Unlike most MOBAs, League of Legends hosts a ton of different game modes with special maps to suit players who want something unique.
The core five-on-five game mode on Summoner’s Rift will always be the LoL’s core, but Riot Games has cooked up a ton of different options to mix up the experience. Whether it be the controlled chaos of All Random, All Mid, the all-out madness of Ultra Rapid Fire, or the tight team play of Arena, the developer made sure there’s a mode for everyone. Many alternate modes also come with custom maps to match perfectly with the experience.
Players who are interested in mixing up their experience should check out all the alternate modes and maps that League of Legends has to offer.
Here’s a list of all League of Legends maps and game modes, including some that are retired from the modern game.
All League of Legends maps:
Besides Summoner’s Rift and the special maps that follow patch cycles, Riot has further developed All Random, All Mid along with the Howling Abyss map for years. Howling Abyss now has several map variants and is used for several special game modes.
The sheer variety of game modes is one of the things that most draws players to League of Legends and keeps them invested in the game.
Based on community requests, the next game mode for League of Legends may be the return of 3v3 Twisted Treeline.
League of Legends has plenty of game modes, but the rose-tinted glasses of the community often point toward Twisted Treeline. The classic game mode officially left LoL in 2019 at the end of Season 9 and has yet to make a return. Players on social media often ask Riot for the return of the game mode. With the fifth anniversary of its removal on the horizon, it may be time to bring it back as the next new game mode for League of Legends.
Twisted Treeline had a number of changes compared to Summoner’s Rift, with the most obvious being its 3v3 lobbies. The smaller player count compounded with the dual lane map to create a bloody game mode designed around skirmishing right from the start. The smaller map and shorter match time also made Twisted Treeline ideal for learning new champions. League currently has an excellent game mode for groups of two, four, and five. Adding it back would let teams of three get a match in with their full team and no random players.
Summoner’s Rift is the classic League of Legends experience. Two teams of five players match up across three lanes and a broad jungle to battle it out for experience and gold. These resources enable players to level up their champions and purchase valuable items that improve their fighting potential. The goal is to tear down defensive turrets that protect the enemy’s base and then invade to destroy the enemy nexus.
ARAM is a simpler and more straightforward game mode. Five players on each team march their way down a single unified lane. The goal is still to gain experience and gold to power up one’s champions, but there are far fewer strategic concerns because the single lane is so straightforward. One major twist is the draft, where players are randomly assigned champions from their pool. ARAM is generally considered a much more casual form of LoL, but many players still take it quite seriously.
Arena is the newest evergreen mode for League of Legends with its own special map and mechanics. This mode sees players battle it out in teams of two. Four such teams compete in a tightening playing field in this scrambling brawl. Arena has a much different feel compared to Summoner’s Rift and ARAM, eschewing the lane mechanic entirely to create what feels more like a battle royale with MOBA mechanics.
As the LoL universe continues to develop, Riot will likely introduce new maps or game modes in the future.
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