That may seem like an alien sentence to some, but I've never been too keen on them. Let me just explain what I mean by my definition of competitive multi-player. This would be a game where you are pitted against the other team to a bloody battle to the death. Or perhaps you were flinging cards at an opponent who's deck consists entirely of Murloc's! But each time you play, it's ranked. This means that whatever the outcome, you have shown your worth to the rest of the world. Everyone can see how good (or bad) you are at the game. If you're at the top, you have to defend your honour and keep reclaiming that crown.
This to me didn't seem right. Gaming should be a way to unwind, relax or become enveloped in a whole new world or experience. Now don't get me wrong. I have enjoyed a friendly one on one in Street Fighter or caused havoc in Los Santos online, but never in a competitive mode. To me, a single player game has more to offer. You become immersed with the character you're playing. There's a deeper connection you get, and when it ends you feel like you've walked with them, through the terrors and faced each challenge in your own way. So when a friend asked me – nay, begged me- to download League of Legends, I was a little dubious.
Until August 2014, I had no idea what this League of Legends was. Never even heard of it. Impossible?! I hear you cry out. Well take my word reader, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between a Rabaddon's deathcap or a B.O.T.R.K. But after much persistence from a friend, I snapped and downloaded the phenomenon that is. And it has thrown my gaming world into despair! As I scrolled my cursor over the application and was greeted by a cute, furry animal chasing a firefly, I must admit I was curious and wondered further into the unknown. After completing the tutorial, a few custom and AI games, I felt I was ready to enter Summoners Rift against actual people and dived head first into my first match.
To say I was terrible, is an understatement. For those that play L.o.L regularly prepare for a laugh (and maybe some rage). For those that do not I will explain as best as I can:
* Each team consists of 5 members.
* On Summoners Rift there is three lanes, a jungle and a river in the centre.
* The object of the game is to destroy the enemy teams nexus (or base) and to get there your team must destroy the turrets of a lane, then the base turrets and inhibitor, and only then can you proceed to take down the main base.
* There is always an influx of minions on each lane, which when killed give you a small amount of gold. Killing an enemy champion gives you more gold.
* The baron and dragon give buffs (or advantages in layman terms) to your team.
* Buying items for your character is important, and depending on what the enemy team buys, may be situational to that game.
* The top lane - usually would be a bruiser or a tank, who can take and deal damage.
* The mid lane - would be a mage, that does very high damage and would have C.C (or crowd control) with stuns and the like.
* The jungler – is used to ambush the lanes and support them. This role can be a variety of types, from a tank who can soak up all the damage, or an assassin who is designed to annihilate targets quickly.
* Bottom lane – where one would usually have a support (to either heal or secure kills) and a marksman (also known as the attack, damage, carry or ADC for short) – I chose Nautilus, who has a giant anchor he carries with him everywhere which he can use to grab enemies and slow them.
Now he sounds like a perfect support. Except I wasn't playing support... That's right, this slow, meandering colossus was the ADC of the team. The player, who is meant to speed around the map and cause a whole lot of damage, was I...with Nautilus. I had a death from running into a turret with no coverage from minions. I died attempting to solo the dragon. I charged head first into a one on one with a Zed (a high-burst damage champion) and died spectacularly. But not all was lost. I secured a glorious 5 kills. They may have been kill steals but regardless they were mine (sort of)! After my team secured the enemies nexus (thanks mostly to the mid and top lane) I saw what all wish to see after landing into Summoners Rift for the first time: Victory.
Soon after I began to play L.o.L regularly. After meeting some friendly (and some not so friendly) people online, they began to tell me what I should buy for each character and pointed me in the direction of certain sites which I could use to help my builds. For example: if an enemy buys all attack damage, you buy armour to counteract it. If they buy ability power/ magic damage, you get some magic resist. This may seem like common sense but when you're trying to secure kills and find you take to much damage; don't you think its time to swap that long sword for cloth amour?
By the time November came I had a full grasp of how the game worked, how to win and what not to do. The core concept may sound simplistic but this is more than just taking down turrets and steam-rolling head first. It's about out-playing your opponent, guessing their next move and being three steps ahead. Its about contesting for that next dragon which will give you a 6% advantage in team fight, which could mean life or death. For those that say gaming is just going through the motions and childish has obviously not played something like this. And this isn't the only game. There's DOTA, which is much like L.o.L (I'll be hanged for that statement). You also have Counter Strike, the FPS competitive game. I did try and play that after playing L.o.L but as it turns out, I was atrocious. I felt comfortable with the League and after the 4.20 patch, when the graphics were updated, it seemed right.
But by then it wasn't just about playing the game. I had become obsessed with it to a degree. I would watch pro-matches. I would cheer when a team gained vision control. I would scream uncontrollably when a team fight ensued and laugh when the player named “Balls” was “on that Mega-Gnar” (actual quote). Then, as the sun rose on an icy January 21st, my friends and I created our own ranked team. Since then, before each match we'd consider what our strengths and weaknesses are. Which champions to ban and when to contest for an objective. And so far, we've lost all 4 of our matches. Now, to be fair, the “Flamboyant Peanut Xpress” is a new team and we are still in the provisional matches, and two of the loses were just unlucky, but each time before a match, I'll get nervous. It's like the feeling one would get before an important interview or stepping onto the field as you play in a league for football or rugby. You want to do well. You want to win.
Anyone can log onto L.o.L and look at the stats of “FbPnut” and criticize how our performance was. And this is where – before I began playing ranked – I wasn't keen on the idea. But, this is the difference a competitive game has to a single player. You may not be as immersed, and the story may be harder to relate to. But there is more of a thrill to it. You can gain more from it because of the thought process of how to tactically win a match. I like the feeling of the nerves and attempting to solve the puzzle during the game of how to win. It's not just about playing the game any more. In a sense, it becomes part of your life. For those that play competitively – be it DOTA, CS:GO or L.o.L – I guarantee that as soon as you lost, you'd be lying in bed pondering how it could have gone better; that if you landed that hook on their Ahri, would you have won the match?
Thanks for reading.
O.E.Gamer.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcqodAYWMcdUuL77AHbvXow
