So, new player. What should I know?

[Migey]

Hey.

I have never played LoL before, or any similar games. However a mate just convinced me to download it, and as I have heard of its quality and got bored of D3 within 4 days of release, I need something new to play.

So is there anything specific I should know, any common noob mistakes to avoid? Are there any heroes which I should specifically avoid, or which are good for starters?

I understand some of you may think ''find our for yourself'' but I prefer not to go into games blind.

[Deleted]

How much do you know about the game?

[Jegerhellig]

If you have never played a game like LoL or Dota.. It can get really frustrating to begin with because the game really has a large learning curve and it takes quite some games to good at

I'd recommend going to a site like www.twitch.tv or www.own3d.tv and watch a few of the streamers there, to see what they are doing
The game is all about knowing what to do, at certain phases of the game.

When to farm minions, take objectives on the map or pushing for a tower.

Also, most importantly is map awareness. Always keep track of the map and NEVER push a lane when you cannot see where your enemies are, it will most of the times get you killed
And to die is the worst thing you can do, it looses a lot of gold for yourself as well as experience. It also gives your opponent quite some gold, so it's really bad.

http://leaguecraft.com/strategies/ga...-legends.xhtml

This is also very useful^

Hope it helped

[Millennía]

Do the tutorial as soon as you play the game. Don't just hop into the game for PvP or you will get annihilated which will generate a lot of hate for you.

Best advice for your first time is to be prepared, do the tutorial and play against bots with a few champions to find one you like. Patience is required in a game like this, don't be over eager or you will spend a lot of time dead by the enemy team ganking you. If you are unsure then just play passively and farm minions to get some gold and if you are playing with your friend then try and go together in a lane so he can talk you through what to do.

As mentioned already, dieing is the worst thing you can do because you miss out on xp/gold but you also give your killer xp/gold so they will get better items which will make them do a lot more damage/healing and have a lot more survivability and ultimately make it harder for you to kill them. Wards are a good investment as well so you can see incoming enemies that you wouldn't otherwise be able to see. Overall just focus on not dieing because if you die too many times then not only are you hurting yourself but also your team as well because they have to deal with an over fed champion.

There will be times where you may encounter some hate but ignore it and learn from mistakes because it is really a great game when you get into it. I have been playing for a few months now I am really getting into it these days with WoW being as boring as it is.

Good luck on the field!

[Deleted]

Don't Waste your IPs on runes before lvl 20, where you can buy the rank 3 ones.

Don't waste your RPs on champions - save them for skins of a champion you like.

At least once, try out the free champions so you can expand your knowledge of each champion - certain advantages/disadvantages of each champions is something that is important to know when engaging against them.

Playing against bots is fun, but try and play as much against real players instead and get that experience. Yes you will be yelled at. Yes you will be called all kinds of words - most likely in a language you don't understand - by other retards. Just .don't. let them get to you. Either mute them in-game, or enjoy the show and report them for offensive langauge/verbal abuse at the end of the match.

If you 'lose your lane' (enemy opponent of either top, mid or bot lane, depending on where you play gains an advantage of you, either by having killed way more creeps than you, killed more players than you etc.) you need to play more defensively - don't let him benefit off it and snowball out of control within minutes. Gain the upper hand slowly through better cs (creep score) or by ganking other lanes (moving from your own lane to others to 'surprise' the enemy player by 'ganking' them -hopefully- resulting in a kill)

The current meta of the game that you have a 'bruiser' (one that can soak a lot of dmg while dealing persistent dmg, too) on top, an AP champion mid, a jungler and two bot, one AD carry and one support. Top is very 1v1-close-minded where each minion kill and successful gank by the junglers can determine the lane right from the beginning. Mid is a little bit more trickier, since you can be ganked by either the enemy top or bot lane, not to forget the jungler thus requiring you to play accordingly. The bot lane is basically a 2v2/3 with the jungler attempting ganks once in a while, but mostly it'll be your AD carry/suppotr against the other.

The supports role is to ward the map to gain awareness of the enemy teams movement which is crucial for a lot of predictions and choices; I can see their jungler moving around top, now would be a good time to push bot; Bot lane is occupied with their jungler poking at each other, now I can tower dive the enemy mid champ for the final kill etc. They are also there to aid the team through either heals, utilities, amplifiers, crowd control. They focus on items that gives them additional gold per second, which then allows them to skip on CS thus giving the AD carry even more CS.

The junglers role is to gain xp through the jungle creeps, while posing a constant threat to all three lanes by being the jack of trades, the one that could pop out any minute and aid the lane, making it a 2v3 thus gaining a negative outcome. This also allows top&mid to be a solo lane (= more CS, gold & xp).

