In Update 14.15 next week, the designers have made a series of balance changes to the League of Legends Arena mode. The amount of effort they put into this mode is already the same amount as the regular updates of each version, which makes players love Arena mode even more. There's no doubt that the huge success of the new mode Arena and Endless Frenzy has inspired Riot Games to start developing more innovative ways to play – some of which may even "push the envelope."
League of Legends has always been dominated by the classic modes of Summoner's Rift and Crying Abyss, and while this has made it one of the biggest games in the world, the enthusiasm has been rekindled with the introduction of new modes over the past few seasons. Last year's launch of Arena and this year's Endless Frenzy are prime examples, with players hungry for more new things.
Players have a proven track record of love for Arena and Endless Tides, and Riot Games has heard and will respond to it. The development team realized that it was a mistake to slow down the game mode, and at one point they focused all their attention on the canyon and didn't have much thought about the development of the entertainment mode. Now they plan to do the opposite, creating more "experimental gameplay," including cool design, fun expansions, and more modes—all of which could serve as a "safe" testbed for upgrades to the original League of Legends game.
"We saw what the ecosystem looked like when it wasn't injected with new experiences," explains Eduardo Cortejoso, who leads the League of Legends mode team, "and players made it clear that they wanted the new mode. ”
As a result, Riot Games rebuilt its mode team in 2022 and began working on new entertainment modes, Arena and Endless Frenzy, which are very different from the traditional League of Legends gameplay. But in the latest interview, we see what the future holds for pattern teams. Riot Games wants to not only continue to support the already successful models, but also make them "sustainable" for the long term, as Sope May, project lead for Endless Tide, explains.
While the specifics have yet to be revealed, the League of Legends mode team has proven that they are willing to experiment. Arena was a huge success when it first launched, but that didn't stop Riot Games from making major changes when it went live for the second time — a move that clearly paid off. May adds, "We're looking for ways to continuously improve the model. "Since Arena was first launched last summer, it has returned twice on the live server, and each return has been accompanied by an upgrade in gameplay.
This responsibly approach to models raises the question: Is it possible to give life to old models that had been put on hold? League of Legends players have long asked for the return of the Warp Jungle map. Similarly, extreme blitz, narrative-focused Odyssey, and the long-awaited battlegrounds of domination could all be reintroduced.
The only thing that is certain at the moment is that the future modes will be as creative as Endless Frenzy, and the developers will change those new modes to meet modern qualities before they are put in front of League of Legends players. Still, Riot said that these patterns would be "as carefully risk-assessed as Heimerdinger" and that they couldn't promise that the old patterns would return. But in any case, the ultimate goal is for players to have fun with the entertainment mode.
"The value of game modes is that they create a different League of Legends experience," shared August, head of design at Endless Tide, "Some players prefer ranked, some prefer Smash Bros., and others prefer the entertainment mode. League of Legends has a large and diverse player base, and more modes are a great way to serve those looking for a different experience. ”
At the moment, one thing is very clear: Endless Frenzy and Arena are huge wins. This has inspired Riot Games to invest extra resources in its entertainment mode, which they used to launch several times a year when the mode team was founded a few years ago, such as Blood Moon Kill, Ascension, and Clone Ops. Players are looking forward to more game modes in League of Legends in the future, and they also hope that the old limited-time modes such as Ultimate Magic and Extreme Blitz will return.