While we’ve been waiting for a new League of Legends mode for a while, some LoL players haven’t been impressed by the MOBA’s 2v2v2v2 Arena game. In response, Riot clarified that the short development period for League of Legends Arena was for a good purpose.
Arena is currently available on the PBE, and while some have found it a welcome step away from the usual LoL format, others claim they have struggled with long queue times or, alternatively, haven’t even made it into a game.
In response to a particularly scathing comment on the game’s official subreddit, lead modes designer Daniel ‘Maxw3ll’ Emmons writes that “we started dev on this mode like, seven months ago, and rushed it out so that players would have something sick for the summer event.
“Definitely agree there’s stuff that we can improve,” he continues, “and I’m hopeful people give the mode a shot so we can learn as much as we can for a second swing.”
While I am one of those players who has been silently hoping for a new mode for ages, I’d be lying if I said Arena was what I expected. I remember that good ol’ Gangplank event where he was disabled because he was, well, dead, and I remember how fresh Spirit Blossom felt when it first launched. I love the Street Fighter aesthetic of Soul Fighter and Arenas, but for me it just feels a little too akin to TFT.
On the flip side, though, I’m not complaining. It’s an entirely new mode, an entirely new event concept, and it’s something I’m excited to play with my long-suffering botlane duo – especially with Evelynn casually dropping into my games. As Riot continues to innovate for that “second swing,” I’m excited to see how Arena evolves.
Until then, it’s worth checking out which League of Legends skins are currently on sale to see if there are any you’d want to pick up ahead of Soul Fighter, as well as the current League of Legends Mythic shop lineup.