Riot has added a new summoner spell for the popular game mode ARAM with patch 5.8. However, not all of the League of Legends community is thrilled.
ARAM stands for ALL Random All Mid and is a game mode with random champion assignment and only one lane. Both teams consist of 5 players who compete against each other on an icy bridge in the “Howling Abyss”. The gameplay is very action-packed as champions cannot spread out to jungle or other lanes.
However, Riot did not come up with the game mode themselves; it was created by the players. Some time ago, the ARAM mode was only available through the custom games section and did not have its own map. As this mode enjoyed great popularity, an initiative from players in the official forum called for its implementation in matchmaking. This was the first time in League of Legends history that a player-created mode became an official part of the game.
New Summoner Spell “Mark/Dash” against Poke Meta
With the last patch 5.8, a new summoner spell named “Mark/Dash” was added to the ARAM game mode. If you hit an enemy champion with this spell, you deal true damage and mark them. This ability can then be reactivated within 3 seconds to sprint to the marked unit. A similar spell was used during the winter of 2014/2015 in the “Legend of the Poro King” – but only as a seasonal joke and for a limited time.
The reason for the introduction of the new summoner spell is the dominance of ranged champions with poke potential such as Jayce, Lux, Varus, and Sona. Teams with melee fighters like Udyr often found themselves at a disadvantage against ranged attackers as they could stay behind towers and spam their attacks. Additionally, some players created smurf accounts specifically for ARAM that only featured this type of champion. Riot now wants to assist melee champions with “Mark/Dash” and counter the meta:
“One thing we learned from the Legend of the Poro King is that there are plenty of champions who would fare well in the Howling Abyss if they had better opportunities for an attack. Therefore, we are introducing ‘Mark/Dash’ as a summoner spell option.”
Implementation of OP – Players Complain
Now some players are criticizing the introduction of the new summoner spell “Mark/Dash” in the official forum, on Twitter, or on Reddit.
With the new summoner skill (Mark/Dash), ARAM is unplayable for all ranged characters now.
The skill is completely unbalanced. The cooldown is too low, the range is exaggerated, and that everyone can jump to the marked target is an insult.
Sorry, but I loved my evening ARAM… now it’s just a torment.
Bye bye LoL until the fix or forever…User “Alla without H” in the League of Legends Forum
Most of the time it should be easy enough for it to be dodged time and time again. If they don’t hit anything then that’s okay. I do agree though that the cooldown is ridiculous; it could be boosted to a maximum of 40 seconds with a reduction to 30 for committed use.
User IVIorgz on Reddit
While ARAM fans requested a change regarding the poke meta, they did not want it with the snowball skill known from the “Legend of the Poro King”. The most frequently criticized aspects are the low cooldown, the range, and the bonus damage from the new summoner spell.
But take it easy: Even though the introduction of the new skill is debatable, Riot has already made adjustments to the Mark/Dash spell on the PBE (Public Beta Environment) that address these criticisms.
