League of Legends developer Riot Games has unveiled its new five-versus-five game mode, Brawl. This mode is lower strategy and high action compared to Summoner’s Rift.
Set to release in Patch 25.10, the new game mode will feature teams of five battling in a small area, killing each other and trying to kill the enemy base first.
Brawl is set to have faster-paced games, similar to the other non-competitive 5v5 game mode, ARAM. Unlike ARAM, however, Brawl will allow you to pick the champions and there won’t be as big of a strategic aspect. Essentially, it will eliminate a lot of the complexity that makes League of Legends have a steep learning curve, allowing newcomers to feel less intimidated if they haven’t been putting in hours of grinding a day.
“We thought about what kind of modes fill this space in other games—our closest parallel was Team Deathmatch in FPS titles. In those modes you can test your mechanics and enjoy the core gameplay without worrying too much about coordination or having to be the best,” explained Riot Games in its dev blog post about the idea behind Brawl.
League of Legends Brawl Game Mode Explained
The two teams will start with 250 health. The first team to reduce the opponent’s health bar to zero will win. There are a couple of ways to reduce the health bar, starting with takedowns, each dealing five damage.
Additionally, takedowns on enemy minions will also deal one damage if the enemy team is not at low health, meaning that players won’t be able to stall the game and will have to fight continuously. On top of that, each minion pushed into the opponent’s Bandle portal will also deal one damage. These three rules will inevitably lead to constant skirmishing and never-ending action.
On the sides of the central lane, players will find camps that grant powerful buffs, creating more dynamics and making viable a larger variety of champions. Just like in ARAM, players won’t have to farm a lot and get kills to snowball: the system will be granting more gold over time to match the pace of the game mode. Recalls are allowed.
Furthermore, Riot Games has implemented a comeback buff for the losing team to have a better chance of getting back into the game. This buff deals more damage and lowers the damage taken, reducing the snowballing effect that is part of every League of Legends game mode.
When Will Brawl Be Released?
The game mode will hit the live servers with the release of Patch 25.10. According to the official schedule, Brawl will be released on May 14th, 2025.
Does Brawl Have Esports Potential?
Even though the game mode has yet to receive feedback from the entire community, it’s unlikely we will see a competitive scene for Brawl. The new game mode has eliminated many strategic aspects that make Summoner’s Rift harder to master, such as macro and drafting.
Moreover, considering that the game mode heavily revolves around skirmishes, several balance issues might need tweaking over time. That being said, fans might get to witness special events or non-competitive tournaments centered around Brawl in the near future, just like they did in previous iterations of All-Stars, which used the ARAM map.
