What Makes League of Legends So Popular?

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In the world of esports, there are dozens of gaming titles that gamers of every generation are flocking to. No matter what your preference is – from role playing games to first-person shooters – there’s a video game franchise that is sure to be right up your alley.

But, when it comes to the competition arena where professional gamers square off for real money, there is one game that is clearly raking in the highest reviews, the most amount of match viewers, and the highest winner payouts: League of Legends.

What is League of Legends?

League of Legends is technically considered a real-time strategy game. RTS games typically involve a static map on which players from both teams compete against each other for kills and map resources. Other examples of RTS games include Starcraft and Heroes of the Storm, two titles that come from the developers over at Blizzard/Activision.

What separates League of Legends apart from other games boils down to a list of gameplay features that can’t be found anywhere else. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the more popular features of League of Legends that make it such a hit with competitive gamers:

  • In League of Legends, each player assumes the role of a ‘champion’. There are over a hundred different champions to choose from, and they each have their own unique skills and abilities. This puts the mastery ceiling of this game way higher than most other games, even those outside of the RTS genre.
  • During competitive play, a single mistake by one player can cost the entire team the game. This may be true in other games as well, but nowhere else will you find mistakes so punishing as in a game of League of Legends. It’s not unheard of for matches to stretch well beyond the one-hour mark, only to end because a player made a split-second miscalculation or had a momentary lapse of judgement.
  • Character personas are relatable, attractive, and fantastical. A teenage misfit. A pirate with a penchant for oranges. A tentacled, alien-looking lifeform that uses optical lasers to annihilate enemies. There truly is something for everyone in League of Legends, and the art that goes into the champion personas is some of the most inspired and beautiful to ever come out of video gaming.
  • Players can grow their credibility and tout their match histories with the ‘mastery’ system. Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends, rolled out the ‘mastery’ system in 2017. This system gives players a development path of their own, which they can use to either become an expert in a single champion, or evolve into more of a jack-of-all-trades, playing multiple champions and getting better at all of them.

As you can see, there’s a lot to love about League of Legends. This multi-million-dollar franchise is set to continue dominating the esports ecosystem. So, grab your mouse and keyboard, summon your champion, and we’ll be seeing you on the Summoner’s Stage soon!