It's 2016, and League of Legends is the most popular competitive game in the world, one that's constantly being polished, tweaked and modified via patches. But back in 2009, League of Legends was a simpler, humbler and very different game as it worked through its beta process and marched toward launch.
In the video above, YouTube creator Jeremy "Gaming Curios" looks back at just how different League of Legends was in its beta form. While there are certainly some recognizable parts — that classic Summoner's Rift map layout and even a lot of elements of the launcher and account progression — there's also a lot that has changed significantly.
Most notably, a lot of characters were much more powerful than they are now, as were several items that no longer exist in the game. Twisted Fate, in particular, sounds like he was a real unstoppable force in the beta, able to hop around the map and quickly take out enemies at will thanks to a global-range teleport with a 40-second cooldown.
The beta also featured a couple of summoner spells that have been completely removed from the game, such as Fortify (removed for being overpowered and extending games for too long) and Rally (removed for being useless).
Watch the full video above for an interesting look back at just how different things were in 2009. Jeremy has another great video on the evolution of League of Legends over the course of 10 years, so be sure to check that out as well.
