Why League of Legends is Successful

League of Legends - you've all heard of it but what makes it so well known?

League of Legends is a top down MOBA created by Riot Games. It is their only game but it is in a constant phase of changes. It is a free to play game so how do they earn money? Well you can buy the in game champions with either IP (earned by winning matches) or by LP (you have to pay for this). You can also buy champion skins and other non-essential non-beneficial items. This means that it is NOT a pay to win game. The player starts out at summoner level 1 with minimal summoner spells. As you progress you are matched with players of the same (or near) level and you unlock more summoner spells. The experience required to gain a level increases with each level, resulting in a large amount of gameplay required if you want to hit that level 30.

Now this is where most games falter. In League of Legends you cannot play ranked games until you reach level 30 so that you should of gained significant skill levels not to make everyone's life a living hell. Playing ranked steps the challenge of the game up a notch and adds a high stakes factor to the game. The player does 5 challenge games to place them at a point in the Bronze league. There is 5 tiers in each league from 5-1.You gain points for a win and lose points for a loss (obviously). If you reach 100 points you have to win 2/3 (3/5 at tier 1) to progress to the next tier/league. The leagues go up from Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Platinum. A lot of players spend a lot of time trying to climb to Platinum 1 and hen progress to the challenger league which is the best of the best. Now to play ranked, it is ridiculously hard  to specialise in one role, as a lot of other players are trying to do the same which means you can't always play it. This requires each summoner to have at least 1 champion for each role (money for Riot). Then there is people who like to buy skins to look better than the rest (more money). 

What makes the real difference is that Riot doesn't just sit on this income and think "I'll just keep all this", they use it to create more champions and skins (more income), to make the game look better and play more fairly (happy players) and also to keep the competitive scene up. Recently was the League of Legends World Championship Series which puts the best teams from each region against each other for a money (a total of around $2 million spread between teams). The amount of competitive tournaments there is across the world pumps not only money but interest into the game, provide a target for any player - to become a pro. 

In conclusion, a mixture of challenge, additional content and competitive interest and careers makes this free to play game not only a success, but a fan favourite for years to come.

 Patrick Lacey