League of Legends is a veteran of multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games developed by Riot Games that’s been around for more than ten years now. The key to its success, and one of the reasons it is still one of the most played games, is that the video game is updated by its developers approximately every two weeks. These updates incorporate new dynamics, changes to the characters’ abilities, and even changes within the game’s operation itself.
While the game itself isn’t hard to play, most frequent LoL players mention reading guides and researching stats and strategies on MOBA Champion. Without these resources, getting to understand the game’s dynamics can be a little tricky, but it doesn’t mean you would enjoy the game less than more experienced, serious players.
The dynamic on the main game, Summoner’s Rift, is always the same. Two groups of five players engage in a player vs player battle to defend their half of the map from the opposite team. Each of the competitors controls an individual character called a “champion” that owns unique battlefield skills and can become stronger during the game by earning experience points or purchasing exclusive items.
Top Lane
Although there are many options for top laners, players usually pick a “tank” champion for this position. This factor entails a champion that can take a lot of damage before getting eliminated and have a way of escaping quickly, allowing the team members with higher levels of attack damage to step in and secure the kill.
The name “top lane” comes from the fact that the champion in this role starts the game at the top position of the map, paired with the opposing top laner. But an often-overlooked skill of top laners is that they can move across the map and up to the opponent’s mid lane or jungle and catch them off guard. Their high health and defense stats make the top lane the ideal infiltrate.
Middle Lane
Like the top lane, this role’s name comes from the part of the map where the champion starts the game. Also known as APC (Ability-Power Carrier), the mid laner role has a privileged position; since they are in the middle of the map, they can easily reach any side lane or the jungle to help their teammates.
The champions picked for this role tend to have distance attacks, and they usually wear off the opponents before even getting closer to them. On the downside, middle lane champions are usually “squishy” or fragile because of their low defense and movement stats.
Bottom Lane
Also called ADC (Attack-Damage Carrier) or Markman, this champion occupies the bottom lane in the map with the champion in the Support position, discussed next. The champions fit for this position often are low on their health and defense stats, making them vulnerable at the beginning of the game, but with some help from the Support role, they can become the main form of physical damage in the team.
It is indisputable that they can die quickly if left on their own, but that’s why they are paired up with the Support position. The main objective of this role is to eliminate the enemy’s bot laner, and once that is done, to keep an eye on the opponent’s top laner.
Support
Classically coupled with the bottom laner champion, its role is to protect and help the ADC when facing the opponent’s attacks or attacking the adversary. Some of the champions suited for support roles have either a good defensive or a good offensive, but most have the skills for both positions.
Even if they frequently have low damage and their primary role is to assist the rest of the team, they can engage in fights and are often used to distract the contrary team while champions with higher damage levels attack them.
Jungler
This role starts and spends most of the competition in the Jungle portion of the map; the first few minutes, the jungler collects gold and experience points to spend later on during the battle. Part of the duty of a champion in this role is to keep a clear vision of the map and protect the mid laner from surprise attacks; since they are in the middle of the map, the opponents can gank them from any side whenever they want.
The champions traditionally used for this role tend to have high mobility skills and use the fog to hide from enemies and ambush them by surprise. Remember that junglers are always collecting gold, so if your jungler teammate ever helps you in your lane, most likely, they will take away some of your loot as a payment.
Wrapping Up
Whether you want to become part of one of the twelve leagues of the world’s biggest eSport or just beat your friends, understanding the position and duty of each role in the game is key to getting the best out of each champion. It also helps you predict the moves your adversary will make and gives you an advantage over those who don’t understand the game that much.
