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All Bots, All the Time

Cyrex Wingblade·2/18/2015, 8:59:47 PM·52 votes·4,366 views

I've played semi-regularly for several months now. I enjoy various champions, despite the fact that I generally just... don't like PVP gameplay. Game doesn't matter. I just don't like PVP. Sure, say it's because I suck (I do!), but honestly, it's just not fun.

Yeah, I've only played like... 4 PVP matches. Every one was a "Oh dear lord, why did I do this!?" the entire time, but there's a tacit pressure from 'LoL is a PVP game, nub'.

However!

I have a ton of fun just nubbing it up in Beginner Bots. Yes. I achieved level 30, and have earned the points to purchase over 20 champions, JUST from beginner bots.

Why?

It's flexible.

There is no Meta in beginner bots.

Riven jungle? SURE!

Ashe top? SURE!

Jinx... everything? Of course, she's Jinx.

You can do all kinds of silly stuff, goof around, and if necessary, carry the game for the other four players who aren't actually paying attention.

So! Thank you for including beginner bots! It is literally all I play, and I love it. Enjoy your LCS, your big plays, and your PVP ELO freakouts, I'm happy in my corner with my bots.

continues playing

64 Comments

Neamean2/18/2015, 9:12:22 PM39 votes

its time to level up get that intermediate bots

Urdnot Entar2/19/2015, 12:15:22 AM11 votes

Realistically, this is a good call. Taking League of Legends seriously in its current state (playing PvP, playing ranked, ugh) is a terrible idea, so it's good to hear you're having fun with the bots.

WhereTheNamesAt2/18/2015, 10:46:45 PM9 votes

I see no point to this thread…

AuraMax2/18/2015, 9:18:28 PM8 votes

I enjoyed bots too, but once you play all the champions or try out the off-meta builds you wanted to, it can get kinda boring.

If you ever get bored of bots and are still not into PVP, you can try out Hide and Seek custom games in LoL, they can be really fun if people follow the rules :) http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/custom-league-of-legends-hide-and-seek-345522

HeraldOne2/18/2015, 9:31:18 PM8 votes

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Kitten of Evil2/18/2015, 10:08:05 PM7 votes

But what about DOOM BOTS!

stuartk112/18/2015, 11:30:40 PM7 votes

Didn't know there were many others out there who did this. I'm sure I'm going to get some hate for doing the same thing. What ever. Anyone that complains over something that doesn't effect them in any way are quite immature.

Auryiel2/19/2015, 1:58:52 AM6 votes

Dude, I've been playing this game for... wow has been 4 years already?

I pretty much only play bot games. I'm almost at 1.3k games

Don't let anyone tell you you're a noob cuz of that

Last 2 seasons I really wanted the free skin and I got gold in less than 60 games

As far as I know, that's more than most people can say

Bots are just more enjoyable cuz you can all kinds of crazy stupid shit and you know you'll get away with it

M0b1us2/18/2015, 9:34:25 PM3 votes

It is fine to play co-op vs AI, but it doesn't really help you in future PVP matches. I started back in early S1 and bot games didn't really exist back then. So to level up, I was forced to play against other players. Now here is the key take away. Bots are merely programs. They are easy to exploit and require very little effort or skill to beat because they are predictable. Now human players are a completely different story. They have different play styles, they have different experiences with different champions, they are capable of making creative plays that you would never think of, they are different from one another. This huge difference between human players forces you to rise up and learn ways to beat different kinds of players. That eventually grows into learning how to read your opponent and figuring out what they are trying to do and how to counter them.

Bots simply are not something that enhances your skill by anything notable. I have played for a long time and have watched a good number of friends rise through the levels. My advice to them was to only do bot games when trying out a brand new champion for the first time since their mechanics were still developing. Some listened, some didn't. The people who had sub 50 wins in PVP and hit 30 with mostly co-op simply are no where near as good as the others who didn't play it that often.

Honestly I think co-op vs AI is a crutch and is more harm than good at the moment. It teaches you almost nothing except how to abuse the AI. A number of my colleagues and I agree that co-op vs AI and ARAM should stop giving you experience past level 15 or that you are required to play at least some number of normal games (150-ish) before going into ranked.

porkbeard2/19/2015, 12:59:34 AM2 votes

never ever leaving beginner bots. Unless they make an even more chill game mode

Celeste Benal2/18/2015, 10:08:15 PM2 votes

I do intermediate bots to learn a new champ. Then I swap to normals for itemization and concept testing. Bots are just too easy.

