League of Legends begins season fourteen

Season 14 of Riot Games’ League of Legends began on Jan. 10. The season’s start included a massive update to map Summoner’s Rift, and a rework of the game’s item system. To mark the season’s start, Riot also released the cinematic “Still here”.

League of Legends–commonly referred to as just “League” –is a five versus five player team game. It belongs to a genre of games known as “MOBAs,” where players control one character or champion and move them around a map with the ultimate objective of destroying the enemy base. Players try to score kills and take objectives to help progress the game, and ultimately win the game.

The game is easy to pick up, but extremely hard to master. There are hundreds of different skills, over one hundred characters (champions), and dozens of items players can pick and choose from to enhance their champions. League is one of the most played games in the world, boasting a player count in the millions daily.

So, should you play it?

If you’ve ever thought about getting into it or giving it a try, now is the time. A new season has launched, and no one has any idea what’s going on. With all the recent changes to the game, everyone is having fun exploring the game and relearning it.

League is a game of nonstop Player versus Player (PVP) in which you’re testing yourself against and going head-to-head with your opponents constantly. Whether it’s a one on one in lane phase, or a chaotic team fight in the late game, League is filled with action and split-second decision making.

If you’re a new player learning to play, you’re going to fit right in with everyone else. If you’re someone who has experience playing other competitive games such as Smite or Dota 2, there are fundamentals to playing League that transfer between games.

League is one of the best games–if not the best–game to play with your friends. It’s more accessible and easier to play than shooters like Fortnite or Call of Duty. It also isn’t pay-to-win like several other “competitive” games. The only thing you can spend money on are in-game cosmetics.

There are also several hilarious streamers and personalities who play League of Legends. Notable mentions are Tyler1, Doublelift, and Thebausffs. Mr. Beast has played with Doublelift and Tyler1, and is outspoken about his love for the game. Riot is also great about releasing music and cinematics outside the game, such as the aforementioned “Still Here.”

However, be warned, despite all the fun you can have–and the active community the game has fostered–feelings of burnout, tilt, toxicity and frustration are rampant in the League community.

League is notorious for its toxicity in many online forums and social media pages, and has developed a stigma for being toxic garbage no one should ever play. Or for being a game that only “losers” play.

In my opinion, this stigma and the reputation the game has developed has been blown largely out of proportion. This stigma largely comes from people who continue to play the game even when they’re burned out, and from feelings of frustration and anger that the game can cause.

Riot has been doing their best to crack down on toxicity, but it’s still an unavoidable part of playing the game.

League of Legends gets an update around every two weeks. The show linked to the game, Arcane, has a second season coming out November 2024.