Get ready for a game-changer, because ARAM is about to get a whole lot crazier! Imagine turning your favorite champions into unstoppable forces of nature, all while keeping the heart of ARAM intact. But here's where it gets controversial: can you handle the chaos of ARAM: Mayhem? Let’s dive in and find out!
We’re thrilled to announce our latest addition to League’s ever-evolving roster of modes: ARAM: Mayhem, arriving in patch 25.21. ARAM has always been a beloved part of the League experience, whether it’s your go-to for casual fun with friends or your primary way to play. This year, we’ve been brainstorming ways to refresh this cherished mode while preserving its unique charm. In Season 2, we introduced significant updates like new maps, a Champion Card reroll system, and champion-specific balancing tweaks to enhance the overall feel. Now, we’re taking it a step further by injecting a healthy dose of mayhem—enter augments!
In this blog, we’ll explore how we’re redefining ARAM with Mayhem and what you can expect when you jump into the fray.
Augments Meet ARAM: A Match Made in Chaos
In ARAM: Mayhem, you’ll receive four to five augments that supercharge your champion’s abilities. Picture this: an invincible tank Sona dominating the lane or a lightning-fast Mordekaiser zipping across the bridge. If you’ve played Arena or TFT, you’re already familiar with augments, but for newcomers, think of them as massive, game-changing buffs that go far beyond what traditional ARAM power spikes offer. Our goal isn’t just to create chaos—it’s to unlock fresh, creative playstyles that still feel unmistakably ARAM. To us, ARAM is the ultimate fantasy of five random champions clashing in a single lane, and by infusing Mayhem into your champions, we’re keeping that essence alive while adding wild, new possibilities.
Each match begins with a choice of three augments to kickstart your build. Additional augments become available at levels 7, 11, and 15. Just like items, you can claim augments upon respawning—or, for the sneaky players, there might be a secret augment that lets you return to base and shop. And this is the part most people miss: strategic timing can make all the difference in how you leverage these augments!
Our inspiration for this mode dates back to last year’s Wild Rift AAA ARAM, a rotating mode where players earned augments throughout the match. It brought a fun, fast-paced twist to the classic 5v5 format, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Around the same time, Arena was gaining traction with its unique blend of deckbuilding and 2v2 combat. This got us thinking: could we merge Arena’s strategic depth with the adrenaline-pumping fun of AAA ARAM?
Over two days, an engineer and a designer crafted a simple prototype—essentially, Arena augments mashed into ARAM (Engineer’s note: it wasn’t that simple). To our surprise, the prototype was an instant hit. The combination of fast-paced teamfights and high-impact augments felt fresh and, even in its raw form, authentically ARAM.
Three Augments Walk onto a Bridge…
What began as a small experiment quickly evolved into a dedicated team brimming with hundreds of new augment ideas. Some were ingenious, others were downright broken, and a few were hilariously cursed—like I’m a Baby Kitty, Where is Mama?
We’re bringing over many fan-favorite augments from Arena, along with over 40 brand-new ones. Some are exclusive to ARAM: Mayhem, like King Me. This augment rewards you for taking the enemy’s transporter (Hexgate, Bloom Portal, Cannon), granting bonuses like upgraded items, prismatic augments, and auras. Or, if you’re feeling chaotic, try Biggest Snowball Ever, which quadruples (or quintuples?) the size of your Snowball and knocks up enemies. Pair it with Snowball Upgrade for AoE damage on hit, and add Fetch to pick up allies’ Snowballs and refresh your own. Imagine a world where everyone could be Nunu—or better yet, double, triple, or even quad Nunu. What horrors have we unleashed?
However, designing this mode wasn’t without challenges, especially around gameplay clarity. Unlike Arena, where you track one or two opponents, ARAM teamfights involve all 10 champions, which can quickly become overwhelming. Some Arena augments with persistent effects, like Center of the Universe (old Aurelian Sol stars orbiting you), created a visual mess when combined with multiple overlapping effects in a single lane. It was like a never-ending Venn Diagram of chaos.
To tackle this, we evaluated all Arena augments and removed persistent effects, as modifying them would require players to learn two different versions. However, we kept auto-casting augments, tuning down their frequency but increasing their impact. This ensures they still pack a punch in ARAM teamfights while keeping the action readable and fun. After all, it’s still ARAM at its core—just with a whole lot more mayhem.
Controversial Question: Are augments the future of ARAM, or do they disrupt its classic charm? Let us know in the comments!
