LoL Dungeons

Sluiceway··13 votes·7,056 views

I have been taking a semi-break from LoL to play things like Lunar: Silver Star and D&D Neverwinter, and as I was playing one or the other, I got to thinking about what it would be like to fight my way through a dungeon using the LoL mechanics and champions, but using these mechanics and abilities to bypass or defeat traps, collect items from defeated enemies, and find your way through to the boss. I doubt Riot would invest the time to create a game mode built around dungeon exploration, as this would be more of a separate game than a game mode, which don't require new maps to be built and new monsters created. With this in mind, I posted this idea in the Memes & Games forum to see what kind of speculation it generates, if any.

To start things rolling, hopefully, I offer the following question: What team of champions would you most like to take into a dungeon, and why? Draven For Damage. Maokai For engage, scouting with saplings, and damage mitigation for Draven and Eve, and for durability in fights. Thresh For engage, and navigation around or over traps with his lantern, for durability in fights, and for control. Evelynn For stealth, both for reaching and eliminating the stronger monsters (which are usually in the back), and for scouting, Vladimir For self-sustain, and for keeping crowds of smaller monsters under control during fights, especially boss fights.

Edit: Seeing the responses I have gotten so far has made me wonder, which of the 5 champs would you play, and which would you leave to other players? I would probably play either Maokai or Eve, though I would be thinking about Draven the whole time, but I am sure there are better axe catchers out there than I am.

50 Comments

MaknBacnPancakes16 votes

My Dungeon Team:

Riven (Battle Bunny)- For eye candy Fiora (Head Mistress)- For eye candy MissFortune (Mafia)- For eye candy Ashe (Heart Seeker)- For eye candy Jax - to do all the fighting

bbbbates3 votes

Charlies angels team?

RiotRiot Baconhawk9 votes

Anyone but Teemo.

MrBuffington4 votes

Teemo is good for scouting! Facecheck all the traps!

Sluiceway2 votes

And send him with a GA (only) and Zilean, so he can check a few traps for the team. Worth.

Edit: I can picture Teemo falling to the bottom of a pit trap, getting Chronoshifted back to the top of the pit, which is, of course, still open, falling a second time, where his GA revives him at the bottom with only his mushrooms to eat.

RiotRiot Baconhawk4 votes

Now that you put it THAT way...

Neamean5 votes

We going in deep #YOLO Olaf Crowd Control? What is that?

Tryndamere Am I dying yet?

Karthus So you think I'm dead

PoppyJoke, I don't know any joke

Pantheon MANDROP.

Salty Kappacino4 votes

Elise fits well in skirmishes, use spiderlings to tank or scout Brand who needs a torch when u have one standing in front of you Thresh hell.. this guy has too much utility Lucian hits like a tank, experience against monsters, have arguments with thresh :P Soraka LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! merry christmas have some health/mana !!

DI The Second3 votes

Chogath The tank. Has powerful AoE, CC and grows after eating enemies. Nami The support. Brings buffs, heals, damage and crowd control. Also, Nami. Malzahar The mage. Powerful attacks with some Voidlings for extra damage. Shyvana The fighter. Nice mix between damage and tankyness. And dragons. Khazix The assassin. Stealth, melee and ranged attacks and good mobility.

John Berserk3 votes

I made a thread in GD about 4 months back about this same thing (it actually got a lot more support than I remember, if upvotes count as "support"). I would LOVE IT if there were a PvE mode to this game. It would not only allow for more laid back and slower-paced gameplay time with League, but also allow Riot to actually tell the stories they want to tell, and inform the players of what their internal studio headcanon actually is.

Here's part of what I posted in my op, concerning mostly the lore aspect of it.


League of Legends is purely about PvP at the moment (apart from Co-op vs AI or Custom modes), playing against other players competitively. This is fun, both on a gameplay level and even on a story/lore level, to imagine these different Champions working side-by-side one another to face a team of another 5 Champions, also working side-by-side to defeat you. How these champions interact with one another is fun to think about; how even if they're mortal enemies, they're basically forced to work together (Lucian/Thresh botlane is one of the most common, despite one being in possession of the other's wife's soul) to defeat the enemy team.

Sometimes though, playing against other players can get tiresome and repetitive. It's all well and good to imagine Champions slaying other Champions in an effort to destroy their Nexus, but what if the League suddenly dropped 5 Champions into, I don't know, a dungeon/crypt/dark forest, and had them work together not to destroy their enemies, but to survive, to come to agreements and work together for their mutual benefits? Supposedly the League was created to mediate the political conflicts within Valoran without having to resort to constant war. Instead of having them fight it out, why not force them to work together, as their representatives do already in the League, so that they can come to a consensus, so no needless violence has to come of it? Wouldn't having them constantly fight it out in a "safe" environment (currently the other Fields of Justice) only result in more malicious feelings towards one another? Wont that just drive them further apart, working only to solidify their enemy status towards one another?

