League of Legends 2v2 Arena mode explained: augments, structure and more

The Soul Fighter event for League of Legends is shaping up to be one of the largest in the game’s history, and the widely-anticipated 2v2v2v2 game mode, called Arena, is going to be one of the biggest parts of that.

For Arena, Riot wanted to capture the essence of an anime tournament arc, with pairs of players coming together to grow stronger in heated duels. It borrows from the structure of Teamfight Tactics, where combat is interwoven with shops and upgrades to make each playthrough unique. Here’s everything you need to know.

How does Arena work?

Games of Arena will pit four pairs of players against each other in a series of 2v2 duels over a period of six rounds. Before each fight, players get to choose items and upgrades from

Players will start out at level 3, but they’ll level up throughout the games, and the amount they get to spend in the shop also increases with each round.

At the second and fifth rounds, players get to choose an augment, which are powerful abilities that completely change how you play your champion. You can read more about them below.

After all the players have made their purchases, they’ll be teleported to one of three arenas, which are roughly the size of a jungle quadrant, where they fight another pair. Each team has 20 health, and they’ll lose health if they lose the 2v2, until one pair emerges victorious.

Additionally, after the fourth round, champions from the Soul Fighters universe will start appearing during the duels. They act as neutral obstacles, and can completely change what happens in the 2v2s. We’ve got a full list of these Cameos just down below.

What are Augments?

Over the course of one Arena game, you’ll get to choose two augments. They come in three different levels of rarity: Silver, Gold, and Prismatic. You get to choose from a set of three during the second and fifth rounds, although you can re-roll them if you don’t like your options.

They vary massively; some of the silver ones do little more than give you the mountain soul passive, but some of the prismatic ones completely change the game, and give you two more keystone runes.

Other augments give you active items, the ultimates of other champions, a parry, or a pet that turns the 2v2 into a 3v2. With over 120 augments to choose from, no game of Arena is ever going to be the same, even if you’re playing the same champion.

All Soul Fighter cameos in League of Legends 2v2 Arena

The Cameos of other champions will change the structure of the map depending on which champion turns up. Here are all the champions and what they do:

Evelynn will give every player in the game camouflage.
Gwen will give the player with the lowest health her W ability, Hallowed Mist.
Jhin will cast his ultimate on every player in the game.
Lux will cast her ultimate on whoever steps across her laser, which moves around the arena.
Naafiri will summon wolves who patrol the arena and attach the nearest champion.
Pyke will use his E stun, Phantom Undertow, on the player furthest from him.
Samira will extend every cc used in the game, then use her ultimate on everyone after doing this six times.
Sett will use his W, Haymaker, on whoever kills him.
Shaco will fill the arena with his boxes.
Viego will make the first player to die turn into him for a short amount of time.