Factions, a lore-focused game mode. Current factions: Bilgewater, Ionia, Shadow Isles, the Freljord.

http://i.imgur.com/cWqZO3M.png Site: LeagueFactions.net

After getting several "wait, how did I not know about Factions?!" comments from members of the League community lately, I decided to toss up a quick post about it. Everyone's invited to come join in and play some matches.

What's Factions?
Remember Riot's original Noxus versus Ionia matches? Factions was inspired by that. It started about a year ago, and has grown dramatically since then, thanks to an energetic and creative community.

Here's the basic idea:

• Four factions are selected by poll to face off against each other.
• We create a storyline for that matchup: maybe they're fighting over territory, or a rare artifact, or maybe there's an actual war going on and the League is resolving disputes over the laws of war with matches on the Fields of Justice.
• Summoners can then choose to declare for one of these four factions, lending their services on the Fields.
• Factions fight matches against one another using faction-specific Champion lists. Anyone can start a scored match anytime. Results are sent in for scoring. We maintain a scoreboard, the Balance of Power; factions gain points from beating other factions and lose points when defeated.
• The story plays out based on the outcomes of these matches, which ultimately determine a winner.
• Each story lasts about three months. Then, we pick new factions and repeat. We've completed five storylines so far, and are now on our sixth.

When do matches happen?
Anyone who's signed up for Factions can start a scored match anytime. We strongly encourage this.

We also have shoutcasted weekend mini-tournaments (Featured Matches) each Saturday and Sunday. There's a weekly sign-up for these matches, and the teams are assembled by randomly selecting from those who sign up.

What are its strengths as a game mode?
A few high points:

• It's a way to combine lore and gameplay, and immerse players (Summoners) in the story.
• The faction-specific rosters give each faction distinctive strengths and weaknesses, and pose interesting strategic puzzles.
• It gives Summoners a reason to band together and collaborate to develop their factions' strategies.
• The mixed-rank matches provide an opportunity for Summoners from varying tiers to work together in a fun environment.

My favorite faction isn't in this current arc. Do I have to wait for the next one?
You do not. Your oath of allegiance to your faction ends when the arc does. When the next one comes around, you can declare for the same faction or a different faction, as you like.

Also, if your faction wins, it gets a private vote to add a faction of your choosing to the next arc, giving you more say over who's featured.

What region is this?
The most active region is NA, but EUW is growing rapidly. (The EUNE community recently lost its admin, and needs a new leader.) Other regions include BR, LAN, and LAS.

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A Few Links

Here are some helpful links.

• About Factions — A quick overview.
• Nyroth — The current storyline revolves around the exploration of a new continent discovered to the west of Valoran. Once home to a proud civilization, Nyroth was devastated by the aftershock of Valoran's Rune Wars.
• Sign Up — How to join the fight.
• Champion Lists — A list of Champions available to each faction in this arc.
• Lore — Factions lore, including narrative story updates, a JoJ-style newspaper, and more.
• Previous Storylines — A condensed overview of previous storylines and their outcomes, with scoreboard charts.
• Artwork — The Factions art gallery.
• /r/LeagueFactions — Our subreddit.