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Why Upper Players Play Bots?

Illydth·5/13/2015, 7:01:46 AM·3 votes·4,039 views

First, let me start this off with: I am a new(ish) player to League (not to mention probably a bit older than your average League player), so I expect I don't have all the information many of you do on this. And I apologize in advance if this topic has already been done to death on these boards.

For the ~month or so that I've been playing the game, I've been playing in BOT games, being the type of person who's not willing to saddle an "experienced" team with my bad gameplay till I feel I can at least hold my own.

Having progressed up from Intro to Basic and now Intermediate, I am a bit confused. I'm seeing a significant number of OBVIOUSLY VERY experienced players in BOT games. While most of the experiences I've had have been neutral to positive, I've had at least a few significantly negative experiences with teammates (and almost always the overly experienced ones) in a couple of these BOT games. Yea, I know, this is the internet, and I'm not new to it...people acting like horses rears are real...especially in esports games. I'm neither surprised nor distraught.

But I don't get it. Why would an obviously upper level experienced player play a BOT game? What does a player who's progressed into PvP and able to get 15 - 30 kills in an intermediate BOT game gain from playing BOTs? I see BOTs as a place to learn the game and a place to test things out...what is the draw for a level 30 competitive player to even be IN a BOT game?

I can tell you as a new player trying to learn the game I groan every time I see an upper level player in my BOT Team. The games go too fast, there is never any real danger, you get KS'd left, right and sideways, and at the end of the 20+ minutes it's been a complete waste of my time...I never learned anything because I never really had the opportunity to play the game...the Uber player with the 30+ kills on the team could pretty much have soloed it.

There's got to be a reason for high level players to waste their time in bots...why?

--Illydth

15 Comments

DoctorSpaceDog5/13/2015, 3:32:32 PM2 votes

I imagine you yelling the word "BOT" when I hear your voice in my head. Unrelated.

Sarutobi5/13/2015, 7:11:20 AM1 votes

People play bots for various reasons. one usually plays it because they are new to the game, and want to learn the very basic information there is to know about the game. Then there are people who enjoys the game but not the community. These types of people will stick to Bots, and maybe play a couple ARAM or other non-serious game modes. Ive seen this from time to time and to be fair they have every right to do so. This is a very fun game, and sadly people despite the game modes will take it very seriously and some people just dont want that! They want to play there own champions that they like without the need to be harassed from other either for playing said character, or for their own play style/items/etc. Some people just dont like the communication this game needs in order to play and just want to play on their own merits!

All in all it isnt too farfecthed to see people who only play bots. People dont like the community but loves the game and really there is nothing that can change their minds about that. they just want that sense of ease, play what they want without being ridicule to oblivion!

GetToTheLantern5/13/2015, 8:03:18 AM1 votes

I play bot games for many different reasons one I suffer from high ping but I still love this game to death so I still get to play and not worry about feeding a bot when they suck and are so easy to predict by now I also do it to practice champion mechanics like putting them on auto cast which is something you should practice I also only play bots and ARAM because pvp is way to serious and when you start falling behind in lane your team flames you to death until you just don't wanna play no more I also play bots to practice farming under the pressures of having a lane opponent plus playing the champs on free week broadens your champion experience pool for ARAM like if someone has a champion they never played berore ( happens allot) you can step in and use that champion so don't knock bots out cause it's easy it's a learning curve for any level player even for the best of the best. Good luck can't wait to see you around the rift =)

AdgharKH5/13/2015, 8:33:20 AM1 votes

I usually do it for the FWotD bonus or to test new champions or to dick around and have fun.

Ding ding ding! This is probably the main answer. For an experienced player, it's very rare to actually lose an AI game (I've carried a 3v5 with two new-ish players before), so there's a guaranteed win. What does this mean? -play without the stress of losing -get First Win of the Day IP bonus as fast as possible -experiment with radically new builds or complex new champions for the first time - without ruining the game experience for 9 other people

Personally, when I play AI, I try to give kills to allies whenever appropriate. It's actually a little bit tricky to give kills, because there's a fine line between giving a kill to an ally and letting the enemy escape, which is why in real PvP games I say "KS stands for Kill Secured," but whenever possible, I like to practice giving kills, especially since I kind of main support.

EDIT: Some people also like to practice last-hitting (CS) in AI. The principle is to build a basic skill on its own before adding in various other distractions.

Vycky5/13/2015, 12:36:39 PM1 votes

You'd be surprised at some of the skill variation in this game. There are players out there that can completely dominate in bot games but falter when they play against other human players. I was one of those players when I first started.

Myself, at the end of a few games of League if I've gone on a losing streak, I like to finish the night with some bot games.

Leeroy Jenkenz5/13/2015, 12:45:10 PM1 votes

Quite a few are there for the same reasons as you, practice. For every upper level dominating your bot game there will be someone who doesn't know how to play feeding them as well. Personally, I love an intermediate where all lanes are fed but mine. So much fun : ).

T RexHasTinyArms5/13/2015, 2:16:04 PM1 votes

A couple people mentioned it already, but generally first win of the day or trying a new champ. I'll play a bots game before I take a new champ into ranked bc I want to make sure I know what the skills do.

I try to stay in beginner bots for fwotd since I can end that in 15-16 minutes so it is faster and bots are about saving time per ip. However sometimes I get bored or want to play a game but need to be for sure done in under 30 min for some reason and will play intermediate. For some reason I thought the game started pairing with level 30 accounts when you had a bunch of bots wins and were high level. Guess I'm wrong. My bad.

