League of Legends is Testing Normal Draft Mode for Oceania Server

League of Legends players active on the Oceania server might soon gain access to the Normal Draft [...]

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(Photo: Riot Games)

League of Legends players active on the Oceania server might soon gain access to the Normal Draft mode if an upcoming testing period goes well.

For those on other servers who aren't aware of the game mode exclusion on the OCE server, there's not a choice for a Normal Draft mode at the moment. Ranked Draft is currently the only option where players can choose and ban champions, and non-ranked games are limited to Blind Pick where players have to rush to get their preferred role and champion.

The reasoning in the past behind not having the Normal Draft mode stems from the size of the OCE server. Longer queue times and how much the mode would even be used were some of the concerns that kept the Normal Draft mode from happening, but recent developments in the pregame process have made the mode more viable.

"To date, we have held back from enabling Normal Draft on the OCE servers due to our server size and the effects that an additional queue would have on queue times, autofill rates and overall usage," said Riot Maraudaur in the announcement. "However we think with recent improvements in champ select speed and experience plus matchmaking improvements we can give players an opportunity to test Normal Draft and see if it is a viable option in Oceania."

The test will last for a month, so OCE players will have plenty of time to try out the Normal Draft mode and see how it works for them. Testing will begin on Sept. 21 and will last until Oct. 19, so there will be plenty of time to take part in the Normal Draft mode during the timeframe. Blind Pick will still be enabled, but Normal Draft will be the default mode during the tests.

A mid-test update from Riot will let players know what the results look like so far by seeing how many players are playing in each category before a decision is made.

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