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| League of Legends | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Riot Games |
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Director(s) | Tom "Zileas" Cadwell |
| Producer(s) | Steven Snow Travis George |
| Designer(s) | Christina Norman Rob Garrett Steve Feak |
| Artist(s) | Edmundo Sanchez Troy Adam |
| Composer(s) | Christian Linke |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, OS X |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Multiplayer online battle arena |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
| Distribution | Download |
League of Legends (LoL) is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games forMicrosoft Windows[1] and Mac OS X, inspired by the mod Defense of the Ancients[2] for the video game Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. It is a free-to-play game, supported by micro-transactions. The game was first announced on October 7, 2008, and released on October 27, 2009.[3] League of Legends was generally well received at release, and has grown in popularity in the years since. According to a 2012 Forbes article, League of Legends was the most played PC game inNorth America and Europe in terms of the number of hours played.[4] As of January 2014, over 67 million people playLeague of Legends per month, 27 million per day, and over 7.5 million concurrently during peak hours.[5]
In League of Legends, players assume the role of a character, called a "champion", with unique abilities, battling with a team against other player or computer-controlled champions. In the most popular game modes, each team's goal is to destroy the opposing team's nexus, a building which lies at the heart of a base protected by defensive structures. EachLeague of Legends game is discrete, with all champions starting off each game fairly weak and progressing by accumulating gold and experience over the course of the game.[6]
League of Legends has spawned a large, active competitive scene. In North America and Europe, Riot Games organizes the League of Legends Championship Series, which consists of 8 professional teams in each continent. Similar regional competitions exist in China, Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. These regional competitions culminate with the annualLeague of Legends World Championships, which in 2013 had a grand prize of $1 million and attracted 32 million viewers online.[7]
Contents
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Gameplay
League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena where players control a "champion"[8] within short PvP or bot battles. As of September 16, 2014, there are 121 different champions from which to choose, all of which are classified by type (such as assassin, tank, or support), which indicates the champion's gameplay style.[9]Players gain levels from killing the opposing team's champions, controlled by other players or bots, and minions that regularly spawn and attack the other team's turrets, minions, and champions. In the classic game mode, the map is typically divided into three "lanes", which are paths that spawned minions take; the "jungle", an area between lanes where neutral monsters spawn; and "bases", where players spawn and can purchase items. The three lanes are composed of the bottom, mid, and top lanes, which different champions tend to battle on based on their respective types. The jungle is sometimes considered a lane, where some champion tends to roam in order to collect buffs and assist in the other lanes freely. The player earns a small amount of gold every second passively, but can earn more by getting the last hit on minions, destroying enemy towers (referred to as turrets) that guard the lanes, killing neutral monsters located in the jungle, and killing enemy champions. With this gold, users can buy a variety of items to strengthen their champion for the remaining duration of the game. On the classic Summoners Rift, Twisted Treeline, and Howling Abyss maps, the game is ended by destroying the enemy team's last structure on the map, called the "Nexus", from which minions spawn. Other maps have variations of rules and objectives, such as Dominion on the Crystal Scar map, where each team's Nexus loses health if the opposing team controls at least three of the five towers located around the map.[10]
The League of Legends Store allows players to purchase additional options through "Riot Points" (RP) and "Influence Points" (IP). Riot Points must be bought using real money, while Influence Points are earned by playing the game.
The player is identified as a "summoner" and acts as the persistent element in the game. A summoner's statistics and scores are tracked and are accessible to the player.[11][12] Summoners gain experience points and Influence Points for each battle they participate in. Experience points lead to persistent level gains for the summoner, up to a maximum level of 30. The benefit of gaining levels is unlocking Mastery Points and Rune Page slots (below) which improve the overall strength of the summoner's chosen champion during battles. The summoner can also choose two "summoner spells",[11] which significantly impact gameplay and have a high cooldown rate while costing no mana. All spells can be improved by masteries (perks that affect gameplay), which are developed in a skill tree.[11] All of the masteries are passive effects, although some augment items which can be activated. They are grouped into offensive, defensive, and utility categories. Masteries can be re-distributed at will between battles.
Similar to masteries, runes affect gameplay in minor ways. Runes are categorized into Marks (offensive), Seals (defensive), Glyphs (magic), and Quintessences (utility). They must be unlocked in the store. To benefit from runes, summoners can arrange them in their Runebooks, which has a limited number of slots for each rune type. However, more rune pages can be purchased from either Influence Points or Riot Points. Combining two equal-tier runes produces a random rune of the same tier, while combining 5 equal-tier runes produces a higher-tier rune.
Moderation is conducted through a democratic system known as the Tribunal. In this system, player-submitted reports are reviewed by other players on a case-by-case basis. The reviewing players then submit their opinions on the legality of the behavior demonstrated. A consensus renders the decision official. It is notable that players are unable to be permanently banned through this system, since "all permanent bans are distributed manually." Reviewers receive a Justice Rating based on their accuracy to encourage thorough analysis of cases.[13]