League of Legends for Dummies: Part II
We gave you Part I of League of Legends for Dummies back in February. Are you ready for Part two?
In-Game
Break Their Line!
Towers aka Turrets will attack you if there are no minions around for it to hit instead. They will also attack you even if there are minions to hit, if you deal any damage to an enemy champion. Towers see invisible things around them, such as champions in stealth or wards. They deal increasing damage, meaning the more it hits you, the more it hurts.
Inhibitors or inhibs do not attack back or have any defenses aside from their single turret. You must have one inhibitor down in order to take nexus turrets, and they do respawn every five minutes. So keep an eye on the time when you’re going for a final push. An inhibitor down will spawn super minions in that lane and the more inhibs you can get down, the stronger your minions become overall.
The enemy nexus is what you should always have your sights set on. Blowing up their nexus is the only way to win the game, unless they do it for you via a surrender (FF). The nexus itself has no defenses once you take care of the two towers sitting in front of it. Also, if you’re 50 gold short for an item, try last hitting the nexus.
Get Buffed
Rift Herald spawns nine minutes and 50 seconds into the game in the Baron’s Pit. Rift Herald can be killed solo by a number of champions once they are a little fed. It is vulnerable from the back when its glowing eye is open and it does not do much damage. Once slain, the Herald drops the Eye of the Herald. Someone on your team can pick this up, granting them empowered recall. They can then crush the eye, summoning the Rift Herald to fight for your team. The Herald will charge turrets and deal massive damage to the turret and surrounding enemy units on impact, so use the relic to make a good push. The Rift Herald hard despawns at 19:50 and does not respawn once slain.
Baron Nashor spawns at 20 minutes and is a major middle- to late-game objective. Taking down Baron will require you to have a few members of your team as it does large amounts of both area of effect (AoE) and single target damage. Slaying Baron grants a buff that makes you and your minions stronger. Nashor respawns every seven minutes once he is killed.
A Dragon or Drake, of a random elemental type will spawn at 2:30. If it is slain another elemental drake spawns after six minutes. This continues until the game reaches 35 minutes, at which point the elder drake spawns. No more than three types of elemental dragon spawn per match. Dragon deals moderate damage and makes your team stronger when you kill it. Each type of dragon provides a different buff for the team that slays it.
The four elemental dragons are Earth, Infernal, Ocean and Air. The Earth dragon allows you to deal more damage to structures and objectives like dragons and Baron. Infernal gives you a boost in AD and AP. Ocean provides extra out-of-combat mana and HP regeneration. Finally, Air gives you a gust of wind at your back, increasing your out-of-combat movement speed. It is worth noting that the more of a single type of dragon you slay, the stronger the buff from that dragon becomes.
The Elder Dragon is stronger than normal elemental dragons. While it is not as strong as Baron Nashor, with some exceptions, it would be ill-advised to attempt to kill it by yourself unless you are very fed. Slaying Elder will give your team a buff that amplifies the effect of the other dragons you have previously slain, while also giving your attacks and spells a burning DoT effect.
It’s a Jungle Out There!
Strange Creatures
In the jungle, you’ll come across a variety of neutral monsters. You’ll find a whole bunch of birds, a two headed wolf, some sentient rocks, and a giant frog. The main creatures of interest in the jungle are the Blue Sentinel and Red Brambleback.
Kill the Blue Sentinel to receive the Crest of Insight, also known as blue buff, a buff which grants increased mana and energy regeneration as well as +10 percent cooldown reduction. Blue buff is particularly beneficial to mages and champions who rely heavily on mana and abilities.
Kill the Red Brambleback to receive the Crest of Cinders, or red buff, a buff which grants health regeneration and causes your basic attacks to slow the enemy while also applying a true damage DoT. Red buff is especially useful on people with long range, namely your marksman, so they can make the most of its slowing capabilities. Do note that dying while you have a buff will grant the buff to the person who killed you, so play with care.
Overgrown?
Over the years, Summoner’s Rift has grown some plants. Blast Cone knocks away all nearby units when it is destroyed, and they often spawn near walls. These can be helpful when escaping by jumping over a wall, or knocking back the person pursuing you. Scryer’s Bloom releases a pollen across the map that reveals units and wards. These often spawn in areas where vision is highly contested, such as around Baron or near the dragon pit. If you’re low on health, it’s always worth checking the nearby river to see if there’s a Honeyfruit waiting to be eaten. Destroying the plant will drop five fruits that restore health and mana, but slow the user. Keep in mind that these will slow the other players as well, so you can pop them to create a slow field if you have someone chasing you. Also, the scuttle crabs in river are very fond of Honeyfruit, but a few auto attacks should get them to leave your fruit alone.
Get Gold
Bring Home the Bacon
Beyond just passively gaining gold, there are a couple of ways to make gold in LoL. Dealing the killing blow to minions will provide you with small amounts of gold. Cannon minions are slightly larger and are worth more gold. Destroying enemy turrets will grant you and your team gold, while destroying the first turret of the game will provide an extra gold bonus. Landing the last hit on a champion will also grant you gold with a varying amount of gold depending on how many times that person had previously been killed. Taking part in kills and getting assists will also grant you gold depending on how much you assisted with the kill. Slaying Baron Nashor will grant your team a nice 300 gold per person, in addition to the buff, so keep your eyes on that big purple worm!
Hole in Your Pocket?
Even easier than getting money in LoL is spending it. Once you’ve accrued a nice chunk of gold, you can return to your base and happily hand all your winnings to the greedy shopkeeper for that shiny new sword… to stick on your gun, of course! A lot of the items in LoL don’t make sense, but try to look past that and see them for what they really are: stat increases.
There are core items for certain roles (support classes, I am looking at you—you better have some wards!) but more often, items are dependent on your champion. Check your abilities before you buy an item and make sure you’re not spending all your money on attack damage when your champion scales with ability power. Some items also grant you an activatable ability, so read the entire description of every item you buy to make sure you’re not missing anything. If you need help with an item build for a specific champion, I recommend OP.GG.
GG WP!
While this might be a lot to take in, we hope that this guide gives you the general information you need to make it around Summoner’s Rift for your first of many levels and games. It can be daunting to learn a new game from the ground up but we were all noobs once, even the pros! With some hard work, time, and good guides from the right people, you’ll be climbing the ranked ladder in no time.
If you get discouraged, don’t be afraid to ask for help in-game, on the forums or send a friend request to the account pictured here (GamerGrrl) and I’ll do my best to help you personally. Keep an eye out on our pages for more League of Legends guides!
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