Esports & Competitive

How To Win A Game Of Fortnite
Esports & Competitive

How To Win A Game Of Fortnite

Fortnite was the first Battle Royale game to bring the genre to worldwide popularity. With around 80.4 million active monthly users, it is currently one of the most popular games in the world. It was released into open beta in 2017, and there have been many patches that have increased the complexity of the game, and given players new ways to learn and grow. To win your first Victory Royale in Fortnite, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the Fortnite basics such as finding a weapon as soon as you drop in, the which items to pick up, and building familiarity with the map. If you’re new to the game, you’ll probably notice right away that you have some learning to do. Fortnite is a complex game that combines third-person shooting, dynamic movement, structure building, and in...
Preparing for Ranked in League of Legends
Esports & Competitive, Guides

Preparing for Ranked in League of Legends

Ranked in League of Legends is a daunting and grueling experience. Unlike normal games – which are usually treated as the practice grounds for ranked – your enemies are putting their all into everything they do. It’s a fast-paced, stressful environment where mistakes don’t go unpunished. But the ranked climb doesn’t have to be daunting. Today, we’ll be covering how ranked queue works, the rewards on offer, and how to ace your first ranked game. What Is Ranked Queue in League of Legends? Ranked queue is essentially the competitive version of Draft Summoner’s Rift. Players face off against similarly-skilled players for a spot on the ranked ladder. There are two ranked game modes in League: Solo/Duo: Solo/duo is the main (and most respected) competitive game mode in League. Players can...
How to Play Clash in League of Legends
Esports & Competitive, Gaming, Guides

How to Play Clash in League of Legends

Clash is a tournament game mode that lets you live out your dream of becoming a professional esports player. You team up with trusted allies, scout out your enemies, and prove your skills in a grueling, high-pressure environment. While you won’t be obtaining the Summoner’s Cup any time soon, winning Clash does give you hefty rewards and major bragging rights. Clash is one of the most exciting game modes LoL has released in recent years. But it can be difficult to navigate. This is especially the case if you’re not an avid watcher of LoL esports. That’s why today we’ve compiled an in-depth guide on how to play (and dominate) Clash in League of Legends. What is Clash in League of Legends? Clash in League of Legends began in April 2018. It's a monthly tournament that still runs today. Ul...
How to Analyze Replays in League of Legends
Esports & Competitive, Guides

How to Analyze Replays in League of Legends

Watching your replays is one of the best ways to improve as a player. It allows you to easily identify your mistakes and can help strengthen your macro awareness. However, knowing how to effectively watch your replays and learn from them is a challenge in itself. Without the right approach, you can end up spending hours sifting through replay after replay, only to be no better off as a player from when you first started. In fact, the wrong approach can even make you a worse player. That’s why today, we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide on how to effectively spectate yourself and make the most out of your replays. These tips and techniques are sure to help, no matter your elo. To analyze replays in League of Legends, first, focus on your own mistakes rather than observing your teammat...
How to Earn Blue Essence in League of Legends
Esports & Competitive, Gaming, Guides

How to Earn Blue Essence in League of Legends

Previously known as IP (Influence Points), Blue Essence (BE) is the main, in-game currency in League of Legends. Every single champion in League can be bought from the shop with BE. However, champion prices vary. Newly-released champions cost 7800 Blue Essence, while old champions cost as little as 450 BE. Aside from champions, Blue Essence can also be spent on rune pages, mastery tokens, and chromas during the Blue Essence Emporium. Today, we’ll cover all the different ways you can earn Blue Essence in League of Legends. We’ll then discuss the best strategies for earning BE fast.  Blue Essence can be earned by leveling up, completing missions, accumulating honor, and disenchanting unwanted champion shards. You can find out how much BE you currently own in the client. Look for the...
The Trackmania Playoffs – Why You Want To Check It Out!
Esports & Competitive, Speedruns, Tournaments & Races

The Trackmania Playoffs – Why You Want To Check It Out!

The regular season of the Trackmania Grand League may have just ended, but now is the best time to start watching the event. The playoffs are right around the corner, and this guide will get you up to speed on Trackmania Esports even if you haven't watched the season or played the game. This league is one of the peaks of competitive speedrunning, and you don't want to miss out on the excitement of the final stretch. What is Trackmania? Trackmania is the world's most competitive racing game. The goal of the game is simple, drive as fast as you can to the finish line on any given track. After setting a time, it's placed into the leaderboards, automatically ranking everyone against each other. Players compete for their own personal bests, challenge the in-game medal system, or...
Intentions – Putting Mental Health ads in Video Games
Community, Community Articles, Esports & Competitive, Gaming

Intentions – Putting Mental Health ads in Video Games

Before we begin, it is important to state just how crucial mental health is. It is good to see that people and the media are beginning to talk about it more. Everyone deserves the chance to enjoy life and be happy. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people have been forced to stay at home. That isolation can wreak havoc on one's mental health, and for those with mental health disorders, it could be even worse. Organizations that treat and deal with mental health find themselves at a critical point. While the impact of the pandemic has led to a surge in mental health issues, the pandemic itself makes it difficult for those afflicted to seek help.  As such, these companies have searched for different ways to reach out. One of these ways comes in the form of ads, but in a unique medium - V...
Esports & Competitive, Gaming

The Price of Hype – Looking at a few “Failures” in the Gaming Industry

“Failure” is a strong word. In the gaming world, a failure is when a game fails to meet consumer expectations, either failing to sell well, getting bad reviews, and sometimes both. There are many reasons why a game would fail, perhaps it was too rushed, or it was too ambitious, or maybe the audience expected too much and got too little in return. Either way, the game just did not quite hit the mark for people. The gaming industry has had its fair share of duds in the past few years, games that shot for the stars and missed, all with their own stories of mismanagement and confusion. Hopefully, by looking at these games, people can understand just where and why these titles broke down. A City to Burn: Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk 2077 had a lot going for it before release. Developers CD Projek...
Esports & Competitive, Gaming, Guides

League of Legend’s Moonstaff Build – Explained

If you enjoy MOBAs or any competitive game, then you must be well aware of the term "meta." It defines a set of strategies that combines flawlessly with the game's always-changing champions, items, and skills. Because those factors (champions, items, and skills) are being tweaked regularly, the "meta" also adapts. The League of Legends' season 11 is live. With it, new metas emerge to help competition thrive. We have all seen the terror that Olaf and Goredrinker cause in solo queues, first-hand. In the past few months, more players are optimizing mythic items' unique passives with certain champions to make them even more potent than season 10. New builds and playstyles are being discussed every day on Reddit and alike communities. The arrival of changes also guarantees one idea: off-m...
Esports & Competitive, Gaming

The Phenomenon of “Dead” Games: A Deep Dive into a “Dying” Titles in the Video Game Industry

There is a strange phenomenon that is going on within the games industry. Over the past few years, popular video games that are no longer the golden child of social media are very quickly considered “dead”. A quick browse on YouTube will give you hundreds of videos that explain to you why your favorite game is dead. Fall Guys, Animal Crossing, Among Us, and Phasmophobia are a few examples of games that exploded in popularity due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, before fading from the spotlight. Games like Fortnite or League of Legends are examples of games that are extremely popular, but internet forums are quick to deem the games dead or dying. We will take a look at a few massive games over the past half a decade that has faded from the limelight to see if they’re really “dead” or not. Redefin...