So here I am blogging about things and I forget to blog about one of the biggest parts of me – my gaming!

First up I’m here to talk about the widely known League of Legends or LoL for short.

The basis of the original story was that the people that played the game were known as Summoners, who in the game summon these people and/or creatures to the realm to play this game. Hense the title of the main map “Summoners Rift”. As of recent there was a change to this back story and Riot Games removed the concept of Summoners altogether. Which has changed next to nothing unless you love to read lore and know all about the characters…like me…yes I’m heartbroken.

Here is a caption of one of my favorite stories:

Jinx lives to wreak havoc without a thought for the consequences, leaving a trail of mayhem and panic in her wake. A manic and impulsive criminal, she despises nothing more than boredom, and gleefully brings her own volatile brand of pandemonium to the one place she finds dullest: Piltover. With an arsenal of deadly toys, she unleashes the brightest explosions and loudest blasts – all the better to shock and surprise the hapless authorities. Always just out of the law’s reach, Jinx’s favorite game is to toy with Piltover’s finest – especially Vi.

Piltover had long been known as the City of Progress, a place where peace and order reigned. That serenity was challenged when a new kind of criminal arrived, the likes of whom had never been seen. This mysterious outlaw unleashed a series of warped and destructive capers that endangered the entire city, and left its people reeling from the worst crime spree in Piltover’s history.

As the string of crimes without rhyme or reason hit the city, sightings of the lawbreaker emerged. Though the young woman’s origins were a mystery, some saw traces of Piltover hextech in her firearms, while others described the street fashions of Zaun in her dress. Because her arrival always brought trouble with it, those who crossed her path soon gave her a name: Jinx.

As Jinx’s rampage escalated, Caitlyn – the sheriff of Piltover – responded by declaring a state of emergency and organizing a city-wide manhunt. In typical Jinx fashion, the criminal marked the Piltover treasury, the city’s most secure building, with a direct challenge to its most abrasive officer. With a caricature of Vi’s face splashed across the treasury’s facade, and a scribbled time and date of her supposed raid, Jinx was openly daring the enforcer to stop her from robbing it.

Determined to put the troublemaker behind bars, Vi watched and waited outside the treasury until Jinx’s time had finally come. True to her scrawled promise, the smiling menace showed her face. Knowing this was her chance to capture the outlaw, Vi gave chase into the building’s interior. She smashed through wall after wall to chase down Jinx, who giggled as she lit up the evacuated treasury with fiery explosions. Vi finally cornered the criminal inside the vault, but Jinx wasn’t done just yet. With a maniacal laugh, she fired a barrage of rockets, bringing the entire building down upon them both.

When Vi finally crawled out of the ruins, the battered enforcer found no trace of Jinx. Adding insult to injury, not a single ounce of gold had been taken from the ruined vault. Instead, the criminal left a parting message to her favorite officer of the law – a challenge only now visible through the gaping opening in Piltover’s skyline. The lights of the city spelled out a simple taunt: you’ll never catch me. As Vi read the message, she heard the distant laughter of her new nemesis, and the city plunged into utter darkness for the very first time.

”Oh look – I’m opening my box of care! Oh wait – it’s empty!”
— Jinx

Moving on, despite some of the story-line needing a little work and maybe even a better opening for new players, I believe this game is great for strategy and logical thinking. If you’re after a fun community this may not be the place. As much as it stresses it is to be played by an older audience, it clearly is not. You will occasionally get a 12 year old telling you he spent time with your mother. (Oh, burn?)

If you’re looking for something that is also a quick game, this might be what you’re looking for. The average for Summoners Rift games is approximately 40 minutes, and there are other versions of the game that take less time than that. You will have the odd game which can last up to an hour, but thankfully once people get a bit tired they start making mistakes.

As a frequent player, I also have some tips for those thinking about getting into League of Legends.

1.       Wards go in rivers.
2.       People usually run home when being chased. Running towards the enemy makes them go the wrong way when chasing.
3.       Never bring an enemy home (to base).
4.       Don’t play champions that require specific rune pages.
5.       Never experiment against humans, they can occasionally be smarter than bots.
6.       Don’t play champions you’re unfamiliar with unless it’s a bot game.
7.       Be capable of playing every role in the game.
8.       Keep timers. Watch timers. Count timers. Count ults.
9.       Never wander within fog of war. Entrance points to be warded with point of escape. No escape – no go!
10.   Don’t give up free objectives. Dragons that aren’t warded up to 25 minutes are asking to be taken. Once bot lane is eliminated, it can be taken, but tower should remain first priority in this instance.
11.   Don’t be toxic. Harassment gets you nowhere.
12.   Farm properly. Don’t die trying to cs. That last bit of farm is not worth dying.
13.   Don’t rely on unreliable teammates.
14.   Send back jungles trying to gank below 30% Hp.
15.   When chasing enemies with no mana, only chase for up to 7.3 seconds. Leave afterward. Mid laners take approximately 8 seconds to come from mid lane to assist.
16.   When laning phase is over, never walk around solo, group up and keep pushing lanes.
17.   It is not ONLY the supports job to ward.
18.   Never trade kills unless there’s no way out. Kill’s don’t win games. The less assists/kills that are given to the enemy team, the better.
19.   Learn from mistakes from play to play.
20.  Know your true damage. Especially from smite.
21.   The only people who call the shots are the adc and jungler. All the rest are morons.

If you feel like giving League a shot feel free to comment or send me a message! I have good high-level friends on all servers that would be more than willing to lend a hand.

I hope you all look forward to this April – I will be cosplaying as Firecracker Jinx!