Everytime you die, try and think back a few seconds and find the mistakes and errors you just did. Did you overextend too long for the enemy jungler to catch you offguard? Did you position yourself in a way that you got caught by the team? Did you walk into a bush that you had no vision of, where the whole enemy was waiting for someone to walk into the trap? Did you target the tank instead of the squishy AD carry? Did you time your abilities right? Did you flash at the right moment? There are a lot of options.

I recon some of this wall of text is a mix between tips and a few guidelines. I remember when I was new to the game and didn't understand any of it and I did soooo many mistakes that could have been avoided if only I had known a little bit more about the game, so I think that I've covered some of the good things to know 'least Happy gaming !

[Deleted]

Try out the different kind of roles there are, and see what you are most comfortable with to begin with. At level 30 when you start ranked games (if you like the game that is), you should know all roles.

Tank: Basicaly any champion that scales well with HP, and have some sort of CC. You build hp/armor/resistance, and sometimes aoe on use items that benefit your team. You are supposed to be first in in a teamfight, and taunt/cc enemy champions, or save running friends.

AD Carry: Most often ranged scaling with attack damage. These usually run the bottom lane with a tank or a support. You build AD and resistance/armor depending on what you are facing.

Mid: Any strong solo champion can do this, but most often they are ranged and AP based, since top and bot are usually AD based (you want a mix of AD and AP in your team) Requires map awareness, as you are vulnerable to both top and bot attacks, so it's a good way to learn about that. You go head to head against another champion. It's the only lane where always one champion of each team meet. (unless trolol teams)

Support: Can either be tanky, utility or healing based. Great examples of champions are for example Soraka, Nunu, Alistar. A support only helps his/her AD carry get kills and to survive, and if can be avoided, should never last hit minions or champions. These require some GP/5 items (gold per 5 seconds) to sustain a gold flow. They are also the "main warders" early game. Tho everyone should ward for themselves. (Wards are items you put on the ground that reveal enemy champions if they are for example hiding in brushes, or to see them coming earlier)

Solo top: Mainly done by "tanky" bruisers who are not tanks, but can take a punch, while sustaining damage. They are most often AD based melee champions, but there are some strong solo top AP champions aswell. (Vladimir and Mordekaiser comes to mind instantly). Also require some map awareness due to the opposing jungler often helping his top out for a 2v1 gank. Warding for yourself is a must up top, at least when you get close to level 30.

Jungler: This can be done by pretty much any champion if you want (tho I advise never to do this with squishy champions), but some excell at it. Udyr, Skarner, Shaco for example are very quick jungle clearers, and also good gankers. Shaco is squishy however, but due to his skillset, he rapes jungle minions. Your role as a jungler is very situational, so it can be tricky for you. I do not advice doing this before you are comfortable with the game, as a bad jungler will ruin a whole team. You do not kill any lane minions unless you wanna help push for a turret kill, or cover for someone who goes back to base/gets killed. You run around in the jungle and kill neutral minions, and grab the buff the golems provide. One grants you faster mana regen and reduced cooldown reduction, the other places a dot on everyone you damage. Jungling requires extreme map awareness.

When you have grabbed both buffs on your side, what you do next depends entirely on what's currently happening.

A: Your top or mid is getting raped, so you help him/her with a gank.
B: Bot fails, so you help them.
C: Lanes are currently fine, so you try to counter-jungle the enemy jungler by entering his/her half of the map. Either to kill the jungler, or to steal that junglers minions.
D: You stay on your side, alternating between spawnpoints and just farm.
E: Lanes are fine, but you provide with a gank anyway, just to get your team a kill and some gold.

If you fail to make the right calls as a jungler your team will flame you to oblivion. Every part of the team is cruical, but in my oppinion, a strong or weak jungler makes a much greater impact on the game, than any other role. Keep in mind tho, no role is easy. Solo top requires personal 1v1 skill, and map awareness, (good) jungling requires any skill there is in this game, AD Carry and support requires decisive skills, and positioning, quick reactions, and to some extent map awareness. Mid requires map awareness, decision and reaction.

PLEASE NOTE: Almost none of this usually applys to lower levels, BUT understanding this is still important, because there are many "alts" who play at lower levels to rape newbies in order to feel good. And it's good to know for when you hit the higher levels, and ultimately ranked games

No matter what role you play, the style of play often changes as time progresses, and champions level up.

Early game (level 1-6-ish):
Most often just farming lanes, and last hitting minions, and generally champions poking eachother, going for kills if opposing champions makes any mistakes. Some early jungler ganks happens, but rarely any team fighting.

Mid game (level 6-14ish):
Usually harder lane pushes to get the first turret down. Ganks happens alot more frequently due to having better items and the "ultimate" (r), which you can only skill up first at level 6. The dragon starts to be farmed. (It's a stronger neutral monster that requires a couple of champions to kill, and rewards the whole team with 190 gold each + 25 for the last hitter). Team fights near dragon might occur, or at other places but very rarely other than near dragon.

