In the world of gaming, League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games for Microsoft Windows and macOS. The game follows a freemium model and is supported by microtransactions, and was inspired by the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne mod, Defense of the Ancients.
Players assume the role of an unseen “summoner” that controls a “champion” with unique abilities and battle against a team of other players or computer-controlled champions. The goal is usually to destroy the opposing team’s “nexus”, a structure which lies at the heart of a base protected by defensive structures, although other distinct game modes exist as well, each League of Legends match is discrete, with all champions starting off fairly weak but increasing in strength by accumulating items and experience over the course of the game. The champions and setting blend a variety of elements, including high fantasy, steampunk, folklore, and Lovecraftian horror.
LOL was basically well received upon its release in 2009 and has since grown in popularity, with an active and expansive fanbase. By July 2012, League of Legends was the most played PC game in North America and Europe in terms of the number of hours played. It has been reported that as of January 2014, over 67 million people played League of Legends per month, 27 million per day, and over 7.5 million concurrently during peak hours League has among the largest footprints of any game in streaming media communities on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch.tv; it routinely ranks first in the most-watched hours. Moreover, one thing to note is, in September 2016, the company estimated that there are over 100 million active players each month. The game’s popularity has led it to expand into merchandise, with toys, accessories, apparel, as well as tie-ins to other media through music videos, web, series, documentaries, and books.
It has a vigorous and widespread competitive scene. In North America and Europe, Riot Games organizes the League Championship Series (LCS), located in Los Angeles and Berlin respectively, which consists of 10 professional teams in each continent, similar regional competitions exist in China (LPL), South Korea (LCK), Taiwan (LMS), Southeast Asia (GPL), and various other regions. These regional competitions culminate with the annual World Championship. The 2016 World Championship had 43 million unique viewers and a total prize pool of over 6 million USD
League Points
When players win ranked games, they earn league points and lose them when they lose ranked games. The amount League Points earned or lost depends on the player’s hidden Match Making Rating. One thing to understand is the higher the MMR, the more LP earned per win and the less LP lost per loss.
League Points inactivity decay
Players in the tiers platinum, diamond, master and challenger lose a set amount of LP if they don’t play ranked games for 28 days. During the master and challenger tiers, this period is reduced to 10 days. After that, they continue to lose the set amount of LP every 7 days afterward until they play a ranked game. The amount of LP lost is different for each tier:
Bronze – 0
Silver – 0
Gold – 0
Platinum – 35
Diamond – 50
Master & Challenger – 100
Tiers and Divisions
Each tier from Bronze to Diamond is divided into five divisions. The name of each division is a Roman numeral between V (5) and I (1). Higher numbers correspond to lower skill level.
This is a list of the tiers from lowest to highest skill level. Each tier is represented by an icon:
- Unranked (Provisionals)
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond
- Master
- Challenger
Promotion and Demotion
Promotion
Players who reach 100 LP in their division automatically start a set of games called promotion series. Such series are made of either three or five match that determines whether the player is promoted to the next higher division or remains in his current one. The promotion series for players in the higher division of a tier (for instance, Bronze I) are called Tier Promotion Series made and are made of five matches. If the player wins three of these matches they are promoted to the lowest division of the next tier. Otherwise, he remains in his current division. Promotion series in other divisions comprise just three matches and players are required to win two of them in order to promote.
Those troupes who are indorsed to a advanced division have their LP reset to 0. Players who lose their promotion series have their LP reset to a value between 60 and 75. The criteria used to determine the exact value is unknown. The thing which has to make sure is, leaving a match either during champion selection or during the game itself counts as a loss in the promotion series.
In very rare occasions players are promoted twice when they win a promotion series. This happens with players whose MMR is unusually high for their current division, for instance, the MMR of a Gold V player who plays duo queue often with his friend in Platinum III might be unusually high because he’s matched often against higher level players. As a result, his MMR can be 1 or 2 divisions higher than the average in his current division. Another reason for unusually high MMRs is queue dodging. In league of legends, queue dodging carries a penalty of 3 LP for the first dodge of the day and 10 LP for further dodging.
Since Season 4 it is possible, however rare, to skip promotional series. This happens with players whose MMR is one tier higher than their current placement, for example, a Gold V player whose MMR is Platinum IV or higher is instantly promoted upon reaching 100 LP. It is possible to skip both divisions and promotional series.
Demotion
Players are demoted when their LP reaches 0 and they lose several games. Demoted players move to the next lower division below and their LP are reset to 75. E.g.: When a Gold II player gets demoted he falls to Gold III and has 75 LP.
