League of Legends Guide

League of Legends is an Online game where you battle other players in a team environment of either 3v3 matches or 5v5 matches. Your goal is to beat the other team by destroying their Nexus, thus ending the game. Alternatively, you can force the other team to surrender to win. For the basics on League of Legends, visit the League of Legends New User Guide

The object in League of Legends is simple - Kill your enemies and destroy their nexus.

The basic method of achieving this goal can be broken down into four important areas:

Accumulate gold.
Accumulate Kills and Team Kills.
Dominate the Map.
Destroy Turrets and Inhibitors.

1. Accumulate Gold

You can earn lots of gold in League of Legends by "Last Hitting" minions, monsters, and champions. Practice Last Hitting every second of the game. It's the key to earning extra gold, thus giving you better items and a better chance to win.

Tip: Left-click the minion you're trying to kill and know your exact attack damage. When the minion falls below that level of health, right click it to kill it and earn that gold!

Different champions have different levels of difficulty in last-hitting minions. Some characters, like Annie have a spell (in this case disintegrate) which makes it VERY easy to last hit with. Others, like Rammus have very few dependable last-hitting abilities and must learn to use his auto-attack at just the right time to score last hits. Regardless of what champion you choose, if you don't get at last 100 minion kills in the first 20 minutes, you have a lot of room to improve (unless you're playing support).

Another way to earn gold is to kill the enemies' turrets. Each turret your team kills earns each member of your team +100 Gold and experience.

Likewise, killing the Dragon on Summoners' Rift earns your team +190 Gold. Kill the dragon every time it spawns.

The last way to earn gold is to get kills.

2. Accumulate Kills and Team Kills (Assists).

Killing the opposing teams' champions is vital to winning a League of Legends game. Most of the time, the team with more team kills will win the game. Always help your teammates when they are fighting to help secure team kills and some kills for yourself. Both Assists and Kills will give you extra gold. An Assist happens when you damage an enemy champion and they die but you don't happen to have the Last Hit - one of your teammates got the last hit and the Kill - but you still get some gold for it.

3. Dominate the Map.

This is often an overlooked aspect of the game for new and mediocre players. Only the best players dominate the map. They do this by 1) capturing all the creep buffs - including Golem, Lizard, and Baron Nashor as well as killing the Dragon for extra team gold and experience. Expert players use LOTS of sight wards and vision wards so they can see the map and gank the opposing team when they least suspect it. Furthermore, you want to always make sure each of the lanes on the map are being "pushed" so that the other team is faced with a tough decision - to defend a turret or to fight in a team battle.

You want the opposing team to be SO AFRAID of you and your team that they won't even go into their own side of the jungle to kill Lizard or Golem. Once this happens, the game is most often won.

4. Destroy Turrets and Inhibitors.

This is obvious, but likewise it is often overlooked by new and mediocre players. So many League of Legends players are overzealous and just want to get kills. They'll run all the way across the map to chase someone just to get a kill but they won't just stand there and hit a turret to kill it.

Let me make this point very plain and clear:

KILLING BUILDINGS WINS GAMES. KILLING CHAMPIONS DOES NOT.

When in doubt, ALWAYS remember this.

Killing the Nexus wins the game. Period. Killing their champions will not always win the game for you. When given the choice between chasing an enemy champion and killing a turret or inhibitor, ALWAYS KILL THE BUILDING. The only acceptable instance where chasing an enemy champion to kill them is superior to killing a building is when it would provide your team with an ACE so that your team could kill multiple buildings rather than just one.

So next time you think "Hey let's chase singed around the map and kill him" after you've already killed 2 or 3 enemies, think again and just kill some turrets and inhibitors while the enemy champions are respawning.

There you go. Now you know how to play League of Legends like a pro. So go out there and accumulate gold, get lots of kills, dominate the map, and DESTROY THE ENEMIES' NEXUS!

League of Legends Champion Selection

Champion selection in League of Legends is crucial to your success. If you want to climb up in your rating, you've got to choose your champions like a pro.

As of right now, the best champions are...

Tanks:

Nunu
Maokai the Twisted Treant (check out League of Legends Maokai Guide)
Skarner
Malphite
Rammus
Alistar
Amumu
Cho'Gath
Gragas
Nasus
Mordekaiser
Udyr
Taric
Nunu
Dr. Mundo
Galio
Singed

Physical Carries:

Nocturne
Gangplank
Vayne
Lee Sin
Miss Fortune
Tristana
Ashe
Corki
Sivir
Pantheon
Shaco
Tryndamere
Xin Zhao
Ezreal
Evelyn
Blitzcrank
Kog'Maw
Olaf
Jax
Teemo
Nasus
Wukong

AP Carries:

Katarina
Kayle
Cassiopeia
Orianna
Poppy
Anivia
Vladimir
Sion
Kassadin
Annie
Karthus
LeBlanc
Lux
Malzahar
Morgana
Akali
Fiddlesticks
Kennen
Nidalee
Swain

Support:

Janna
Sona
Taric
Zilean

Right now, these are the best champions. Other champions (like Shen, Garen, Trundle, Galio, Heimerdinger, Master Yi, Yorick) are nerfed meaning they are just not as strong as the champions on this list. But if you have good skills and micro management, you can play any champion well. These champions are your bread and butter champions, however, and should be used when you want to win.

