League of Legends

League of Legends is a team game very similar to the WarCraft 3 custom map DotA. There are two bases, one on either side of the map and several "lanes" between the bases along which AI controlled units spawn. An overhead view of the 5v5 map looks about like this: http://www.dotgamerclan.com/announcementsblog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/lol-map-summoners-rift.png

There is a base in the bottom left, and a base in the top right. 3 lanes connect the two bases and every 30 seconds AI controlled "minions" spawn in each lane. Everyone who is in the game controls 1 "champion" unit and your job as a team is to push your lanes and destroy the opposing base. The lanes are protected by turrets and so you need your own minions along side you to be able to kill the turrets without getting targeted by them. 2 bases, 3 lanes, 5 players per team.

What are Champions?
Champions are the powerful units that you get to control. You pick 1 before the map loads and that is the champion you will use for that match. Champions start each match at level 1 their max level is 18. The important thing to consider is the stats of the champion you select will be affected by the level of your account.

What do 'account-levels' have to do with anything?
When you create an account you have a level 1 account. That is called your 'Summoner Level'. You are the summoner, and the champion you select for the match is the 'summoned'. You increase your summoner level by playing matches. Every match you play will earn you XP and IP. Earning enough XP will increase your summoner level with the max level being 30. Wins are worth more XP/IP than losses, so try to win. Your summoner level also determines:
 * How many runes you can slot and
 * How many mastery points you can allot

If you are low leveled still and playing by yourself then the game will try and pair you against similarly leveled opponents, but if you are playing with higher leveled friends then it will seek higher leveled opponents. Just something to consider when you start learning how to play.

What is IP again?
IP is the other kind of points you earn when you play matches. You earn both XP and IP and IP are the points that you use to purchase runes and champions. Yes, that’s right, you have to "buy" the champions, but you get the points for free so its not a bad deal. (You can also spend real money on champion packs if you would rather not take the time to earn them) The point is that you get the IP for free so you should figure out which champions you are good with and spend it on those. When you buy a champion you will have it unlocked on your account forever. And if you don't buy ANY champions, you will still have access to 10 of them. Every week there are 10 "free" champions. But they are only free for the week and 10 different champions will be free the next week. And so if you are level 1 you still have 10 champions available to you and so try them out, figure out which one you might like to spend points on and then buy it.

And so IP is good for Champions and Runes. You can also spend *real money* to unlock champions but you can NOT unlock runes with real money, only IP and so runes have to be earned.

To sum up:

 * You have an account that goes up to level 30 (this is your summoner level)
 * You earn XP (to level up the account) and IP (to buy champions/runes) every time you play a match
 * You have rune pages (with up to 30 slots)
 * You have a mastery page to spec (with up to 30 points) (and you can respec as much as you want)
 * We also have an in-game chat room, called board 8. Once you enter, set it to autojoin on startup.