League of Legends has been known for years to create fun and exciting new rotating game modes. Most of these game modes come and go but there are some that hold a dear place in my heart. Today I will go through the Top 5 best featured game modes that League has ever had.
One of the things I love about League of Legends is their rotating featured game modes. Not only are they a fun way to mix up the different ways you can play, but they also feature unique maps, playstyles, and what items you can buy. Most of the time these events are directly related to the release of a new Champion, new skins, a story or lore, or seasonal events like April Fools or for the Winter holidays. For example, Invasion was a featured game mode that was released alongside the first set of Star Guardian skins. For another example, the Black Market Brawlers game mode was released to celebrate the introduction of Burning Tides lore.
These game modes are usually only available once and you can only play them for an unset amount of time. Of the 14 featured game modes League of Legends has ever had, the list of ones that have been repeated is short: Ultra Rapid Fire (URF), All For One, Doom Bots, Snowdown Showdown turned into the Poro King, and Nexus Blitz. Today I will be discussing, in alphabetical order, the top 5 featured game modes that are near and dear to my heart: Ascension, Doom Bots, Hexakill/Hexakill: Twisted Treeline, Nexus Blitz, and URF.
Running for 17 weeks, Ascension was the very first featured game mode and was released on September 10th, 2014. This game mode was released in tandem with the champion Azir’s release. It also gave a deeper look into Shurima’s lore within League of Legends. This game mode also took place on its unique map, Crystal Scar, and had you teleport to a port. You were only able to teleport into the map and wouldn’t be able to recall or buy items until you died and respawned in your own fountain. At the center of the map is Xerath as an Ancient Ascendant (a stationary neutral monster) and killing him bestows the “Ascension” buff, which gives you a significant buff. Champions can only ascend by killing the monster and not by killing another Ascended. The Ancient Ascendant must then be killed again when it respawns after the last Ascended champion dies.
The objective of this game mode is to be the first team to score 200 points. There are multiple ways to win points: 1 point for killing each enemy champion, 2 points if a killer is Ascended, 3 points for claiming a Relic of Shurima, 5 points for killing an Ascended Champion, and 5 points for killing The Ancient Ascendant. One of the main objectives is to gain the Ascension Buff which can be acquired if you stand inside the circle that appears below the killed Ancient Ascendant. The buff will only transfer if one team is inside; if both are inside the buff neither team will gain the buff. Once someone claims the buff, they become invulnerable and after five seconds, the champion will emerge fully healed, 20% bigger, and send out a shock wave that knocks back enemy champions 600 units and causes them to be dazed for one second.
It was fun to fight in such a small arena and try to play games where the enemy team never was able to become Ascended.
Also known as the Nightmare mode, this unique game mode allowed you to play a Co-op vs. AI game that gave the enemy bots empowered abilities. It was released in 2015 as well as in 2016. Considering you mainly play Co-op vs. AI games to either hone a new skill or learn about a champion, this featured game mode allowed you to view bots in a new way. There were 21 bots that were randomized for each game and they had extra abilities. For example, if Annie was a bot in your game, she would also automatically launch her Q ability (Disintegrates) nearby minions, Incinerates (her W ability) is sent in a circle around her, and summons Tibbers whenever she dies. Other champion bots will have similar unique interactions. This game mode was meant for quick, fun, with the goal of survival in mind.
After 15 minutes, The Evil Overlord of the Doom Bots (aka Teemo) is summoned, and either you defeat him and win, or he destroys your nexus and you lose. The outrageous abilities and quick play style had me on edge every game.
Released on January 25th, 2014, this game mode was played on both the Summoners Rift and Twisted Treeline maps. This game mode enables six people to play and gets its name from the multi-kill possibility, similar to Pentakill which is used for when a single player kills all five enemy players. This game mode was especially fun to try out different strategies in as well: such as going Duo Mid, Top, Jungle, everyone mid, or simply have the 6th person roam around. On the Twisted Treeline map though is where the chaos really ensued. With six people on such a small map, there was constant fighting and you were able to gain experience faster. I would also like to take a moment to say RIP to Twisted Treeline; a map that my friends and I miss dearly. Here’s to hoping it makes a comeback one day!
Originally released on the patch for August 15th, 2018, Nexus Blitz was played on the Ionian Spirit Blossom Forests known as the Temple of Lily and Lotus.
Its unique map design is one of my favorite things about it as well. I love using the canons for not only engaging but also for evading enemies. There are two junglers, one person in mid lane, and two in the bot lane. The fun events that take place within the game are extremely fun as well. They have events such as King of the Hill, where you try to claim a point on the map for the longest duration, Push the Cart, where you have to push your cart on the map the farthest, and Prize Fight, where you randomly face off against your enemies in a small arena.
Your team also gains perks while in-game, such as a Static Shiv passive for you and your teammates, minions that gain a Blitzcrank hook, and other fun rewards as well. This is absolutely my favorite game mode, and I was very happy when it made a return in 2020.
One of the most popular and fan-favorite featured game modes, Ultra Rapid Fire, affectionately known as URF, was first released on April Fools’ Day 2014 along with some fun April Fools’ Day skins. This game mode gives you the Awesome Buff of Awesomely Awesome Buffing; two perks of this buff are having 300 Ability haste and no mana or energy costs for all champions’ abilities.
This game mode allows pure chaos on the map and lets you spam abilities and items to allow for many kills and many laughs. If I recall correctly, this game mode has been rereleased the most out of any of the other featured game modes.
Nexus Blitz is absolutely the game mode I’ve had the most fun playing, but the one I’d most like to see a return from (that hasn’t already) is Hexakill. It was really fun to try and get one of our teammates to get a Hexakill, just to hear the announcer say “Hexakill!.” Although these game modes are gone, I hope this article has given you some more insight into past featured game modes you weren’t aware of. Here’s to hoping some of my other favorites make a return sometime in the future; all we can do is wait and see!