Player who promote to a higher division enter a demotion immunity period that lasts for several games. During the immunity period, they can’t get demoted. The purpose of the immunity period is to prevent players from being demoted due to bad luck. However, Masters players demote after playing at least 3 games and then losing with 0 LP. Match losses caused by server problems don’t count for promotion series.
Since Season 4 it is possible to be demoted from a tier. Players in the division V of a tier whose MMR drops an entire tier are warned about possible demotion. For example, a player in Gold V will receive a warning upon reaching Silver V MMR.
The Tier one
Champions in this tier are the strongest champions in the current meta, and it doesn’t take much effort to carry yourself through the ranks of solo queue with them.
| Top Lane | Jungle | Mid Lane | AD Carry | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shen | Rek’sai | Yasuo | Miss Fortune | Bard |
| Quinn | Shyvana | Ekko | Draven | Miss Fortune |
| Sion | Nocturne | Zilean | Jhin | Nami |
| Kled | Hecarim | Ziggs | Ezreal | Sona |
| Wukong | Kindred | Anivia | Vayne | Braum |
| Trundle | Vi | Annie | Sivir | Soraka |
| Jayce | Amumu | Ryze | Twitch | Morgana |
| Irelia | Shaco | Corki | Ashe | Zyra |
| Camille | Evelynn | Orianna | Kog’Maw | Brand |
| Rumble | Rengar | Galio | Jinx | Rakan |
| Singed | Olaf | Lux | Varus | Taric |
| Jax | Gragas | Jayce | Corki | Janna |
| Gangplank | Skarner | Cassiopeia | Ziggs | Trundle |
| Poppy | Graves | Lulu | Malzahar | |
| Pantheon | Rammus | Xerath | Alistar | |
| Gragas | Master Yi | Talon | Maokai | |
| Illaoi | Taliyah | Tahm | ||
| Nautilus | Vladamir | |||
| Renekton | Leblanc |
The Tier Two
The second most powerful junglers take a little bit more effort to play well, but when executed properly they can carry a game just as hard as the best.
| Top Lane | Jungle | Mid Lane | AD Carry | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akali | Trundle | Karthus | Kalista | Lux |
| Jarvan IV | Wukong | Heimerdinger | Tristana | Zilean |
| Gnar | Xin Zhao | Kennen | Graves | Nautilus |
| Graves | Diana | Karma | Malphite | |
| Garen | Nunu | Brand | Leona | |
| Kayle | Fizz | Lissandra | Ivern | |
| Ekko | Jarvan IV | Varus | ||
| Yorick | Kayle | Diana | ||
| Kennen | Jax | Viktor | ||
| Tryndamere | Ekko | Veigar | ||
| Nasus | Volibear | Vel’Koz | ||
| Teemo | Udyr | Swain | ||
| Malphite | Nidalee | Aurelion Sol | ||
| Swain | Azir | |||
| Olaf | Malzahar |
The Tier Three
This is an interesting tier, because champions at this level aren’t exactly strong in the meta, but if you can learn how to play them well, you can still make them work to carry games. It might require a bit of extra effort to get there though.
| Top Lane | Jungle | Mid Lane | AD Carry | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shyvana | Nautilus | Nidalee | Kindred | Vel’Koz |
| Lulu | Pantheon | Kog’Maw | Urgot | Nunu |
| Lissandra | Quinn | Kayle | Quinn | Shen |
| Dr Mundo | Shen | Ezreal | Kennen | Annie |
| Heimerdinger | Fiddlesticks | Cho’Gath | Veigar | |
| Tahm | Dr. Mundo | |||
| Aatrox | Maokai | |||
| Poppy |
Champion types
There are currently 136 champions in League of Legends as of April 4, 2017. League divides its champion types up a number of ways (additionally, champions can be customized by buying different items in-game and equipping different runes and masteries before games). The most salient difference is the type of damage a deal; some champions deal largely physical damage, which is resisted by the armor stat, and other champions deal largely magic damage, which is resisted by the magic resistance stat. Some champions, called ‘hybrids’, deal a combination of both physical and magical damage and can either choose one to emphasize or find a balance between the two, making it harder for other champions to defend against them; and some rare abilities deal ‘true’ damage which is not immitigable by either armor or magic resistance. Riot Games has classified all champions as one of six types to aid beginners; each class is also divided into two or three subclasses to differentiate.
- More Tier Lists