1. Buy Wards (lots of them)

The most important places to put wards are:

At Baron Nashor
At Dragon
At Lizard / Golem Buffs (Preferably your enemies')
At the entrances to your own Jungle

You should ALWAYS have wards up at dragon and baron. These are important buffs and without the wards the enemy can easily sneak them, leaving you and your team behind in gold and experience (XP).

2. Create Good Team Comps

Having a good team comp is key to high level League of Legends play. For example, if you have Ashe, Tristana, Miss Fortune, Olaf and Tryndamere, your team is going to be very likely to lose to any competent competitors with a well-balanced team. The problem is, your team has way too much physical damage and very little magic damage. Furthermore, this team would have only 1 stun (Ashe's Ultimate, Crystal Arrow) and 5 slows (which is good). The problem with only having 1 Stun / CC on your team is that it makes it very hard to gank / focus the other team.

There are several different "types" of team comps that are very viable at high level.

A Solid CC Team

This team could consist of something like: Sion, Rammus (Jungle), Ashe, Kennen, Zilean. This is just an example, and there are many variations obviously. This team would be very strong as the amount of CC is huge and Zilean's speed boost/bombs work very well with Rammus to help his powerball chase very quickly.

An AOE team

This team could consist of something like: Vladimir, Sivir, Amumu (Jungle), Sion, Xin Zhao. This team is very strong due to the massive AOE. It will melt the other team if they get grouped up and Amumu's AOE Snare Ultimate along with Sions stun will allow this team to kill the opponent's caries very quickly.

A Support / Carry Team. This team takes more skill to implement well at high levels, but can be very powerful. The concept is that you have one (or 2) very strong carries and the rest of the team supports them and protects them. A team could be something like: Miss Fortune, Janna, Shen, Rammus, Kassadin. This team is very strong because Janna and shen's shield allow miss fortune to put out massive damage while not taking any and having 2 tanks + Janna's tornado allow the tanks to protect Miss Fortune and Kassadin if they get focused. Furthemore, Kassadin's silence is another form of protection for the carries. If the team is well-coordinated, this team comp can be very hard to beat.

A Pushing Team. This team might consist of something like: Sivir, Twisted Fate (AP, A tank and two other champions. The reason this team is so powerful is because AP TF and Sivir can push lanes incredibly fast. Furthermore, TF can backdoor with his ultimate. This makes it very hard for the other team to protect their lanes and if they get distracted in a fight somewhere, either TF or Sivir can easily push down a turret or two. Do this a few times and you've got their inhibitor down.

A Global Team. This team comp is very powerful, especially early and mid game when a lot of ganks and skirmishes occur. This team would have a global champion like Twisted Fate, Shen, or Pantheon. They might also have 1 or 2 people with teleport to add to the ganking opportunities. Any good global team will rack up early kills simply from using global skills at the right time.

A lot of players have been asking me, how are high ELO games different from low ELO games? What does it take to win consistently in low ELO games (1200-1800 in ranked) and what does it take to win consistently in high ELO games (1800 and up).

Most players ever get above 1800 in ranked because once you get around 1700, you start becoming eligible to be matched with 2000+ players. In these high ELO matches, game play is dramatically different and much more aggressive. Many low ELO players simply don't know how to handle the constant and sporadic ganks, tower dives, wards, and team work you will see in high ELO games.

First, what does it take to win in low ELO games consistently?

Answer: Carry hard, carry well, carry often. To climb the ranking in low ELO games consistently, you will need to play a carry (or a jungler who you can carry with). Playing a support will not allow you to ensure your team's victory. There are simply too many bad players out there. You MUST carry your team to victory in low ELO games if you want to be sure to climb the ranking. There are many players who just get lucky and get to high ELO (1700-1900) but who clearly have very little skill - they just got lucky. Don't count on luck though to carry you to high ELO. You need to carry.

The difference between winning and losing a match is often very small - a few kills here and there, one late game gank, one baron kill, and your team wins. In order to ensure that slight edge, you MUST be the carry - you must kill the enemy champions. It's really that simple. Master playing the overpowered carries right now - Irelia, Vladimir, Anivia, Corki, Sion, Akali to name a few. If you master one or two of these champions, you should be able to carry to high ELO if you master the fundamentals - last hitting, ganking, warding, winning your lane, being quick to respond to team fights/ganks early game, avoiding ganks.

