League of Legends, the world-renowned multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is introducing a new 2v2 Arena Mode as part of its Soul Fighter event this summer. This tournament will feature four teams of two against each in a major departure to the game’s typical 5v5 Summoner’s Rift matches.
Daniel “Riot Maxw3ll” Emmons, a design lead at RIOT Games, described this new game mode as a “mashup of League and Teamfight Tactics, focused squarely on putting you into the action faster, forcing you to respond to huge power ups and tempting you to try truly wacky nonsense.”
To participate, players can either queue solo or with a friend as a team of two. Matches have multiple rounds, with each including a buy phase and combat phase in which players face off against opposing teams. These match ups will rotate between four teams, and each has a health bar that will go down with each loss. When eliminated, you can exit immediately and queue up for a new game right away.
- Read more: Microsoft’s Strategy to Win Back Gaming
This marks a major departure from vanilla LoL, and includes a new TFT-inspired Augment feature, alterations to items, and the restriction of two Summoner Spells including Flash and Flee. Every player is allowed a ban before the blind pick round, which may result in mirror match ups in Arena. Combat will stretch across four brand-new mini maps with unique terrain.
The Soul Fighter event introduces 12 never-before-seen skins for different champions and an all-new in-game universe.