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How League of Legends ruined my life.

Devisune·4/22/2017, 6:44:05 PM·4 votes·10,439 views

It started when I got out of boot camp in 2014 for the marine corps, I'm a reservist, I originally played World of Warcraft. But I got myself a nice desktop, and my best friend who lived in Texas ( I lived in Ohio.) had asked me to start playing because that's kind of how we kept in touch after he moved away. So I started playing with him, then my friend from WoW started helping us learn the game. He was gold S4 and we had started in early S5. So he helped us out, and we were pretty much playing every single day after work and school and such. Now at the time, I was working at a construction company so my hours were great 8AM to 4:30PM Monday-Friday. All holidays off. So it was easy to log 4-5 hours of game play. But I had an amazing girlfriend, we were together for 4 years when I started to play league almost everyday.
This is when this started to get bad. At first I don't think she minded because my best friend Tyler was playing with me most of the time. So she knew I was at least spending time with someone I cared about, keep in mind me and Tyler have been best friends since we were 9. But as I started to play more and more with my gold friend and not as much my best friend who was a little worse than me at league. She started to care and it was causing a lot of arguments. For almost a year straight, it was just an on going battle of me trying to get through a few games without her starting a fight. Whats sad is that I know what I was doing was wrong, but I never cared. She would leave for days at a time, claiming to go spend them with her family but little did I know she was seeing another guy. After a few months, into 2015, I was laid off at my construction job and I ended up working at a local gas station 3rd shift. It honestly probably saved my relationship for a few months just because I was able to play while she slept and I slept while she worked. So things were a little bit better unless I had the night off, to which I would want to play league and she would want to spend time with me.
Now something I haven't addressed yet was our financial situation at the time. When I got home from ITB, my mother had lost her job, so I was taking care of her, my little sister, My girlfriend and myself, on 10$ an hour. So it was a struggle for awhile. Most of the time, I would have to skip meals or eating top ramen so they could eat. Which I never really thought about how much that sucked until now. But I guess I never minded because they all made me so happy. But one day, I realized that I didn't have to play league on 200ms if I disconnect the WiFi and since my computer is the only thing hard wired. It was all mine to use. So I went from 200ms per game to about 36-48. So at this point, not only was I neglecting the love of my life but I also was basically keeping my entire house including her to finding something to do without netflix or internet. (we didn't have cable because I couldn't afford it) She was miserable, and I was miserable.. but league was my way out of my life at the moment. When ever I played league it honestly just takes my thoughts off of everything else. I don't worry about my debt, or bills, or how to keep my mom and girlfriend from killing each other, I don't think about how many times my girlfriend has fucked others around on me. I just think about farming, getting better and having fun.
Video games have always been my escape from a lot of things. But now, I literally can't escape league. Late January 2016, My girlfriend turned the lights on at around 3 am with my sleeping and started to pack her things, she was leaving me. Her mom was in the house with her, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I chased after her car, I called her 100 times, begging for her to come back to me, that I would quit league forever, I would even destroy my computer if that's what it would take. To my surprise, she told me she would come back over in the morning when we calmed down and talk to me about it but the morning came, and she still wasn't there, the afternoon fell by, she still wasn't there. I called and called and called but no answer.. it was only until I texted her I realized she blocked me.
That night I got completely destroyed off of any alcohol I owned, just slamming it all. I called my bestfriend tyler and told him what had happened, and how I couldn't handle being without her. He drove from Texas to Ohio that night, begging me not to do anything stupid until he got there. Which I had already drank to much and passed out. But the next day he was there, and he gave me an offer. To leave Ohio, to leave my family and to leave her behind and start fresh with him and his family as they were moving from Texas to North Carolina. I had nothing anymore left in Ohio that meant anything to me. So I agreed, I left my job and within that same week, My car was packed and I drove 7 and half hours to North Carolina. But nothing felt right, I couldn't stop crying or wondering why I had to even start playing this game. But it can't be fixed now. Since I moved, I have gotten a great job, I bought a new sports car and pretty much enjoy my days by the pool, drinking and having a good time. I still play league on my days off and usually about a game or two a night. But I hate it anymore, I really don't feel whole again.
It's been a year and in that year, I've dated again, had a relationship again. A relationship where I swore I wouldn't play league with her, that I would be a great boyfriend. I was for 4 months until I found out she was cheating on me. So when I left her, I called Ariel My girlfriend of 5 years and I asked her why, I just needed closure that I never got. I then explained how I had gotten into another relationship, One without league. She hung up on me and when I texted her to find out why, she called me back crying. "Why does she get everything I wanted, She got the Austin who didn't play league, the one who went on dates, and got to crave pumpkins with." I was speechless, nothing I could say would ever justify why I was so addicted to this video game. I don't think many people understand that sometimes video games can really be addictive for weak minded people. I had given up the one person who will truly love me, over a video game.
After that phone call I drove to ohio and spent a weekend with her, we caught up she had a great job and a boyfriend who loved her very much. But she still wanted me, and I was so scared that I couldn't come back. So I told her, we need to take things slow. But she didn't like that. So after I left ohio, she got back with her boyfriend and moved on. I'm not saying league of legends is the cause of my life being ruined, I know it was myself. But sometimes I wonder if I had never played, how things would have turned out. I played video games before, I played wow before league and it never causes an issue really, mainly I think because she could play with me but all said in done. Hi, my name is Austin and I'm addicted to league of legends. I'm not even good at league of legends, like at all. I feed, I'm silver/gold. But I can't stop playing. Anymore I'm back to square one, All I want to do is end my life because I'm the worst kind of person. I lost everything I cared about all for a fucking video game. It's heartbreaking to me. Yet I can't stop. I'm still trying to get back with her.. even though she never replies to anything I say.. She just leaves me on read. I'd like to think it's just her punishing me after I gave her such a horrible 2015. I know people don't understand why I'm so caught up on ariel, but in one week because of my addiction, or being an idiot whichever you think. I lost the love of my life, I lost my family, my friends, my job. Whats even more sad is I wrote this between ranked queues, and that I have to go now because queue just popped..