Most players simply don't master these fundamentals - that's why they'll remain average at best and their win record will be sporadic. They may be on a hot streak one game, and the next game get ganked 4 times in a row - because they have no map awareness, don't ward, and don't know the fundamentals. Anyone can get 20 kills with Akali or Irelia - can you do it consistently? Can you come back when your team is behind? Can you play smart and avoid getting ganked? If you can master these basics, you will climb up to 1800 or higher in a short period of time.

What does it take to win consistently at high ELO?

High ELO game play is MUCH DIFFERENT from low ELO game play. You no longer have to carry at high ELO. Chances are, there are two people on your team who are better at carrying than you. That's fine - let them carry. Most high ELO losses come from poor teamwork and cocky people who think they JUST HAVE TO CARRY. YOU DON'T! If you want to win games, don't be cocky. Let 1st - 3rd pick carry. If you're 4th-5th pick, just pick what will work best for your team.

When 4 people on a team think THEY JUST HAVE TO CARRY - what you get are 4 carries and a jungler and a very bad team that is destined to lose. Team composition is very, very important in high ELO. Everyone at high ELO knows how to maximize their damage. It's very easy. The key is getting a team composition that works well together and playing smart.

In high ELO games, THE TEAM WITH THE MOST CROWD CONTROL will win most of the time. If you pick Miss Fortune, Vladimir, Shaco, Garen, and Taric - your team is destined to lose. You simply have no CC other than Taric's stun, Shaco's inconsistent fear, and garen's silence. This team composition is complete garbage at high ELO and you will get trainwrecked by a team with lots of CC, stuns, fears, silences and disables.

If you truly want to win in high ELO consistently, you need to learn how to play multiple champions, support, tanks, junglers, and carries and you need to master the best CC (crowd control champions). They are:

Rammus (almost always banned)
Sion
Shen
Taric
Anivia
Irelia (inconsistent stun, but she's overpowered in general)
Pantheon
Alistar
Blitzcrank
Ashe
Janna
Kassadin
Kennen
Lux
Malphite
Malzahar
Ryze
Swain
Twisted Fate

A team with 5 of these champions will most often win against a low CC team. The reason is, they have so many disables, that they can shut down your team. Think about it - 5 stuns, well timed, in a row can completely shut down your key players. Let's say you have an Akali with 20 kills - the most feared champion in the game because Akali's burst damage is the biggest of any champion when well fed and itemized. What can akali do against 5 stuns? Answer: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Akali will get chain CC'd and instantly get gibbed. He will die and your team will be worthless because your best carry died before your team could do anything about it.

This is why CC wins games. Even if you have the lead, even if you have a SUPER CARRY who is incredibly farmed and fed, even if you have two support champions to protect him, the team with 5 CC champions will be able to shut her down and there's nothing you can do about it. Sure, you can buy Quicksilver Sash (QSS) but it only works once - what are you going to do about the other 4 stuns?

So there you have it.. the key to succed in League of Legends and climb the ELO ladder to the top.

First, master the fundamentals and learn to carry until you reach 1800.

Second, master the CC champions and learn to play several rolls very well to climb from 1800 to the top.

Good luck! See you in League of Legends!

This guide written by JuiceItUp - one of the top 100 players in League of Legends.

#1. When you start with Blue Golem, have a teammate hit it first and run away (or it hit from behind the trees). This is called "first hitting" or "leashing" the Golem. Then it will chase them for a short time before hitting you. This will save you quite a bit of health and make your jungling much faster to start off. Always help your junglers get off to a fast start - it means faster and better ganks and a better shot at getting first blood.

#2. Always save smite for the last hit. Always use smite to last hit the golem, lizard, dragon or baron. If your jungle is warded, an enemy can run by and smite it or steal it with ranged spells. Don't let that happen - use smite right at the end.

#3. Always use attack speed runes. Always! Get at least 20%. I prefer reds and quintessence runes for attack speed, but I've seen others just use blue/yellow/quints and get armor pen in red. Whatever works for you - just get attack speed so you can jungle faster.

#4. Get Wrigglers Lantern ASAP. The only junglers who shouldn't get wriggler's are Rammus and Nunu. Everyone else - get wriggler's (yes even Warwick). It's by far the most cost efficient item in the game and the free ward is excellent.

Ban List (These are the champions you should ban in ranked matches):

Note: After the latest patch, ranked bans have changed considerably and there are numerous champions you may now want to ban including:

Gangplank (OP in jungle and lane)
Orianna
Fiddlesticks (His buffs were wayy too strong)
Jax (Why was Jax buffed again? LOL)

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