Every League of Legends player has that one friend they want to play the game but don’t know how to approach it without feeling like they’re forcing them to do something they don’t want. Inviting friends to try out something that you’re passionate about shouldn’t make you feel uncomfortable. Here are some ways to teach a friend how to play LoL in a way that’ll make both of you enjoy the experience.
How to Play LoL As a Beginner
The first thing you need to learn is to know how to play LoL as a beginner. The game is catered towards giving even those who don’t have any experience playing any video games a chance to understand what the game is about without introducing too many advanced mechanics. The hardest part about teaching a new person who to play this game is getting them to get interested in League of Legends without it feeling like they’re simply obligated to play the game for *your* sake.
Once you re-discover how it feels to be a beginner, you’ll have an easier time teaching a friend how to play LoL. We’ll be giving you an idea on which aspects to focus on when tutoring someone you know regardless of the level of closeness you have with that person. The important thing to keep in mind is that they should be able to FEEL like they got better after receiving tutorial so that they feel incentivized to continue learning the game.
Focus on their Achievements, Never their Mistakes
The key to making someone WANT to learn is to make them feel like they are progressing. The method to doing so is actually simple but the vast majority of League of Legends players have too much of an ego to follow this simple step: focus on their achievements, never their mistakes. It’s not good to make a total beginner feel like you’re treating them like a child but you should still try to focus on the positives of their gameplay rather than their negatives.
Whenever the person you’re trying to teach does something good, point that out and expand on it by giving a brief explanation on why they should keep doing so. They’ll have an easier time keeping their good plays in mind. If the player has bad habits, you can point that out but do so in a way that doesn’t make them feel like they have no future playing the game. As long as they understand that they can make good plays, they’ll always feel like they have what it takes to play the game more.
Do Not Overload Them with Jargon
Terms like CS, push, gank, freeze, and many more may already feel natural to seasoned players like us but it doesn’t make sense to a new player. You should definitely help them understand what these jargon means but it’s not effective to make them memorize multiple words in one gameplay session. Additionally, if you keep using jargon they don’t understand when teaching a person, they won’t remember what you taught them because they’ll unconsciously push any information that didn’t make sense aside.
Even if you try to explain all the jargon you use to the player, if there is too many words to keep in mind, those words will most likely not stick in their minds. Everyone has their own pace so you can’t expect other people to learn it like you did, especially if they don’t have the same level of enthusiasm as you when you first started the game. Try to teach them 1-2 jargon words per hour and keep repeating the word so that they’ll have a better idea understanding it in every possible context.
Don’t Treat Them Like a Child
We already emphasized how you shouldn’t treat the people you’re trying to teach like children. However, you shouldn’t make them feel like they’ve enrolled formally into a class. The best way to teach a friend is to talk to them casually. That means that you are able to laugh with them when they make mistakes and are not overly-sympathetic when they make a mistake. This removes their sense of nervousness and lightens the mood so that they are able to perform more comfortably.
The most important thing is to not make them feel like they’re being coddled since it can make them feel like you’re at a completely different level than them. When they feel that, they won’t see a future where you can both play together casually. Remember that everyone learns at their own pace so it’s okay if they make a lot of mistakes in the beginning as long as you see that they are making gradual improvements to avoid those mistakes.
Give Feedback Only When There’s Downtime
The worst time to teach a person is when they are in a high-pressure situation. The best time to teach them how to play LoL is when the state of the game is neutral and there’s no action happening in their active screen. Allow them to make their own decisions during teamfights and duels and give them feedback once all of the action has fizzled out. It’s extremely difficult for the player to retain information while they are trying to get a kill or survive the fight.
Many teachers like to backseat while their student is trying to play out a fight. However, that simply disrupts the person’s train of thought which makes them perform worse than their actual ability. Oftentimes, the student will simply feel annoyed that they misplayed because somebody was telling them what to do while playing the game. It’s a good idea to give them a recap of previous events instead and offer feedback on what they should have done if necessary.
Do Not Go Too In-depth on a Lesson
Every one has their own capacity of learning. As a League of Legends teacher, you need to gauge how much your student understands the lesson you’re trying to give them. They often say quality trumps quantity but in the case of video games, it’s extremely difficult to focus on one lesson and expect them to get better. Instead, you should teach a lesson and immediately move on if you see that they can successfully apply what you’re trying to teach them.
The best way to teach someone is through repetition. Basically, you teach a lesson in-depth once and simply keep reminding them about that lesson every time the situation comes up. Once you’ve seen that they’ve applied a specific lesson in their gameplay without you reminding them, you can stop teaching that lesson.
