League is Love, League is Life: That's the motto.
Exemplary words to live by. Well, it might not have been your Senior yearbook motto, but it should've been and you know it. This time, we're talking about the 5 things I love and hate about League of Legends.
League of Legends has always been my favorite game to play since Season II, so much so that it feels like it isn't much of a game anymore. It feels like a little world that gamers could connect freely and interact with each other to create a strong connection between each other.
So that they may play a fun game called League of Legends, a game that's played with a team of 5, skills, trust, integrity, wit, and teamwork.
With, of course, the inclusion of toxicity and saltiness that is the by-product of the LoL community with the freedom that they have in the game. See what I mean? You can't have your cake and eat it too.
There are just a LOT of things that League has going on for itself, may it be good or bad. Without further ado, let's take a look at the positives first, shall we?
Qualities: the Positives and Negatives.
5.) League of Legends is a newbie-friendly game.
"U wot m8? I'm Challenger III. I'mma f*** u up!- Wise words from a Pro. Photo courtesy of EloHell"
What I love about this:
League of Legends is a newbie-friendly game because of the fact that it caters to everyone and they try to bring a broader audience to the MOBA scene, whether they are gamers, hipsters, nerds, or just plain normal people, all for the sake of a good time. It doesn't matter who you are, League is ready to take you in and make you learn its ways so that you can join in the fun.
League also offers a challenge before one may engage in Ranked matches. A newbie must first learn a thing or two by leveling up from 1 to Level 30. This integral part of the game teaches new players the ropes before they can actually meet up gloves with higher ranked opponents.
Because of this nature, League of Legends boasts 67 million active players from around the world. That's a lot of feeding programs going on worldwide. *winks twice*
What I hate about this:
The game itself may be newbie-friendly, but the players are not. Most of the time, they are salty, negative, and extremely toxic towards anyone who do not meet their expectations. Enter newbies, who have absolutely no idea how the game works yet teammates still expect them to double split-push, freeze lane, and sidestep. There's just too much expectations for new players and more often than not, new players quit as a result of the toxicity.
With that, Smurfs, League professionals who create another low-level account besides their main account, are also rampant these days. This cheap trick causes newbies to lose often because they aren't actually fighting against their own levels.
4.) League of Legends cannot be won alone.
"I totally did not get this pentakill in a 1v5. *winks thrice*"
What I love about this:
You absolutely cannot win alone. No, you need a team to win. Don't be a delusional Dota II 69 MMR Shadow Fiend. You're playing League of Legends and our meta calls for a team. Players need to work together to win as only synergy can dictate as early as the first 2 minutes if you can win or not. Each side is like a machine with players as its gears. The machine can only work if gears can move together in harmony (and teamwork is the oil that smoothes out the process).
Teammates, whether they like it or not, have to put up with each other and set aside their differences if they actually want to win. That's the beauty of it all.
What I hate about this:
You absolutely CANNOT win alone. Even if your life depended on it, even if you're 0 LP and the other 4 guys in your team quit because they decided that they want to binge watch the re-run of Game of Thrones at the last second, even if you're on your Series to Silver V and you're W W L L - with just one win left to get you out of ELO hell.
But no, sorry to crush your dreams of getting out of Bronze, kiddo. There's just no winning without a team.
It's so bittersweet how you must depend on your teammates to win. But that has been a training weight for every League player ever, to lift their team to victory. As a long time player, it's the only mandatory prerequisite to advance a division. If you can't lift yourself, let alone a team, then you most certainly do not deserve to get further than your division.
3.) League of Legends has the best team of developers one could ever as for.
"A photo taken years ago of Riot's main office in New York when it was first bought."
What I love about this:
Riot Games has proved that to have a great, selling game, the game must have a group of awesome developers that completely understand the players with their wants and needs. If you're a real fan of League, you'd know that Rito is absolutely the best. They act like everybody's big brother who ruffles your hair everytime they see you.
They always have your back whether it's in-game bugs or inconsistency with the game, they're always happy to help us whenever they can.
No wonder they're one of the top game developers in the world. They just act so humbly that it's pleasing to every player of LoL. On top of that, they're all so comedic that they always joke around whenever they can which emanates an aura that can be felt by every player. It really brings humour to the community and the game itself.
What I hate about this:
Riot is just a company. A small one at that for League's behemoth scale. They can't make major changes to the game without making a huge spike into the game that can be felt by every server that plays LoL. With that mentioned, Riot is so backed up with work that they had to give independence to most servers and have to hire the likes of Garena to bridge League to major parts of Asia.
This may not be such a bad thing but it gives a sense of minority to the other servers as they are not considered a "major" region as they are not under Riot's management.
With their somewhat recent patch notes before Season VI started, they themselves apologized for the slow progress that the game was making. But in fact, the game has progress so much since the first time I've played League. Too much changes have been made in my opinion but the game itself almost hasn't been balanced once throughout all the changes. It's been 4 seasons, Riot!
Riot is a just a company, but it's a company that's handling millions of players worldwide. One change can be felt like a single drop creates a riptide.
2.) League of Legends is extremely fun to play.
"Bangkok Titan's games are always packed with audience. They always like they're having fun."
What I love about this:
I love everything there is to be loved in this point. What's not to love? League of Legends, for me, is a legendary game that won't be surpassed by any game for generations to come. Why? Because it's extremely fun to play.
I remember my first time playing League. The feeling was so euphoric and the game itself was so great that it still has me hook to this day. I'm sure that most players agree that they feel the same way I do.
It has it all the players, the thrill, the scene, the hype, the details, the champions, and the support of every LoL player everywhere who's logged on as you're reading this very moment. There are no more words that need be said here, this is the most solid point in this list.
What I hate about this:
It's so extremely fun to play that it's also extremely addictive. Let's be honest, guys. When was the last time you went a week without playing a single game? If you could recall a week from this year, congratulations! You're only mildly addicted.
Computer Addiction is a sickness that the majority of League players suffer from. Players need to inhibit their gaming habits.
1.) League of Legends has the most diverse community as an e-Sport and as a MOBA.
"This isn't even Worlds 2015's final form. Literally! This was just the first stage."
What I love about this:
As I mentioned earlier, we have 67 million players who are actively playing League on the daily. The number of people playing League is so absurdly high that it's the most played game of this generation. With that, we have the most diverse community that any game could ever hope of matching. Players from around the world make up our little community and it's really a great catalyst to bring the world closer together, don't you think?
League is much like the Football of Esports. As a wise man once told me, it's one of the strongest sports that really brings the worlds closer together.
What I hate about this:
With that many players on page on the same game, there's bound to be a lot of conflict. Rivalries (not the good ones at that) between regions, discrimination, skill gaps, opposing ideas, etc. Also, if every region has their fair share of toxicity. Imagine what it would be like if we were all on one server. It would be absolute chaos.
But it's just a reminder that we humans need to stay apart and classify who's weak and who's strong in order to survive, such as the course of Natural Selection.
We play the same game but we're all too different. This may not be such a bad thing, but discrimination is always upon us. We can't help it and it is rampant here in League. It may just be subliminal but everyone knows it exists.
To each his own, if you don't agree with me, leave me alone.
I don't need any more toxicity in my life and I certainly don't want to be bombarded for my opinions about the same game we all know and love. If we can change the things I hate, then by God, League of Legends is sure to become the greatest game of all time.
What about you? What are the things the you really love and really hate about the game? Penny for your thoughts on our comment section below!
