URF, URF, URF! – A LoL experience from the eyes of a noob

League of Legends is a game that requires a lot of patience for someone jumping into it, you also need to be up to date on LOL at all times. From understanding the basic terms like “laning”, “top”, “bottom” and “jungling”, to understanding the more complex stuff like “builds”, “types”, “runes and masteries”…there’s a lot to take in that requires a lot of attention to detail. How do certain champions function together? Which champion is effective against another? When playing matches, it can be overwhelming and lead to a lot of frustrating times. At the same time, when you start to finally learn a champion you like, the game changes into being entertaining.

Then there’s URF mode, League of Legends’ April Fool’s game mode that is both fun and incredibly overwhelming. Pair that with a noob trying to learn the ropes of the game, and you’ve got a match made for disaster. At least, I got to learn that the hard way.

That statement also serves as a disclaimer: this is written from said noob’s perspective; I’m sure I’ll be missing details that others might be able to catch and add to it.

URF mode, aka Ultra Rapid Fire Mode, is the exact opposite of a typical League of Legends game in that it focuses more on speed and skill more than timing and skill. For example, every champion has 4 abilities: 3 standard ones, 1 ultimate. After using an ability once, there is a length of time where you can’t use it again that is known as a cooldown. This means timing and precision are everything. In URF mode…well, let’s just say you can go to town! The cooldown is reduced by 80%, meaning within seconds of using a certain move, you can use it again.

The same can be applied to spells like Cleanse, Teleport and Heal…worried about your tower (turret) going down? You can teleport to it. Wait! What about the one further down? Instead of waiting over hundreds of seconds, you can teleport within 8 seconds. Yeah, your enemy doesn’t know what’s coming to them.

Another huge aspect of League of Legends play is to build your champion up to destroy on the battlefield. This part alone can be extremely overwhelming in that it requires understanding what style you’re going to play in the game, and what attributes you need to build up. While each item either a) has a little description to help you understand its effects if it’s in the recommended section or b) is categorized by what it’s focus is on, it’s still overwhelming. In normal games, building can take time depending on how you minion hunt, lane clear, or jungle.

In URF, minion hunting is put on overdrive and gold doth overfloweth.

If you’re a seasoned League player, chances are you already know what you’re building and know how to gain gold quite hastily. If you’re someone who’s either new or hardly plays…good luck. Chances are, you’re still trying to figure out what to build while the champion you’re facing has already built the three items they need to bring terror upon you. The sense of stakes and being an underdog were never higher.

Lastly, URF mode challenges you to make decisions faster; which lane are you going to take? Which lane are you going to gank? Is it wiser to support bottom lane or top lane? Who’s going to use their ultimate skill to initiate team fight?

Overall, imagine trying to keep ALL of that in mind, as well as enemy play but on hyperspeed. It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s frenetic, but has its own challenges In the end, URF mode was a fun experience that I got to enjoy with some great friends. Next time it comes around, I recommend trying it out!