League of Legends introduces 2v2 Arena Mode
Riot Games has announced a new 2v2 Arena Mode for League of Legends, which you can queue up for and play right away.
The mode will allow players to pair up in “teams of two and face off in round after round of combat as they power up with new unique Augments until only one team is left standing”, while combat takes place on “four different battlefields which vary in size, terrain density, and, of course, theme”.
Champions from the Soul Fighter Universe will make occasional cameo appearances (starting in round four) to help out, or mess you up, and each round consists of a shop phase, then a combat phase. You start the game at level three and gain one, then two levels, alternating each round. This new mode for League of Legends looks to mix the strategy of the main game with the fast-paced, mobile-like action of TeamFight Tactics.
Daniel “Riot Maxw3ll” Emmons, the design lead on the Modes team explained, saying: “With such epic fights in store, we realized we needed a worthy arena for these fights to happen. Creating unique spaces for 2v2 fights was a difficult problem we had to solve for this mode. Early prototypes of Arena used small sections of older game mode maps, but we quickly realized that we needed something more custom-made. The end result was four very distinct combat spaces with a couple new mechanics added to push gameplay in the right direction. This led us to a new terrain type called Deep Water and a new plant called the Power Flower”.
Emmons added “It’s been a long time since our last new mode, and you all have made it extremely clear that you care about them, which led to us doing everything we could to get it out in time for the summer event. You may notice some jank and a missing feature or two, but we wanted to get Arena into your hands as soon as possible so you could all enjoy it instead of polishing it up to the nth degree. But rest assured that if you all like and play this mode, we’ll bring it back again with another pass to get those missing pieces in”.
In closing Emmons explained that “the entire team has been working super hard behind the scenes to bring this game mode to life, and we think we’ve made a really special experience that most League players will enjoy. Our hope is that you’ll have as much fun playing it as all of us have”.
There’s a ranked system from wood, to bronze; silver, then gold, and all the way up to Gladiator. You gain points by placing in the top two teams, and lose points by being in the bottom two, but Riot has also added “loss mitigation” for the first five matches, so you can only gain points in those matches.
