League of Legends is a free-to-play team strategy game from Riot Games for Windows and macOS. It belongs to the MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) genre: two teams of five players each control a single champion. A team wins a match by destroying the other team’s Nexus, the core structure inside the enemy base. Players can also customize champions with cosmetic skins.
Summoner’s Rift and the road to the Nexus
The main mode takes place on Summoner’s Rift, a map with a base in two opposite corners. Three lanes connect the bases, and the jungle fills the space between them. Three turrets and an inhibitor guard each lane per side, and two more turrets protect each Nexus. A team has to break through at least one full lane before it can attack the enemy Nexus.
Waves of minions spawn from each Nexus and march down the lanes. Turrets attack enemy minions and champions that come into range. They also reveal part of the map through the Fog of War, which hides anything your team cannot see. Behind each Nexus sits the Fountain, where champions restore health and mana and open the Shop.
Jungle monsters and objectives
The jungle holds neutral monsters and plants that any team can use. The two most contested monsters are the Drakes and Baron Nashor. Defeating Baron gives the team bonus attack damage and ability power, a faster recall to base and a boost to nearby minions. This makes it a common turning point for pushing a lane down.
Positions on the team
A standard League of Legends team splits into five positions: top lane, jungle, mid lane, bot lane and support. Top laners are usually durable fighters holding a lane alone. Mid laners tend to deal heavy burst damage, while the jungler works the neutral camps between lanes. Champions also fall into six classes: Assassins, Fighters, Mages, Marksmen, Supports and Tanks. These classes help when picking a champion for a position.
Champions, abilities and items
The roster has over 170 champions, each with five core abilities: a passive that works on its own, three basic abilities on the Q, W and E keys, and an ultimate on R. Two summoner spells sit on D and F. Players can choose them before the match from a shared pool that includes Flash, Teleport, Smite, Ignite, Ghost and Heal.
Progress inside a match comes from experience and gold. Players earn experience by killing enemy units and champions, assisting in kills and destroying structures. Each level raises base stats and unlocks or strengthens abilities. Gold buys items in the Shop, and a champion can carry up to seven at once.
New accounts start with a limited roster. A short League of Legends quiz suggests a champion for a play style and unlocks it for free.
Queues and other modes
Several other ways to play exist, and some open only as the account levels up.
- Co-op vs. AI and custom games are available from the start, letting new players face computer-controlled opponents or set up private matches.
- Swiftplay is a faster unranked Summoner’s Rift queue. Objectives appear earlier, and the Drake Soul bonus requires fewer Drakes. Players who fall far behind earn more gold and experience. These changes shorten the match.
- Draft Pick is the full unranked Summoner’s Rift format, with a structured champion selection.
- ARAM (All Random All Mid) puts both teams on a single-lane map. Each player receives a random champion choice. Unwanted champions go to a shared bench where teammates can swap.
- Arena drops 16 players into eight two-player teams. Duos fight across rounds and collect random Augments that change their champion for the rest of the match. They lose team health with each defeat until one duo remains.
- Practice Tool opens a solo session for trying out champions and mechanics without opponents.
Teamfight Tactics, a separate strategy mode, is listed alongside these modes and is open from level 1.
Ranked play and matchmaking
Ranked Solo/Duo and Ranked Flex are the competitive Summoner’s Rift queues. They open only after an account reaches level 30, owns at least 20 champions and has played ten Swiftplay or Draft games.
Matchmaking relies on a hidden MMR (matchmaking rating) that rises with wins and drops with losses. Normal games, Solo/Duo and Flex each have a separate rating. The visible rank consists of a tier and division. Players move through it by gaining League Points (LP) for wins and losing them for defeats. When MMR sits above the displayed rank, wins award more LP and losses cost less. The rank then catches up with actual results. A ranked loss can be refunded when a teammate is confirmed to have left the game or deliberately fed. LP lost to a player later banned for cheating is returned.
