Riot describes plans for ARAM, how Prestige Skins are chosen and more in latest blogpost

In a recent Q&A posted to the official Ask Riot blog, Rioters Carlos “IamCarlos” Giffoni, Jordan “Wrekz” Anton, Justin “Xenogenic” Hanson, and Geoff “Popcorner” Marsi spilled the latest details on missions, Prestige skins, and ARAM features.

Mission Requirements

To start, Xenogenic, game design lead at Riot, answered a question regarding diversity in mission requirements. Specifically regarding cases in which players are forced to play ranked in order to complete a mission, a player called for more options for mission conditions that weren’t related to ranked.

Xenogenic explained that the two purposes of missions are to reward players for playing the game and to give them an incentive to try something that they otherwise wouldn’t do (i.e. play a round of Teamfight Tactics, or try out a new game mode). 

The verdict was that Riot probably won’t be changing this aspect of missions any time soon. Their hope is that a mission telling people to play “x” games of any type will be will feel just enticing enough to encourage players to give it a try, while at the same time making the reward “small” enough so that players won’t feel forced to do something they don't want to do.

Prestige Champions

Have you ever wondered how Riot chooses which champions will receive Prestige skins? Well IamCarlos, lead producer of skins at Riot, explained the numerous factors that go into making that decision.

Typically, the team will decide which champion best matches the relevant skin thematic. Popularity is another key factor. Most of the few Prestige skins that already exist in the world were chosen in part due to the high play-rates of those champions. The final point to consider is whether or not that champion has already received a Prestige skin. They try not to double up, but there may be a rare future case where a champion receives two because they fit a thematic so well.

IamCarlos went on to say that they plan on experimenting with lower play-rate champions in the future, but champions that already have legendary skins won’t be considered any time soon.

The Future of ARAM

Riot Popcorner, associate game designer, confirmed that ARAM balance will continue similar trends from the past. Currently, balance changes are made every two weeks, and then at some point in the year, larger changes are tested in the form of a large event.

Popcorner said that we can expect a large event this year similar to the 2018 Bilgewater event that will possibly introduce new items or mechanics to the gamemode.

Image via Riot Games