoner Spell. It’s the only

one that can affect a teammate,

It also helps avoid getting

bursted when they eventually

become the priority target.

Bot Lane

(ADC)

















ADCs will rarely choose to

sacrifice their damage output by

buying defensive items. Instead,

they’ll have to rely on their

teammates to help get enemies off

of them (“peel” for them).

Bot Lane

(ADC)

















Common ADC Champions

JhinThe Virtuoso


Jhin sets up and shoots four bullets one at a

time that can travel a real far distance, with

the last one doing tons of damage.

This can be used to poke from long-range to

soften up enemies, or to snipe down low-

health enemies that think they’ve escaped!

Bot Lane

(ADC)


















JhinThe Virtuoso


The bullets start flying

from the top-right at 0:02,

and the fourth shot lands

at 0:07!

Slow-motion replay starts at 0:11.

Bot Lane

(ADC)


















EzrealThe Prodigal Explorer

Key Skill: Trueshot Barrage

Ezreal shoots out a wave of energy that can

travel across the entirety of the Rift, dealing

damage to all enemies it hits.

This gives Ezreal pressure across the map. If

an enemy Champion is low on health, watch

for this to fly in from Bot Lane!

Bot Lane

(ADC)


















EzrealThe Prodigal Explorer

Key Skill: Trueshot Barrage

Look at the Mini-Map -you

can see the path the

Trueshot Barrage takes!

…Hell yeah.

Bot Lane

(Support)

Support Champions must be

effective even without gold,

since they should let their ADC

kill the Minions for gold

(“farming”).

Support Champions usually

have a Skill that can peel for

their teammates, or a Skill that

can generate a shield for them

or heal them.

Support Champions are also

responsible for buying the

wards and ensuring as much

vision is on the Rift as possible!

Common Support Champions

ZyraRise of the Thorns

Key Skill: Stranglethorns

Zyra selects an area and has a scary plant

monster rise up to deal damage and stun*

enemies standing in the area.

If enemies are grouped up, this Skill could

lockdown a good portion of the enemy team!

Bot Lane

(Support)





(“farming”).





or heal them.





*They aren’t “stunned” per se, but are knocked airborne.


AlistarThe Minotaur

Key Skill: Pulverize

Alistar smashes the ground around him,

sending enemies in his proximity airborne,

essentially acting as a stun.

Watch for Alistar to use his Headbutt Skill

first, as this rams a selected target which

helps to close the distance.

Bot Lane

(Support)





(“farming”).





or heal them.






AlistarThe Minotaur

Key Skill: Pulverize

Bot Lane

(Support)





(“farming”).





or heal them.





The big bipedal cow

headbutts towards the

enemies at 0:06, then

uses Flash to get to the

low-health enemy before

using Pulverize!

And with that, we’ve covered all the basics of

how team compositions are constructed, and

the dynamics of the different Lanes!

1/2

Since we know almost all that we need to

know about the game itself, next we’ll jump

into understanding the spectator’s view – so

that you know where to look, when to look at

it, and what it is!

2/2


Part 4: How to Watch a Game of League of Legends


How to Watch a Game of LoL

Having come this far, and having learned this

much, it must be apparent by now just how

much information has to be organized and

processed during a game of LoL.

Even as a spectator, it’s important to be able

to separate the important information from

the extraneous. This will help make sure that

the viewing experience is still enjoyable, and

doesn’t become a struggle.

This current slide is a direct screen-grab of a

RiotGames production, and shows the Heads-

Up Display (“HUD”) that’s used on the

broadcast.

Now that you know the basics to the game,

it’ll be easy to simply walk you through the

layout of the HUD, and explain where certain

information is shown, and when you should

pay attention to it.

This is the team score bar.

Moving left-to-right, it highlights:

These are the most generic statistics, and can

be used to assess how well each team is

generally doing.

1

Quick Hits:• The icons directly under a team’s

acronym represent the different Drake

buffs that the team has acquired.

