Legends of Runeterra’s new single-player mode is fan service at its best

Legends of RuneterraIt is an amazing look into the world. League of LegendsThere is a lot of world-building happening at each turn. Each champion comes with their own support casts, special mechanics and extended art scenes. But at the end of the day, it’s still a competitive card game — the lore and art is a supporting feature to the core gameplay. The game’s new single-player mode changes this though; the Path of Champions is a narrative campaign.

In The Path of Champions, the player can pick one of several starting characters League of Legends lore. Features like the Lab of Legends gave players the option to experience a single player roguelike game, while the Path focuses more on telling individual stories. None of these are canon; they’re more like fun ‘what if?’ narratives that let the protagonist run wild.

The starting pool of champions includes many familiar faces from the region of Piltover and Zaun, and they’ll each have narrative comics related to their campaigns. Champions from other regions won’t have these comics; they’re a little bonus to run alongside the narratives on Netflix’s Arcane. With Jinx’s campaign, we get to see her confrontations with characters like Caitlyn as she works her away out of Zaun and through Piltover. Every victory earns the protagonist — in this case, Jinx — some more experience points, cards for her deck, and special abilities. Since there’s no balance to worry about (these upgrades don’t carry over into the game’s PvP modes) the developer can go wild with buffing up the game’s champions.

A victory can make the hero stronger and sometimes the player has the option to choose. “Hmm, do I ransom off Sheriff Caitlyn for some spending money… or do I throw her into prison?” It’s great to be able to build up a character’s arsenal, recruit more friends, and watch them evolve into an overpowered, beastly version of their usual selves.

This is what it takes to make them happy. Legends of RuneterraAll the more attractive. Riot has already sunk resources into the game’s card art, lore, and cast. Riot has plenty to offer. League of LegendsPlayers who are interested in learning more about the world through the game of cards. Legends of Runeterracould better cater to that narrative thirst. It’ll be interesting to see how the Path of Champions develops in response to fan feedback. Part of the Path of Champions is Legends of Runeterra’s Patch 2.19, which will be released on Nov. 11, along with new champion Jayce.