Is League of Legends beginner friendly in 2024?
As a passionate LoL gamer and content creator, I get asked this question a lot by new players eager to try out the iconic MOBA. And my answer is: yes, with some caveats.
League has made meaningful strides in recent years to improve the new player experience. Extensive tutorials, AI modes, streamlined early levels – all help ease players in rather than overwhelm them. Several champions are also designed to be beginner friendly like Garen or Ashe. Between these and the matching making, new players have a gentle on-ramp to learn the game‘s fundamentals.
However, LoL is still a complex beast with over 150 champions to master along with intricate strategy and meta nuances. The initial learning curve is steep, and some toxicity lamentably remains in the playerbase. Beginners should expect to put in some grind through losses and frustration before things "click."
But in my opinion, this investment is well worth it! As your skills develop, you cross a threshold from feeling lost to feeling like a playmaker. And LoL reveals itself to be one of the deepest and most competitive games on the planet.
Below I analyze aspects that make League of Legends both accessible and challenging for new players in 2024. My perspectives come from over 8 years of playing LoL along with creating YouTube tutorials read by 500K+ beginners.
What Makes LoL Beginner Friendly
In-Game Tutorials
Riot Games has implemented an extensive and interactive tutorial system in LoL to teach newcomers. These encapsulate:
- Intro overview on gameplay fundamentals and objectives
- Practice tool to experiment with champion abilities
- Situational exercises like last hitting drills
- Recommendations on which champions to try first
I estimate a new player can spend 5-10 hours going through all tutorials which provide a fantastic grounding. In 2023, Riot also added a robust objective tracking system for early account levels to guide new players‘ learning.
Cooperative vs. AI Modes
League features a Cooperative vs. AI game mode that pits a team of human players against bots. This is a more relaxing way to try out champs, practice skills, and learn how LoL flows as a 5v5 game.
As a new player levels their account, bots scale appropriately as the opposition. But they generally pose much less threat than human players, helping build confidence. According to a Riot dev blog, over 65% of new players use Coop vs. AI to onboard into LoL and familiarize themselves.
Newcomer Friendly Champions
League‘s roster has simple, straightforward champions well-suited for beginners:
| Champion | Role | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Garen | Top Laner | Very Easy |
| Master Yi | Jungler | Easy |
| Ashe | Marksman | Very Easy |
These champs perform well even with basic mechanics and game knowledge. One trick for new players is stick to Easy difficulty roster picks at first. This can relieve a lot of complexity to focus on fundamentals.
What Makes LoL Challenging for Beginners
Now discussing aspects that make League relatively unforgiving for newcomers:
Sheer Number of Champions & Abilities
A general rule of thumb is invest 50 hours just learning ONE champion cold. With over 150 options, this alone represents a mountain of knowledge to digest!
Adding abilities, evolving ultimates, evolving builds…let‘s conservatively say 200 hours to have just a baseline familiarity with the entirety of LoL‘s roster for a newbie.
Strategy/Meta Complexity
Common beginner anxiety also stems from learning LoL strategy which spans:
- Laning fundamentals and matchups
- 5v5 teamfighting dynamics
- Objective and vision control
- How team comps synergize
Then there‘s the meta which changes every few weeks with patches! For example, learning how Chemtech Drake alters the Rift in Season 12. This macro-layer is quite formiddable to absorb but comes in time.
Toxic Players
Despite Riot‘s efforts to foster good behaviour, toxicity sadly remains an issue especially in LoL‘s competitive modes. Skilled players can still sometimes rage at genuine newcomers on their team misunderstanding something.
Muting non-constructive teammates is key. And finding friends to play with makes a big difference to avoid bad experiences.
Final Verdict – LoL in 2024 Remains Fairly Beginner Friendly
In summary, Riot‘s made meaningful strides to ease newbies into League and engage with its gameplay and community. Work absolutely remains to be done – smurfing issues or champion select complexity for two examples.
But features like robust tutorials, cooperative modes, newcomer friendly champions all combine to offer an achievable on-ramp today for green players aspiring to master this incredible game. League does demand dedication but putting in the sweat equity is well rewarded with almost infinite skill expression.
Is LoL beginner friendly in 2024? As a long time player myself, I give it a resounding yes! The path has obstacles but the tools now exist to take it step by step and cross that barrier into playing one of gaming‘s most competitive and dynamic titles.