Late game (level 14-18ish):
Loads of teamfights, and people leaving their lanes to help others out where needed. This is the most fun part of the match to most. This is also where Baron gets farmed (VERY strong neutral minion that usually requires the whole team to kill and to be on their toes, if enemy team turns up. When killed, every player of the last hitting team recieves a buff that increases AD/AP, and mana/hp regeneration. A VERY powerful buff. You also recieve 300 gold each, and a good chunk of exp if you are not level 18.

Items:
Try to adapt your build depending on what you are facing. If you are facing a team with loads of AD, try to stack some armor to negate some of their damage. If you meet a heavy AP team, try to stack some resistance to negate some of their damage. Most of the times, it's a mix, so apart from buying your strong AD/AP items, make sure you have some armor and resistance aswell.

A solid starting set for any champion (other than supports), is a pair of boots and 3 hp potions. Or any of the "doran's" items, depending on your role. But don't underestimate the power of mobility. Boots + 3 hp potions is probably the best way for a new player.

IMPORTANT! The most important thing to become successful in a match is to become a great last hitter of minions. The gold you make is SO IMPORTANT. The sooner you get your upgrades, the stronger and more dangerous you will become. DO NOT attack minions other than getting the last hit if you are not pushing for a turret kill!

Extra tip for getting last hits under your tower, which is quite tricky!:
(These tips apply to minions with full health)
Melee minions: let tower hit twice, then last hit.
Caster minions: hit once, stop, let tower hit, then get last hit.
To stop attacking minions, either hold H on your keyboard, or run around by clicking the ground.

There are two champions you can get for free, and they are quite great. Alistar(support/tank) if you subscribe to their youtube page, and Tristana(AD carry) if you like them on facebook. Just search for League of Legends on facebook and youtube to find out where to click, or perhaps they have links on their webpage.

Here are some champions I recommend for beginners.

Melee: Garen, Master Yi
AD Carry: Ashe, Tristana
AP: Annie, Ryze
Tank/Support: Alistar, Shen
Utility/Support: Soraka, Sona
Jungle: Udyr, Skarner (only if you wanna jungle, I do not recommend jungling when you are new however)

Most of these are also labeled as 'recommended' by the game.


Edit: I'm sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, and small vocabulary, English is not my native language. I'm also not a PRO either, so nothing I've said here might be 100% true. But this is my general view at the moment.

[Deleted]

The game has an ignore function.



Use it.

[Migey]

Proberly.

Thanks a great deal for that incredibly helpful post! I very much appreciate it!

However, what do AP and AD stand for? AP = Attack Power and AD = Attack Damage??? I can't imagine it's those two because I don't see any difference.

Also, why are there specific roles assigned to the same specific lanes? I can see why middle may be special as it's most vunerable, but i'd imagine that the top and bottom would have been interchangeable?

[Nest]

Proberly.

Thanks a great deal for that incredibly helpful post! I very much appreciate it!

However, what do AP and AD stand for? AP = Attack Power and AD = Attack Damage??? I can't imagine it's those two because I don't see any difference.

Also, why are there specific roles assigned to the same specific lanes? I can see why middle may be special as it's most vunerable, but i'd imagine that the top and bottom would have been interchangeable?

AD = Attack Damage.
AP = Ability Power.
:3

[Deleted]

Proberly.

Thanks a great deal for that incredibly helpful post! I very much appreciate it!

However, what do AP and AD stand for? AP = Attack Power and AD = Attack Damage??? I can't imagine it's those two because I don't see any difference.

Also, why are there specific roles assigned to the same specific lanes? I can see why middle may be special as it's most vunerable, but i'd imagine that the top and bottom would have been interchangeable?

Bottom lane has 2 people in it for dragon control. It spawns faster then Baron and is 190 gold for your entire team, which is a lot. Support can keep it warded and since there are 2 people bot, the enemy jungler shouldn't be allowed to solo it. When your jungler comes in and you manage to kill the other botlane (or in a lot of cases only 1) you have an advantage when doing dragon. In short, it's all about the dragon.

[Migey]

Ah, I see. I thought they spawned once and then were dead.

How does one obtain wards? Can they be bought or are they spells specific to certain support heroes?

[Deleted]

1. don't fuck with the russian or the ploish players (they are scary)
2. don't go support it's alot more fun to stare into a wall than it is to support.
3. don't go renekton, he is reserved for me.
4. don't think you are the only "good player and every 1 else sucks" it is very rareley true.
5. don't try to tower dive until atleast lvl 15, it just doesn't work.

[Deleted]

However, what do AP and AD stand for? AP = Attack Power and AD = Attack Damage??? I can't imagine it's those two because I don't see any difference.