Aerothal5/13/2015, 2:38:46 PM1 votes

bless your heart! Sometimes lvl 30's play bot to relax. but i HATE HATE HATE tryhards in bots. i play bots to learn new champs. when i do that i dont want to end the game fast, i dont look for KDA and i dont want people to come to my lane. Tryhards always ruin that because they want their 50 bot kills, come to your lane, push when you dont want them to...etc...

I wanna give you some advice. make liberal use of the mute button. dont chat with unfriendlies ever. there is nothing to gain.

use bots to

Learn your champs
Learn to cs
Learn creep wave control

VERY IMPORTANT INFO: Even though it kind of applies in bots (and bots only) please immediately and forever dismiss the concept of "KS". Its better to just not think about it as a steal. Dont look at the gold. Always see an enemies death as a means to achieving either unharassed cs, or as the opportunity to get an objective (drag/turret) If you dismiss kills as the means to get gold and learn that CS is the only viable income (kills/assists are a nice substitute) you save yourself much headache and snub the development of anger. It's unfortunate if someone lasthits the enemy you just got down to 50 health, but look ahead at what that death means for the outcome of the game. The main objective is to destroy the nexus, not to have a great KDA.

cheers

oh and if you want to add a challenge to your botgames, focus on two things: try to have the most cs of all players. actively try to not die (that means no "its just a botgame" turret-dives and stuff) Intermediate bots "know" when their combo can kill you. Learn to not die in botgames at all costs. That will help immensely in PvP's.

GaleWinUnleashed5/13/2015, 2:50:16 PM1 votes

Hi, level 30 player with 3400+ bot games here,

I play bots when I'm just not feeling the motivation for PvP (ARAM loosely qualifies as PvP, in my opinion). Usually I'm just there to screw around with particular mechanics that I find challenging and fun to pull off, such as going for global snipes with Ashe/Ez/Draven/Jinx. Most of the time I'll lane for a little while, building 40% CDR, then I'll grab enough life steal to sustain indefinitely in the jungle and toss out my ult whenever it's up.

In this way I'm not contributing to a quick end to the game at all, leaving it up to the remainder of my team to decide how quickly they want to win. With lots of downtime between ults, I'm frequently watching my teammates, and if I see someone that looks like they could benefit from some advice, I'll try to offer some. I'm very aware that others may be playing bots in order to practice one thing or another, so if you want any sort of help during the game, all you have to do is ask.

FarRockBF5/13/2015, 2:56:30 PM1 votes

I play two bot games every day since I take the train to and from work. I experience 300-9000 ping and don't want to screw over my team by lagging so hard.

Eleshakai5/13/2015, 3:03:19 PM1 votes

My friend and I used to play bot games for 'kill contests'... see how many kills we can get before the game ends. Since they're games we can't possibly lose, it's fun to just not take it seriously and try to constantly KS each other. We'd just wander and kill everything... the goal was to prolong the game but get kills, so we'd never touch the towers and every so often we'd actually die to reset the enemy's kill value lol

I also used to play 1-2 bot games whenever I picked up a new champ to grasp the mechanics.

The Bishop Piece5/13/2015, 6:05:35 PM1 votes

If I may ask, how old are you? The oldest person who I personally know that plays league is 26.

Raw5/13/2015, 6:36:23 PM1 votes

Before ARAM became a normal mode, I play co-op all the time, it's fun and less ragers. I'm currently sitting on 2k co-op games on this account and I was gold 2 at the time I spam bot games.

Sincerely, http://www.auplod.com/u/opaudl54d56.png

IcyPepper5/13/2015, 7:11:05 AM1 votes

I usually do it for the FWotD bonus or to test new champions or to dick around and have fun.

I don't try to KS intentionally (if we're fighting together or something, and I take the kill, that isn't a KS. I mean KS like Ez ulting across the map just before you kill someone) nor do I like it when people try to KS me just to inflate their ego. It's not that big of a deal, but it's annoying.

PvP can be tiring and unfun at times, and crapping on bots can be fun and a way to blow off steam.

Illydth5/13/2015, 11:07:05 PM1 votes

Thanks for the info all.

To answer the question of my age, I'm actually 40. My son (13) got me into the game when he started doing nothing but talking about LoL and (as a lifetime computer gamer) not understanding what he's talking about...bothers me. :)

I do enjoy the game, I do NOT enjoy the attitudes of some I've played with. But that's the internet...as I said, that neither disappoints nor surprises me.

The vast majority of you are responding with what I consider bots for, to learn. I hope no one took offense as I have NO objection to a L1 or a L30 in a bots game trying to learn the mechanics on a new champ or test a new build order...that's what it's for I believe.

Re: KS. Yea, Kill Secured. It still bothers me (as a support main) when I take a kill from my ADC. That's actually what prompted this post. Last night, after the third "KS" on my ADC (I was playing Morgana...too much damage), I was trying to apologize over team chat when I got jumped by some a-hole (why? I'm still trying to figure that out) with "STFU No one cares it's bots" (which continued to go downhill from there for the rest of the game) which is what prompted me to ask the question of why that kind of attitude in a bots game.

I'm the support, my partner was the ADC. If I'm taking the Kills, my ADC isn't getting them, meaning they're also not getting the gold for those kills. The "C" means something in ADC and they can't DO that if they're NOT getting fed. In a real PvP game I assume not feeding your ADC is a great way to lose...so it really didn't make much sense to me why an obviously experienced PvP Player would get upset over hearing an apology for an action that, in a real game, would cause the team to lose...in a game meant to learn how to play "real games".

Idiocy of a-hole aside, I was wondering if there was some understanding I was missing. Perhaps the advice that KS shouldn't be a thing is it.

Thanks for the guidance!