It’s probably because you want to get Katarina, isn’t it? Maybe test fate and hope that Karthus is the next random pick? Or hopefully it’s Blitzcrank, because he is borderline unfair on ARAM. Whatever the reason, ARAM has brought hundreds of players from Summoners Rift to the Howling Abyss since its formal release back in 2012. For many people, it is a break from the hardships of climbing the ladder. For others, it is a way to play League when they don’t have enough time to play a full game. ARAM is a beloved game mode that has captured the hearts of League players everywhere.

ARAM actually started as a community project. Originally a custom game, it was played on Summoners Rift where everyone clicked random, and everyone went to the middle lane and just beat each other up. It was so popular that Riot eventually picked up on the custom game mode and, after a while of community pleading, decided to invest time into creating the game mode. Doing this, they created the Howling Abyss as a map meant specifically for ARAM gameplay.

They also tweaked the gameplay. Every champion starts at level 3. Backing isn’t allowed, and as soon as a player steps off of the summoning pad, they cannot access the store. To make up for the lack of backing, small health icons were implemented, spawning just over three minutes and respawning every forty seconds. These new additions, along with the ability to reroll the champion you get in champ select, elevated the original idea to new heights.

Also, we got Poros.

Sometimes the game just creates such one sided matchups, and it didn’t take long for players to realize what the Gods of ARAM were. Anything with resets, sizable aoe, or a global ult was much more valuable than champions without those skills. Anything with more than one of those was incredibly powerful on ARAM. I’m looking at you, Karthus. So, occasionally some games would just be lost from the random composition of another team, and that could be frustrating.

But ARAM games are notoriously short, and that has contributed to some of their charm. Riot officially has them listed as between 20-30 minutes, though many have been finished before even the twenty minute mark. Add their length with the lack of lane calling, or a draft mode, and ARAM becomes a quick match that can be played whenever someone doesn’t have the time to really invest themselves in Summoners Rift. It is the charm of League packaged up and delivered neatly.

At the time of its release, it features aesthetics that were before unseen in League of Legends, and vacant from Summoners Rift. Terrain crumbled off of the bridge spanning the Abyss as champions were slain. The towers decayed and broke apart as they took increasing damage. Innocent poros scamper around the feet of players before running away as soon as people start to fight each other.

There is an epic and despairing aura that comes along with Howling Abyss, as it is quite literally a frozen, crumbling bridge spanning over a huge, nightmarish cavern that is always in the backdrop. The music fits together with the frozen artwork that covers the entirety of the map. In sharp contrast to the hugeness of the Howling Abyss are the poros, which are adorable little balls of fluff made of love and happiness and that quickly won over the community. Because they are awesome.

And, finally, another appealing factor may just be the randomness of the map. The exhilaration when you’ve been gifted your best champion. The sudden dread seeing that their team has Karthus, Katarina, and Akali. Watching each player slowly hit the accept button and wondering what champion you’re going to get, and the strength of the random team composition you will have to play with; the careless feel that the map brings and fun-nature that it promotes even after a crippling defeat. Because there is always next time.

And unlike Summoners Rift, next time is never too far away.