League of Legends: My First Foray

I killed a champ in my lane, and I liked it. And no, I'm not an impostor. It's really me.

That flashy-lookin' gal in the picture that conjures up some kind of crazy combo of Rainbow Brite, 80's punk, and wannabe raver is actually a special skin for the champion called Sona -- Arcade Sona. This is the skin I had the privilege of playing as with my few player vs. bot matches yesterday.

If you play League, don't go getting all excited -- I haven't made an account. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to make an account or not. For the time being, I have the borrowed use of my husband's level 20 account as he plays alongside me on a level 8 account. Y'see, it's like this... (and you married folk will understand!)

My husband and I struck a bargain. We are similar in many ways, but our tastes can often vary greatly. I recently acquired the DVD/Blu-ray combo of Princess Mononoke, and I asked him to watch it with me since he's liked all the other Studio Ghibli movies I've shared with him. He is sometimes wary of my movie recommendations because he hasn't liked some of them (I still can't fathom a gamer who doesn't like Wreck-It Ralph, but there you have it). He agreed to watch it... if I played a few games of League with him.

A couple days later, he copied the folder and dropped it onto my computer. We had a discussion about the different roles and different champions, and settled on me giving Support a try. Of the list of champions he gave me who are Support, I decided that Sona seemed like my best option. It may have had something to do with the music-themed abilities. *cough*

Now, from my understanding, League is very much like another game I'm familiar with -- Guardians of Middle-Earth -- in that it is a MOBA. The main difference I could spot was that there are vastly more champions to play in League, and the leveling in a match is slower with more choices in GoME to offset the fewer number of champions. I think that is probably why many more people play League -- that and being free to play versus an overpriced twenty dollars (not that I paid that much -- I go for the deep discounts!). Though my husband tells me he has quite a few expensive champion skins that were twenty and fifty dollars apiece... Gotta make their money somehow, right?

I'm going to say something here that I think even my husband would argue with, but please understand that it's coming from someone who's only played 3 matches of League with the same enemy bots. Okay? Okay.

While I enjoyed playing League, and will probably play some more to see if it's really something I can enjoy for the long haul, I find myself more engaged and having to think strategically in Guardians of Middle-Earth. Keep your shirt on and I'll explain myself!

Sona's default appearance.

First, because of the broader range of champions to choose from in League, people don't necessarily have to play AS smartly so long as they have an understanding of the skills. Ultimately, someone who IS a strategic player and knows the skills will fare best, but my perception was that sheer dumb luck could just as easily thwart that (we all know those button-mashers who eat four-leaf clovers for breakfast).

In GoME, there are far fewer champions to select from, forcing a player to be choosy and thoughtful about their leveling selections, slotted gear, and how they interact with the other champions and minions. Having fewer choices makes it imperative that you have a plan and try to get the upper hand using your skills. The downside, of course, is that there ARE fewer options and the game loses some of its replay value in that way.

So, both games have pros and cons because of their plethora and lack of champion options -- I'm merely speculating from my limited experience. Who knows? Maybe in a few months I'll blog again and tell you just how wrong I was!

Ultimately, what made it enjoyable was that I was playing alongside my husband. He, uh, isn't a fan of the toxic people who happen to be a lot of League's players, but he makes the most of it by simply enjoying the game despite other people. If you demonstrate to him that you're a jerk in some capacity, he'll make your match a nightmare -- even if you're on his team. But that's my attitude about multiplayer games in general: games are for fun, so stop being jerks to other people because you base your self worth on your imaginary game achievements.

But back to the actual game experience: The first match was terrible. I hadn't even done the tutorial, so I had no idea how to even move much less understand what was on the screen. My previous experience with GoME was the only help I had until I figured out how to work my questions for my husband. By the second match, I was doing somewhat better and at least knew what my skills did. By the third, I'd already purchased my initial gear by the time my husband was heading down our lane -- and I managed to kill some enemies all on my own.

He keeps telling me there's a steep learning curve -- and I can tell you that the learning curve lies in knowing the champions and what their abilities are. Knowing you need to get out of range of one champion or use a specific skill on another can make or break your match. In my head, I've categorized this learning curve with the likes of Mortal Kombat and Soul Calibur -- once I learned who did what and how, I was unstoppable in those games. I feel this one will be similar, and I'm looking forward to playing some more to really decide if this will be a game I keep installed.

Stay tuned -- I'm going to play more than just Sona to get a feel for the game! And if you absolutely hate my guts because you think I've dissed LoL, that's fine. See that header waaaaaay up top that says I'm a terrible gamer? I'm not doing this to prove anything -- I'm doing it #ForTheKids!