X Frady2/19/2015, 1:11:57 AM2 votes

You can go to intermediate bots without problems. Rito really made them dumb for no reason at all, and you gain more IP. Pre-S3 bots were far more difficult and they even ganked if you were not aware.

Tyvani2/19/2015, 1:48:58 AM2 votes

I know I usually play beginner bot games, too. It's such a nice, carefree time, especially with a full group of friends. I sometimes wanna step into PVP, myself, but find myself a bit intimidated as I'm still not too confident in my prowess with most aspects of the game. Besides that, though, I'm so happy that they included bot matches into the game as I might not've even started playing if it weren't for them. {: )

Borbland2/19/2015, 6:02:08 PM2 votes

Early it's fun, I played alot of bots despite having higher level friends wanting me to play with them in PvP.

But after a time, they get too easy and it starts getting boring.

Shield Villain2/20/2015, 12:22:29 AM2 votes

Honestly, I do believe Bots to be the funnest mode in terms of the flexibility, but it's not very competitive or difficult if we're to be honest. When I first began I only played with bots, because I didn't want to have to deal with other people. It was fun, and I learned a lot. But as I hit level 30 I wanted to improve from what I had learned. So obviously I went pvp.

Now at 200+ victories I've gotten spectacularly better. I can recognize my mistakes, learned how to prioritize my items, build for specific occasions; even managed to finally get a penta.

I still go back to bots here and there, but now that I'm more experienced I see that the bots really suck. Even on intermediate difficulty it's not too difficult to get a penta on them. They have no understanding of objectives or jungling, so if you jungle it's a free game for you. They also don't ward so you can always get a gank. And on top of that, they don't know how to build correctly most of the time. I've seen a Darius top build AD tank when the team was full ap. So bots don't really prepare you for any challenges, nor are they too difficult to beat.

Most of the time if you get them low they turn tail and run. In a real match, they might stay and continue harass or wait for a gank to level things out. There's a lot more strategy you have to anticipate. And if you're unlucky enough to be even the whole game, you have to observe their play style and adapt. Something bots don't do. They always have the same play style, no matter what. They're aggressive, ignore farm, and always go in for the harass over a creep ks. Later game if you're fed, they'll run away from you if they're solo. So it's really easy to understand and predict them.

It would be nice if they beefed up the bots AI a little to increase the realism of a pvp game. But other than that, it can be enjoyable, just not challenging.

Hyrum Graff2/19/2015, 2:16:38 AM2 votes

Heyoo, just saying, you can do this stuff in PvP, too.

I do ashe top and jinx supp; a friend of mine plays riven jg on occasion.

I do agree, though, that it's harder to find other people who enjoy playing off-meta -- but when you do, it's a blast as well!

Drakzul2/19/2015, 3:44:08 AM2 votes

How do you not get bored?... It's pretty much the exact same game everytime. The bots only do so many different things, also wouldn't you just always win and decimate the bots? Doesn't sound like much fun... I mean sometimes ranked feels repetitive with the same "Meta" champs every game, but at least the players play different... Anyways whatever floats your boat. GG :)

OneMoreDaySK2/19/2015, 1:30:31 PM2 votes

Attempts to play in Normals *
Teammate dodges in rage when I refuse to pick Sona 2.0 *
Plays in bots * "OMG Sona OP" "Sona, ur supposed to be support" ~ 30/0/12 on a good match.

Hupsis2/19/2015, 2:31:45 PM2 votes

I wish Riot developed bots further. More champions, add jungling (disable/enable option), bots using all kinds of trinkets, give them rune bonuses etc.

I play at least one bot game a day to get the first win of the day easily. Nothing is more annyoing than going to normal games in the middle of flamers and you can't get the first win of the day until your 4th attempt.

Vahlen2/19/2015, 12:24:51 AM1 votes

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Mr Jimir2/21/2015, 12:27:49 AM1 votes

I gave PVP a shot in Summoners rift a few times. It was generally unpleasant. I stick with ARAM and Intermediate bots. Also, with the lag spikes that I get (ping was constantly jumping to above 2000 last night, and it was not my internet causing it), I'd imagine it would be even worse compared to the more relaxed style of ARAM and Bots. Also, most of my friends,either because of their own internet issues, or having the same mindset as me, also stick with Bots and ARAM. Granted, when a new playmode comes out (URF, All for One, All for One and One for All, Hexakill), I do not mind PVP, but again, it feels more relaxed.