Devon H. June 5, 2019
Riot designer Jon Moorman has finally announced Riot’s future plans for Clash.
Following recent test cancellations, Moorman stated that the long-awaited game mode is still under maintenance and noted that significant changes are coming. He also offered a more concrete development plan alongside some rough ideas about its release.
In a lengthy post about what problems Clash has faced and the steps Riot is taking to fix them, Moorman bulleted out some of the things the team has been working on.
On the technical end, in order to reduce server strain teams will be able to lock-in during a longer time period. After lock-in, players will be entered into a tournament as soon as a slot is opened. Instead of the weekend three-day tournament, Clash will now have two one-day tournaments to remove unnecessary complexities and allow for easier maintenance.
Additionally, a recovery system has now been implemented to help repair broken tournaments. Disconnected opponents will be automatically replaced and tournament entries will be maintained.
Moorman disclosed that internal testing using these changes will be “starting soon.” From there, regional tests will begin during the summer, with the global beta rolling out some time after that. The global beta will be used to iron out any remaining issues and to finalize Clash as a mainstay game mode in League of Legends.
Though fans have been exasperated by Clash’s repeated delays, it seems as though players will only need to wait a bit longer before they can try the professional experience at home. At least, that’s the plan for now.