League of Legends Beginner's Guide: Lanes, Roles, Gold and Your First Games

League of Legends 🎮 Game page →

1. Play the tutorial and bot games The tutorials cover basic controls and map logic. Then try a few champions in Co-op vs. AI before facing real players; it cuts down on discouraging early losses.
2. Choose a control scheme The classic scheme uses right click to move. According to the community wiki, patch V25.24 added WASD movement, which moves basic attacks to left click, Q to right click and W to Left Shift. Try both and stick with what feels right.
3. Focus on a few champions Instead of a new champion every game, learn one or two champions and a single position. Knowing your abilities, ranges and cooldowns makes everything else easier to understand.
4. Learn last-hitting The player who lands the killing blow on a minion gets the gold. Learning to last-hit before trading with opponents gets your items online sooner.
5. Start with recommended items The shop lists recommended items for your champion. You don't need to memorise the item system; follow recommendations and learn why over time.
6. Play near your turret Riot says turrets damage enemies and grant vision. Staying near your own turret early makes you much harder to take down.
7. Use the Practice Tool In the Practice Tool you can add gold, level up, refresh cooldowns and spawn target dummies; the community wiki lists its hotkeys. Practise a new champion's combos there.
8. Time your recalls When low on health or with enough gold, press B to return to base, shop and come back. Recall takes a few seconds and is interrupted by damage, so start it somewhere safe.

• Make checking the minimap a habitAn enemy jungler or roamer shows up on the minimap before they reach you. Glancing at it every few seconds is the habit new players most often neglect.
• Place wardsPut the ward from your trinket slot (4) in brushes beside lanes and at jungle entrances. Enemies coming from unseen areas are the most common cause of death.
• Don't waste summoner spellsSpells like Flash have long cooldowns. Save them for escapes or decisive plays; when you notice an enemy used theirs, you have the advantage.
• Take objectives as a teamRiot says Baron Nashor is the jungle's strongest monster, granting power and empowered minions, while drakes give various team buffs. Go for them together, not alone.
• Think turrets, not killsThe Nexus decides the game, not eliminations. Turn advantages into turrets, inhibitors and big objectives.
• Use pingsPress G for an alert ping, or Alt/Ctrl with left click for quick pings. It's the fastest way to warn your team without voice.
• Know your skill orderOn level up, press Ctrl with Q, W, E or R to upgrade an ability. Ultimates usually unlock upgrades at set levels; follow champion recommendations for priority.
• Try camera lockUnlocked camera gives more vision long term, but locked camera (Y) may be more comfortable for beginners. Space snaps back to your champion any time.
• Mute negative chatIn-game chat can be discouraging. Muting it or reporting bad behaviour helps you stay focused.
• Read patch notesRiot adjusts champion and item balance with regular patches. Patch notes tell you if your favourite champion changed.

• Trying a different champion and position every game: the fundamentals never settle.
• Ignoring last-hitting: you fall behind in gold and items come late.
• Pushing too far without checking the minimap: unseen enemies catch you easily.
• Not warding: enemies from the jungle catch you off guard.
• Starting Baron or a drake alone: without the team you lose both objective and lives.
• Chasing kills and forgetting turrets: the Nexus decides the game, not the scoreboard.

This guide was written for version: Guide written for the current patch as of September 2026; keys are click-to-move defaults and can be changed under Hotkeys in settings.

League of Legends 🎮 Game page →

All game guides →