• The greyed silhouette to the side of

the acronyms will be coloured in when

the team has an active Baron Nashor

buff.



1. The neutral buffs acquired by the team;




2. The number of towers destroyed by the team;

1 2

Quick Hits:• Each team has 11 towers in total.

• Comparing the number of towers

destroyed can help assess which

team has more control of the map.

• The less towers a team has

destroyed, the more “on-map” gold

exists (consider this when comparing gold

leads).





3. The overall accumulated gold by the team; and

1 2 3

Quick Hits:• Differences in gold are more impactful

in the early-game.

• Never look at this number in isolation (Try to understand why it exists. Differences in gold

can only exist through kills, assists, towers taken,

and creep score. Is the gold lead a function of

individual outperformance, or macro-play

outperformance?).






1 2 3

If you ask me, this is the only statistic that

will change frequently, and will require your

attention.

With that in mind, you don’t really have to

pay attention to this part of the HUD all that

often!






4. The number of kills secured by the team.

1 2 3 4

Quick Hits:• This number represents the most

basic indicator of a team’s

performance.

• It should never really be assessed on

its own.

This is the individual statistics table.


This area highlights the key individual

statistics for each player.

Lane match-ups are presented side-by-side,

and move from Top Lane down to Support.

Checking this part of the HUD can help you

assess which lanes are being won by which

team. This may help you think about who the

priority targets on either team might be.



1. The items owned by the player;

Quick Hits:• You can see the portraits of all items

owned by a player here.

• There are over 180 unique items in

LoL, many of which have multiple

passive effects, as well as over 25

items with unique activatable effects.

1




1

Keep an eye out for the following items,

though! Their activatable effects can really

change the course of a battle!

Shoots the player forward.

Great for quick positioning!

Hextech

Protobelt-01

Removes stuns on a selected

ally target.

Mikael’s

Crucible

Turns the user invulnerable, but

they also can’t do anything!

Zhonya’s

Hourglass

Removes stuns and slowing

affects on self.

Quicksilver

Sash




2. The player’s kills, deaths, and assists (“KDA”)

Quick Hits:• To see how active a player as been in

fights, add up their kills and assists,

and compare the number against the

teams total kills above.

• It’s important to not look at KDA in a

vacuum. For example, if a Support

player is getting all of the kills, that

means they’re taking away gold

earned from delivering the killing blow

to an enemy from their ADC.

21




2. The player’s kills, deaths, and assists (“KDA”);

3. The number of Minions killed by the player

(“creep score”, or “CS”).

Quick Hits:• Remember that killing a Minion gives

an average of 19 gold.

• During the beginning of a game when

players are less likely to roam out of

their Lanes, you can look to this

number to assess who is winning in

the Lane.

31 2




2. The player’s kills, deaths, and assists (“KDA”);

3. The number of Minions killed by the player

(“creep score”, or “CS”);

Remember that all Champions in LoL are

unique and have their owns strengths and

weaknesses.

Some Champions are relatively ill-suited for

the Laning Phase (the time before

teammates start grouping up), but are

dominant in big team fights!

31 2

These are the team status boxes.

There are a number of key

visualizations to keep track of:

Make it a habit to check these boxes often.

They communicate some of the most

information available on the HUD.

Many of the visualizations here communicate

information involving timings (cooldowns on

Ultimate Skills, and Summoner Spells).

The more-informed viewer will have a general

sense of the cooldown times for certain

Ultimate Skills, and Summoner Spells, and will

therefore likely spend less time making sense

of this information.




1. Respawn timers;

Quick Hits:• If a Champion’s portrait is greyed-out,

that means that they’re dead.

• The red number beneath indicates

how many seconds are left before the

Champion respawns back by their

Nexus.

• You can quickly glance at these timers

to see for how long a team may have

a number’s advantage.

1




1. Respawn timers;

Remember that LoL is an objective-based

game that only ends when a Nexus is

destroyed. To ensure a game will eventually

end, the duration of respawn timers

increases as the game goes on.

