Since being released over a decade ago, League of Legends has cemented itself as one of the top competitive MOBAs in the world. Despite some controvery regarding toxicity in its playerbase, League of Legends has endured thanks to its diverse champion roster, which continues to grow and reshape the meta every time.
Apart from the traditional MOBA format, League of Legends is also known for introducing various game modes that even non-MOBA fans can dive into. Although Teamfight Tactics and the recent Arena mode are usually top-of-mind alternate game modes, the limited-time PvE modes are also in a league of their own, and the upcoming Swarm mode featuring the new Anima Squad skin line might just be the best one yet.
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The Anima Squad skin line has its own universe that’s separate from League of Legends‘ canon lore, which reimagines the champions as futuristic warriors fighting against evil aliens. In the release of the new Anima Squad and Primordian skins, the Anima Squad heroes are now defending a dying Earth from swarms of high-tech aliens known as the Primordians.
|
Anima Squad (2024) |
Battle Dove Seraphine, Cyber Cat Yuumi, Battle Lion Leona, Battle Bat Xayah, Battle Bear Illaoi, Battle Bunny Aurora, Battle Wolf Yasuo, Admiral Battle Bunny Miss Fortune |
|---|---|
|
Primordian |
Primordian Aatrox, Primordian Bel’Veth, Primordian Briar, Primordian Rek’Sai |
To accompany the launch of the skins, Riot Games is launching Swarm | Operation: Anima Squad, which is League of Legends‘ first bullet heaven survivor PvE mode that’s heavily inspired by Vampire Survivors. Players will choose from different Anima Squad characters to fight against hordes of evil aliens in Final City, which can be played either solo or co-op with friends. Just like Vampire Survivors, players will get to choose weapon upgrades and permanent power-ups to take down enemies and survive for as long as possible. During the match, players will get to face different Primordian champions, who get more powerful as Swarm rounds progress.
Swarm Finally Breaks League of Legends’ PvE Drought
League of Legends saw a lot of success in its previous PvE modes, especially the story-driven ones such as 2017’s Invasion featuring the Star Guardians and 2018’s Odyssey: Extraction. Many fans commended Riot Games for producing game modes that allowed them to immerse themselves into the skin line’s unique universes, while also finding a respite from the usual MOBA format.
- Invasion (2017): A co-op PvE mode commemorating the second set of Star Guardian skins. Players have to defeat a series of invading space monsters and the final boss in order to save Valoran City Park.
- Odyssey: Extraction (2018): A co-op PvE mode commemorating the release of the first Odyssey skins. Players battle hordes of monsters in the Crash Site map, culminating in a boss battle against the powerful Odyssey Kayn.
However, following the success of Invasion and Odyssey: Extraction, many fans were disappointed at the quality of limited-time events and/or game modes that League of Legends released for certain skin lines. For instance, the 2022 Star Guardian skins were only accompanied by a visual novel, with rewards only being unlocked by meeting certain conditions in Summoner’s Rift or Teamfight Tactics autobattler games, despite several requests for another PvE event.
While League of Legends eventually found its groove with its recurring PvP Arena game mode, Swarm will definitely be a breath of fresh air as it debuts the new AnimaTech skin line and event, and finally breaking the PvE drought with an exciting gameplay experience. The initial impressions from Swarm’s early access seem promising, and hopefully it will translate well for the public once it is officially released this July.
League of Legends
League of Legends is one of the best MOBAs in the world, allowing players to duke it out against each other or bots in a variety of game modes. There are tons of champions to choose from in LoL, with favorites like Yasuo, Graves, Nasus, Poppy, and more, with new champions like Vex and Viego recently joining the crew.
- Franchise
- League of Legends
- Released
- October 27, 2009
- Genre(s)
- MOBA
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Engine
- Proprietary
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
- Metascore
- 78
