You Can Now Play League of Legends On Your Mac

[Steven Bogos]

You Can Now Play League of Legends On Your Mac

The League of Legends Mac client is now in open beta and available for download.

League of Legends for Mac got off to a rocky start. The original Mac client for the popular MOBA entered beta way back in 2010. It hung around for a little over a year, then was abruptly cancelled. Recently, the client re-emerged as a download [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121696-League-of-Legends-Hitting-Mac-Soon] page, which does everything that the PC client does, meaning Mac players will get all future features, bug fixes and new content on the same schedule as PC players.

"We want to thank Mac players for waiting so patiently - and a special thanks to the awesome summoners over at iLoL who helped you play on your native OS while the official client was in development. You rock, iLoLers, and we appreciate all the dedication you've shown to your fellow Mac-enthusiasts," said Riot Games in the announcement, assuring Mac gamers that the Cross-Platform team will continue working diligently to smash any bugs that surface during the open beta.

To celebrate the Mac client, Riot has released a promotional video featuring everyone's favorite giant purple doctor, and a shiny new skin for Blitzcrank: iBlitzcrank [http://na.leagueoflegends.com/news/iblitzcrank-available-now]. The iBlitzcrank skin comes with new sounds and animations, and adheres to the three laws of ro-bot lane:
A robot may not miss a rocket grab, or through inaction, allow a rocket grab opportunity to be missed.
A robot must obey the orders of his summoner, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws or involve using Flash.

A new patch for the game was also released alongside the Mac announcement, which introduces Quinn and Valor [http://na.leagueoflegends.com/news/quinn-and-valor-demacia%E2%80%99s-wings-now-available], the first ever "carry combo" to enter the fields of justice. Quinn and Valor utilize a unique mechanic where the two characters can "tag" in and out of combat at will, effectively being two champions for the price of one.

Riot Games recently claimed that League of Legends is the most played videogame in the world [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120102-Riot-Claims-League-of-Legends-Is-the-Most-Played-Video-Game], with some 32 million players active per month.

Source: League of Legends [http://na.leagueoflegends.com/news/mac-open-beta-here]

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[Triforceformer]

I do find it strange you guys report on almost every big update on TF2 and League of Legends (and this is VERY good IMO, keep doing it), but why not do the same for other big F2P games, like World of Tanks?

Editorial preference and/or those two games are far more "Important" to the community at large than most other F2P games.

 

[Mordekaien]

That's good news, really!
I was looking for a chance to try out LoL, now's the time I guess! (Yes, I own a mac. Don't judge me.)

 

[Waaghpowa]

These guys make so much money, I'm surprised it took them this long. Now we just need a Linux client and everyone will be happy.

Right now I'm playing it through Wine, and it works perfectly fine so long as I don't want to browse the store.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

Aye, just took it for a spin a bit earlier today and I got to say this:

It works.

Then again, it has to be noted that LOL, much like most of anything else, works better on that very same machine when booting into Windows (7). That's just the way it is, methinks.

So, what I took with me today was the certainty that Windows still rocks my boat ('cept 8 /w Metro, that thing stinks) and that an influx of game-hungry Apple cultist makes login broken or delayed. Maybe the latter was not due to technical limitations, but to welcome the Apple folks, they seem to be quite fond of queuing for anything new and shiny.

Then again, in oversimplified terms, moar peeps equals moar money, so that's probably a good thing.

About time. Sort of embarrassing when a group of people were doing this for over a year when Riot said it couldn't be done. Really kinda surprised (and slightly shocked) that they didn't give away the Mac Skin for Blitz free.

The way I understand Riot's way of operating and making sure they remain operational is pretty much textbook business practices - if the ROI is only bound to happen randomly, if at all, you plain don't invest lotsamoney and lotsatime into something. Consider this: If the Apple users all pay for their iWhatever, it might actually cover one week's worth of coffee down at Riot HQ. I don't think it could possibly cover server costs.

 

[NightHawk21]

About time. Sort of embarrassing when a group of people were doing this for over a year when Riot said it couldn't be done. Really kinda surprised (and slightly shocked) that they didn't give away the Mac Skin for Blitz free.

