5 League of Legends tips for beginners

League of Legends by Riot Games can certainly be unfamiliar territory for beginners or those who are just starting at playing the game. With around 115 million active players globally, after 10 astonishing years on the market, League’s playerbase is still steadily growing and it maintains its spot as the most popular esport in the world.

The game has changed a tremendous amount since its conception in 2009, where it was originally designed and created based on the original Defence of the Ancients (DotA) mod for Warcraft III. 

Summoner’s Rift is the main map and game mode for League of Legends that includes the traditional mode of two teams of five players, who have to battle it out in a bid to destroy their opponent’s Nexus, which is the heart of each team’s base. 

The Rift can be an unforgiving playground for new players, so that is why it is essential that you read this guide before you dive into your normal or ranked games. So, without further ado, here are some of the best League of Legends tips you will need in order to get ahead of the curve!

With 154 different champions or characters available to the player in game, there are thousands of unique play styles and abilities that you can use and you never know which one might be best suited to you until you try them all!

This means that you should also try out different positions on the map and get a feel for which role you have the most fun playing, or whichever role you feel challenges you the most. 

League is a competitive game and once you start playing ranked games (usually but not all of the time), you will encounter serious players who want to win their games and you will need to ensure that you are playing at your best level so that you can keep up with the pace.

A lot of players have found their main champions accidentally or unintentionally and that is why it is so important that you try out as many different champions as possible. 

This is an obvious tip but also an important one to take note of. As you play more and more games, you will begin to start learning the map subconsciously but it does help to play different roles as a beginner, so that you can learn the entire map.

Summoner’s Rift is not gigantic and it should not take too long to understand where everything is on the map, but it is important that you know where allied and enemy buffs are, key objectives like Rift Herald and the Dragon, as well as the locations of Turrets and Inhibitors.

It’s comprised of three lanes—top, middle, and bottom. The area in-between the lanes is the jungle. Team bases are located on the bottom left and top right corners of the map. Your position on the team is determined both by the champion you choose to play as and the specific part of the map you choose to begin the game on. Here are the five main positions on the map:

• Each lane will have 3 turrets and after the third will lie the allied or enemy Inhibitors.
• Super minions will spawn from your base after you have destroyed the enemy inhibitors and vice-versa.
• You must not get into the range of enemy turrets unless there is already a wave of minions under it.
• If you inflict damage on an enemy under their turret, the turret will begin to focus you as a target. Take care as turrets do significant damage!

Once you think you have found the lane or position that suits best for you, it is key that you focus on this role and try your best to perfect it. League is full of players who stick to their own positions and it is rare to find players who play all roles.

With players who are constantly getting practice at their own roles and positions, you will need to ensure that you are also practicing to keep up with the players in the community and those players who are also at the same skill level as you.

Due to the huge number of champions there are in the game, there is a ton of practice to do for each role as there are thousands of unique champion matchups, whether that be in lane or in the jungle.

You will need to learn the different matchups of most of the common champions that are picked in your chosen role, as this will give you the best chance at improving and becoming a better player. 

 

Much like in real-time strategy games, using hotkeys will save precious time in League of Legends, and could make the difference between winning or losing a battle. The main keystrokes you should try to memorize are the following:

This is a common mistake that new players and regular players are consistently making; not looking at their minimaps. The minimap is there for a reason and is there to give you information that is free for you.

You will always be able to see your teammates on the minimap and their position on the map will provide the rest of your team with a small area of vision. Remember – vision is the most important tool in the game, as the majority of the map is covered or dark due to the jungle. 

Aside from lanes, you cannot see anything on the map and that is why it is essential to keep a close eye on the minimap. Whenever you have vision from an ally or from allied warding totems, you will be able to see what is going on around you and this means that you can react quickly and accordingly to support your team if a skirmish breaks out.