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Queuing up with far-away friends

RiotJackll·3/31/2015, 6:25:07 PM·24 votes·23,310 views

A lot of people have found new friendships through League of Legends, but one of the most important things it’s done for me is renew an old friendship.

I work at Riot’s Santa Monica office these days, but I grew up and went to school on the East Coast. After graduating from college, I moved out west to try and find a job doing something I cared about. I left all my friends and family behind and started fresh in a new city, and it was definitely a super scary experience.

I had a League account from back in the day, but I had never gotten hooked until I started interviewing at Riot. Once I started playing regularly, I began to notice that some of the people I knew back on the East Coast were also big League players, including my roommate from freshman year in college. He lives in South Carolina, but we started playing together online, and he showed me the ropes.

Soon we were playing together several times a week; we started playing other games together too, developing a fierce DiveKick and Nidhogg rivalry. We had always been friendly, but now we were spending a ton of time talking to each other, even about non-League stuff. We probably spend about as much time on voice chat with each playing games or chatting as any of my other friends who actually live nearby. Sometimes we’re duoing in ranked, sometimes we’re playing Twisted Treeline, sometimes we’re not even actually playing and just watching LCS together. He’s become one of my absolute best friends over the past couple years, and it’s been primarily because of League. In fact, I’ll be attending his wedding this summer, which will be the first time we’ve actually seen each other in 6 years! But that doesn’t even matter, because despite the distance, we’re closer than ever.

So what about you? Is there anyone that League helps you keep in touch with? Any friendships that have really taken off? Share your stories below, I can’t wait to read them!

92 Comments

Rueian3/31/2015, 7:27:58 PM10 votes

Due to growing personal issues I have a hard time finding new and keeping old friends. I used to play with people far away, but between my antisocial tendencies and my trouble with rage, I don't find myself in queue other than solo.

RiotRiot Silog3/31/2015, 7:22:27 PM7 votes

Shoutouts to my boy Andres! I see him a few times a year for fighting game tournaments but he's all the way out in Florida, so we stay in touch with League. He always clicks my lantern <3

Mr Godyr3/31/2015, 6:56:10 PM6 votes

[deleted]

Scrimshäw3/31/2015, 7:25:17 PM5 votes

no friends

FishDagaii3/31/2015, 11:36:02 PM5 votes

I currently live at Pleasanton California but I was born and raised in Israel and mived here only last summer. Now except for having trouble at school and hard time finding new friends, I also had trouble keeping in touch with my friends from Israel due to the 10 hour difference. Even the weekends are different! (In Israel weekend is Fri-Sat) But even though the weekends are different, I stay up late every weekend just to play some LoL with my friends. We play until I'm really tired, cracking jokes and having fun. The only real problem is the ping...

AlexWC3/31/2015, 9:15:11 PM4 votes

TL,DR: League helped me overcome a dark time in my life and led to many amazing friendships and adventures spanning both coasts. I made new friends and reconnected with some high school buddies after driving across the country for a class at UCLA that I could've taken ten minutes from my home in Maryland.

...Huge wall of text incoming...

I started playing League in April 2012 during a dark time in my life (i.e. taking a break from college due to burn-out, and not having much of a social life) and was instantly hooked. I hit level 30 in only 3.5 weeks (without XP boosts) and a few months later I started duo-queuing with a Katarina main in ranked, and we really bonded over time. When I returned to college in the Midwest, I met other students who played League and suddenly I had a lot of people to talk to, not just about League, but about anything! Over the next year and a half, I started a League of Legends and eSports Club at my college, captained the campus team in Collegiate tournaments, and taught classes on the game (for college credit). Anyway, in 2014 I had the opportunity to take a summer class at UCLA, despite the same class being offered at the University of Maryland some ten minutes from my parents' house, where I had grown up. I wanted to experience and contribute to League of Legends culture, and I also wanted to meet the Katarina main and his brother, who live in the San Fernando Valley.

My time in Los Angeles was nothing short of amazing. I went to the LCS with the two brothers, got a tour of Riot HQ, met Rioters at Viewing Parties (and boba tea shops!), instantly connected with UCLA's League of Legends club, but the most rewarding part for me was volunteering. I taught League of Legends at the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Monica, helped set-up and run a SoCal eSports Viewing Party for the Season 4 World Championships Grand Finals, and achieved the rank of "Super Minion Volunteer" for Summoners Con 2014. Amazingly at Summoners Con, I ran into a high school friend of mine who I had no idea played League. Keep in mind, the last time we had seen each other was some 4.5 years ago at our high school graduation 2,600 miles away in Maryland.

Similarly, I went to IEM San Jose in December and ran into three high school friends who (again) I had no idea played League and who I hadn't seen/heard from in 4.5 years some 2,600 miles away.

After all that, I had to return to college in Ohio, where I'm set to finish my undergrad degree in May. It's safe to say that League has had an extraordinary impact on my life, in no small part to the relationships I've cultivated and reconnected through playing the game. Riot's essential focus on the player experience has also drawn me into the throngs of people who one day wish to call themselves a "Rioter," and I will return to Los Angeles until I make that dream a reality. As for the two brothers, even though they don't play as much League anymore as they used to, we still stay in touch. I visited them last week while on Spring Break before the Katarina main shipped out for boot camp with the US Army.

