League of Legends

League of Legends (LoL) is the most popular MOBA game in esports history (source: alza.cz)

Alongside FPS (first person shooter) games, the most popular genre today is MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena). We owe this to the popular mode for the game Warcraft 3. Defense of the Ancient (DOTA) was highly popular, and it’s no surprise that many game studios wanted to build on the success of this community map. DOTA 2 by Valve is considered its rightful successor, but League of Legends (LoL) came several years earlier. The competition for the throne of strategic hero games began in 2009, when the first version of LoL was released. The success of Riot Games and the MOBA genre has been attempted by almost every game studio to replicate, but only DOTA 2 has really succeeded. It still holds the second spot in popularity, as League of Legends currently dominates in terms of active gaming community and esports event viewership. How did it all begin? And what is LoL all about?

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The king is dead, long live the king: the history of League of Legends

It was the year 2009, and the development studio Riot Games was a very young project. It was established three years earlier and spent its entire existence developing the title League of Legends: Clash of Fates, which was supposed to build on the popular community map from Warcraft 3. Some designers who had previously worked on DOTA 2 even joined the ambitious team. Just before the release, the name “Clash of Fates” was dropped, and fans knew the game as League of Legends. The basic idea of the game remained, but Riot Games did some things their own way. This may have been the most important decision in the history of the company: not to make just a clone. The free-to-play model (download and play for free) combined with simple gameplay for beginners and a certain degree of personality ensured LoL’s great popularity in the gaming community. For four years, the new MOBA game enjoyed its deserved place and focused on its development, but in 2013, the main competitor appeared: DOTA 2. There are several reasons why League of Legends is ahead of DOTA today, but the main one is the relatively simple game controls, which do not deter beginners. Additionally, Riot Games invests a lot of time and resources into expanding the stories of heroes and the history of the world itself (lore), in which the game takes place. This makes it easier to like individual heroes and the entire world of Runeterra. When you add the fact that Riot Games was not a large corporate company (today it might be different) and did not care so much about pure profit, it is clear why fans liked it. Today, Riot Games has several subsidiaries engaged in various fields. The animated series Arcane broke records, and the music label collaborates with names like Imagine Dragons, and its songs are very popular. In addition, several other game projects inspired by the world of Runeterra have emerged, further expanding it. These include the card game Legends of Runeterra, the tactical strategy Teamfight Tactics, the shooter and competitor to CS Valorant. There are also single-player titles. Today, it is a sad truth that games from Valve (DOTA 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter Strike 2) are slowly declining, and players are moving to Riot Games for an alternative PvP gaming experience (although there are die-hard Valve fans who will tell you otherwise, this results in a certain division of the gaming community into two large camps, between which there is an undeniable amount of animosity). However, the numbers speak clearly, and with the second season of the popular Arcane series on the way and an MMO title in development, it is clear who will have the upper hand in the Valve vs. Riot Games battle. Another possible major player in this video game sector, Blizzard (World of Warcraft, Heartstone, Diablo), unfortunately, manages to bury itself alive. If it is not already the case, the time for dominance by Epic Games with their unbeatable Fortnite and Riot Games with their intricate world of Runeterra is coming.

Game preview

Game mechanics and objectives

For an ordinary player, it may be surprising that all movement of your hero is controlled by the mouse, and the keyboard is used for abilities and spells. You need to get used to the finger placement on the keyboard on QWER instead of the classic WASD. The game is always played by two teams of five players each, and their goal is to destroy the enemy base. Each team occupies half of the map (both sides are separated by a river), which is divided into three lanes (top, middle, bottom) and adjacent neutral areas (jungle). The map is mirror-symmetrical, so theoretically, no team has an advantage (although there are arguments why one side is better than the other). Waves of minions walk down the lanes, and by killing them, you gain gold and experience. These uncontrollable units are also important when destroying enemy towers, as they draw enemy fire. Towers (turrets) are a crucial element of the game, with three on each lane and two defending the heart of the base (called the Nexus), making a total of 11 towers for each team. Besides killing enemy heroes and creeps, it is essential to destroy these towers. Once you clear an entire lane of enemy towers (one by one), you can destroy enemy inhibitors. This gives you a temporary advantage of stronger minions. The Nexus, which must be destroyed to achieve victory, can only be attacked after destroying the inhibitors. In the jungle, there are neutral monster camps, killing which gives you experience and gold. In almost every game, one player plays in the jungle (jungler) and gains an advantage for their team by farming monsters and assisting on lanes (called ganks). Other important neutral monsters are dragons, killing which gives the team an advantage based on the dragon type (chosen randomly, only three types out of six can appear on each map – by the way, you can bet on which dragon type will appear). A much stronger but temporary advantage is provided by Baron Roshan, which gives the team the ability to empower their minion waves.

Minimum hardware requirements

Operating system: Windows 10 Processor: Intel Core i3 530 / AMD A6-3650 Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT / AMD HD 6570 / Intel HD 4600 Integrated Graphics DirectX: 10.0 RAM: 2 GB Hard disk: 16 GB …and of course, an internet connection.

