The latest League of Legends patch adds an official matchmaking queue for the fan-favorite “ARAM” mode.
League of Legends is a very fun game with two major drawbacks. The first is that games last a long time, usually between 40 minutes and an hour, and there are stiff penalties for bailing early. The second is that it is very difficult to try out new champions, as you are sure to get chewed out by your teammates for not know exactly what you are doing at all times. Riot aims to ease these drawbacks with the “officialization” of the fan-favorite “All Random All Mid” (ARAM) mode, giving it an official matchmaking queue in the latest League of Legends patch.
So what exactly is ARAM anyway? It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Heroes are chosen at random, and all ten players go into the middle of a single-lane map (as opposed to the traditional three-lane setup of a regular League of Legends game). Players are not allowed to return to their base unless they die (the home fountain doesn’t heal you like in a regular game), leading to some very interesting item and skill builds. Games usually last around 20 minutes, giving players a fun, less stressful way to try out champions they don’t usually play.
Previously, it was done “unofficially” by making a custom game using the proving grounds tutorial map, but with the latest patch, Riot has made it an official game mode, giving it a few tweaks and even a brand new map: The Howling Abyss. The 5v5 ARAM queue is restricted to players of level 5 or above.
The addition of “reroll points” allows players to spend 200 points to reroll their champion if they happen to get that champion they really hate. This was mostly added to prevent people “dodging” a game if they got a “bad champion.” All players start with 200 reroll points, and will get more by playing ARAM matches.
The new patch also brings with it champion relaunches of Trundle and Sejuani, some major changes to Quinn and Nasus, and some tweaks to Health Potions and the Elixir of Fortitude. The entire patch has a Freljord theme, as anyone who keeps up with the League of Legends lore will know that Ashe, Sejuani and newcomer Lissandra are duking it out over control of the region. Players can align themselves with either of the three factions, allowing them a sense of participation even if they don’t play any of the affected champions.
The new patch should be rolled out when the servers come back up after maintenance this morning.
Source: League of Legends
Published: Apr 30, 2013 09:21 am