How I, a League of Legends hater, still fell in love with the game

League of Legends games are too stressful for me, especially because of often toxic players. But before you launch yourself straight onto your keyboard to tell me about the many features that can make my gaming experience more enjoyable: I know.

I know that behind all the insults you receive while playing lies a really great game requiring quick reflexes and a clever strategy. I still often watch games where a team’s whole plan works out perfectly and leads to victory. It’s incredibly epic. But I no longer want to play myself.

The toxic part of the LoL community is too much for me

Unfortunately, the bad side of the community stressed me out more and more over time, which is why I decided to quit altogether a few years ago. In too many chats, my teammates and opponents insulted each other in equal measure, and too often the game was deliberately thrown as a result. For me, video games are a safe space, and LoL eventually stopped feeling good. Then came the straw that broke the camel’s back.

I still remember it clearly: after a specific ARAM game, the time had come. Some frustrated player insulted my (non-existent) Lee Sin skills and wished me dead. I deactivated all chat functions first, but the damage had already been done. I’d fully lost the desire to play.

After this incident, the question mark pings of my fellow players or their frustrated, deliberate feeding annoyed me just the same – even without chat. A short time later, I uninstalled the client and started playing other games – from then on, mainly single-player titles.

I haven’t missed the game itself since I left. Who I did miss, however, were my Premades (LoL speak for fellow players). My memories of playing together go back to my school days. I spent many weekends with my buddies trying to climb the rankings. Even later, League of Legends was a part of my life too. During uni, I enjoyed evening ARAM games with my friends, where we’d talk about anything and everything. We also took part in the Digitec Playground Cup back then, although I hardly played any more.

But to recapture that feeling of playing together, I’m not actually going to start playing LoL again. It just isn’t worth it.

Swarm mode has brought me back to LoL

For a long time, I kept up my strict LoL abstinence. And all of a sudden, this. A week ago, my partner told me about a new mode that I should definitely try out. In Swarm mode, I’m apparently able to choose all my fellow players myself. I weaken, my curiosity wins out. I reinstall the client.

Unlike the main game, Swarm mode belongs to the Reverse Bullet Hell genre. This includes games like Brotato and Vampire Survivors, having you survive against hordes of enemies. You don’t actively attack yourself, but simply select your character’s automatic attacks.

So now League of Legends is chasing the next hit again, as it did in 2019 with Teamfight Tactics. That mode imitated the auto-battler (page in German) trend. As with TFT before it, Swarm mode is a time-limited mode that’ll only be active until 19 August. However, TFT was so well received that it became a permanent spin-off and was also released separately on mobile.

Whether this’ll also be the case with LoL’s Swarm mode remains to be seen. However, the potential for another standalone success is definitely there.

How to play Swarm mode in LoL

I can choose between two characters to start, gradually unlocking up to a total of nine champions. They all have their own automatic attack, which they execute every few seconds. Two additional skills also help me survive against hordes of enemies. From little beasts that die after an attack to bosses that you can beat up for minutes on end, they’re all out to get you.

In addition to characters, items also ensure variety. On the one hand, I can choose additional attacks such as a fire shield, which deals damage to all enemies in my vicinity. On the other hand, I can improve attributes such as the strength, speed and hit points of my champion. I also collect coins during the game, which I use to further increase improvements to attributes.

Since I only have a limited number of item slots, I have to think carefully about my choice. Especially since all additional attacks at maximum level can get another trait if I’ve levelled the appropriate attribute beforehand. For example, enemies that die in the radius of my fire shield explode and inflict even more damage on the crowds around them.

Quite the barrage of mechanics, no? In truth, they quickly become manageable, especially if you’re already familiar with the genre. Nevertheless, the mode has captivated me for over 20 games now – exclusive boss battles at the end can last up to 15 minutes. There are a total of four unique levels with three different difficulties. Each level contains its own mechanics and boss battles.

The crisp gameplay gets even better when I play with buddies. Everything immediately feels like it used to. I get helpful answers to my numerous questions, and we goof around in between. Together, we take on a challenge that doesn’t put insults in chat or otherwise distracts me from the game. I’m even enjoying League of Legends again. The mode still won’t get me into the main game, though.

I love the new Swarm mode. If you play League of Legends, I recommend taking a look – even if you’ve probably already done so in any case. But I also recommend this mode if you’re into the Reverse Bullet Hell genre or simply want to try something new. And since League of Legends is free, there’s no price barrier to entry either.

If you want to try out Swarm mode, you should do so sooner rather than later due to its limited availability. In any case, I’m going to enjoy the rest of Swarm mode with my friends and crack the highest difficulty level.