Personality Link Between Preferred Roles

Ehrem·3/30/2015, 4:07:42 PM·5 votes·2,185 views

Hey all :D

I am doing a research project for school on how playstyle in league relates to the players personality. I am hoping for a few responses to help out with the project. What I am looking for is how your preferred role/character relates to your personality. Example: Someone who really enjoys helping others and the thrill of aggression may prefer a support that can easily harass. Another being, someone who likes to go solo and do their thing in group work may prefer playing a top laner that puts heavy focus on farming and pushing their lane. (These are only a few styles I have observed others taking up.) To all those that reply it is very much appreciated :D

Thanks!

21 Comments

The Whamboozler3/30/2015, 6:16:50 PM11 votes

I'm a lazy, mouth-breathing bed-wetter with an IQ of 80 and no fingers on my left hand. I play a lot of Riven , and I average two pentakills per game.

Sir ArmaMalum3/30/2015, 4:43:29 PM4 votes

Hey there! I actually had a similar question earlier in the year and asked around for people's champion choices and their MBTI (Myers Briggs) classification (INTP, ENFJ, that whole deal). I managed to get around 33,000 responses (Reddit is a scary place for surveys sometimes). Results here: (Note, there are multiple pictures) http://imgur.com/a/3fXTv#oxU6kkf

Now, granted, this is all raw data as well as MBTI being a somewhat inaccurate scale of personality it is still data and a lot of it. Feel free to use it in your project if you would like. Sample sources were the Boards and r/leagueoflegends.

As for me personally I love sustained damage fighters the best. Champs like Shen Shyvana and Renekton but also feel comfortable in tanky supports. So initiators in the grand scheme of things. This is contradictory to my IRL personality as I am a moderately introverted person who avoids conflict like the plague. I'm not afraid to stand up for myself if I feel I have to, but I always seek resolution before retaliation, if that make sense.

gr8job3/30/2015, 5:23:35 PM2 votes

I like to do what it takes to get the job done. Less "git er done," and more the Finnish concept of "Sisu." I'm a fourth-generation Finnish American, but this is still a concept that my family upholds. Google (via a martial arts association based in Finland) defines it as "a special strength and persistent determination and resolve to continue and overcome in the moment of adversity… an almost magical quality, a combination of stamina, perseverance, courage, and determination held in reserve for hard times." This describes my approach to the game very well. I never give up, and rarely surrender (a 3v5 with the enemy attacking my nexus might tempt me to vote "yes.") This quality is something that inspired me to start playing support in season 2. I was attracted to the concept of being useful and an asset to my team on a tight income. Sustaining myself through mediocre runes and items and through helping my teammates succeed and accomplish their individual goals, and pushing them towards a higher purpose. I also am the person to remain positive and look for opportunities to get ahead in the face of adversity. I've found that supports generally are the plucky thread holding together a team's crumbling morale, so I'd assert other support mains uphold this concept, as well.

My preferences within my role are driven by my personality traits, as well. In real life, I tend to be silently overbearing. I carry myself with confidence and grace, which tends to intimidate others, despite my kind demeanor. I'm the type of person who is extremely loyal to her friends, and will stick up for them under any circumstances. This leads me towards support champions who harass and bully the enemy, leaving my carry to safely farm. I'm not focused on securing early kills, but getting the enemy low enough to where staying in lane or nearing the minions is a liability. I tend to not use my CC to set up a kill, but to protect my carry (very important in the aggressive bot lane meta.) Sustain supports don't satisfy me, because I don't want to be in the position where sustain is necessary. Engage-oriented champions are unappealing to me because I find, especially in solo queue, that the risk of a failed engage or an unadvantageous trade is not worth it. Denying the enemy farm by consistent damage and the fear instilled by it is much safer. That also reflects my cautiousness and slight lack of intuition (finding an appropriate window to engage is not easy for me.)

Onimus Terlain3/30/2015, 5:12:08 PM2 votes

This is kind of difficult because self diagnosing your "personality" is biased at best and, at worst, completely fabrication.

That said, you can relate a person's role to their perception of their personality, which is entirely different from your actual personality.

I, for example, only play tanks and supports. I have no interest in mid lane or ADC because I don't like being relied on for damage.

