Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Three Free "League of Legends" Beta Invites

I honestly don't really 'get' LoL. I never played DotA, which the team making LoL made. This is their official 'real DotA game that isn't a mod'. Between being kick/banned out of every lobby I try to join because my record was 0/0/0, and then being ridiculed in every game I did make it into because I didn't know what the hell was going on, it just doesn't really seem like the game for me.

I did actually make it into two matches, and realized the whole strategy for the game can be summed up as:

1) run forward
2) okay, run away
3) okay, run forward again

Your hero learns skills, and you run forward with your little wave of attackers, pew pew once or twice, then run away when the other guys see you coming.

Umm... woo?

I hope I'm not violating the NDA here, because I don't want to upset the people making it. Honestly, the game itself is gorgeous. They've made what they set out to make, and it shows that they're passionate about it. There are a bunch of unique heroes to choose from, and it runs like butter on my system (upwards of 100 FPS with everything maxxed). I also get great pings to the servers, but the gameplay itself just isn't my style.

That said, I'm also COMPLETELY uninterested in Starcraft 2. That doesn't mean it's going to be a horrible game, just that the RTS genre is horrifically boring to me personally.

Anyway. When I logged in today, determined to give it a go after reading about Demigod on Word of Shadow, I saw that I apparently have 3 beta invites to give out. So the first three (non-anonymous, sorry) people to post a comment here with an email address get them. Doing more illustration work today, but will keep an eye on this post. It takes no time to send the invite out.

Hopefully someone with more interest in the genre can enjoy my invite.

Cheers.

25 comments:

Hatch said...

And keeping a hawk-eye on my RSS reader pays off! Beta me up!

If it's just running in, then running away as soon as someone sees you, that's good, because I am excellent at at least one of those two activities.

Also, LRN2 <3 SC NAO.

Anonymous said...

good as time as any to stop being a lurker


Ricard420@hotmail.com

Ricard420 said...

what a time to not put a name in...Im not anonymous I swear

maybe Ill even play Aion on your server ...who knows

Rich said...

2 down, invites going out now

:)

Kyir said...

I would enjoy one.

normollep@att.net

Rich said...

all 3 sent. post back with impressions after a match or two.

<3

Saritor said...

DotA has big problems, across all incarnations of the game. I have played Heroes of Newerth beta, I have played DotA via Warcraft 3, and I have heard many stories about LoL (which apparently pales in comparison to HoN's refinement).

The problem? Well first of all the game is not noobie friendly at all. If it is your first time ever playing the game, expect unprecedented amount of ridicule for being terribad. This is, if possible, even worse than achievement requirements for pug raids in WoW. The second fault, which is really just compounded from the first is that the learning curve is a little steep. Basic concepts of the game are fairly easy to master, but learning every single hero combo and skill breakdown is quite another thing, most pros sadly know all of this information. Side note: the learning curve wouldn't be quite so bad if there was a friendlier playing environment.

Lastly, the game is just not fun at all unless you can play with a group of friends. Going out into the world of public games is like asking to be run over by a car. Again, I attribute this to the lack of friendly players. Normally in a beta you expect people to be eager to help you play and get the game mastered, this is not the case.

Sorry to DotA rage in your comments, but this is sadly an experience I have had across the board with the game, and frankly it just doesn't make it worth playing. >_<

Kyir said...

Well, I'm already getting weird bugs without starting the game. This is fun.

Jong said...

You cover lots of games. Maybe I'll sign up for lol and we can play together. I play dota; I wonder how similar it is to dota.

Kyir said...

Just finished the download despite a few bugs.

Impressions inc.

ricard420 said...

downloading now, Thanks Ixo


guess my days of sitting in the shadows on your blog are over

Zupa said...

I have been playing the HoN beta for a while now, and it really is everything that DotA needed to be, but wasn't.

It's bloody awesome for anyone who likes DotA.

I would be very interested in how LoL stacks up against HoN... anyone?

Also - the HoN guys make a big show about saying how they are recreating DotA with the blessing of Icefrog, who is the current DotA developer.

