Before starting my freshman year of college, I didn’t really consider myself a gamer. I played a fair bit of Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO), Minecraft Java Edition, and the new Tomb Raider games, but “gamer” was a tag I always felt uncomfortable labeling myself as. When I started college, the group of friends with which I found myself all played this game called free game called League of Legends. Since I had experience playing on PC, I decided that I could easily pick up this new game; this could not have been further from the truth.
For those unfamiliar, League is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game. Each player chooses a champion with certain abilities and proceeds to battle the enemy team for objectives and gold across the map. Unlike other games I had played, League’s point of view is in the third person looking down on the map, as opposed to the first person shooter perspective of all the other combat games I’ve played. In addition to the odd layout of the game, there are around 140 different champions with four unique abilities and passives. On top of this, there are dozens and dozens of items in the shop that you can purchase to improve your champion as the game progresses. There are rules about the powerups you can receive from the jungle monsters, there are sets of bonus powerups you can take before the game starts, called runes and summoner spells. And, on top of all of this, League of Legends has a very popular professional scene, so there are very established rules and etiquette dictating how the game flow should progress given certain situations. This game was a pain in the behind to learn.
So here I was, this confident learner who assumed she could master this game in a few weeks. Well, I ended up playing the same champion for the first three months I played League. I sucked. Slowly, I built up my champion pool and my confidence in the game, and I have even taught others to play it, even though I still can’t even pretend to understand the extreme nuances that the experts can pick out during gameplay.
Nowadays, I have become absolutely addicted to playing the ranked game mode in League of Legends. The thing with League is that everyone thinks they are better than they actually are, and I’m no exception. I believe myself to be pretty knowledgeable and above average for my rank, especially after playing hundreds of casual games with my friends. So I tried my hand at the ranked games, and I just kept winning. As you win your rank increases; I started in Iron I, and I am now in Silver IV (see visual below). I know it doesn’t look like much, but this is a crazy jump over the course of two weeks.
League’s addictiveness is not unique compared to any other videogame, but the sense of reward and accomplishment you can feel by executing flawless moves or outsmarting an opponent is unmatched in any other aspect of my life. Even when you lose a devastating game, the urge to seek the high of success consumes your mind until you find yourself queueing up for yet another game. Succeeding in the ranked game mode proves even more intoxicating to me, as successive wins can allow you to play against better players and show how much better you are. This is toxic, yes, but man does it keep you hooked. Additionally, each game averages around 45 minutes with the champion draft at the beginning, so playing this game extensively consumes a lot of time.
So, here I am. Addicted to a game that has made me angry beyond belief countless times. I’m hoping that when I move to Estes Park here in a couple of weeks that my internet will be too spotty to play League. Maybe I would be able to inspire myself to read a book or two without my crippling League of Legends addiction weighing me down.
Do I Recommend Learning to Play League?
Honestly, my first inclination is to say no to this question. It has caused me a lot of pain and somedays I want to smash my laptop after a particularly nasty game. However, I think this game was really valuable to me in that it taught me a different form of gameplay than I was used to. It showed me how to work with a team and how to critically analyze trades and rewards in a fast-paced setting. League of Legends is also a very well made game, not that it is perfect, of course, but the graphics are beautiful, and I enjoy buying new skins to support the development and design teams. For a free to play game, League really impressed me, and I would recommend it to someone who wants to try their hand at a new MOBA, or for those wanted to try MOBAs.