As for actual role, I play junglers. I really really enjoy ganking. Maybe that's an indication that I don't like to fight fair. I prefer 2 versus 1 rather than a fair 2v2 fight. What that says of my personality, I'm unresolved.

Draw from that what conclusions you will.

Do I not like being relied on for damage because I have low self esteem? Or is it because I fear letting people down? Or maybe I am just lazy and want to be carried.

If I were to say why I don't like playing damage dealers, I'd say because I have a complex about disappointing my teammates. But maybe I'm lying to myself. Maybe I just know I'd fail because, honestly, I know that I'm bad at the game.

There are plenty of conclusions you can draw based on the perception of one's own personality.

What you could do is observe your friends. What role do they play and how do you perceive their outward personality. Do your ADC friends showcase a fairly large ego? Do your support friends let others speak for them? Are they mostly followers in your circle of friends, rather than leaders?

Then you can base your school project on outward perception versus role, rather than what you are doing now, which is inward perception versus role.

But that all depends on what you're trying to explore.

Hope this helps.

bad arcade kitty3/31/2015, 3:53:41 AM2 votes

mayer briggs typology is a pseudo scientific crap and also cancer which infests literally every internet community it's not much different from zodiacal signs by its... hm, scientific authenticity

im libra and entp and i enjoy playing ahri, nidalee, katarina, janna and lux, they are so kawaii des ka ^^ :3 xd :p (:

junglerboy163/30/2015, 4:41:26 PM2 votes

I am something called an outgoing introvert. I'm split 50/50 between INTP and INTJ, meaning I have a calculating but compassionate personality. I tend to be shy and keep to myself, but once I get to know someone and become good friends, I can talk with them for hours. I personally enjoy playing Jungle most, with support and mid being my second favorites, and top third. I hate playing ADC most of the time unless they play like a caster champ. I tend to like really beefy champions for the role I'm playing (tank junglers and supports, AP bruiser mids, and Fighter tops), but occasionally I play something really bursty for a bit of fun when I don't care about winning as much.

warpenguin5553/30/2015, 6:22:13 PM1 votes

I hate attention irl but ironically i like to play top and mid and sometimes adc

freeformline3/30/2015, 6:49:43 PM1 votes

I think something measurable, quantifiable, or easily defined would probably be more valuable research data than each respondent's own opinion of how their role and personality relate, which will probably carry a significant confirmation bias. I'll let you draw your own connections from my entry, though I'd be happy to write another if you work out a preferred format. People like Myers-Briggs, so I will say that I have taken two tests in the last three years, scoring ISTJ before and INTJ today, though the only strongly supported component is introversion.

I'm a white(ish) male support/fill main who is roughly twenty years old and was raised on the west coast of the United States. My favorite champions to play are Soraka support (before and after rework), pre-rework Sona support, Urgot top, Cassiopeia mid/support, Zyra support/mid, and Nami support, loosely in order of preference. My fill/fit picks are: Jungle Nautilus , Support Taric and Leona , Varus and KogMaw ADC, and Quinn top/ADC. I also enjoy Syndra , Gragas , and fighter Diana , but rarely play them on Summoner's Rift. I play a lot of ARAM and practice CSing and jungling in custom games if I do not have a buddy to queue SR with. I loathe assassins, love utility, and tend to stay away from melee laners. Support was my first role when I started playing. I played Urgot top almost exclusively until team builder debuted and cemented my place as a support main. I previously considered Leona one of my top picks, but I now feel that I have little more skill to develop on her and have mostly lost interest. I tend to play cautiously and ward fanatically in every role. I try to keep my distance from risky situations, but will follow my team if enough people are committed. I enjoy League gameplay for the promise of long-time self-improvement and strategic understanding. I thoroughly enjoy the lore and wish there was more of it (I also wish the writers would stop changing established lore).

