Riot Games is bringing back the spirit of fighting games with this summer’s Soul Fighter event.
Soul Fighter is a new theme being introduced to League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, League of Legends: Wildrift, and Legends of Runeterra. It pays homage to the fighting game genre.
Riot is taking inspiration from the deep emotional resonance and unique character moments found in fighting games and anime tournament arcs. The event will feature brand-new game modes, skins, gameplay features, and more across all four Riot Games Runeterra titles.
“We’re really excited about the range of different experiences across the League of Legends ecosystem that make up the Soul Fighter event,” said Andrei van Roon, Head of League Studio.
“Arena, Soul Brawl, and Tag Duel will allow players to experience League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, and Wild Rift in new ways. We think these additions bring something really fresh to the table. We can’t wait to see what players think once they get their hands on them.”
According to Riot Games, 20% of the proceeds from Soul Fighter Samira, the Soul Fighter Event Pass, and all related bundle sales in League of Legends will go to the Riot Games Social Impact Fund, a donor-advised fund account.
The Social Impact Fund is Riot’s non-profit arm aimed at bringing about global social impact. It allows players to contribute to positive change in society through projects funded by proceeds from in-game purchases.
For League of Legends, the Arena game mode is being introduced. It is a new 2v2v2v2 mode where four teams of two players each fight against one another in rotating combat rounds. After each round, they will gain unique Augments to power up until only one team is left standing.
Arena is reminiscent of fighting games that primarily focus on individual micromechanics, while also adding flavor with buffs and tailor-fitted items to help counter-strategies in the late game.
(C) Riot Games
Along with the new game mode, League has also added Naafiri to its roster of champions.
(C) Riot Games
Naafiri is an ancient Darkin who is an assassin designed to be easy to use for non-assassin players. She requires less demanding micro mechanics to be an effective midlaner. Naafiri will also be available in the Arena game mode.
Teamfight Tactics, the leading game in the auto-battle genre, will also feature a “Soul Brawl” mode as part of the Soul Fighter event. This mode takes place in two stages: the Training phase, where players compete for Soul Power to strengthen their Soul Crown and gain additional loot options, and the Tournament phase.
Soul Brawl will run like normal ranked games but with a step-ladder best-of-three Tournament Phase, making head-to-head matches more exciting and allowing more room for mistakes and recovery for TFT players.
