New 'League of Legends' Patch Is Removing Some of ARAM's Experimental Features

Riot Games tested some experimental features in League of Legends' ARAM mode recently such as the ability to ban away champions and balance changes specific to champions in that game mode. When the next update releases, some of those features will stick around while others will be removed. The most notable change at first will be the removal of Butcher's Bridge as the Howling Abyss returns, but the patch notes for Patch 9.8 went into detail on the specific changes.

In the ARAM portion of the Patch 9.8 notes, Riot Games said decisions regarding what was kept and what is leaving were made based on players' feedback. The list of items and features that are being removed includes Mariner's Vengeance, Ghostwalkers, the Backtrack Summoner Spell, and perhaps most importantly, the champion bans. Each removed feature received one brief point in the patch notes, but the removal of the bans was the only one that specifically cited "much discussion" and feedback from players.

"After much discussion and weighing your feedback, bans will not be a permanent feature in ARAM," Riot Games said.

Any game mode has champions that are top-tier and ARAM's no different, but those poke-heavy ranged champions that dominate the mode were curbed by the bans. The removal of the feature therefore seems like an interesting decision since it got rid of not only those champs but the ones that a player didn't want to play as themselves, too, so it'll be interesting to see what Riot Games' reasoning is when the in-depth post is released.

Some features are sticking around through such as the rune adjustments and ARAM-specific balances for champions. Different characters had previously received buffs and nerfs in Nexus Blitz, and Riot Games said it would bring similar changes to ARAM. The patch notes confirmed that, every few months, champions will be adjusted for the all-random game mode.

The full patch notes for the ARAM changes can be seen here, but look for the more in-depth post to come soon.

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