If you’ve seen clips of Arcane floating around social media, had friends spam you to join their 5-stack, or just stumbled on viral clips of pro plays while scrolling gaming TikTok, you’ve definitely asked yourself should I play League of Legends at least once. As someone who’s put over 2,000 hours into the game across 7 years, climbed to Diamond in ranked play, and spent just as many nights messing around in casual modes with friends who only play twice a month, I’m not here to sell you on the game or bash it. I’m just here to give you the unfiltered, real take so you can decide if it’s worth the 12GB download.
What Makes League of Legends Stand Out From Other MOBAs?
First off, it’s not hard to see why League is the most popular MOBA in the world, 14 years after its initial launch. The biggest draw is 160+ unique playable champions, each with their own backstory, ability kits, and playstyles. You can play a nine-tailed fox who throws magic orbs, a giant rock golem who stuns entire teams, or a yordle who rides a giant fish and spits water at enemies. There’s literally something for every type of player, no matter what you enjoy doing in games.
Another huge plus is permanent casual game modes that require zero ranked grind if you don’t care about climbing the competitive ladder. ARAM, which stands for All Random All Mid, throws you into a single lane with a random champion, no strategy required beyond spamming abilities and having fun. URF, which runs as a rotating limited time mode every few months, gives you 80% cooldown reduction and zero mana costs, so you can just run around spamming your most overpowered abilities for 15 minute chaotic matches. You never have to touch ranked play if you don’t want to, and you’ll still have hundreds of hours of content to enjoy.
If you’re new to MOBAs entirely, you don’t have to jump into the deep end right away either. Riot has spent years refining the new player experience, with dedicated bot matches that scale to your skill level, and a curated list of beginner-friendly champions to pick from when you first start. If you’re not sure what playstyle fits you best, these are the easiest roles to test out first:
You can also swap roles whenever you want, no commitment required. I’ve gone from maining support for 3 years to maining mid lane for 2, and back to support again when I got tired of the pressure of carrying. There’s no rule that says you have to stick to one role forever.
Common Misconceptions New Players Have About League
Let’s get the biggest myth out of the way first: you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to be competitive. You never have to spend real money to unlock playable content in League. All champions can be unlocked with Blue Essence, a free currency you earn just by playing matches. The only things you can buy with real money are skins, which are purely cosmetic and don’t give you any in-game advantage. I’ve spent less than $50 on skins in 7 years, and I have access to every single champion in the game right now.
Another common myth is that the entire community is toxic, and every match will be filled with people yelling at you for making mistakes. Is there some toxicity? Sure, it’s a team competitive game, you’ll run into rude people every once in a while. But toxicity reports are enforced far more strictly now than they were a few years ago. Riot automatically mutes players who get reported for hate speech, and repeated offenses lead to permanent account bans. I get maybe one toxic teammate every 20 matches now, compared to every other match back in 2018. And you can always turn off chat entirely if you don’t want to deal with it at all.
People also think you have to play 10 hours a week to be good enough to have fun. That’s not true at all. I have a group of friends who play once a week for 2 hours, only play ARAM, and they’ve been doing that for 3 years. They don’t know half the champion abilities, they don’t care about meta picks, and they have a blast every single time they play. You don’t have to be good to enjoy League, you just have to be okay with messing up every once in a while.
Who Should Play League of Legends, And Who Should Pass?
Now for the part you’re probably here for: figuring out if the game is right for you. First, let’s talk about who will get the most out of it. If you thrive on collaborative problem-solving, League will feel like a perfect fit. Every match is a new puzzle: you have to adapt to your team composition, the enemy team’s picks, and unexpected plays that happen throughout the game. No two matches are ever the same, so you’ll never get bored of playing if you love that kind of dynamic challenge.
It’s also a great pick if you have a group of 2-4 friends who already play. Queueing up with people you know eliminates almost all the frustration of random teammates, and you can mess around and do silly strategies without worrying about ruining someone else’s ranked grind. My friends and I still do silly “all support” 5-stack matches every few months, and we lose 90% of them, but we laugh so hard we don’t even care.
On the flip side, there are people who will almost definitely hate League, and that’s okay. If you hate losing more than you love winning, this is not the game for you. Even the best pro players in the world lose 40% of their matches. You will have matches where your teammate intentionally feeds, or you get counter picked so hard you can’t do anything, or you make a stupid mistake that loses the game for your team. If that’s going to ruin your night, skip it.
It’s also not a good fit if you prefer short, self-contained single player sessions. Most matches last between 20 and 35 minutes, and you can’t pause if you get a phone call or have to run an errand mid-match. If you only have 15 minutes to play at a time, you’re better off picking a different game that fits your schedule better.
Tips to Make Your First League Experience As Fun As Possible
If you’ve gotten this far and decided you want to give the game a shot, there are a few easy things you can do to make your first month way less frustrating. First, turning off all chat for your first 20 levels will eliminate 90% of unnecessary frustration. You don’t need to see what the enemy team is saying, and you don’t need to read rude comments from random teammates if you make a mistake. You can turn it off in the settings menu before you even play your first match, and you can turn it back on later if you want to.
Second, stick to 2 to 3 low-complexity champions for your first month. Don’t jump into playing super high-skill champions like Yasuo or Zed right away, you’ll just get frustrated when you can’t use their abilities correctly. Garen, Ashe, and Soraka are all great starter picks that have simple abilities and teach you the basics of the game without overwhelming you. Once you’re comfortable with how the game works, you can start testing out more complex champions.
Third, don’t jump into PvP matches until you’ve played at least 10 bot matches. Bot matches let you learn the map, how abilities work, and what each role does without going up against real players who have been playing for years. I still play bot matches every once in a while when I’m testing out a new champion I’ve never played before, it’s a great low-pressure way to learn.
Finally, don’t fixate on winning your first few dozen matches. You’re going to lose. A lot. That’s normal. Even new players who pick up the game fast lose most of their first 20 matches. Focus on learning one new thing every match, like how to last hit minions, or what a specific enemy champion’s ability does. You’ll get better over time, and the wins will start coming before you know it.
At the end of the day, it’s okay if you’re still on the fence about whether you should play League of Legends. It’s not a perfect game, and it’s not for everyone. But if you’re looking for a game you can play for years, that offers endless variety, and that’s a great way to hang out with friends, it’s absolutely worth giving a shot. Even if you only play a few matches and decide it’s not for you, you won’t have wasted anything but a little bit of time. And if you do end up loving it? You’ll have thousands of hours of fun ahead of you, and a community of millions of players to share it with.