Hello aspiring player, welcome to the beginner’s guide to League of Legends. League of Legends is a five versus five multiplayer online battle arena or MOBA for short where you and four other teammates must fight the enemy and break into their base to destroy the nexus. That’s the general game plan but the game is so much more complex than that, so that’s why many guides are made to help new players become adjusted to the daunting game.

This guide will focus on learning the rules and mechanics of the most popular game mode in League called Summoners Rift. By now you have already made an account and logged onto the game and are just about to hop into a game anxious to play!

Step 1: Step 1. the Draft

This is the pregame menu where you and other players will be picking which champion to play! League of Legends has a vast cast of champions so find one that can fit your play style. In this menu you can also adjust summoner spells which are powerful utility spells in-game. Lastly you adjust your runes, runes can give you certain attributes, items, or stats in-game.

Step 2: Step 2. Basic Controls

Movement and attacking: Right-Click

Right-clicking on screen will move your champion to that location, when you right-click an enemy or enemy minion, you will start to auto attack.

Abilities and Summoner Spells: QWER - DF

Almost all the champions have 4 abilities you will be leveling up throughout the game and those abilities are assigned to QWER. Your summoner spells are mapped to D & F

Camera: To move your camera you want to move your mouse to the end of the screen and that will drag your camera.

Starting off your screen will always be centered on your champion, so to prevent this press ‘Y’ to unlock your camera. To temporarily lock it back into your champion, you can hold a spacebar.

Recalling: B When you want to go back to your base to buy items, press B to channel your recall spell and after the cast time you will be sent back to base.

Step 3: Step 3. the Map and Lane/Jungle Assignments

Summoners Rift is made up of five roles, Top, Jungle, Mid, AD-Carry, and Support. Here are brief descriptions about the role and what kinds of champions are found in the role.

Top Lane: A solo lane with either tank or bruiser champions.

Jungle: Champions who farm the jungle and look to help their teammates around the map. Junglers usually have high mobility and/or crowd control abilities like stuns.

Mid Lane: A solo lane with either mage or assassin champions

AD-Carry: This role is usually for the marksmen champion that is weak early but does a lot of damage late game; they go into the bot lane.

Support: This role is for champions who have a lot of crowd control and supportive abilities. This role also goes bot lane with the AD-Carry; the role mainly helps out the team as the name support entails.

Step 4: Step 4. Earning Gold

1) Killing enemy minions or jungle monsters

Most lanes will be killing minions to earn gold, and the only way the gold goes to you is when you deliver the killing blow to the minion. This is called last-hitting. For junglers they just have to kill monsters in their jungle, they have an easier time last hitting.

2) Attacking towers

Towers in the early game have plating attached to them, every time you remove a plate the champions there will earn gold. Once the tower has been fully destroyed, your whole team will earn gold.

3) Killing enemy champions

Killing an enemy champion will grant a lot of gold to the person who delivered the finishing blow, just like when you last hit minions. Assisting in a champion kill will also grant gold but not as much.

Step 5: Step 5. Enemy Champions and Turrets

Your opponents should have similar lane assignments as mentioned earlier. Make sure to keep track of where the enemy is so you don’t get caught out and killed. Make sure you are destroying turrets to progress further into the enemy base and destroy their nexus!

Step 6: Step 6. Spending Your Gold

When you go back to base make sure to buy something from the shop. The shop will be right next to you when you spawn on base. Also pressing 'p' will allow you to access the shop. Go for the recommended items first. The more you play a champion and the game the more familiar you will be with items!

Step 7: Step 7. Epic Monster Objectives

There are three types of epic monster objectives. They are considered objectives since they can grant your team a good lead or some buffs.

1) Dragons: These monsters will grant you passive buffs throughout the game when they are killed. Depending on the element, being the first team to collect four dragon kills will grant you a soul buff. After a team claims the soul buff, the elder dragon will spawn, granting a team an executed attack.

2) Rift Herald: This objective will spawn a rift herald wherever and with correct placement, this giant crab will charge at towers dealing a lot of damage to them.

3) Baron Nashor: This objective is the hardest to kill but can be the most powerful. The buff granted upon killing it will allow the team to buff their minions, grants a faster recall, and give the team bonus stats.

Step 8: Step 8. Early Game

For laners: Focus on getting as much minion gold and turret plating gold as possible. Try to look out for your teammates as well and help them out when available; but for the most part you will be in lane.

For junglers: Focus on killing the jungle monsters and also looking to help out other lanes by looking for a kill on the enemy.

Step 9: Step 9. Mid Game

This is when the first few team fights will break out so make sure to position properly and you’ll be sure to win those fights. Also look to take objectives like dragons or towers.

Step 10: Step 10. Late Game

Team fights are very important at this stage of the game as they can determine the winner. Looking for Baron Nashor or Elder Dragon during this stage is good as it can help close out a game.

Step 11: Step 11. Victory or Defeat

The game will end when either your team or the enemy team destroys the opposing nexus! Work together with your team to claim towers and objectives to make winning easier. Remember the enemy team is trying to do the same thing but they can’t do that while they're dead so win team fights to stop their plans.

Step 12: Step 12. Improving

Make sure to play a lot! You won’t be good without practice. Watch other videos or guides on specific concepts or champions. You can also review your games to see what you could have done better.