The League of Legends game designer has announced possible format changes to Arena, which will cater to casual and lower-ranking players, before its return in May 2024.
One of League of Legends’ most awaited game modes returns on May 1, 2024. But before you hit the Arena lobbies with your duo, Riot Games has announced vital format changes to the seasonal game mode.
In an announcement by LoL Game Designer Phroxzon on X, he explains that the devs wanted to make Arena more appealing to casual and lower-ranked gamers. This is after they observed the last Arena season (December 2023), when most of the players who queued for the game mode were higher-skilled.
Phroxzon detailed that they investigated this case, and many players suggested that Arena mode was too “sweaty” and heavily skill-testing for casual players. Given their observations, the developers have decided to prolong the game with the first eliminations starting in the sixth round, better items, and gold distribution.
The devs initially announced one of the biggest changes to the Arena game mode: doubling the competition’s size from four duos to eight. While this means more battle rounds, fighting, and action in the Arena!
During the beta test of the renewed Featured Game Mode, players would only get their second Augment (special cards and buffs specific to a player) by the sixth round. This means the lowest-ranked duos eliminated by round five won’t get to claim another Augment.
The devs are testing to swap the elimination and Augment rounds to remedy this high-stakes situation and unfair experience for the losing duos. This means players may claim the second Augment by the fifth round, with the first eliminations in the sixth round.
Moreover, the developers have also decided to be more generous with Gold rewards, as some players find it hard to keep up with the items further along in the game.
While Phroxzon discussed the issue of some Champions not being as eligible for the game mode as other picks, the overhauled format does not seem to discuss specific Champion buffs or balance changes.
With these changes, Riot Games hopes to be one step closer to introducing the Arena as a permanent game mode to League of Legends.
The Arena mode will be available on your League of Legends lobbies on May 1, 2024.