Seems a bit strange that the "creators of DotA" are making a revamp, while giving their blessing to savage games to create a direct competitor in the form of HoN...

anyway, anyone want to swap a HoN beta invite for a LoL beta invite?

- Zupa

Rich said...

i wonder if these accounts I granted can grant three themselves?

http://signup.leagueoflegends.com/invitations

...is the URL for sending out any invites you have (if you have them...)

Kyir said...

Well, first game down.

I have to say, I had fun. My name ingame is also Kyir if anyone wants to play.

Hatch said...

I got the Hatch handle, so add me to friends.

I have limited DotA experience, amounting to a few evenings trying it out and getting a hang of the basics. There is a lot of shit in there, and I found it impenetrable, and didn't really enjoy the running in and then out repeatedly back then.

I did have a lot of fun with LoL last night. Played two matches, stayed up way longer than I intended, and had to force myself to go to bed.

@Jong: as far as I can tell, it IS DotA. Streamlined with some nice additions and a more fitting layout.

@Zupa: The HoN website was down yesterday when I tried to check it out, don't know how it compares.

@Ixo: The link tells me I have no invitations available on my account. :(


I will definitely be playing more. I can actually make sense of the item system this time. When I said yesterday that I'm "good at at least one of those" I meant I can charge in just fine, but it's the running away (when it's smart to do so) that I struggle with. This is good practice disciplining myself and trying not to overextend.

I sucked it up in my first game, dying I think 15 times to assassin-type players as the Barbarian (who was very fun and had a nice interaction between his powers, but really only excelled at creep killing). Then I played smarter the second game as Morgana (a dark caster type) and got one whole player kill and only died twice! She had a nice combo of a big aoe for creep killing and field control, along with some very focused player-killing abilities that I failed to leverage to their fullest.

What interests me most is exploring all of the powers and combinations. Each champion is like a mini-game unto itself, learning their powers and how they interact with each other.

Looking forward to playing more. Most likely after 11pm Eastern.

Kyir said...

I played a few more games. The "summoner" leveling up system is a little annoying I have to say. Getting beaten by someone of the same class and lower level just because he's level 30 outside of individual games is rage inspiring.

Rich said...

yeah, it seems kind of lame that you earn unlocks outside of a game.

This ties into Dave Sirlin's focus that multiplayer focused games (especially pvp) should come 'unlocked' out of the box. having to slog around for 50 hours before you can even compete on a level playing field is pretty lame, and just gives 'gear, not skill' whiners merit in their complaints.

meh.

Kyir said...

The upgrades outside the game aren't really game breaking though. I've still gotten a couple kills on what I assume are level 30 summoners.

Ricard420 said...

Never having played DOTA I feel a litle lost here, I played WC3 but not online....couldnt get frozen throne to install, but that's neither here nor there.

So far Ive played a couple games against bots so I dont have to hear how bad I am....fun game though and I can see myself getting into it.....add me as Shilgrod, and thats what im gonna post on as from now on.

Anonymous said...

I'd just like to say that DotA is a complete joke as far as "competitive gaming" is concerned. I mean really, ONE unit?

You can only control ONE unit, and people expect someone to appreciate the flaunting of your 4 abilities like any braindead chimpanzee could?

Counter Strike is competitive. Starcraft / WC3 are competitive.

People who are "good" at DotA are simply people who have played for the 15-20 minutes it takes to hit the 3-inch-high skill ceiling.

Basically the catch-all for stoners and terribad "competitive" scrubs who can't make the cut in real games.

/rant

Rich said...

how many people do you control in counterstrike again? And how many abilities are there? shoot and... grenade?

lol, sorry... just had to throw that out there.

Kyir said...

Don't forget nightvision.

You can't play CS:S right unless you're using nightvision.

Hamburguer said...

Anymore invites or unwanted accounts? Please, send me :( please

Hatch said...

Well, now I'm simultaneously glad I got this key from you and cursing your name (for causing all my free time to get sucked up).

It may not be the game for you, but it's certainly turning out to be a game for me. I've played it entirely too much over the past week. I'll talk more about it on my blog soon....

Unknown said...

I would enjoy one.

hansyjjang@paran.com