Sluiceway2 votes

The lore aspect you bring up, and which I did not consider, is something that I would like to see in the game, and is, at the same time, one more thing that makes this idea probably a separate game rather than a featured game mode. I can imagine the fun that would be had on a joint Demacian/Noxian recon mission to Shurima to locate the source of the Voidborn creatures.

Narcos Cosinus3 votes

Jax Who needs team?

Silverclaw2 votes

I'm assuming that I have to bring one champ from each role here (ex. one top, one mid, etc.)

  1. (Top) Shen - Lots of protection for squishy members (is really tanky and HUGE ASS SHIELD), but that taunt can be a life saver. Also, team-wide sustain.

  2. (Mid) Ryze - Ends up pretty tanky late and is good at duels and extended skirmishes. Plus he has sustiain.

3 (Jungle) LeeSin - Lee Sin can do goddamn everything.

4 (ADC) Lucian - Dashy dashy shooty shooty, BAM ult everyone's dead.

5 (Support)Nami - Provides utlity and sustain. More importantly, disengage (this team is lacking in disengage).

Sluiceway1 votes

I don't think you need to limit yourself to standard lanes, as this would be closer to an aram, with everyone moving as five from the start. For example, I took two junglers because I thought their skills would be most useful in navigating a maze full of monsters. The only champ I am still uncertain of is Draven. Though his damage is high, I almost went with Ashe in his place for the Hawk Shot to make sure I don't blindly stumble into anything too deadly without being prepared, but Draven has style. Just ask him.

Kamai2 votes

Jayce He'd be brutal in chokepoints, and keeping the team moving. If the dungeon drops random loot, you can ensure that you'll have something to make him better, and being able to displace major targets can take some pressure off the rest of the party. He can also jump gaps. Malzahar Brutal AoE, brutal lockdown, and can even get scouts in the Voidlings. Alistar Between the heals, being able to peel/start fights, and basically saying "I don't die", he could handle a lot of varied situations. LeeSin Every group has to have a scout, and getting to the back lines, and wiping out enemy support is a huge capability. Ziggs Tons of ranged damage, and anything he couldn't jump, he could probably blow up. Can keep pumping in AoE, even if Malzahar has to stop to lock down someone dangerous.

Gaysian2 votes

Sona For the Sustain and Buffs. Provides lots of utility.

Caitlyn For ranged physical damage. Can stay at far distance while sniping down monsters with her peace maker or snipes. Traps can be used to keep watch for incoming mobs.

Leona The tank of the party. She can soak up all the damage while also applying sunlight for her allies to deal more damage. Her utility is also very useful here.

Zyra The ranged mage of the group. She can summon plants to tank/damage the enemies while her AOE magic damage can easily cripple any mob. Her utility is also great to keep the enemy at bay, away from the squishy players.

Galio The fighter of the party. He can deal moderate magic damage with his powerful AOE spells while also protecting his allies by drawing fire and shielding his allies.

MrBuffington2 votes

Brand Human torch. Also tons of damage

Elise Can probably navigate a dungeon really well, great utility, damage, and pretty tanky

Heimerdinger Smarts, for dealing with traps and such. Also passive healing buff.

Swain More smarts, master tactician, also basically immortal with ult

Jax Because Jax. I mean, with Trinity Force + BotRK, he's like your RPG holy trinity in one

ChickenWrap2 votes

Dude. Zyra Heimerdinger Soraka Braum Twitch

Enough said.

Linna Excel2 votes

Depends on what I know about the DM and what I think it's likely he'd throw at us. If it's a ton of weaker mobs, I'm going with the AoE champs. If it's a few really tough mobs, I'd be looking for my DDs to have higher single target damage.

Also I think D&D style dungeons assume 1 melee bruiser (tanky DPS), 1 thief (utility, scouting, assassination), 1 healer (D&D healers used to be tanks can't say for 4th or 5th ed), and 1 mage. The 5th champ is usually suggested to be someone who can fill roles in a pinch.

So.

I'm going to assume this is going to be indoors/tight corridors and with D&D rules, limited ability for ranged archers to work (sorry ADCs). Also no champs scream I can handle traps, so I'm going to cheat and say an assassin probably can do that.

Up front I'm putting Jax and Riven . Both are good tanky damage champs. I'd want Leona or Vi, but I don't think they have enough DPS. Particularly Leona. Never go full tank. I'd also want Shyv, but she isn't going to work in tight spaces.

My theif/assassin? Katarina seems the best choice.

My healer? Soraka. She can heal and armor up the front line, heal everyone, and her AoE is (was) great if the DM decides to drop you in a zombie apocalypse.

