So for anyone who has logged into League the past 24 hours, you may have noticed that there’s a new game mode available, Ascension. Ascension is a game mode originally released almost 2 years ago which is basically a cross between Dominion (RIP) and capture the flag. It’s the first game mode being released in a new queue Riot is calling the Rotating Game Mode.
image courtesy of Riot Games
Basically, every weekend Riot is going to be offering one of their featured game modes for the masses to play. They haven’t specifically stated which modes will be available, but I imagine we can expect One For All, Hexakill, Poro King, Doom Bots, Black Market Brawlers, and URF.
Coming directly off of a noticeably URFless and other wise incredibly disappointing “Draven Day,” Rotating Game Mode Queue is a refreshing addition to Riot’s already available options. Frankly, grinding in Ranked reaches a point where it feels depressing and exhausting, and ARAM is such a consistently unbalanced game type that even it becomes a poor option for pure fun. The Featured Game Modes however are all designed to break the normal monotony of the game and throw any illusions of balance out the window. There is nothing more enjoyable than mashing Q to become a “Hecacopter” or blasting the living hell out of another team with 5 Final Sparks, and it is generally enjoyable to be on the opposing side of these things because frankly its hilarious to watch it all happen. So I guess the number one reason for RGM (in my opinion) is to offer a weekly release from the horrors of ELO Hell.
Secondly, RGM offers both champion points, and the opportunity to receive Hextech Chests/Keys. While these game modes don’t offer a realistic medium of the game, modes like URF allow players to become familiar with a champions kit and develop at least some amount of mechanical skill. Black Market Brawlers forces players to make decisions on purchases that will affect the game on a macro level, and Doom Bots is frankly just terrifying. Between the standard champion point gains and the potential for Chests/Keys, I feel that Riot is making an active effort to try and increase retention to the game by basically offering an easy medium to obtain free stuff. I mean, if you really boil it down, there’s a high chance that players will be able to get skins by playing a few games of O4A or URF, and whats greater than that?
Finally, RGM offers Riot a place to test out new game modes without needing any reason at all. In the past, Riot had to create some sort of event or excitement every time they wanted to introduce a new Featured Game Mode, now they can just throw it into the queue, explain how to play it, and test how players love it. If you look through the comments section of Riot’s announcement of RGM there are already a good number of cool game modes being suggested by players, and I firmly believe that Riot is listening. (Some of the ideas have been standard game with no cooldowns on flash, a hide and seek style game mode, and custom themed maps)
I’ll certainly be playing nothing but RGM every single weekend, so if you’re looking for someone to queue with: feel free to add me! TehSillyKitteh always loves to play with friends!