It would be pointless for me to attempt to describe my full personality here, but I will say that I am strongly introverted, reclusive, and a tad paranoid unless I am in a familiar setting or in a position of leadership, in which case I am as gregarious as I need to be. I generally make friends very slowly. In life I am risk averse and very preoccupied with doing things correctly, and will often research common metrics of correctness for things that my friends and family consider unimportant. I am highly self-critical and obsessive about developing newly discovered skills. The electronic/urban lifestyle is a great source of stress, so I tend to seek quiet green places, avoid crowds, and try to pretend I don't have ten different electronic communication tools. I am an Eagle Scout and try very hard to be courteous and helpful to all people, even if I think ill of them. I have a tendency to take many responsibilities upon myself either to ensure that someone is doing them or to ensure they are done in a way that satisfies me, typically only stopping when I am too overloaded to take on more without health risks. Common words used to describe me are quiet, serious, polite, kind, mature (I would not describe myself this way, but it is the impression I leave), responsible (I have a terrible penchant for procrastination, but people still think this of me), encouraging, tenacious, sarcastically critical (this is my primary form of humor in unfamiliar company), and stingy. My primary passions in life are physics, space colonization, geology, and song. My primary forms of recreation aside from League are long-distance running, hiking and backpacking, cooking, ultimate frisbee, reading and writing, and playing my flute. I enjoy science fiction, fantasy, classics, and commentary on religion, though I am not religious myself. My sense of morality is based on how one's actions benefit or harm others, with little consideration for the self. I enjoy very dark chocolate and am suspicious of politicians in general. I have a large collection of stuffed penguins and will challenge anyone who says this is not manly.

Feel free to ask me for any more information that would be useful for your project. Good luck!

PalPlays3/30/2015, 9:46:20 PM1 votes

I like to help people out, and never want to be a burden. I seek to impress and earn the respect of others through my actions IRL and in-game. I play Amumu , RekSai , Shyvana , Jax , Ryze , and Soraka .

Zirzon3/31/2015, 4:10:31 AM1 votes

I main "fill", because I like giving my team the best possible chance of getting along. I believe that if I give everyone else roles they enjoy, it greatly raises our chance of victory. I also enjoy the challenge and diversity of playing many different champs. I believe that if I had tried to main a particular champ or role, I may have become bored of the game before now.

"Personality" is a difficult thing to describe of oneself. I suppose I would say that I like to be helpful by mediating or preventing conflict, and also enjoy challenging myself (If those even are considered personality descriptors).

P.S. I would suggest perhaps giving "personality-types/descriptors" as options to choose from to describe oneself.

woobly3/31/2015, 9:18:49 AM1 votes

I'm stubborn as all hell and love being the center of attention, but I'm willing to be a team player. I like the challenge of less mobile champions. I main ADC first, Mid second, and Support third. My favorite champions all are more teamfight-oriented (like Lux as opposed to Ahri or LeBlanc) My mains, depending on comps and such, are (ADC) Varus, Jinx, and Ashe (though I also play Ez if vs a team with lots of lockdown) and (Mid) Lux, Annie, and Orianna. If I have to play support, I pick ones capable of carrying if the need arises (whether through damage or ability to make plays) so I play lots of Zyra and Nami in that role. I absolutely hate top lane because I feel like I'm not actually having an impact on the game. How is anyone going to admire me when I'm alone on top lane island Amumu

jmaishere3/30/2015, 4:41:59 PM1 votes

I like to really fuck with the mentality of people in game, hence my 2 favorite champions are Teemo and Shaco , but in any case I like to play assassins as the feeling of having them die unexpectedly is just very satisfying. Just nothing like it when people flash into shrooms or die to boxes, especially when you're dead

Dangerous Man3/30/2015, 4:43:43 PM1 votes

Support has to take a lot of crap from the team and carry them more then themselves. If you're a Soraka/Sona (Healing movement Sona) Then you're a team player. If you're a poke/kill support then you're a rebel and like to mess with people. (Nidalee, Morgana, Teemo). ADCs are very self centered. That's all I got. (I obviously main support :)

Cryptid Kid3/30/2015, 4:57:01 PM1 votes

I am actually a quiet introvert with a bit of an aggressive side, which I've noticed suits my TOP preference pretty closely. I like being on that top island and prefer to be alone most of the game.

Shïfty3/30/2015, 5:17:58 PM1 votes

I've always been known as an optimistic person and kind of happy like all the time and no matter of what video game I play I was like characters with range. Soooo I kind of got addicted to playing Tristana Not only that but I'm also short and kind of like to be very mobile when playing too. So I figured out of all this ADC was the way to go.

XeroKimo3/30/2015, 6:10:14 PM1 votes

I'm a boring guy. So I fill roles