How To Play League of Legends on Linux

League of Legends is one of, if not THE most popular games out there. However, one tiny issue is that the main MOBA is primarily only playable on Windows and not Linux. Well, that's only if you're talking about it officially. Fortunately, we have a way for you to be able to play LoL without any issues on your device with the Linus OS installed.

To play League of Legends on Linux, you first have to identify a Linux distributor that you prefer. With that done, you then have to install Wine as well as any potential dependencies to your system. Finally, you can install League of Legends from the official website and you should be able to run it without any issues at all.

If you're a Linux user wanting to experience the thrill of the Rift, then look no further because we're about to go through how you can play LoL on Linux right here.

Step #1: Choose the Right Linux Distribution

When it comes to playing League of Legends on Linux, one of the first decisions you need to make is choosing the right Linux distribution for gaming. While LoL on Linux is possible on almost any distribution, certain ones have better support and a more straightforward setup for gaming purposes.

The most well-known distributors include Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Manjaro. For the sake of this specific article, we'll be focusing on Ubuntu specifically since it's the most well-known one out of the lot.

Step #2: Install Wine

Ah yes, Wine. Every Linux user must have heard of Wine at least once in their life. Wine is a compatibility layer that allows running Windows applications on Linux by translating Windows API calls into POSIX calls on-the-fly. This enables you to run various Windows software, including games, seamlessly on your Linux distribution.

To begin the installation process, you'll need to open a terminal on your Linux system. The method for opening a terminal can vary depending on your distribution, but most commonly, you can find it in the applications menu or by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting "Open Terminal."

Now, sticking with our promise of using Ubuntu as an example for this article, you'll have to input the following command on the terminal if you're using Ubuntu to install Wine.

sudo apt update

sudo apt install wine

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Step #3: Install League of Legends

With a Linux distributor and Wine installed, the next thing you want to do is to install League of Legends. Fortunately, the download process is the same as any other device in the sense that you simply have to visit the official League of Legends download page and download the Windows version of the game.

Once the download is complete, navigate to the downloaded executable file (which should be titled "LeagueOfLegends.exe") and right click on it. Select "Open with Wine Windows Program Loader" to initiate the installation process. Here's hoping your patching doesn't fail.

With the installation process done, you can launch League of Legends and, hopefully, it'll launch without any issues. Welcome to the Rift! You might want to check out some mandatory things before starting out such as how you can get free orange essence in League for some sweet skins!

Issues Launching LoL on Linux

If you weren't able to successfully launch League of Legends on Linux after following these steps, then there are a couple of things you can do. These things include:

Installing Additional Dependencies

It's very possible that you might have some additional dependencies that you need to install before being able to run League on your device. For example, two dependencies you might want to install are core fonts and the latest version of Visual C++ runtime.

To address this, use Winetricks, a handy script that helps install these additional components. On Ubuntu, install Winetricks using the  "sudo apt install winetricks" code. You can then run Winetricks and enter  "winetricks corefonts vcrun2022 " to install the aforementioned dependencies.

Updating Your Graphics Drivers

Having up-to-date graphics drivers is essential for gaming performance. Depending on your graphics card, install the appropriate drivers for your Linux distribution. For NVIDIA, you can use proprietary drivers, while AMD usually relies on open source drivers.

Configuring Wine for Optimal Performance

Finally, to get the best gaming experience, you may need to adjust some Wine settings. Use the winecfg command to access the Wine Configuration panel. Here, you can tweak various settings, including the Windows version, audio configuration, and graphics options.