I've thought so much about what League of Legends is, how it plays, the meta-game, and who to play it with that I'm frankly surprised that I haven't yet cataloged my thoughts about the game altogether. When I first sat down to give it a try, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into, given that I'd only heard of Defense of the Ancients at second hand, and hadn't played anything within the genre before. In retrospect, this isn't much of a surprise since the genre had only existed in any concrete form since 2005.
As far as the gameplay is concerned, I haven't been able to find any other genre that is simultaneously twitch-oriented, strategy-oriented, and team-oriented without failing to some degree on at least one of those points. The moment-to-moment improvisational challenge of positioning, poking, setting up attacks, and aiding teammates works very well in juxtaposition with the long-term planning of champion selection and item choice. I never could get into the meta-game of older strategy titles like StarCraft and Command & Conquer (although I did enjoy C&C). I can't completely encapsulate my feelings on them, and probably because there isn't any emotional involvement to be had in games of hard counters, and that is exactly what League of Legends is not.
The game revolves around teams of powerful champions that team up to destroy the other team's base. In the primary game mode, this is accomplished by aiding your helper warrior minions to demolish their way past defensive structures into their base to attack the base nexus. The challenge comes from coordinating a team of characters with different skills and play styles that organize around team roles, which include tank (damage soaker), bruiser(crowd control and light damage), carry (primary damage dealer), and support (buffs and debuffs). Given that each champion has specific abilities and a new champion is released every two weeks, strategies come and go on a regular basis.
In short, any success at LoL will come with practice, as with almost any challenging activity. I wouldn't call this a negative point since the meta-game constantly shifts, forcing you to participate if you want to stay ahead of whatever level of competition you choose. I've enjoyed learning about the mechanics of the game-- item builds, champion counters, and a few other minutiae, so I know that it's possible to enjoy both the specific and the general elements of MOBA play. Having more recently dove into the DotA 2 Beta, I can understand Riot Games' desire to make the genre more accessible, since the games that LoL is based off of are much deeper mechanics-wise and meta-wise. Bringing the intricacies of the gameplay down to an easily penetrable level while maintaining the core is a laudable achievement.
Keeping in theme with making the game more accessible, League of Legends is free-to-play. Playing matches will net you Influence Points that can be spent to unlock new champions and runes to give you a small boost in stats. Freemium may be a better description of the financial platform, since you can plonk down real-world money to buy Riot Points that unlock specific characters and exclusive character skins to use on the fields of justice. The variety of the champions both visually and mechanically make for a varied experience, one of the best things that a game can offer. Any game in which such varied and colorful characters, each with a helping of back story, come together to duke it out is deserving of attention as is. A disclaimer: MOBA's are let down by one factor, which is the fact that practically no variety exists in terms of maps and gameplay modes. League of Legends is the first in the genre (as far as I know) to move past this trope and add two new maps with different objectives and meta-games of their own. If there's a game with some variety for DotA lovers, it's this. If there's gameplay that completely spans the casual-hardcore spectrum, it's this. If there's one F2P game that's worth a look no matter your preferred genre, it's this.
Memorable
P.S. Here's a League of Legends signup link if my article has piqued your interest. If you do try it out, be sure to get some friends in on it too. Playing with people you know is the best way to do League of Legends.
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