As for the champ, meh looks like another cookie cutter LoL champ.

 

[Erttheking]

Here's the question though. I can play this now...but do I want to? I hear games like this have steep learning curves and horrible communities.

 

[TorchofThanatos]

Here's the question though. I can play this now...but do I want to? I hear games like this have steep learning curves and horrible communities.

I was going to ask the same question. I kinda want to try out this style of game.
I have friends playing who are nice enough to understand that i will be new and suck. if I didn't already have friends playing I don't know if I would try it.

 

[Korten12]

Here's the question though. I can play this now...but do I want to? I hear games like this have steep learning curves and horrible communities.

Here's the question though. I can play this now...but do I want to? I hear games like this have steep learning curves and horrible communities.

I was going to ask the same question. I kinda want to try out this style of game.
I have friends playing who are nice enough to understand that i will be new and suck. if I didn't already have friends playing I don't know if I would try it.

Honestly it's overexaggerated.

True, there is douchebags and assholes that float around the game, but after playing many games with players 1 - 30. It's not very often. Most games are silent and usually just say GG in the end. Sometimes they yell but it's not often and most of the time it's more hilarious than anything.

Surely better than my first DOTA 2 bot game where everyone just quit. :/

 

[TorchofThanatos]

Here's the question though. I can play this now...but do I want to? I hear games like this have steep learning curves and horrible communities.

Here's the question though. I can play this now...but do I want to? I hear games like this have steep learning curves and horrible communities.

I was going to ask the same question. I kinda want to try out this style of game.
I have friends playing who are nice enough to understand that i will be new and suck. if I didn't already have friends playing I don't know if I would try it.

Honestly it's overexaggerated.

True, there is douchebags and assholes that float around the game, but after playing many games with players 1 - 30. It's not very often. Most games are silent and usually just say GG in the end. Sometimes they yell but it's not often and most of the time it's more hilarious than anything.

Surely better than my first DOTA 2 bot game where everyone just quit. :/

True, the people often talk about COD having a terrible community but most game no one talks. I am currently download the game and I am looking forward to playing it. If only I didn't have so much homework this weekend! Also how does the hero selection work? I heard that there are like 10 hero's that everyone can use but they rotate every week and you can buy hero's with in game cash? I am right?

 

[Korten12]

Here's the question though. I can play this now...but do I want to? I hear games like this have steep learning curves and horrible communities.

Here's the question though. I can play this now...but do I want to? I hear games like this have steep learning curves and horrible communities.

I was going to ask the same question. I kinda want to try out this style of game.
I have friends playing who are nice enough to understand that i will be new and suck. if I didn't already have friends playing I don't know if I would try it.

Honestly it's overexaggerated.

True, there is douchebags and assholes that float around the game, but after playing many games with players 1 - 30. It's not very often. Most games are silent and usually just say GG in the end. Sometimes they yell but it's not often and most of the time it's more hilarious than anything.

Surely better than my first DOTA 2 bot game where everyone just quit. :/

True, the people often talk about COD having a terrible community but most game no one talks. I am currently download the game and I am looking forward to playing it. If only I didn't have so much homework this weekend! Also how does the hero selection work? I heard that there are like 10 hero's that everyone can use but they rotate every week and you can buy hero's with in game cash? I am right?

Every week there is 10 free champions you can use and then you lose access to when the next 10 are up. As you play you can use IP (ingame money) or RP (Riots Posts, Real cash) to buy any of the champions.

 

[TorchofThanatos]

Here's the question though. I can play this now...but do I want to? I hear games like this have steep learning curves and horrible communities.

Here's the question though. I can play this now...but do I want to? I hear games like this have steep learning curves and horrible communities.

I was going to ask the same question. I kinda want to try out this style of game.
I have friends playing who are nice enough to understand that i will be new and suck. if I didn't already have friends playing I don't know if I would try it.

Honestly it's overexaggerated.

True, there is douchebags and assholes that float around the game, but after playing many games with players 1 - 30. It's not very often. Most games are silent and usually just say GG in the end. Sometimes they yell but it's not often and most of the time it's more hilarious than anything.

