Ascension has Surpassed URF as my Favorite Game Mode

I know a lot of people enjoyed URF for the PvP gameplay, but for me, what made it so awesome was the practice I could get in custom games - it's thanks to URF that I know exactly which walls Riven can jump and where she has to stand, and it's thanks to URF that I can inSec kick without having to think about every step. Apart from being wacky and fun, I really felt like URF mode allowed me to improve my mechanics and intuitive feel of champions to a degree that would have taken months on standard Summoner's Rift 5v5.

Then URF went away, and new game modes rolled in - Doom Bots and OfA:MM, while entertaining, never really grabbed me. Doom Bots mostly incentivized abusive, non interactive splitpushing, while Mirror Mode's gameplay was incredibly repetitive and often took far too long to end. I played three or four games of both, got bored, and left them.

But then they released Ascension. And goddamn, I am hooked.

Where URF let me grind out ability combos, Ascension lets me endlessly grind out teamfights. My decision making, spatial awareness and mechanics are put to the test constantly, and the universal gold and experience means that no matter how hard I fucked up before, I can learn from my mistakes and apply those lessons to the next fight. As a player who's often struggled with decision making in teamfights, this game mode has been a godsend.

So - thank you to everyone at Riot who conceptualized and put this game mode together. It's the most fun I've had with this game in a long time, and I'll remember it fondly when it leaves.