Before Fortnite and Apex Legends, another game ruled Twitch for six years: League of Legends. It's one of the most played games in the world, with 67 million monthly active players across all servers. League of Legends is a MOBA, the flagship genre of esports.
2007 hours, or 84 days. That’s the minimum total playtime of your faithful servant on League of Legends (pardon mom). But not everyone knows how MOBA works. So, Blacknut Le Mag explains it all.
MOBA is simply an acronym that means Multiplayer Online Battle Arena in English. If you translate it, it means a multiplayer online battle arena.
To keep things simple, there are two teams. You are a member of one of them.
You and your team are sent into an arena. A battlefield split in two.
Your objective is to destroy the enemy team’s Nexus. The Nexus, the main objective, can take different forms depending on the game: a crystal, a boss, or a building. The winning team is the one that destroys the opposing Nexus first.
So you have to breach the enemy base to destroy it, while protecting your own.
Nothing complicated so far, except that reaching this famous Nexus is another story. It sits deep inside the enemy base, itself protected by turrets that shoot at you without warning as soon as you enter their line of sight.
The MOBA genre is a derivative of strategy games.
To play a MOBA match, you first choose a character, among which you’ll find a mix of archers, mages and many more, all set in a very fantasy universe.
Understanding a MOBA can be a real headache; there are many technical terms, often in English.
It’s the start of the match, also called the early game. That’s where all the foundations of your game are laid. This phase often signals how the game will unfold. If all goes well, you’ll likely win; if things go badly, the game looks tougher. During this phase you’ll primarily farm.
Not sure what the term “farm” means? Here’s a quick explanation:
“The Farm”
Beyond the 10 characters controlled by real players, creeps (we call them minions in French) come to support you in your fierce battle for victory. These foes aren’t very strong, but they do their best. They exist to be killed because they’re worth money, and you’ll need that money.
“The Items”
That’s your equipment, one of the MOBA’s most important aspects. After mowing down a large number of creeps, you’ll need to buy items to make your character stronger. Do your research before buying items; the slightest mistake could be fatal and your teammates will not hesitate to point it out.
“A Teamfight”
A team battle, plain and simple. The teamfight is a (nearly) orderly clash. Throughout the match, both teams will cross paths many times, they observe each other, size each other up, then suddenly one lineup flings the first attack and the fight begins. It’s a lot like two packs of wolves fighting over prey; there aren’t many possible outcomes: victory or death (fleeing with tails between legs is also possible). It’s clearly the teamfights that give MOBA its real flavor.
“GGWP”
Literally “good game, well played,” or “nice game, well played” in the language. That’s what you say at the end of a match, whether you won or lost! It’s the sporting handshake equivalent.
There are still plenty of technical terms for MOBAs, but we won’t go into detail here; you already have the basics. It’s best to turn to someone who already plays in your circle, no doubt they’ll be happy to explain everything to you in detail.
To finish: MOBA’s biggest weakness is its elitist side.
Theory isn’t enough; you’ll need a lot of playtime to be really good!
“MOBA is two teams in an arena that go at it,”
as the philosopher would say!