When does Arena Mode return in League of Legends? Dates, changes, more

Arena has been one of the most popular limited-time game modes in League of Legends, with many players asking when the game mode will make its return. We’ve got you covered with everything there is to know.

League of Legends just easily had one of its most successful limited game mode launches ever. Arena released with the Soul Fighters event gave players a new 2v2v2v2 mode that made waves across the player base.

Many players can’t wait to get their hands on the game mode once more, and fortunately, Riot has implemented new tech that allows Arena to be more easily enabled. This means we may see Arena return far more frequently than usual, giving players more of what they love.

Want to know when the Arena doors open once more? We’ve got you covered.

LoL Arena have return date

Riot has confirmed that while Arena is going away with the Soul Fighter event, players won’t need to wait long to see it once more.

According to a recent dev blog, the developers confirmed Arena would be returning in Patch 13.23. This means Arena will hit live servers on November 21st, 2023.

LoL Arena changes

Alongside this, Riot has confirmed that the game modes team will be looking to upgrade the Arena mode even further.

Bigger group queues

In the recent dev blog, Riot has confirmed that players will be able to queue up as groups of 2, 3, and 4 now, with the option to create private lobbies with a group of 8. Even if you queue into a private lobby, you’ll still lose and gain rating points, as the devs don’t want to split the game mode into a ranked and unranked queue.

New Augments

Some augments in Arena 1.0 felt too necessary on their character, forcing players to incessantly reroll for it. The developers are throwing in 60 more augments into the mix to hopefully alleviate the issue and promote more diversity.

Augment limits

On top of that, Riot is introducing a limit to the amount of augments available. All augments will be limited to 2 copies each, meaning that as augments get chosen, it’s less likely you’ll see them in future rounds.

New Champion Select

Champion select will be shifted for Arena 2.0 as well. Now players will ban champions like normal, but instead, the first player of each team will blind pick. These champions will then be revealed and the second players will be able to blind pick a champion. However, these champions cannot be the same as those revealed beforehand.

Teammate Revival

Each team will now receive one revive per round. When an ally goes down, a circular area will begin to form underneath them. Players are able to stand in that area for a period of time to bring them back.

Hextech Gates

Hextech Gates are being introduced in the Arena. These teleporters are supposed to help squishier classes maintain their distance. The Hextech Gates will have a global cooldown, meaning it’ll be harder to chase someone if they opt to tp out.

Center Ring Changes

As a round of Arena goes on, a ring of fire begins to slowly close in on the arena. In Arena 1.0, this circle was always in the center of the arena, giving turret champions a massive advantage. Riot is changing this so that the circle will be randomized between predetermined points, evening out the playing field.

Balance Changes

Riot has also mentioned that more balance changes would come alongside Arena 2.0. What this means exactly is yet to be revealed.

New Cameos

Both Thresh and Sylas will be joining from the Winterblessed skinlines to cameo in Arena 2.0. Sylas will provide players with a random ultimate that will override your non-flash Summoner Spell, whilst Thresh will throw his lantern, providing shields and a free escape.

LoL Arena permanent status

It’s worth noting that the LoL devs have said they’re looking at the data from the Soul Fighters event to decide if Arena should have a permanent stay in League of Legends. However, with more data to be gained from its December return, there’s still a chance Riot will take the mode to new heights and add it to the permanent roster.