League of Legends is known all over the world for its highly competitive and exciting 5v5 MOBA game mode. However, a lot of people, especially those who don’t play LoL or are new to the game, don’t know that you can try out other game modes as well.
These game modes can be different versions of the normal 5v5 gameplay or an entirely unique experience. Either way, they provide a ton of fun for all players, both new and veteran alike.
If you want to know more about the various game modes League of Legends has to offer, you’re in the right place! This is your one-stop guide to all the game modes you can play.
Summoner’s Rift – Normal 5v5 Blind Pick
This is the bread and butter game mode of LoL. Here, two teams of five players each take control of powerful champions in intense combat. To win the game, a team must collect gold through kills or minions and use them to buy items. Once strong enough, they must overpower their opponents and destroy their nexus.
It is a pretty straightforward game mode with no strings attached or any tricks involved. The map, Summoner’s Rift, is composed of three lanes each, as well as a jungle that spans across the middle. This is where the teams duke it out for the victory.
Now, Summoner’s Rift is the main map for LoL but it supports a bunch of game modes. This one in particular is the unranked game mode where people can play casual games. It is called Blind Pick because players do not see the champions of their opponents up until the loading screen for the game.
Summoner’s Rift – Normal 5v5 Draft Pick
Building on the Normal 5v5 game mode is the Draft Pick. Unlike the Blind Pick variant, here, you can simulate what the ranked mode would be like since you can see the picks of your opponents. Using this knowledge, you can adjust your champion pick as well as your team composition. What’s great about this game mode is it gives all the feel of a ranked game, minus the consequences.
As far as game play is concerned, the game is played on Summoner’s Rift and the same rules apply as with all Normal 5v5 game modes.
Summoner’s Rift – Ranked 5v5 Draft Pick
The ranked game mode is what players tune into the most. It is where people grind games to try and increase their rank to prove how good they are, and can be. The mechanics work just like normal draft picks except that now there are consequences for winning and losing games. Every time you win, you gain League Points (LP) which will progress you through the ranks, and every time you are defeated, you lose LP.
It is worth noting that the behaviour offenses in the ranked game mode are more strict. This means that if you dodge champion select, the queue, or leave in the middle of the game, you get harsher punishments for it.
Summoner’s Rift – Rotating game modes
Aside from the usual gameplay that the other game modes offer, from time to time, Riot releases rotating game modes that change how the game is played. The following are a list of the most popular rotating game modes you can play:
1. One for All
In this game mode, each team nominates a champion that the entire team will play copies of. As the name implies, if a certain champion is chosen, for example, Garen, then all 5 players on a team will play Garen.
This game mode is not balanced, as expected. Some champions are way stronger than others when played with 5 copies and some are weaker. In any case, this makes for unique and exciting gameplay where you can try different shenanigans with your team.
2. Ultra Rapid Fire (URF)
Ultra Rapid Fire is perhaps the most famous rotating game mode that Riot has ever launched for League of Legends. This is because it was released as a reference to the manatee named Urf that was supposed to be a new champion, but turned out to be an April Fool’s joke. Instead, they released a skin called ‘Urfwick’ where Warwick has killed Urf.
As the name implies, Ultra Rapid Fire is a game mode where all the champion abilities have 80% cooldown reduction. It’s a chaotic mode where broken champions are made truly busted and weak champions find a way to shine.
Since its release, it has always been the most hyped and awaited rotating game mode. Players always await its return and make the most of it when it comes out.
URF has a variant called ARURF, or All Random Ultra Rapid Fire. The game mode functions exactly the same as regular URF, except for one catch: all champions chosen are random.
Instead of picking and banning champions before the game starts, each player is assigned a random champion that they can’t change. In a way, this game mode adds some balance to the game, as you won’t be able to play the champions that are known to be too strong.
Howling Abyss – All random all mid
More known as ARAM, this game mode is set on a map where there is only one lane. Unlike Summoner’s Rift game modes, ARAM doesn’t allow players to purchase items for their champions after they’ve left the base. Champions aren’t allowed to heal at their base’s fountain as well.
In order to buy items for your champion, you have to die and respawn at your base. This mechanic makes for some unique gameplay and ways to play the game. For example, you want to find a way to execute yourself so that the enemy does not get gold from your death.
These are all the facts you need to know about the different League of Legends game modes. If you find one that you want to play, just hop right into the action and log on to the game!