That just leaves the mage slot. I'm going with Ahri because I like her a lot.

Lotus of Syn2 votes

Lux For Vision, Damage and Bright Decisions.

Fiora For Damage, Elegance, and Style.

Sona For a good mix of sustain, damage, and CC.

Maokai For engage, defense, self sustain, and just gonna go out on a limb and assume team damage reduction is a good thing.

Ashe For CC and cold-hearted ranged damage

Sluiceway2 votes

Just Tree-t him well and Maokai will keep you alive.

Ptarlorr3 votes

Maokai....go out on a limb

I see what you did there.

Sluiceway3 votes

Trusting that you know of the Bloody Mary game, I have to warn you that one more pun will summon Phreak.

Ptarlorr1 votes

Summon Phreak....? Good luck, I'll be root-ing for you!

(Is Lunar: Silver Star any good? I only have Lunar Legend for the GBA and it's sorta meh.)

Sluiceway1 votes

Silver Star is ok, Eternal Blue is much better, though. Basically, all the characters in Silver Star stop improving after level 35 or so (the mages especially fall off in later boss fights), while the Eternal Blue characters gain evolved versions of their spells throughout the game, and the story of EB is better as well. it is worth a playthrough, though, in part because EB references SS at a few key moments, EB being a sequel.

Edit: I think the puns were too sappy, so Phreak had to leaf us hanging.

Ptarlorr1 votes

Thanks for the response! I should probably finish my Shin Megami Tensei games before moving to more RPGs though.

Ptarlorr2 votes

Quinn for scouting and dueling Kog'Maw for range Karthus for more slows, space laser, and 2 after death surprises Veigar because stuns are fun Mundo so somebody won't die while whittling enemies down for the killz

Flyntloch2 votes

My Dungeon Team,

Ahri , Burst is insane and if it was in a dungeon she would probably be the scout. Skin: Traditional/Foxfire,

Trundle, Would be for Brute Damage Upfront and to assist his allies by Ulting and attacking better, : Skin Traditional/Regular

Ezreal , Prior Experience in a dungeon/cavern and can attack from a far away standpoint and Skillshots 4 dayz, Skin: Explorer

Taric , Big (Teemo) Giant Hammer and can heal up with more dammed damage with his abilities. Skin: Regular/Gen of the 5th Age

Zed , The Stealth he has and with the Abandoned ways he could have possible of being stealthed in shadows forever and can kill the perhaps leading member without the rest of the team going in. Skin: SKT/Regular

frenchdavid502 votes

Lets assume these "Dungeons" are similar to WoW dungeons with some traps and puzzles thrown in.

Heimerdinger For solving puzzles, providing healing, and navigating. When we get to the boss his turrets will provide constant damage and if a large wave of creeps come all of his abilities will come in handy to fend them off.

Zyra Her plants would be more useful than Heimerdinger's turrets and she can spawn new ones whenever she wants. Her buds would provide useful vision and her can snare big enemies for team mates to wail on them.

Annie She can provide light in dark places and provide damage over time with her fire. She can blast enemies for a lot of damage and hit multiple enemies with incinerate. In a pinch she can summon Tibbers to essentially have a sixth team member. Plus she seems to have infinite bravery for some reason.

Garen The big bad tank and Bruiser. He can spin around in big groups of enemies and slice at the enemy's legs to slow them down. And since so far we mainly have squishy champs he can tank up damage, especially in boss fights.

Soraka We are gonna need healing, so she seems like a perfect fit. She can also provide AoE damage and has a silence, which would provide massively useful. Also mana restore for Annie and Zyra.

Ironclad Dragon2 votes

Team Void

  • Chogath Fighter
  • KogMaw Ranger
  • Khazix Thief
  • Velkoz Mage
  • Malzahar Druid
Phozforus2 votes

My Team:

-Yorick Yorick, Fighter: Uses Ghouls for Scouting, has sustain, and can avenge people's death. Ghouls are expendable and can disarm traps. Can also tank very well.

-Zilean Zilean, Support: Can Revive, plant bombs to large mobs in tight spaces, and can make quick escapes. Bonus: Can also see the future so he can solve puzzles and traps. I'm sure he can be a light source since his ult makes people glow, so surely, he must have another way.

-Maokai Maokai, Tank: Has very good Sustain through spells, has saplings, and tons of CC and protection.

-Nidalee Nidalee, Thief: Can turn into a cat, set traps, heal, and spears work very well in tight spaces. Can cause groups of enemies to be slowed and bleed out with her claw through their legs, and spear in their skull/chest. Traps are very good for disabling a large single enemy, because 4 sharp blades closing in on your shins must be slowing.

