15 years after launching, League of Legends is getting a brand new queue. It will arrive in patch 25.S1.1, and goes by the name ‘Swiftplay’.
As the name suggests, Swiftplay is basically a faster-paced variant of the traditional League mode you know and love. Riot Games has strived to ensure it feels just as balanced, but is perhaps more accessible than standard League.
Effectively, it fills the gap between the chaos of ARAM with the methodical and strategic nature of traditional LoL. Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about Swiftplay.
What’s Swiftplay in League of Legends?
Swiftplay is a brand new queue arriving soon in League of Legends. It provides a faster-paced variant of the traditional ranked and unranked queues, while maintaining the balance and sense of strategy.
Think of it as a slightly more chill version of League for those that aren’t in the mood, or fans of, the more chaotic ARAM.
How Does it Differ From Ranked or Unranked?
Many of the changes in Swiftplay revolve around how much gold and experience you can earn throughout the game, depending on how you and your team are performing.
You also gain gold just by being near a minion that dies, provided your team kills it. As a result, support units will earn a lot more gold than usual, so their items now cost more to account for this.
The initial phase is pretty much League as you know and love it, but as the game progresses you will earn increasingly more gold and experience.
Given this is meant to be a bit more of a chill League experience, players who are struggling will actually get more gold and experience than others.
It won’t quite be enough to turn them into the most powerful player without effort, but it should close the gap a bit. Similarly, these players are worth less gold, providing less of an incentive for the enemy team to target them.
The pace has also increased. Turret Plating, Baron, Elemental Drakes, Soul, Support, and Jungle quests will all drop or arrive sooner, so you have to be on your toes.
Finally, the ability to pre-select a champion for certain roles from Quickplay will also apply to Swiftplay, as both modes are designed to get you into the game quickly.
As a result, Quickplay is getting retired along with update 25.S1.1, though this is on a trial basis. It might be that Quickplay returns at a later date.
Will Swiftplay Roll Out to All Regions?
Sadly not. You Swiftplay will only roll out to the following regions initially, and will arrive everywhere else if it proves popular:
- North America
- Latin America North
- Latin America South
- EU West
- EU Nordic & East
- Russia
- Brazil
- Turkey
- Taiwan
- Vietnam
When Does Patch 25.S1.1 Arrive?
You can get a taste of patch 25.S1.1 on December 11 if you play on PBE. Everyone else will have to wait until the new year to check it out.
Check out the full details in the official blog post.