Dominion detailed in new League of Legends video

League of Legends’ upcoming map is different. How different? Well, if the 5v5 Summoner’s Rift is a football field, and the 3v3 Twisted Treeline is a rugby field, then the 5v5 Crystal Scar, with its new Dominion game mode, is more akin to laser tag arena than anything we’ve seen so far in League of Legends. So, yeah, different.

Some things will remain unchanged: players will choose between one of LoL’s 80+ champions and charge onto the battlefield, equipping themselves with items and leveling up their temporary avatar. But even if the core itself isn’t changing, the pacing and strategy is altered dramatically in the switch from “destroy the enemy base” to “capture and defend strategic points on the map.” Words can only do so much to explain it, it might be best to watch this newly released video, which shows off fast, frenzied Dominion gameplay being played off by Riot’s QA testers and developers.

These changes might not sound massive to those uninitiated in the ways of League of Legends, but for fans, the Dominion game type is essentially a new game—a sequel to LoL, in a way. And for as cool as this looks, we’re even more excited at the prospect of even more game modes being added. Heck, we didn’t even know that sort of thing was in the cards with League of Legends—most of us assumed that any new maps would just be variations on the mode already in the game. Now that the floodgates are open, what’s to stop Riot from adding in their own version of Capture the Flag? Or King of the Hill? We’re sure there are some balancing issues to keep in mind, since keeping 80 heroes and one game type in check sounds remarkably difficult, but we want more excuses to play League of Legends, and new game modes give us just that.

Aug 9, 2011

These changes might not sound massive to those uninitiated in the ways of League of Legends, but for fans, the Dominion game type is essentially a new game—a sequel to LoL, in a way. And for as cool as this looks, we’re even more excited at the prospect of even more game modes being added. Heck, we didn’t even know that sort of thing was in the cards with League of Legends—most of us assumed that any new maps would just be variations on the mode already in the game. Now that the floodgates are open, what’s to stop Riot from adding in their own version of Capture the Flag? Or King of the Hill? We’re sure there are some balancing issues to keep in mind, since keeping 80 heroes and one game type in check sounds remarkably difficult, but we want more excuses to play League of Legends, and new game modes give us just that.

Aug 9, 2011

Some things will remain unchanged: players will choose between one of LoL’s 80+ champions and charge onto the battlefield, equipping themselves with items and leveling up their temporary avatar. But even if the core itself isn’t changing, the pacing and strategy is altered dramatically in the switch from “destroy the enemy base” to “capture and defend strategic points on the map.” Words can only do so much to explain it, it might be best to watch this newly released video, which shows off fast, frenzied Dominion gameplay being played off by Riot’s QA testers and developers.

These changes might not sound massive to those uninitiated in the ways of League of Legends, but for fans, the Dominion game type is essentially a new game—a sequel to LoL, in a way. And for as cool as this looks, we’re even more excited at the prospect of even more game modes being added. Heck, we didn’t even know that sort of thing was in the cards with League of Legends—most of us assumed that any new maps would just be variations on the mode already in the game. Now that the floodgates are open, what’s to stop Riot from adding in their own version of Capture the Flag? Or King of the Hill? We’re sure there are some balancing issues to keep in mind, since keeping 80 heroes and one game type in check sounds remarkably difficult, but we want more excuses to play League of Legends, and new game modes give us just that.

Aug 9, 2011

These changes might not sound massive to those uninitiated in the ways of League of Legends, but for fans, the Dominion game type is essentially a new game—a sequel to LoL, in a way. And for as cool as this looks, we’re even more excited at the prospect of even more game modes being added. Heck, we didn’t even know that sort of thing was in the cards with League of Legends—most of us assumed that any new maps would just be variations on the mode already in the game. Now that the floodgates are open, what’s to stop Riot from adding in their own version of Capture the Flag? Or King of the Hill? We’re sure there are some balancing issues to keep in mind, since keeping 80 heroes and one game type in check sounds remarkably difficult, but we want more excuses to play League of Legends, and new game modes give us just that.

Aug 9, 2011

Hollander Cooper

Hollander Cooper was the Lead Features Editor of GamesRadar+ between 2011 and 2014. After that lengthy stint managing GR's editorial calendar he moved behind the curtain and into the video game industry itself, working as social media manager for EA and as a communications lead at Riot Games. Hollander is currently stationed at Apple as an organic social lead for the App Store and Apple Arcade.