League of Legends: Popularity of ARAM

What is ARAM?

ARAM (All Random All Mid) has been a fairly popular "game mode" for League of Legends for roughly two years now. Through the early stages, the community developed the unwritten rules of ARAM, such as no backing to heal or shop, no leaving the lane, and no going into the jungle or side paths. Unfortunately, there was a lot of flaws for the make-shift mode on Summoner's Rift. The game mode had so much more potential.

The Proving Grounds

With the recent release of The Proving Grounds map, ARAM entered a new era. Riot addressed some of the limitations of ARAM on Summoner's Rift, by implementing a lot of the fundamental rules of the mode directly into the map. No longer can you shop once you leave base. The summoning platform no longer heals. There is nothing but a singular lane. Additionally, it adopted some of the mentality from Dominion, with starting at a higher level, heightened ambient gold, ambient experience and shorter respawns. Now there is a dedicated map for ARAM lovers, and it's more fun than ever.

League of Legends: Last-Hitting

Why should I last hit?

Last hitting is one of the most important aspects of Summoner's Rift. It is the primary source of income, especially during the laning phase. Even if you round to 15g per minion, and you kill a total of 200 minions, that's 3000g, which is enough for a Bloodthirster or 100 short of a Zhonya's Hourglass. That's one full final-tier item worth of gold with the generous estimate of 15g each minion.
 
The only two roles that don't necessarily get too many last hits are Junglers and Supports in the current trend of the game. Junglers spend most of their early game in the jungle, which doesn't necessarily fall under last hitting. They do, however, last hit if they end up in a lane to defend it. Supports rarely ever last hit because they are usually paired up with someone in the bottom lane, who they relinquish their farm to. They typically only last hit if their partner isn't around so the gold isn't wasted.

League of Legends: Why So Angry?

Ever hop in a game and someone is already on a rampage, insulting everyone left and right without anything even happening yet? We've all had those teammates that just love to complain about everything and nothing is their own fault. It seems like no matter what, someone's a "noob" or a "baddie."

Why are so many people so angry in League of Legends?

First off, this isn't something exclusive to League of Legends. The anger, the frustration, the raging, the offensive language, the blame, the negativity...it comes with any competitive game. Especially team games. You can find this behavior in other competitive team games, such a DotA, HoN, Call of Duty, etc. Hell, you can even find it in World of Warcraft and other MMO's.

People's competitive nature lends them to become more heightened in a competitive situation. League of Legends is a competitive game, where everyone involved needs to pour a lot of effort into achieving victory. The rush of victory is a natural high that people love, while the slump of a loss is a low people hate. If League were a fighting game or another solo-competitive game, then people could only blame themselves for their loss (well, except those who still manage to blame "cheap" tactics, game mechanics, or their broken controller). However, since League is a team game, it requires everyone on the team to perform fairly well and work together to win. A person's teammates' performance is relatively out of their control, and there's nothing more frustrating than something you cannot control. People often jump to blame or direct their frustrations at what's out of their control, because it's much easier than accepting responsibility.

League of Legends: Glossary

Here are some common acronyms and expressions used by the League of Legends communities and writing.

Stats:
AD - Attack Damage
AP - Ability Power
AR - Armor
AS - Attack Speed
MR - Magic Resist
MS - Movement Speed
GP5 - Gold Per 5 Seconds
HP5 - Health Per 5 Seconds
MP5 - Mana Per 5 Seconds
CDR - Cooldown Reduction
CC Reduction - Tenacity for crowd-control reduction. Makes crowd-control effects not last as long against you
DR - Damage Reduction
Crit - Critical Strike Chance

League of Legends: The Mighty Jungle

This is a post I wrote for a League of Legends fansite back in 2010. Some of it may have been changed to keep it more up-to-date.

In my previous article, “In the Jungle”, I addressed the benefits of jungling, and possible counter-jungling strategies. While it is important to learn how to deal with junglers, it is also important to realize the potentials of the jungle outside of jungling.

The Fastest Path

The jungle, while it may be a little bit windy, often yields the quickest path between lanes apart from the river and at the outer wall of the bases. Similarly, it can serve as the fastest way to get to Dragon or Baron, as well as to the middle of lanes and the river. It is very important to keep this all in mind, as every split second makes a difference in a match. If some of your teammates are engage in battle, and your swift reinforcement can tip the scales in your favor, you must react fast and get to the scene as quick as possible. The time it takes you to reach the battle can mean the difference between victory and defeat, so it is always critical to know the quickest way to reach your destination (while also considering safety).

  

Now let us suppose a battle did occur, but your help wasn’t needed, or you were too far to make it there on time. Your team has won the battle, and the enemy champions are on the run. An enemy champion managed to gain enough distance from your team to survive, but he is running down the river. The jungle is often the quickest way to intercept your enemies, as they often yield the shortest path to your destination. Similarly, this is also the case for your enemies, as the jungle often provides the shortest path to their safety. You can use this to your advantage to predict where someone will run, and plan your interception with that in mind. However, your enemies likely realize all of this as well, so it is best to exercise caution when necessary.