Riot Games are bringing a new 2v2 battle arena-style game mode to League of Legends next month.
Following the launch of patch 13.11, which repaired a fair amount of unbalance within the game, and then later patch 13.12 to further fix these issues, Riot Games is finally bringing its new game mode to League of Legends. Rather than being the standard 5v5 online battle arena mode, League of Legends: 2v2 Arena Mode will be 2v2, as the name suggests.
This game mode is a part of the Soul Fighter event and will be going live on July 20, 2023, and will have a ranked mode as well as a standard mode. This is in a similar fashion to TFT, which was a new game introduced through the League of Legends client.
As of yet, it's difficult to understand who exactly this mode is for given it seems to be a mini-game. but then also has a competitive mode. Is it for players who want to take the game seriously, or not? And for gamers who typically play with a five-man squad, this mode isn't a viable option. But, time will tell whether or not this mode is popular amongst players.
League of Legends Arena Gamemode: How to play
Daniel “Riot Maxw3ll” Emmons, the design lead on the Modes team provided some insight on now to play the new game mode.
- Step 1: Queue Up - You can queue for Arena solo or with a duo comrade.
- Step 2: Pick/Ban - Everyone gets a ban, and then you move into a Blind-style pick where you cannot see your enemies picks. You can face mirror matchups, but you can’t double up on your team. Also there are no Runes or Summoner Spells! (More on this later.)
- Step 3: Fight! - There are multiple rounds in each match of Arena, and each round has a buy and combat phase. In buy phases you either get to choose an Augment, or you get gold to buy items. You then enter the combat phase and fight your opponent. In each combat phase you fight 2v2—if you win, you retain your overall team health, if you lose, you lose some health. The last team standing wins! Easy, right? Wrong! There are also some surprise Cameos from the Soul Fighters who want to shake things up a bit. So watch out for errant Lux lasers and Shaco nonsense, because winning isn’t always as easy as it seems. Place in the top two teams and you’ll start climbing the Ranked ladder from Wood to Gladiator.
- Step 4: Run It Back - After your team is eliminated you can immediately leave and queue up again for retribution! But of course you won’t lose, you’re here to win the whole dang thing! So fight it out to the end, claim victory, and then keep that win streak going, baby!
League of Legends Arena Gamemode
Players 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. Combat takes place on four different battlefields which vary in size, terrain density, and, of course, theme. Champions from the Soul Fighter Universe make occasional Cameo appearances in battles to either lend players a hand or wreak some serious havoc.
Game Flow
Each round consists of a Shop phase and a Combat phase. Players begin the game at level three and gain one then two levels, alternating, each round.
Shop Phase
Shop phases either offer players a selection of Augments or grant them enough gold to buy a new item, in the following order:
- Shop round 1: 1000 gold
- Shop round 2: New Augment
- Shop round 3: 1000 gold
- Shop round 4: 3000 gold
- Shop round 5: New Augment
- Shop round 6: 3000 gold
- (Repeat 4-6 until a victor is decided)
All boots and starter items cost 1000 gold, and all Legendaries and Mythics cost 3000 gold. Only completed items are available for purchase (no components). Items from Summoners Rift have been re-tuned (adjustments are highlighted with unique text in the item tooltips), and several new items have been added (indicated with a star in the shop).
Augments can be Silver, Gold, or Prismatic, and become increasingly powerful and unique in that order. Augment rarity is decided randomly each time, and all players are offered Augments of the same rarity. Players may choose to reroll their Augment selection to see three new augments twice per game. All players’ Augments can be seen on the scoreboard in the tab screen.
The shop phase ends after 45 seconds or 8 seconds after all players have made their purchases. Gold in excess of 1000 or 3000 can be used to purchase Juices, which are elixir-like combat boosts that last for one round of combat. Champions with gold-generating abilities like TwistedFate’s passive have been modified to fit better into the mode. Additionally, champions with infinitely stacking abilities gain some stacks in this phase.
Combat Phase
Once the Shop phase ends, players are transported to a random battlefield to do combat. Matchups are determined in a random round-robin order; you cannot play the same team again before playing all other teams, though the order may change each round-robin. Your opponent will be indicated to you during the shop phase so you have time to prepare.
Teams start at 20 health and lose health when they lose a combat round. The penalty for losing starts at 2 and increases each round up to 8. While three teams remain, one team will be given abye round.
A combat ends when both players on a single team die. Getting at least one takedown during a combat round earns your team 350 gold for Shop round. After combat is over, you may spectate another team’s combat by clicking on their mascot on the fly-out panel on the right of the screen. After all combats are over, the next round begins.
Combat Modifiers and Rules
New ‘Power Flowers’ are scattered throughout each battlefield. These attackable plants have three charges and grant substantial healing, shielding, and cooldown refund to their attacker. Their name is no joke – these are some potent plants – don’t let your opponent take them freely!
After 40 seconds into combat, a ring of fire will begin to constrict towards the centre of the battlefield, shrinking every 10 seconds until the whole floor is ablaze. Champions caught in the fire take ramping per cent max health true damage. Shield and healing still work in the ring of fire.
Starting round 4, Soul Fighter Champions have a chance to join the battle in a Cameo. They are team-neutral and operate as battlefield hazards, altering the flow of battle. Many cast their signature damaging ability while others warp play in more unique ways. Here is a quick summary of each Cameo:
- Evelynn: Grants all players are camouflage (Passive)
- Gwen: Occasionally protects the lowest health player with Hallowed Mist (W)
- Jhin: Casts Curtain Call (R), alternates shots on each player
- Lux: Rotates a laser tripwire, casting Final Spark (R) on any champion to trip it
- Naafiri: The pack patrols the arena, leaping on champions they come across
- Pyke: Occasionally casts Phantom Undertow (E) at the furthest player
- Samira: Combos off player's crowd control; casts ultimate after doing so 6 times.
- Sett: Can be attacked; casts Haymaker (W) at the enemy of whoever last-hits
- Shaco: Continuously places jack-in-the-boxes (W) around the arena
- Viego: The first player to die instead becomes Viego for a time
Lastly, during combat, players gain increased movement speed, slow resistance, and tenacity as they and/or their allies lose health (dead allies are counted as 0 health for this bonus). Additionally, players gain increasing tenacity the longer they are continuously crowd-controlled.
