Having become obsessed with Riot’s card-based League spin-off, Legends of Runeterra, earlier this year, I finally tried my hand at its MOBA and while I’m not any good at it (and still looking for that first win), if you’re trepidatious about jumping in, you may be pleasantly surprised.
We’ve all heard the horror stories of an unforgiving community and hundreds of characters to learn, but in the hours I’ve spent playing League of Legends so far, I’ve found it to be surprisingly welcoming.
Upon loading into the game I was able to complete the tutorial simply enough, acquainting me with the very basics of MOBA gameplay. Sure, I’ve tried (and bounced straight off of) DOTA 2, but this felt much more welcoming from the jump. I learned about turrets, sneaking into the grass, and buying items (which, coincidentally, are helpfully laid out in tiers).
As someone that isn’t a great fan of communicating on a mic with strangers, I’m undoubtedly at a disadvantage when forming strategies, but I’ve been having a blast playing as Lux – a character I recognised from Legends of Runeterra.
Capable of freezing enemies in place and with the ability to provide a shield for comrades, I’ve been using Lux to try and pick off enemies while supporting my own teammates – and it’s been great. I'm not dealing huge amounts of damage, but I'm holding my own in many instances.
It's not all been fun, though.
Jumping into ARAM (that’s All Random All Mid for those wondering), I was saddled with Zedd and immediately out of my comfort zone. While my teammates were undoubtedly infuriated as I battled the controls and tried to learn his abilities on the fly, they also provided handy tips. At the end of the match (in which I was totally useless), even someone on the enemy team offered some constructive feedback.
All of this is to say that regardless of your preconceptions about what starting out in League of Legends is, you may be pleasantly surprised. I’m now looking for friends to play with, but in the meantime, I’ve been chipping away at some handy early quests. Hell, I even spent a few quid on some heroes just to try and learn more roles.
While every community has its “bad eggs”, I’ve been really impressed by how supportive LoL’s player base has been so far.
I’m still never running ARAM again though…