Eventually it’ll take over a minute to

respawn!

1




1. Respawn timers;

2. Ultimate Skill cooldowns;

2

Quick Hits:• Every Champion has a portrait of their

Ultimate Skill on the top corner.

• The portrait will be greyed-out

whenever it is on cooldown.

• The relative time remaining on an

Ultimate Skills cooldown is indicated

by the clockwise re-colouring of the

portrait

• Note, how EDG PawN’s Ultimate Skill

is about a three-quarters of the

cooldown length away from becoming

usable again.




1. Respawn timers;


2

Some Champions are heavily reliant on

their Ultimate Skills. As such, if a team

enters a fight with one of their main

Ultimate Skills on cooldown, they’ll be at a

huge disadvantage!

Professional players have many of these

cooldowns memorized, and will try to force

a fight if they know they have the

advantage in this regard.




1. Respawn timers;


3. Summoner Spell cooldowns;3

Quick Hits:• Summoner Spells are often used to

enable high-impact outplays.

• An ADC under pressure can Flash to

safety, or Heal to stay alive.

• The cooldown indicator for Summoner

Spells is identical to that of Ultimate

Skills.

• Note, how Ezreal’s Flash and Heal

Summoner Spell cooldowns have just

started their cooldowns. This leaves

him vulnerable for the next little while.




1. Respawn timers;


3. Summoner Spell cooldowns;

It should come as no surprise at this point

for me to tell you that professional players

have the cooldowns on Summoner Spells

memorized.

If they ever see one used, they’ll

communicate this to their team so that they

can all start timers in their heads.

3




1. Respawn timers;


3. Summoner Spell cooldowns;

4. Health and Mana bars.

4

Quick Hits:• Players are able to see the Health

and Mana bars above all Champions

whenever they are in vision.

• If a Champion is low on Mana, that

means they will likely have to rely on

basic attacks, thus putting them at a

disadvantage.

• If a Champion is low on Health, that

means they are closer to death, and

must play cautiously, or retreat back

to their base to heal.

This is the key events notification

area.

There are three components to

items that pop up here:

Whenever any major event happens

(Champion kills, Epic Camp kills, Turret kills),

they will show up here for a few seconds.

When things on the screen start to get chaotic

and disorganized, use this area to act as a

summary of what’s happening.

Quick Hits:• Remember, that the Champion who

deals the killing blow typically receives

(bonus) gold.

• In case you forget which team the

specific Champion is on, you can look

at the coloured glow around the

portrait to see if they’re on the Blue or

Red team.

1


area.



1. The Champion who dealt the

killing blow;

Quick Hits:• Key events only revolve around

Champions, Turrets, Inhibitors, and

Epic Camps.

• During chaotic team fights, keep an

eye on this area to see if any priority

Champions have been killed.

2


area.




killing blow;

2. What was destroyed or killed

Quick Hits:• Any Champion that participates in a

key event will be rewarded with a

small amount of gold and experience.

• However, because the gold is shared,

sometimes it may be wise to funnel

the gold to Champions that need it to

scale.

3


area.




killing blow;

2. What was destroyed or killed

3. The Champions that assisted

This is the Epic Camp timer.

There really isn’t much to say

here. These visualizations help

keep track of when the next Epic

Camp will spawn.

You can expect big team fights to

happen when these are alive.

Now you’re all set to watch the best two

teams in the world go head-to-head at the

Grand Finals of the 2016 League of Legends

World Championships!

You may not totally understand everything

that’s going on…

…but don’t be discouraged – the more you

watch, the more you’ll learn!

And the more you learn, the more you’ll

understand.

And the more you understand, the more

you’ll enjoy!

https://www.twitch.tv/riotgames

https://gaming.youtube.com/user/RiotGamesInc

Visit one of these two

channels on October

29th, 2016 to watch!

Opening ceremonies

begin at 7:00PM EST,

and coverage of the

games start at 7:30PM

EST.

league of legends primer - consolidated

Entertainment & Humor