TSM Sky3/31/2015, 8:58:14 PM4 votes

Definitely. I have a skype group of around 19 people who I've kept in touch with over the years, all brought together by League of Legends

arcinex3/31/2015, 6:31:53 PM3 votes

Touching

Claire3/31/2015, 8:44:14 PM3 votes

My best friend of 8 years is now in London studying fashion and one day she messaged me asking if I could teach her how to play League of Legends. I was surprised because she has never played videogames before but I was excited to teach her about the game.

Now we play whenever we have time to (I'm still slowly teaching her the game and building up her confidence to play against other players instead of bots). She went 3/1/4 as Garen the other day and I couldn't be anymore proud! We bond even more now by playing League and watching streams together so I can explain the game to her better. She's loving this game and also at the same time, she's thinking of making pretty fanart and I'm excited to see what she comes up with!

Edit: Also I'd like to point out that I'm from Malaysia but playing in the NA server; I have been playing for two years now and I have met alot of people and made tons of friends (mostly from the US), so technically I'm queueing up with far-away friends every time I play ^^"

Beerstein3/31/2015, 9:04:47 PM3 votes

I started playing Blitzcrank when I met a Jinx. No one escapes our love.

R2D203/31/2015, 8:30:00 PM2 votes

I have a friend from the east coast that still plays (I moved out west) but he is fed up playing until the packet loss issue get resolved item 3070 reunite friends!?Amumu

Kaltvene3/31/2015, 8:47:58 PM2 votes

There was another friend in that group that never got to play until recently. He never owned a computer before (super duper shitty homelife), so when we all played WoW he was left out. The only time he could play with us was whenever we played 360, and that was only because one of us upgraded and handed down our old console. Me and another friend pitched in to buy him a brand new laptop so that he can finally enjoy League with us. He's loving it!

Merxamers3/31/2015, 8:23:17 PM2 votes

I moved across states for a job in September; one of the few ways i can hang with my brother is by playing League of Legends (or, recently, a bit of DOTA 2). We aren't very good, but it's fun anyways :)

Stoned Wookiee3/31/2015, 9:00:36 PM2 votes

Me and all my friends play League but a lot of us live very far apart, all in the UK but still quite far apart. We have a Skype call with us all in that we jump into then play League all night, it's really great being able to talk to everyone and have fun together even though we only get to see each other for 3-6 days a year (conventions - some of us are LoL cosplayers too!).

We started playing League of Legends together because we're all gamers, but we have different platforms we play other games on and League is the least demanding game that we can all play for free (hah, we've spent so much money on sending each other gifts). They're my best friends and have helped me discover a passion for a game that is only rivaled by a select few others. I'm extremely lucky to know them, I may not see them in person often but when I do it's all the more special.

Dangerous Man3/31/2015, 8:00:24 PM2 votes

I have a friend that I met for 1 week at a camp and found out he likes League, we got together and we play a lot he's a closer friend then some people in my class, It's my grade 8 year and I have a lot of close friends from when I was in grade 1-8 (That are still here) and I met him and he's about equal to my friends in that short time.

Polah Burr3/31/2015, 11:55:54 PM2 votes

It's neat to read so many warm feels from the community! I don't have super inspiring stories, but my boyfriend recently moved to Illinois while I still live in Baltimore. We play League a lot together and it means a lot to have an activity that we can enjoy together while being so far apart. It's been great to collectively work at something: it makes it feel like we aren't as far apart.

I've also gotten to know a bunch of his friends in Illinois over Skype while playing, which is awesome! We're hoping to form Team Scrub Pro at some point and really start yelling at each other over the internet. His friends are cool guys and I've even gotten to play some other games with his friends when my dude isn't online.

We do other things to keep in touch, but it's a lot of fun to win and lose on the Rift together (okay, maybe we tend to play on the Howling Abyss) even if we aren't in the same city.

RiotDestravus4/1/2015, 12:10:20 AM2 votes

League has helped me get in touch with a lot of old friends I had previous lost touch with. I had a few friends that I hadn't really been talking to because separate life paths and all, but thanks to Facebook posts we were able to notice that we were all playing League, so we got back into playing together and were able to reconnect over Skype while doing Team builders. It was sort of like League was a catalyst for getting back in touch with one another - a common interest that brought us back together.

Tauxy4/1/2015, 12:12:06 AM2 votes

My Significant other Lives in America, meanwhile I live in Australia.

We met via Games and even after I have visited them, the main way we keep in touch and have fun is via League. It's very fun and it really helps strengthen out bond as both a team and a couple! xD

I'm very grateful that we can do this.

RiotRiot Neon4/1/2015, 12:56:19 AM2 votes

I've got a friend on the East Coast (I'm in LA), and League is pretty much the way we keep in touch. Being able to catch up on Skype while we queue up for a game is pretty great. I'm sure if we didn't have League to bond over we wouldn't chat as much.