10 Comments

Kukan Seishin4/22/2017, 7:12:33 PM3 votes

League didn't ruin your life

You ruined your life

Take responsibility

Curious Kat4/22/2017, 7:02:20 PM2 votes

Find a gamer girl = problem solved. Me and my GF play League TOGETHER. There is no jealousy, we spend time together in game and out of game. We still fight over petty things, but make up an hour after it. We've been together 3 almost 4 years now.

I'll leave you with this advice that might ease your mind. If that girl could not support what you loved to do, then she was not right for you. You should not have to change for a person, that means they do not truly love you. A couple should love and support everything eachother do. If she could not handle you playing the game to relax, then that is her own fault, not yours. It's not like you were addicted to heroin or some kind of drug. Loving to play a game because it puts your mind at ease is anything but an addiction. it's human nature to do the thing that eases you.

You should move on from her, she cheated on you. Even if you feel it was your fault for neglecting to spend time with her, move on, it's over with. Go find a girl that is willing to spend time with you both in games and out of games. If League is your passion, find someone who supports it.

That's my advice anyway, and i wish you luck. Gaming is not an addiction, it's a lifestyle. If it's truly what you love to do, and have fun doing, and it eases your mind off of stress, then never be with someone who expects you to change that. You should never have to change something you love doing for someone else, unless that thing is highly illegal like hard drugs, or crime etc. Then you need to change lmao. But loving to game is not a crime, you should not have to change that.

Good luck friend, both on the rift, and out of the rift.

Xonndar6/3/2017, 12:30:56 PM2 votes

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS/RIOT GAMES DID RUIN YOUR LIFE AND RIOT GAMES SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

Tobacco companies took responsibility for cancer and even paid MILLIONS to some cancer victims, why shouldn't RIOT GAMES take responsibility for their ADDICTIVE PRODUCT in the same way ?

League of Legends is "A DRUG" BUT unlike real drugs / cigars / alcohol there's NO WARNING ANYWHERE, NOT IN THE GAME NOT IN THE EULA NOWHERE about the risks of playing this addictive game .. other games do at least warn you not to play too much (wow for example had that message on loading screens "take everything in moderation even world of warcraft") maybe you could sue riot games for not informing you about the risks you expose yourself to while playing this game (i don't know) ..