On tooltip of ability, you can see something like: "deals 15 (+13) damage". If (+13) is on orange, then this ability gets benefit of AD. If (+13) is on green, it gets benefit of AP. If there are special cases, they read in tooltips also.


Also some slang: bot=bottom, mid=middle and top=top. Jungle means neutral npc:s at forests, and jungler is someone who kills them. Minion=those NPC who come off bases and run forward until they die.

Also remember that if there are 2 people near each other, they both get less experience. That is why you should have at least 1 guy on at least 1 lane (I think its basically this, not pro at this game myself either ).

Then just try to learn different champions by playing them, and use your brain when thinking to attack/not attack and retreat/not retreat.

Aand monsters and minions give only money to one who deals killing blow, so try to focus on getting it.

[Deleted]

Proberly.

Thanks a great deal for that incredibly helpful post! I very much appreciate it!

However, what do AP and AD stand for? AP = Attack Power and AD = Attack Damage??? I can't imagine it's those two because I don't see any difference.

Also, why are there specific roles assigned to the same specific lanes? I can see why middle may be special as it's most vunerable, but i'd imagine that the top and bottom would have been interchangeable?

You don't go solo bot... You just don't.

[Deleted]

Be prepared to get very very annoyed, you are going to get owned to begin with, but find a char you like and get a sick build and soon you will be the one dealing out the rage quits

have a look at mobafire and lolpro for champ guides

[Deleted]

Also there is wikia for league of legends, that has much info.

[Deleted]

Well, u had lot of good answers here especially Properly so I'm subscribing to this.

[Deleted]

Ah, I see. I thought they spawned once and then were dead.

How does one obtain wards? Can they be bought or are they spells specific to certain support heroes?

Nope, they spawn at a certain time, and when you kill them they respawn after a certain time again. Dragon gives your entire team gold and is quite easy to kill with a bit of coordination. Baron gives your entire team a buff (if they're not dead) with more damage, more mana regen and health regen etc. In short, a strong buff + gold. It's THE most important neutral mob in the game basically.

Wards can be bought in the consumables section where you can find the health pots and mana pots etc. A green ward costs 75 gold and gives you vision where you plant it. After a second it becomes invisible so the enemy team doesn't know where you have wards planted or not. They give you a MASSIVE tactical advantage due to map control. They last 3 minutes. They take 3 hits to destroy and give 25 gold to the person who destroyed them. You can also buy pink wards for 125 gold, they work exactly the same as green wards only that they have stealth detection, so can see stealthed champions like Evelyn, Twitch or champions with skills who give them stealth for a few seconds, like Akali in her cloud, Talon with his ultimate, Wukong with his decoy etc. They are primarily used to counterward though, placing a pink ward neer a green ward will reveal the green ward and allow you to destroy the green ward. Another way to do this is buy an Oracle for 400 gold, which gives your champion a buff that allows you to see stealthed units or wards that are in a close proximity near you.

An extra thing about wards is that champions with teleport can teleport to your wards. This can give you a massive advantage for dragon. (Your 2 people at botlane can run to it, jungler should be there, mid can run there and your solo top champion can Teleport to the ward). Some champions also have abilities which can be targeted at wards, the most common example probably being Lee Sin. This can be VERY good for escaping or even engaging some encounters but is very hard to pull off for a new player.

---------- Post added 2012-05-28 at 10:59 AM ----------

You don't go solo bot... You just don't.

This reply is just filled with massive amounts of good information. Just like your post 2 posts above.

[Duilliath]

have a look at mobafire and lolpro for champ guides

Actually... you better don't. Well, not go there and take it as gospel at least.

Mobafire is filled with a lot of crap (though I will readily admit there's some good guides there too). As a new player you likely won't be able to discern between good and bad guides. Mind you, Mobafire is aimed a bit more at the starting player, so they can be fairly extensive in what they describe. This can be helpful in trying to figure out a champion.

Lolpro is limited in only having one guide per champion (last time I checked at least). This needn't be a major problem unless the guide itself is crap (it happens) or a champion has multiple roles/playstyles. They can be about as extensive as Mobafire and you might find some good info there as well.

Then again, Solomid offers a lot of guides but is largely aimed at the more advanced level 30 games. They can contain a lot of good info, but in quite a number of them there's a lot of assumed knowledge and it doesn't always apply to the game you will be playing.

From memory, all three of them offer general gameplay guides. I suggest you read through those at your leisure.

Another way to get a quick look at what's going on is by checking out the featured games in game. Look for champions you are interested in or like and then they see how they get played.

One can buy Wards in the shop, under the Consumables tab. They're one-time-use only and expire after three minutes. Don't be surprised if you're the only one purchasing them in the entire game.

[Migey]

As a hero, I like the idea of Garen. I played him in the tutorial and he was fun and he looks like he could be rather effective in some circumstances, as soon as I am able to buy him. I also found a good guide on him from Lolpro.