League of Legends - Arena Game Mode

Since Arena's only available for a few weeks at a time, Riot Games is constantly pushing out adjustments big and small to hone the experience as much as we can in that small window. Because of that, some information presented here may become outdated for a short time. Always reference the patch notes and in-game details for the most current info!

Arena is a 2v2v2v2v2v2v2v2 (16 players!) game mode for League of Legends where you face off against other pairs across multiple maps (Rings) over the course of several rounds, whittling down your opponent's team health until only one duo stands victorious.

You'll also get to choose from a random selection of Augments as you go, making every match fun and intense in its own unique way.

Of course, this is just a broad overview, so read on for the deets.

Arena's back from March 5 to April 29.

Arena has its own progression system that uses "Fame." You earn Fame based on how you perform and how far you go. You can even gain additional Fame by selecting Bravery (more on that later). Riot Game is also made adjustments to the Mastery system so you can increase your Champion Mastery when playing Arena.

Fame is broken up into 9 levels that include perks like new augments, an additional re-roll, and Match-up Intro cards.

While jumping in solo is always an option, you can queue up in groups of 2–8 players. Even full 16-stacks are welcome, but you won't earn any Fame if the lobby is just you and your buds—gotta earn that climb!

The Arena experience begins the moment you enter the lobby.

You and your duo show up on one side of champion select while the other teams appear on the right. You'll immediately notice several key differences from Summoner's Rift, such as…

Crowd Favorites and Bravery - During champion select, you'll see two new options:

Crowd Favorite

Each lobby has 2–5 champions (determined by how many you own) with an anvil next to their icon. There are Crowd Favorites, and selecting them will grant you a stat anvil the moment you load into the game.

Bravery

Ready to throw caution to the wind? Select Bravery to load in with a random champion (with the last skin you've used with them), a stat anvil and 2 bonus re-rolls.

No Runes - Arena's tempo makes certain rune choices less meaningful, so they've been removed entirely. Besides, many of the in-game Augments feature powered-up versions of the existing runes. Use those to custom-tailor your playstyle.

Preset Summoner Spells - Everybody starts with the same two Summoner Spells: Flash and Flee (which is similar to Ghost), though you'll sometimes have the option to swap out Flee via Augment.

Semi-Draft Pick - One player from each team makes a pick, then those picks are revealed before each duo completes their team. Time for counterpicks!

Simultaneous Bans - All bans happen simultaneously, allowing multiple people to ban the same champion. This can also result in pocket pick champs sneaking their way through when everybody expects another player to ban them, so stay on the lookout.

Once everybody's locked and loaded, it's time to enter Arena.

Every round begins with a preparation phase where you'll receive a variety of avenues to power up, including Gold, Augments, and Anvils. Use this time to scout out the competition, stretch those wrists, or slam some Juice (irl or otherwise).

You can purchase most of the items available in Summoner's Rift once you get some Gold, but you also have access to Arena-specific items/perks through Anvils as the match goes on. They're sometimes handed out to all players as listed above, but they can also be purchased directly from the Shop:

• Prismatic - 4000 Gold: Randomized choice between all Prismatic items, Arena-specific gear that can take your build to the next level.
• Legendary - 2000 Gold: Randomized choice between Legendary items within your desired class (fighter, mage, etc).
• Stat - 750 Gold: Randomized choices between raw stat upgrades. This has a chance to upgrade to a Gold Stat Anvil, granting increased stats, or possibly into a Prismatic Stat Anvil with premium stats.

You can re-roll an Anvil if you don't like your choices, but keep in mind this will come from the same re-roll pool as your Augments.

Augments are special game-altering effects that, once selected, apply for the rest of the current game. They come in three flavors of increasing intensity: Silver, Gold, and Prismatic. While the rarity is random, you can rest assured that all players are offered the same level of power.

There's a huge variety of Augments, and many of them interact in strange, interesting, and powerful ways. Don't be afraid to explore new options or dial in on a cracked combo.

Earn a little extra money from knocking out your opponents? Consider knocking back a tasty Juice© for a short-term buff, now available every round.

Although you can't stack the same kind of Juice*, you CAN drink different kinds of Juice together to get their cumulative effect.

Ready. Set. FIGHT!

Once preparation finishes, your team of two will be transported to one of six rings where you'll face off against another pairing. Last team standing wins the round, while the defeated team will lose health based on the round.

Win or lose, getting a kill will score you 250 Gold.

If your match runs longer than 30 seconds, a ring of fire will begin to close in around your ring every few seconds. You'll receive a small amount of health %-based true damage whenever you're standing in the fire, so try to avoid the flames if possible. If the ring closes entirely, damage ramps up significantly. If you and your opponent both somehow manage to endure the flames for another 15 seconds after they've reached peak intensity, the round will end in a tie, dealing damage to both teams.

With this version of Arena, the ring of fire's flames leave lasting-but-unseen burns. If you spend an exceptionally long time within the flames, you'll take even more damage—and this extra damage can persist between rounds.

The mode may be called "Arena," but it actually features SIX different rings you can battle on throughout the competition.

Arena boasts a few exclusive features to give you even more tactical options:

• Deep Water (terrain): Doesn't block vision but otherwise acts like any other terrain.
• Power Flower (plant): Gives Shield, Heal, Mana, and partial Cooldown refund on all abilities each time it's hit.
• Bridge Bloom (terrain/plant): Can be walked on for a limited time before disappearing. If you're on it when it vanishes, you'll be knocked up and over to the closest piece of terrain.
• Destructible Pillars (terrain): These take damage from spells and attacks. Once they die, they fall on your opponents, dealing massive damage and leaving behind new terrain to mix things up.

Not content to just sit around and let you have the fun, the following champions appear at key rounds throughout the match to add their own unique brand of chaos to the proceedings. Twice during the game you’ll get to vote on one of three randomly selected Guests of Honor who apply a unique ruleset and twist to the game. The votes take place in Rounds 2 and 8.

Wave 1 - Current

Round 2 Vote

• Vladimir
• Darius
• Rell
• Swain
• Kled
• Xin Zhao
• Samira
• Briar
• Riven

Round 8 Vote

• Mordekaiser
• Mel
• Talon
• Sion
• Elise
• Riven

Wave 2 - Coming Patch 25.07

Round 2 Vote

• Katarina
• Alistar
• Ambessa
• Draven
• Trundle

Round 8 Vote

• Leblanc
• Cassiopeia
• Sahn Uzal

See more: All Arena Guests of Honor Revealed in League of Legends

If your teammate is defeated, a circle will appear at the place of their death after a few seconds. Stand in this circle for a few seconds, and they'll return to your side. Just because your teammate falls doesn't mean you'll have to finish the fight alone!

Each team only gets one revive per round, so treat your second life like it's your last.

Once your team health drops to 0, it's game over. You can choose to stick around and see who wins or leave without penalty, after which you can jump right back into the queue. Just know that the results aren't tallied until a final pair of victors emerges from the fray, so you may not see progress on your missions if you leave immediately after being knocked out early

If an odd number of teams remain at any point, one team will be randomly selected to sit out a match. Take a breather—you've earned it.

Check the Legacy Challenges tab to peruse Arena-specific challenges. Progress far enough and you'll get a Title for your efforts.

Just remember that challenges won't track until the match is complete. If you get knocked out early, you'll have to wait a bit to see where you stand.