Riot have been experimenting with recreational game modes again. It started with a new map or two and before long they were onto the harder stuff, a new game type that has all the players rolling the same champion.
What’s worse than their own game mode abuse is that they’re planning on sharing it with all their fans, too. They’re going to give away these new Featured Gameplay Modes soon and there’s nothing we can do to stop them.
The modes sound a little like the mutators Valve rotated through Left 4 Dead. There you had a new experimental gametype released each week and then most popular were saved for players to try again. Riot are doing the same thing: “We’re limiting the availability of each mode so that you can try out a variety of different game types,” writes technical game designer Richard Hough. “After they’re brought down, we’ll check out your feedback as we develop new game modes – there’s always a chance that we’ll bring back the ones you love the most, too.”
Hough goes on to detail the first mode the team are rolling out, One For All. It “consists of two teams of five players all using the same champion. The One For All matchmaking queue will be featured on Summoner’s Rift, but you’ll be able to try the mode out on any League map via custom games. If you’ve ever dreamed of nuking an enemy team with five Final Sparks, chaining together a series of Unstoppable Forces or living forever with back-to-back Chronoshifts, now’s your chance.”
It’s great to see League of Legends mess with the MOBA formula. At a time where so many copycat MOBAs are being developed with only the slightest of tweaks being made, the big guns need to change their games to show you can alter the original Dota and still have a fun game. Hopefully, Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm will do the same.