Surely better than my first DOTA 2 bot game where everyone just quit. :/

True, the people often talk about COD having a terrible community but most game no one talks. I am currently download the game and I am looking forward to playing it. If only I didn't have so much homework this weekend! Also how does the hero selection work? I heard that there are like 10 hero's that everyone can use but they rotate every week and you can buy hero's with in game cash? I am right?

Every week there is 10 free champions you can use and then you lose access to when the next 10 are up. As you play you can use IP (ingame money) or RP (Riots Posts, Real cash) to buy any of the champions.

Okay thanks for the info, lets try this game out!

 

[Evil Alpaca]

actually there has been a Mac client for LoL for some time now. I've been playing on a mac without bootcamp or a Windows emulator for over a year now.

The site Boompje.net had a client for mac users developed by fans.

 

[Erttheking]

Well I tried three practice matches against bots. It's official, I suck. It always feels like enemy champions hit harder.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

Well I tried three practice matches against bots. It's official, I suck. It always feels like enemy champions hit harder.

You've got a Dark Souls avatar, so I take it you know about practice-makes-perfect and that knowledge is king.

Google " build" or "lol pro" for starters.

Try out the free heroes of the week

Get a cup of tea or coffee, play the tutorial. It's worth it.

Take your free or bought hero of choice, one that feels right to you, and create your own custom game with all bots and you as the only human player. Take your time. Try to get a grasp on things. Try to understand the story of Sisyphos. Understand LOL as a tool to make you a better human being. Use the zen momentum LOL brings with it. In LOL, freedom exists, but it is rare. In LOL, you are but a cog in the mechanism. You are but a bunch of pixels in the bigger image. At first, you'll spend half an hour or more with people you don't know... over and over again. Eventually, you'll have a stock, a collection of a thousand 'friends' or more, only for the purpose of being able to play the game with people you can rely on. I know of people that got fired because they suck at LOL. I find it hard to reason about these things with someone that does not 'get' LOL. I just think it's important to be able to tell that LOL is all about teamwork, a plan to stick to, and the ability to adapt to whatever comes your way during a match.

I prefer playing LOL to assembling LEGO or doing 1500-piece puzzles. Yes, there are assholes. Assholes are everywhere. The longer you play, the more you will be able to exclude assholes from your own, personal experience. Eventually, you'll grow tired of assholes and poor players on the enemy team. You'll learn to either exploit and gank or ignore them.

If you think the enemies hit harder, look at their gear. When you play a while, you'll have free points with which to buy some more heroes, until you find one that really, really suits you. If you've found a play style that suits you, get various toons that allow you to do your thing even though your personal number one hero has been chosen by somebody else. To spice things up, get a variety of heroes you enjoy. Get some tanks. Get some ranged. A holistic approach to LOL is absolutely recommended.

 

[thesilentman]

Here's the question though. I can play this now...but do I want to? I hear games like this have steep learning curves and horrible communities.

Meh, it's all an overexaggeration. People just don't have the patience anymore to get better it seems and resort to badmouthing others. I've mostly played DOTA 2 (bots by myself) and I've seen some of the competitive games, and it doesn't seem that bad. The occasional idiot is there, but not many to dissuade me from playing the game.

Well I tried three practice matches against bots. It's official, I suck. It always feels like enemy champions hit harder.

At first. Just practice against bots A LOT, and you'll be able to return the favor.

OT- Where's the Linux client? I'm pretty sure I was promised cookies along with it. Oh well, I guess that I'll have to bug Valve to release DOTA 2 for Linux.

Meanwhile, at Valve...

 

[Tanakh]

-snip-

Just to say QFT on most of it and very informative about stuff I didn't knew (like the bot gold progression). I would love you Tenmar if it wasn't for your avatar man, irks me every time I see it.

On other toughts, I am very glad that LoL and DotA are both around because it is very interesting to see how the games and communities evolve in different directions depending on how the company hadles the game, metagame and stuff related (like teams and torunaments). Social experiment of the decade