League of Legends Guide#
League of Legends (LoL) is a 5v5 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) developed by Riot Games: two teams of five fight on Summoner’s Rift, and the objective is to destroy the enemy team’s Nexus. The Chinese mainland version is operated by Tencent Games.
Platform: PC | Genre: 5v5 MOBA | Price: Free to play
Game Information#
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Game | League of Legends (LoL) |
| Developer | Riot Games |
| Chinese mainland operator | Tencent Games |
| Genre | 5v5 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) |
| Platform | PC |
| Price | Free to play |
| Win condition | Destroy the enemy Nexus |
| Primary map | Summoner’s Rift, three lanes plus the jungle |
| Match length | Typically 25-45 minutes |
| Champion pool | More than 170; the exact count follows the official client’s champion page |
| Competitive mode | Rift Summit, with a dedicated entry in both the client and on the official site |
| Same developer | Teamfight Tactics, an auto-battler strategy game with different gameplay |
| Client patch, early October 2026 | 26.18 |
| Official site | leagueoflegends.com |
Official Champion Classes#
The “Choose Your Champion” block on the official site divides champions into six classes, and the in-client champion library is organized the same way:
| Class | Official label | Playstyle |
|---|---|---|
| Assassin | ASSASSINS | Fast engages, looking for kill windows |
| Fighter | FIGHTERS | Close-quarters combat, offense and defense combined |
| Mage | MAGES | Damage delivered through abilities |
| Marksman | MARKSMEN | Sustained ranged damage |
| Support | SUPPORTS | Protecting teammates, crowd control and vision |
| Tank | TANKS | Soaking damage and opening for the team |
The Five Roles#
| Role | Label | Key responsibilities |
|---|---|---|
| Top | Top | Holding a side lane alone |
| Jungle | Jungle | No fixed lane; has to track the tempo of the whole map, and is widely considered the hardest role to pick up |
| Mid | Mid | Center of the map with the shortest path to both side lanes, favoring strong roaming champions |
| Bot | ADC/Bot | Core of the bot lane, carries the team’s main sustained damage later, extremely fragile early and needs the support’s protection |
| Support | Support | Pairs with the marksman in bot lane, handling protection and vision |
2026 Patch and Operations Timeline (verifiable on the official site)#
| Date | Update |
|---|---|
| Around May 2026 | New champion Zaahen revealed |
| Around 2026-06-08 | New champion Locke (Locke, The Ashen Exorcist) revealed, with a champion spotlight video and the champion short film “The End Has Not Come” |
| Around 2026-09-09 | Client updated to patch 26.16 |
| 2026-09-10 to 10-21 | “Hall of Legends 2026” event |
| 2026-09-11 | Rift Summit 2026 Split 2 reward announcement |
| Around 2026-09-12 | Client updated to patch 26.17 |
| September 2026 | League of Legends 15th anniversary celebration, including the Haidou Tournament showmatch |
| 2026-09-29 | League Classic announcement: Fizz, Nami, Nautilus and Graves added to League Classic |
| 2026-09-30 | 2026 World Championship theme song revealed, performed by True Damage, honoring Faker and T1 |
| Around 2026-10-05 | Client updated to patch 26.18 |
On the esports side, 2026 competition runs on a three-split format, with the official esports hub organizing content under “Split 1”, “Split 2” and “Split 3”, each split divided into a group stage and a playoff stage; the ranked ladder advances through three splits as well.
Editorial Standards: What This Section Does and Does Not Claim#
Content here is based on information cross-checked against the official site and multiple sources. Where secondary sources contradict each other or no official page confirms a figure, this section gives no specific number:
- Total champion count, and champion counts per class and per role: sources disagree, so the text only says “more than 170”;
- Exact League Points (LP) values, promotion series rules and demotion protection details: sources conflict, and the official client is authoritative;
- Champion ability names, numbers and combos;
- Item names, stats, prices and build paths;
- Jungle objective respawn timers and buff values;
- Format details, team lists and results for each split and for the World Championship.
When a number cannot be sourced to an official page, it is left out. That is a fixed editorial standard for this section, not missing content. Every sub-page covering the topics above notes “check the official client” wherever it applies.
Related Games#
- Dota 2 — another 5v5 multiplayer online battle arena
- Factorio — an automation factory-building strategy game
- XCOM 2 — a turn-based tactical strategy game
- Total War: Shogun 2 — a turn-based strategy game set in Sengoku-era Japan
- Total War: Warhammer III — a large-scale fantasy strategy wargame
Related Rankings#
Best Co-Op Games · Most Anticipated Games of 2026
Full Guides#
In-depth sub-guides — beginner basics, the five roles, champion pools for each role, items, runes, map objectives, laning, teamfights, the ranked system, patch updates, the Summoner’s Rift map guide, vision control and dragons — are available in Chinese on NTGame’s League of Legends section.