League of Legends celebrated its 15th birthday in 2024. In the history of the popular MOBA, there have been many iconic game modes and patches that can no longer be played today. Many players wish for a LoL-Classic
in the style of WoW. MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes wonders, though, if that could work.
What is it about? League of Legends has been around for 15 years, and many players naturally associate nostalgic feelings with the MOBA from Riot. Accordingly, it is not surprising that players also long for old modes or even past seasons and patches.
Regularly, there are posts on reddit expressing a desire for a LoL-Classic
. In the style of WoW Classic, players want to relive old content. As much as I would love to indulge in old modes or seasons, I strongly believe that it wouldn’t work with everything.
There is a reason why old game modes were removed
There are essentially two Classic Wishes
of many players. On one hand, they want old modes back that Riot has previously introduced. This includes not just fun modes like Doombots or Dark Star: Singularity, but also old “permanent” modes like Dominion or Twisted Treeline.
When it comes to seasonal fun modes, I have to agree with all players. They are currently available, but they only rotate between known modes, and Riot is not even close to maximizing the potential that exists. Sure, Arena is really fun and Ultimate Spellbook is good for a break. But the creative variety of the past is missing. Where is the Doombots of Doom, where you had to play against overpowered bots together?
The rotating format is perfect for bringing back old stuff or trying out new, possibly risky ideas. If a mode is not played or hated, it doesn’t matter, as it is not permanent. To my great joy and that of many players, it seems to be heading in that direction: Riot introduced Swarm not only as a new mode in the game. Its success led them to change their strategy.
To be honest, I see the topic of Dominion
and Twisted Treeline
much more negatively. As much as some players miss the modes: hardly anyone played them compared to regular LoL or ARAM. Should Dominion or Twisted Treeline return, I firmly believe they wouldn’t be played for long.
Especially Twisted Treeline is too competitively designed to just throw it in like a fun mode “in between”. Also, balancing multiple “permanent” modes would require more development resources than time-limited fun modes. Riot would rather focus on balancing the main game.
Bringing back old seasons or patches could be a problem
What can be said about the return of old patches? Another major demand from many players is the return of old patches and seasons. In the style of WoW Classic. It works quite well there, and recently, a Classic Classic
was even released.
An MMORPG is perfectly set up for that. There is a red thread one can follow that brings back familiar content. Perfect for casuals to relive old times. In MOBAs, though, it’s a little different.
There are no raids or major events to look forward to. There are patches that had a certain meta. LoL is, even in the casual area, a game that most players want to play efficiently all the time. Patches are supposed to counteract that; no champion should be permanently too strong. Certain mechanics were removed for a reason.
The meta of that time is fixed. In other words, you still know today what was strong. I doubt there would be a lasting incentive to play old patches “for fun”. And as unfair and fun as some metas sound, they were incredibly boring and frustrating for many players.
For me, another fan idea would be more exciting. Champions should compete against each other in their strongest state. So several patches against each other. Whether that could be technically implemented easily is probably a difficult question to answer.
The big point is also monetization
Many are probably wondering why Teamfight Tactics is able to bring back old seasons. Regularly, old patches, slightly altered, come back. This works quite well for TFT because it has fixed units and themes that can be brought back. And probably more importantly: For monetization, that is irrelevant.
The boards and the legends that can be acquired with real money work, regardless of which patch. For a LoL-Classic with old patches, that is difficult because many champions, and more importantly, many skins did not even exist then.
Modes like Swarm or events like Dark Star: Singularity are another issue, as they exist to promote skin lines. Swarm came when corresponding skins were released. Rotating fun modes can create a profitable synergy with monetization. However, it is unknown whether this really has an impact on sales.
Casuals are incredibly important and relaxed modes are a cornerstone
The competitive ranking will always be the main point of LoL. But one must also think of more relaxed players. I personally know many who really only play ARAM. However, several modes and especially a large catalog of rotating fun modes can engage regular players more in the game, especially when ranked play becomes frustrating again.
I consider permanent modes outside of the existing ones unlikely, but new experiments would not only please me, but probably also a large part of the player base. Series like Arcane also help spark interest among new players. Riot itself has been trying for some time to do more for new players: LoL: Riot finally wants to take stronger action against those who ruin the fun for newcomers – could affect streamers