Champions

At the beginning of each game, there is a champion selection phase. During this phase, each team can ban certain champions. This phase occurs in rounds (one team picks one champion, and then the other team picks one champion, etc.), and a champion can be selected only once. Each champion has their abilities and serves different purposes. One might be strong in killing enemies, while another has powerful healing abilities. Their abilities increase in power by leveling up (gaining experience) and by using items. The basic classification of champions is based on the type of damage they deal: magic damage (need ability power) or physical damage (need attack damage). Of course, there are also champions who use their health and defensive properties. Another classification is based on their recommended role: top (solo lane at the top of the map), jungle (champions suitable for solo jungle clearing and ganking), mid (solo lane in the middle of the map), bottom/adc (responsible for dealing the highest damage) and support (takes care of team vision, supports their team, and should primarily ensure the safety of the bottom position player – they play together on one lane). Generally, you can play any champion anywhere, but it is not recommended, mainly due to the optimal use of the abilities and strength of the champion.

Summoner spells

Regardless of which champion you choose for your game, you must select two out of several summoner spells. These are available to every player. The most popular choices are Flash (instant short-distance jump), Ignite (setting an enemy on fire), Ghost (speed boost for the champion), Teleport, Exhaust (reduces the damage dealt by a targeted enemy for a short time), and Heal (heals nearby allies and gives a small movement speed bonus). Here, it’s important to mention the main difference compared to DOTA – there is no teleport scroll; if you want to teleport across the map, you must choose this ability as a summoner spell. Another distinct factor is the ability to use the Recall spell, available to every champion. This returns you to your spawn, where you can heal and shop.

Items

Items are an essential part of the game as they enhance the attributes of champions, and some of them offer extra abilities. They can be purchased for gold from the merchant, located in both bases. Unlike in DOTA, you won’t find couriers here. Riot Games continually strives to balance and fine-tune the power of champions and items, but generally, certain champions are stronger during specific periods (these periods are known as the meta).

Game modes

The most important and widely played mode is the 5v5 mode, which can be played in several ways. You can practice with bots (computer-controlled champions, difficulty is chosen by the player), experiment in normal unranked games (suitable for beginners to grasp the basics of the game), or fight in ranked matches and climb the ranking ladder across divisions. In addition, there is the very popular ARAM mode, involving 10 players in two teams. The main difference from the normal game is that the entire game takes place on a single lane where all champions clash, and there is no jungle. There used to be a 3v3 game mode, but it was removed from the game (despite its popularity). Occasionally, special twists appear in the classic map mode (e.g., all players play the same champion, instant ability cooldowns…). At the end of 2023, the Arena mode also appeared, where eight players were divided into four teams. These teams then competed against each other for victory. This mode even had its own division system but disappeared at the beginning of 2024. However, we can expect its return due to its significant popularity.

How Riot Games earns revenue: Selling skins with a twist

Skins in League of Legends differ from those on Steam mainly in that they are non-transferable between player accounts. Riot Games has no community marketplace. These skins can be purchased directly in the game and modify the appearance of champions and wards without affecting gameplay (although some projectiles are harder to see than others). Even though there is no way to appreciate these skins, they are still popular among players, and Riot Games earns money by selling them (the game itself remains free). You won’t find any gambling sites with LoL skins on the internet (unlike CS2 or DOTA 2). However, you might come across websites offering digital gift keys to increase the number of Riot Points (the currency used to buy skins, chests, and keys). A few years ago, an inventory was introduced in the game, where you can obtain chests containing skin shards. To open these chests, you need a key, which can either be purchased or obtained by playing – just like the chests themselves. Besides selling skins, the main source of revenue for Riot Games is esports.

Championships and Leagues of Legends

The esports scene in League of Legends has been very popular since its inception, and the biggest tournaments and regional leagues are directly overseen by Riot Games. In 2013, thanks to esports, it earned more than half a billion dollars, which went towards running the game studio and developing esports. This increased the prize pools of individual regional leagues and world championships. The popularity of LoL enabled the creation of regional leagues managed by the developer. The strongest regions include Korea (LCK), China (LPL), and Europe (LEC). Of course, there are also other regional leagues (a total of 17) like North America (LCS) or Taiwan (LMS). The year is divided into several seasons culminating in playoffs and finals. Teams participating in these leagues earn points, which qualify them for world championships. Any team that manages to win official lower league competitions (for Europe, this is EU Masters) can join the main regional leagues. They can qualify for these before the start of the season. The official and main world tournaments are MSI and the more prestigious World Championship (known as Worlds). The competitions in League of Legends are dominated by Korean and Chinese teams (like SK Telecom 1 or Gen.G). The best player is considered to be Faker from SK Telecom 1. Given the game’s popularity, it is no surprise that most countries have their own leagues (or even several). In the Czech Republic, the largest is organized by Hitpoint, featuring teams like eSuba, Sinners, and Eclot Gaming. The most successful Czech player is Humanoid (Marek Brázda), currently playing as a midlaner for Fnatic (a participant in the LEC). Today, you can bet on many competitive matches in League of Legends, and the bookmakers‘ offers no longer include only match winners; you can also choose opportunities like over/under the number of kills or the type of dragon spawned.

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2️⃣ Are there loot boxes with LoL skins?

3️⃣ When was League of Legends released?

Peter Broz

Article author – esports expert
Email: peter@slothbet.com

I came into contact with playing computer games long before a billion-dollar business with professional teams emerged around them. Although I never reached the professional level, I still have many acquaintances among the top esports players today. At SlothBet, I will primarily contribute to the esports section.

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