With Dark Star: Singularity, the most recent League of Legends rotating game mode, quickly approaching the end of its rotation, this weekend is the last chance to get in on the hookin’ and the flailin’ before the game mode comes to a close.
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A complete overhaul of the typical rotational game mode, Singularity put players atop a crumbling comet in an astral battle as they attempted to pull each other into the Dark Star that threatened to consume everything around it. Everyone was restricted to playing as Dark Star Thresh, but the Chain Warden brought with him some significantly augmented abilities to create a fast-paced, team-oriented mini game that was an enjoyable break from the typical League of Legends grind.
Singularity ran longer than the game modes usually do, persisting throughout the week instead of just being locked to the weekend and Monday. The game mode was met largely with appreciation by players who welcomed the fresh take on gameplay, but the question of “what comes next?” is always on players’ minds when the weekend’s game mode comes to an end. While it’s not known at this time what all game modes will take Singularity’s place on throughout the upcoming weekends, that didn’t stop players in the r/LeagueOfLegends community from sounding off on what they hoped to see back soon in the rotational queue.
In a post from the Redditor u/SobeloElo, the user created a poll to see which game mode the community preferred. Over 13,000 respondents sounded off at the time this is written and voted for their favorite mode while appreciating some old favorites and incorporating more recent game modes into their list.
No. 5: Doom Bots
Officially known as The Doom Bots of Doom, sometimes referred to as Nightmare Mode and most often condensed to Doom Bots, came in at No. 5 on the list of preferred game modes.
A nightmarish mode indeed, Doom Bots returned in 2016 to take on the notion that AI games are too easy. Bots grew tired of getting killed in their own fountain, and they returned with some new and improved abilities to push back against players.
Featuring a roster of 21 modified champs, a team that includes champions such as Blitzcrank, Amumu, Yasou, and Malzahar, players took to a spooky version of Summoner’s Rift not to take the enemy’s base as usual, but only to survive. If players can survive for at least 15 minutes, The Evil Overlord of the Doom Bots emerges to fight for his minion Bots. It’s really just a massive version of the Little Devil Teemo skin, but it’s terrifying nonetheless.
Quests can be accomplished to boost your team’s strength and grant a fighting chance to take down the Overlord. Once you can manage that — while he’s inevitably pushing into your base — the game is won. There’s no word whether this 2016 game mode will enter back into a typical rotational queue, but it sure would be nice if it did.
No. 4: One For All
A game mode where everyone puts aside their differences and unites under one champion’s banner, One For All begins with a drafting stage where players vote on who they want the team to play. The majority vote will put everyone in control of the selected champion, and if a decision can’t be made, one of the choices presented by the players will be randomly chosen. It’s best to collaborate here during the voting process, because there’s certainly some champs that are superior to others in this game mode.
In order to make the game mode work, there were two champions that had to be left behind. Teemo and Karthus are disabled every time this game mode comes around, and for good reason, too. Some may complain that it’s unfair to play against the combined abilities of one champion played by five people, but it’s hard to argue the case for why a Karthus team should be able to five-man ult and instantly wipe the opposing team, or why a team of Teemos can go full Omega Squad and stay invisible with their shrooms.
Some interesting combos become available in this game mode, an effect that many of the commenters in the thread listed as their driving reason to want the game mode back. These unique combos don’t just serve one purpose though, as they lend themselves to both strategies and laughs. Nailing an enemy with a Cassiopeia’s poison will allow the other slithery teammates to continuously apply their Twin Fangs, but it’s almost just as fun to send your teammate over a wall and into the other team’s arms with a well-placed Satchel Charge from Ziggs.
No. 3: Dark Star Singularity
Perhaps it’s just the newness that hasn’t quite worn off yet, or perhaps players really did enjoy the unique and fresh look at how League of Legends is played in Dark Star: Singularity. Either way, seeing the game mode up in the top three was a bit surprising, but it’s a solid indication that the team behind the development of upcoming game modes is on the right track.
As mentioned previously, the Dark Star: Singularity game mode pits a 3v3 team of Threshes against each other to score points by pulling enemies or Abyss Scuttlers into the Dark Star that takes up the center of the map. Thresh’s hooks fly much further, his lantern automatically saves disabled teammates — no longer do you have to beg your team to grab the lantern — and low-health enemies are sent flying much further by Thresh’s abilities.
Many of the commenters cited the game mode’s quickness as a huge factor for it being in the No. 3 spot. Singularity does indeed move fast, and a best-of-three round win condition provides a brief experience that still gives players a chance to make a comeback.
Playing it wasn’t just for the gameplay either. Being able to finish games quickly also made it possible to grind out some quick IP to complete a champion roster and the chance to obtain key fragments quicker to unlock that stack of loot boxes you’ve been sitting on.
No. 2: ARURF
If you miss the much-requested URF mode but find yourself indecisive about which champion to choose when it comes to pounding your QWER keys without concern, ARURF is the game mode for you.
ARURF has been around for a while, but it took a break from appearing in the game because of some complications in getting the game mode to work with the new client that was recently implemented.
The game mode stands for All Random Ultra Rapid Fire, the random part putting a spin on the already fast-paced game mode that is the low-cooldown URF. In ARURF, players don’t go through a typical draft stage. Instead, it starts off much more like ARAM on the Howling Abyss as players are randomly given a champ to play. The game mode does allow for the champs to be re-rolled as they can be in ARAM, and the re-rolls accumulate much quicker to allow players to get someone they’d at least feel somewhat comfortable playing.
One of the main reasons behind the changes that turned URF into ARURF was the development of some unhealthy playstyles where some champions were pretty overpowered thanks to the low cooldowns. Being chain CC’d by a Morgana and Lux was in URF was certainly not fun, and this new game mode hoped to combat that issue.
However, it was not received the same by the community. Much of this probably has to do with the fact that it was so like URF while still being so unlike URF at the same time, giving players a taste of what they really wanted. Many complained that the chance of getting overpowered URF champs still existed, the only difference being there was nothing to be done about it if you don’t get an equally lucky roll.
No. 1: URF
It should be little surprise that the URF game mode came in at the No. 1 spot in this list. Even if you haven’t been lucky enough to indulge in the sporadic appearances that URF makes, being involved in the League of Legends community for any length of time will eventually expose you to the meme-like status that the game mode has achieved.
Similar to the previously mentioned ARURF mode, this game mode greatly lowers the cooldowns of all champions’ abilities with some exceptions. Champions such as Tahm Kench had to be toned down a bit so they wouldn’t perma-stun enemies while other champions like Aurelion Sol received buffs such as an increased number of rotating stars to put them in line with others.
Originally put in place as an April Fools joke, the game mode quickly found its way into the hearts of players who couldn’t wait to toss out abilities every which way while throwing caution to the wind. Yasuo escapes were made even greater, and Karthus players likely had to take a break from the game after mashing Q throughout the whole match.
Several members of the community participating in the Reddit thread again took the chance to plead with Riot Games to bring back URF, and some even went as far as to say that both URF and ARURF shouldn’t have even been included in the list since they were guaranteed to appear in the first and second places. Some brought up the problems with URF that were mentioned before, such as seeing the same 20 or so champs every game, but the consensus still remained that URF is king.
