Top Qualities Of A League of Legends Esports Player

League of Legends was the most popular esport 6 years ago. The game has been able to maintain a top 5 position in the last few years, despite all the countless of new esports games making it onto the scene. The competition in this game is hard, to the point that it is common to see roster changes every year for almost all teams. To be hired by a professional team, you need to be extremely good at the game. Here are the qualities that define a League of Legends esports player.

Top Qualities of a League of Legends Esports Player

MOBAs have by definition a very basic structure. You win by destroying the enemy’s base, and you need to destroy several structures to reach that base. To reach the structures you need the help of minions, and you must face the enemy’s players and minions. But even if the game does not deviate this, the different approaches each team can take to get to the enemy’s base make the game very interesting.

Teams can Siege structures, send one player to Splitpush, or can Teamfight to win a Neutral objective. Each champion in the game leans to a certain play-style and with the distribution of Damage, Mobility and Crow Control it has. Let’s see what skills professional players use to obtain victory.

Mechanics

This is probably the one most talked about the aptitude of League players. It is probably over-hyped since the famous video of Faker vs Ryu mirror Zed match. But it is undeniable that a League player needs good mechanics to win games. What this means is the complete Micromanagement of their characters. The movement, aiming, targeting, using resources (such as Summoner Spells, jumps, items, etc).

While it sounds easy, a player must dominate several characters in order to succeed. That means different animations, different builds, different skills and powers, different timings. And, as it is the case for every esport, consistency is the most valuable asset. A player that can constantly get good results of using the mechanics of different champions is considered to be a good player.

Teamwork and Communication

As unbelievable as this can sound, maybe having good communication with your teammates is even more important than having good individual mechanics. This is why it is rare to see a player succeed on an esports team. Also, being at the top of the ranked solo ladder of the game, because players with the best mechanics usually don’t rely on their team, for better or for worse.

 

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Since the game is a 5 vs 5 match, you rely on your teammates to fight the enemy champions, and being able to properly coordinate with your team can make the difference. There is obviously a silent component, as each player in each roll knows what to do in a certain situation by basic knowledge of the game. But as most of the games, information is a key component to victory.

Being able to know where all your enemies are allowed your team to play accordingly, or just being aware a second or two earlier what your team is about to do can be invaluable in a teamfight. The usage of a Summoner Spell, an item, or a trinket can determine if you take an aggressive or a passive approach against an opponent. So sharing information, being prepared for what your team is doing, and coordinate actions properly, are the mandatory skills of a League of Legends professional.

Building

Of course, League of Legends must also have its share of decision making, and individually it comes to the build order and selection of each player. Previous to the start of the game, the player knows what they are facing. So they must choose Summoner’s and Runes accordingly. Each champion usually works with a few Runes and Summoner’s, not all of them. But the choice is important as it conditions your gameplay completely. For instance, Teleport offers map presence but has zero impact on combat. Heal is a defensive combat summoner, and Ignite is an offensive one.

After that, going into the match, players must choose what items they need to build. Each champion has a core set of items they should build. But the rest and the order of those items have to be chosen according to the enemy players. Tanks must decide between Health, Armor and Magic Resist. Bruisers have to choose between damage and tankiness, and Damage dealers have to build either Stats or Penetration. The order to which pros buy their items, and the time they do so, are as important as what items they buy.

Team Strategy

Finally, the last cornerstone of a good League player has to be the actions they take during a game. As a team, a strategy of the ones mentioned above should be selected, and each player needs to make choices that bring their team closer to that win condition. Each player has a role in teamfights, and they must use their Mechanics and decision making to best fulfill that role. If it is to protect, they must prevent the enemy’s threat to reach your team. If it is to eliminate an enemy, they must avoid all other champions to find the biggest threat in the enemy’s team and take it out.

Decisions such as freezing a lane or pushing, leaving a lane to help the team or staying and farm, engaging or not, affect drastically the outcome of a game. They are what differentiates good players from the best. In the end, a player must have excellent mechanics, communication and decision making to succeed, and work together with other players as a team to win.

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