When Riot Games updated League of Legends’ ARAM game mode for the first time in nearly 10 years last December, the biggest change that came to the Howling Abyss was the addition of “Tower Rubble,” a mechanic that causes turrets to leave behind debris in the middle of the lane.
After growing backlash from League players, though, the mechanic is being removed from ARAM in an upcoming patch, Riot developers confirmed today.
A tweet earlier today from Riot’s lead game modes director Daniel “Maxw3ll” Emmons confirmed Tower Rubble will be removed from ARAM in either Patch 13.5 or 13.6. “I think it was an interesting mechanic that ultimately led to more degenerate states than value it provided,” the League dev wrote on Twitter.
Last month, Riot posted an update on ARAM that detailed the developers’ future plans for the game mode following the massive overhaul it received in December. At that time, the team was debating between adjusting Tower Rubble in some capacity or removing it altogether. They chose the latter.
While some changes to ARAM have been received as generally positive, including the addition of Hexgates to the one-lane map, Tower Rubble has made the already-small map feel even more constricted. Following the change, choke points have become a regular part of the ARAM experience, and champions that can take advantage of tight spaces have risen up the mode’s tier lists.
Moving forward, players can expect the Abyss to go back to its normal configuration. When turrets fall on the map, the lane will remain clear.
Tower Rubble is set to be removed from ARAM in one of League’s next two updates. Patch 13.5 will go live on March 8, while Patch 13.6 will drop later, on March 22.