RasCaelestis4/1/2015, 1:05:32 AM2 votes

I played League with a few friends at college, then when we all moved back to our respective states, we stayed in touch through League (and other means, but mostly online games). One day, one of them invited his brother to play with our group, and we all had a lot of fun. Now we all play together regularly, and have a lot of inside jokes and weird stories. He's a really funny and nice guy that I don't think I'd have met without League of Legends.

MrRado4/1/2015, 2:21:26 PM2 votes

My crew, once nearly all growing up together, now reside from East Coast (WV/TN/MD/NC) to Midwest (CO), to Canada (whatarecanadaplacescalled?) to France, and we still get together almost every Thursday to play some form of gaming which most recently has always been League (and our recent discovery/love of ULTIMATE BRAVERY).

There are a few of these guys that we met ONLINE and have developed pretty strong family bonds with as well, including guild camping trips etc as part of our minimum 1 per-year guild get-together.

So yeah, gaming. Saved my life and gave me a family.

x Animus x 3/31/2015, 8:22:38 PM2 votes

I played another game a Turn based TCG chess like game called Poxnora. I had a friend on there who introduced me to League. I signed up. After figuring out that I was on EU instead of NA ( Being EU born got a little confused to begin with. ) Then he introduced me to people he played with. This was back in mid season one. and I'm still playing with most of them to this day. Nearly four seasons later some of the faces have changed but I still play with the same main core of people. Most from Cali but one from Mich. It's always fun to be friends with someone so far away. Even if you can't physically be there for the big events.

Suicidal Zed3/31/2015, 10:11:34 PM2 votes

No friends QQ Amumu

AbIntro4/1/2015, 7:29:46 PM1 votes

I have a lot of people on my friends list that have met and are dating from league. My friend Bryan is actually moving in with his girlfriend that he met on league 5 months ago:D league can definitely bring people together in fantastic ways.

Dilitra4/1/2015, 4:59:42 PM1 votes

I'm from SC originally. I met my boyfriend on an MMO and turns out we both played League and in fact the same character...Katarina. So I switched to playing support then he eventually got into maining Vayne. He lived in MD so I saw him a few times a year, but playing League with him and his friends helped me get to know his friends and spend time doing something together even though we were so far apart.

I now live in Maryland with him and ....he quit playing League :( lol but I have friends from other games that play League from across the US and even in Europe and we all play together!

My co-worker and I ended up talking about League and it brought us to be close friends. He is now transferring out to AZ and it will probably we our way of still hanging out!

Sex God Jerry3/31/2015, 8:27:45 PM1 votes

I have a best friend who I met in high school that lived less than a mile from me. From high school til years after graduation we'd play Gears of War 2 or other couch co-op together. It became nearly ritualistic after a while. Things happened and eventually he had to move to Hawaii from our home in Texas, living with his wife who serves on an Army base there. He's a stubborn guy who doesn't like to try new things, but after suggesting LoL as a game for us to play together despite the distance he learned to grow attached to it. Now he feeds mid lane and mains support to hide his poor CSing skills.

Shazleyn4/1/2015, 10:24:09 AM1 votes

I was an exchange student for half a year in Korea, had a team with Koreans, Germans, Chinese, American and I'm French, league keeps us connected when we all play. Plus I made new friends playing on my own :3

Dilitra4/1/2015, 5:02:13 PM1 votes

I don't think my post loaded.....it's too much to retype....

To summarize

I met my boyfriend on an MMO and we both played League..we both played Kat so I switched to Leona and he ended up playing Vayne so we'd lane together a lot. Since I moved in with him though, he quit playing League.

I have friends from other MMOs I play with around the US and Europe.

My co-worker found out I played and we became buddies. He is transferring to AZ this year so it will be our way of staying close probably.

BamaNeC4/1/2015, 3:04:21 PM1 votes

I met 2 guys who were college room mates and best friends in college. After running into each other in league through different game types we decided to add one another on our friends list. We then started to all group up and play normal Rift matches for hours and hours on in. Now about 3 years later we are still extremely close, we became close Facebook friends, and text one another at least once a week. My family even know who they are and comment on their life stories that they post on Facebook. We have not been able to meet up yet, as they were finishing college and I had recently moved from my home town. But yes, one of the greatest friendships can be formed by playing Online games. You have more social (not in person) interaction that what you do if you were to live close to them. I played another game online for years (wont mention the game here) but I had friends spread across the globe, and we would talk every single day. You know more about their lives then some of their close in real life friends, simply because you are with them 8hrs plus a day. I has been a magnificent journey through the internet gaming world, and I hope it will continuo. Maokai like a Tree, just keep on living.

KomePrePongo4/1/2015, 3:59:08 PM1 votes

This is the reason I returned to LoL after 2 years of Dota2. Me and my girlfriend study in deffirent countries. Every evening we spend on skype, almost every day playing league together. If not for lol, we would chat significally less, as even with the closest to your heart person, at one point of the time you will be just tired of constanty talking and chatting. I can't imagine a better way to spend time together while being in a long-distance relationship, than playing an online game together. And of course, this is so sweet to gift each other with skins on a small holidays or just to bring smile on face of your beloved.