I don't know maybe i'm crazy but does this make any sense to u ?!

Silly Neeko4/22/2017, 7:46:24 PM1 votes

There are places to go for addiction. Unlike poster 1 who says you cant be addicted to league, psychologists and therapists etc can explain to you otherwise.

Otherwise i agree with poster 1. Find someone who will support you in your hobby, but who WILL grab you by the ear and drag you off your butt and get you out the door with her from time to time. Literally or figuratively. This is what your first girlfriend talked about should have done instead of cheated on you.

  1. Also, set a time limit to your league of legend time. Have a computer savvy friend of yours set the internet to shut off inbetween those times, or block you from going onto league of legends apart from between, for example, 6-9 pm. It is possible and it can be done.

  2. Do not set yourself an alarm for when the time starts, only when it has about 30-45 minutes until it goes out.

The benefits of those two advices will be be very viewable after about a month, even though they will take effect in only a few days.

There are addiction phone numbers and help lines. Just google them if needed.

HitGirl8307/25/2017, 10:48:37 PM1 votes

So many people are saying it's the player's fault and not the game. This may be true, but with other games. I have the same problem, although not nearly as bad as you. League is created so it messes with you psychologically. It's a game similar to gambling: you lose one game, you think the next will be better, you win 2 and feel as if you're on a winning streak and then lose 3 more. You keep telling yourself "but I must at least win the next one" after losing 10 in a row. Rito don't deal with trolls nearly as well as they could to keep you hooked. Playing with random teammates makes it worse, as it's a team game and not only one can carry all the time. The toxicity gets to you and you start feeling down from that. It's part of the game it is. For me, I had so much fun until level 30, and can't bring myself to delete my account as i've invested all that time and money into it. The want to get a good rank is what keeps me going, not to have fun, and it's a game you can't play to chill as you have to be on the ball every game to win. The ones who keep telling you it's your fault don't realise the structure of the game and how it's made to attract players. They are ignorant, so don't listen to them.

For your case, you need to look at it like this. Things happen for a reason, and you learn from your mistakes. What have you gained from all this loss? Experience. And the difference between you and these people saying it's your fault is that you realise what it's doing to your life.

The best way to deal with a game like league is to call quits, to go cold turkey and delete your account. If you're like me, there's no way to limit yourself.

This is only with league and not with any other games for me. I can play 1h of another game and have enough and get on with something else, but league is a different story. Forget about the money and the time spent on your account. I am also trying.

Gl with your life and I hope it gets better for you. :)

92458650DEL16/30/2017, 1:05:08 PM1 votes

Well if it's any consolation, at least with this post you can warn people of how destructive League can become. I've been living life "League-free" for several months now and even though the quality of my life has drastically improved, I still miss it a lot. It's posts like these that help me stay away.

Thank you for sharing and putting yourself in such a vulnerable position on the internet, it takes a lot of guts in my opinion.

Naching6/30/2017, 1:19:13 PM1 votes

Dude you know you can rebirth and start a new life, only you need give priority to everything, not only play lol

Start to play only 1 or 2 times in a day or start to play another game individual.

This game is like a drug, it has something there making you play a lot and the more posible.

All people( family, friends.. Etc) tell me to stop playing LOL and i still playing, someday a lot, other a few.. But every day at least 1 of 2 marches.

The thing is i feel well when playing but so nervous too, then i feel bad body, headhache when finnish .... And sometimes when im out im wondering to go house and play... And i m a normal player...and its a mind drug.

I said yesterday to stop play this game, but now i want play my daily aram matches but only ONe ir two, even three but no more..

Also...the game is bad because all the worried stuff about the nerfs making us being rude un forums haaha

But sorry your ex girlfriend looks toxic and posesive... Playing lol or others games a few in a day is normal and good for a lot of people and to make fun our lives.

Lexyy4/22/2017, 7:11:14 PM1 votes

So you knew she was cheating on you and stayed with her?

Also "Whats sad is that I know what I was doing was wrong, but I never cared." this is why you "lost her".