-Gnar, Ranger: Gnar has a boomerang so he has unlimited ammo and never runs out of gears/spears to throw. Also has yordle hearing and smell to sense dangers. Can also use mega form when the time comes to brutally maul everyone. Can also charm enemies because he looks like a cute plushie.

Sluiceway1 votes

Have you gotten to try Gnar on the PBE? I am curious because you list him in your picks. if so, what did you think of him?

Sir ArmaMalum1 votes

Well the funny thing is that it wouldn't be too difficult from a programming standpoint if you approach it like an isometric dungeon crawler like Diablo or Path of Exile. We already have the angle, we already have the baseline abilities, the only thing we'd really be missing is the millions of possible combination of loot 'rolls'. Clever use of other abilities and a new randomly generated virtual environment (map) would be all you would really need. Well, you would also need engaging enemies, doom minions perhaps? :P

Sluiceway1 votes

Doom bots would make good bosses, and Jungle/Super minions and creeps (with some tweaks) would make good general dungeon monsters, with things like dragon and baron as hidden optional boss monsters. I was thinking of a Diablo-style game, also, given, as you pointed out, the similarities it has to LoL.

Cerbearus1 votes

Some abilities might have to be re-coded, OR some of the larger dungeon monsters could be coded as champions so certain abilities could be usable (ie Nami's heal/damage)

Ironclad Dragon1 votes

Or we could just have Horde Mode. Horde Mode would be easier.

PlanetKillah1 votes

Basically tough PvE sounds interesting but at the same time creating the AI for these things to actually be challenging would be a whole different story it could kind of work I guess.

SpellFlinger1 votes

That was actually the feeling I got from Doombots, im sure the novelty will wear off soon but Doombots is actually quite refreshing :D

epicgamer50001 votes

If the dungeons are puzzle-y (think 2D LoZ with co-op) and not straight out combat like most Action-RPG's (like what it sounds like, even though I love them too), then I think Amumu could be pretty cool to have. His q could be used as a grapple to reach areas nobody else can go. His w could be really interesting and not only do damage, but maybe allow him to find weak points on large enemies/bosses (if possible), see hidden items/switches, and/or traverse over certain terrain that would otherwise hurt him (remember there would be limited mana). Maybe his w could help his teammates if they go under it, but having all of this would be overload lol. His e would pretty much not change and be a quick, efficient form of "spin-attack". His r would not change much as well, but have a global effect and could be used for certain puzzles/obstacles/bosses. Obviously this is too much for rito, but I felt like writing my ideas down lol.

Sluiceway1 votes

Yep, I definitely would like to see some puzzles ad trick and traps in my dungeon, which is why I included Eve, Maokai, and Thresh in my party, so Eve can spot them, or Maokai can use saplings to reveal them, and Thresh can use the lantern to pull teammates over safely.

Another few questions occurred to me, as well. What role would summoner spells play in such an environment? Does the game force teleport onto everyone so they can back to shop and return to the party, or should the game give the player a choice? Or does using recall effect everyone, so only one teleport is needed to return? And what role do global ultimates play?

Linna Excel1 votes

I don't think Maokai would do well in a dungeon being a tree and all. Thresh's lantern would be a problem because you'd have to roll to get it in the right spot. And that's if the DM says you can cleanly get it there. Then the ally has to roll to pick it up. That's going to open him up to attacks of opportunity before he can be pulled in to safety.

Sluiceway1 votes

I was picturing this using the same interactions we are used to from SR, like clicking a lantern to ride it. And Maokai can walk it off, I want his ult for its damage reduction while Draven does his axe catching.

Linna Excel1 votes

Yeah.

However, I'm looking at it from the other angle: what if the champs were retooled to fit into a classic dungeon rather than a PvE dungeon mode based on LOL.

ModCaptainMårvelous1 votes

Reminds me of something I did once. :^)

Sluiceway2 votes

I did not believe I was original, but the idea struck me and I felt like sharing. No plagiarism intended.

ModCaptainMårvelous1 votes

Woah who said I was upset? I'm always for this sort of stuff. Go nutso with it man, tell me what kinda stuff you can come up with for a Runeterra campaign.

Sluiceway1 votes

I don't believe I upset you, just letting everyone know I came to the same idea as you all on my own, only to learn that I have been Shen 'd.

ModCaptainMårvelous2 votes

That's life man. Everytime you come up with a spice rack that doubles as a gun, someone else thought of it before you. ;_;

Morvrannis1 votes

I just performed an extensive search (read: 2 minutes of Googling) and did not find a gun-spice-rack (also known as the Spice Machine Gun). I congratulate you on coming up with it first.

Hoi Im Temmo1 votes

Teemo. Because Teemo.

All joking aside - could you imagine Mundo in some like that?

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