Complete ARAM guide in League of Legends

Preseason 13 is similar to many before it. The game is impossible to balance, players are in the holiday spirit and don’t care about results. Playing ARAM games is always a good time, especially with your friends. This complete ARAM guide should help you win more games, and reach a high MMR in this game mode.

What is ARAM?

Similarly to its equivalents in Dota and Starcraft, ARAM was initially a custom game mode. Across gaming history, the community has always been the one to usher in new changes and features. And that was the case with ARAM. All Random All Mid was a custom game mode developed by the players, with one intent. Battle it out until one team wins. The design is similar to the average MOBA game, with two teams of 5 players fighting, with death as the only way to reset the fight and buy items. Riot Games saw the potential and adopted the game mode, gave it a custom map known as the Howling Abyss and it now regularly receives updates, being balanced around different mechanics. 

How does ARAM work?

ARAM has come a long way but you need to remember. This was intended to be a for-fun game mode. Testing champions and builds, new playstyles, laughing it off with friends and strangers. Even many professional players have admitted to using it to carve up new strategies. ARAM used to be a lot more casual back in the day, but it has gotten increasingly more competitive recently. As a separate game mode, it was natural for it to receive a separate Matchmaking Rating. And this is what led to the creation of high MMR ARAM and tournaments intended to promote this competitive spirit. 

Understanding ARAM

Since 90% of the player base in League is below the Platinum rank, everything below this threshold is considered low MMR ARAM. And a predominant topic among this community regarding ARAM games has always been luck. This might have been true back in the day, and still sometimes is. But Riot’s balancing has made the game mode much less reliant on luck, and a lot more on performance. The notion that the other team won just because they got lucky to get good ARAM champs is often not true. 

Give 5 high MMR players, champions with the worst win rates on ARAM, and match them up against 5 average MMR players, with the best ARAM champions according to tier lists. More often than not, the average MMR players will lose the game despite having better champions. It’s fairer to say that 70% of ‌ games are decided by the skill difference between the players. Another 20% are decided by how cohesive the team composition is and maybe 10% are decided by ‌champion picks. And that 10% also includes how good players are on the champions they choose. If teams of even skills match up, luck is certainly going to affect the outcome. But more often than not, simple decisions like reset timers and positioning make the difference. 

Champion picks

With that being said, a large number of games are decided in champ select. Just like Summoners Rift, success on ARAM is dependent on the team composition. Even more so, considering there are no sidelines on ARAM. You can be the best Talon player in the world. But that won’t change the fact that your champion is horribly designed for ARAM team fighting. Ezreal, Jinx and Kog’maw are all great ARAM champions. But put them all together and most likely you will lose that game. Likewise, any of them with a solid tank and support around them is unbeatable. 

The higher up you go in ARAM MMR and depending on when you play, you will see this become a trend. Most players pick what they like or what’s the most fun. Some pick champions they don’t own to try them out. But to become a great ARAM player you need to learn every role and its responsibilities. If one player adjusts their pick to the team composition it can win you the game. And also remember, if you have two rerolls in ARAM, please always reroll for your teammates. 

ARAM Champion pool

There is a myth that many ARAM guides have pushed onto players throughout the years. Contrary to common belief, you don’t need a new account with ARAM-only champions. While it’s a good idea to use champions that are good on ARAM and you are good with. By playing on your main account, not only do you have more champions and skins unlocked. But you also get more rerolls and can adjust your team comp much better. Having a team composition with 5 Nidale players won’t win you many games. And unless you are really competitive and care about your ARAM MMR, don’t dodge games. Since there is no laning phase, you can be somewhat effective on your champion, despite never having played it before. 

And like always, there are tier lists about picking ARAM champions. And while it’s good to keep them in mind, you shouldn’t follow them blindly. Due to Riot’s balancing on Howling Abyss, LeBlanc now does 120% more damage on ARAM. That’s like LeBLanc having Deathfire Grasp active at all times on ARAM. Which is nice and all, unless you can’t play LeBlanc. Stick to what’s comfortable for you, expand your champion pool and focus on team play. 

ARAM Specifics you should know

After Riot took over the game mode in 2012, they started balancing it. Say what you want about Riot’s balancing, but ARAM has come a long way. This has meant that some rules and mechanics needed to be implemented to achieve this. There are a lot of them, but we are going to mention the most important ones: 

• Champions take 15% − 30% less damage (based on distance) from enemy champions further than 1000 units away. This doesn’t include ultimate abilities or DoT (damage over time) spells. Feel free to spam those Ashe arrows and Lilia rolling balls. 
• Heals on teammates are reduced by 50% but that doesn’t include self-heals. This one was one of the main changes that pushed Sona and Soraka from the absurd 80% win rate they used to hold in ARAM. It also made Tryndamere a usable champion on ARAM, considering how bad he was before this. 
• Champion specific balancing is the biggest change this game mode has ever seen. Things like damage taken, damage done, shielding done and healing done, have given us quite a few gems over the years.  Please don’t try tank Akali ;). 

Howling Abyss specifics

Other important adjustments that are related to the map and you should know are:

• Champions deal 0-25% more damage to structures after the 18-minute mark. This grows by approximately 2% and you do the most damage after 30 minutes. If you ever wondered why Viegar kills turrets with one auto attack late game, this is why
• There are 4 health relics on the Howling Abyss map, which restore 8% of missing mana and health when picked up. After 2,5 seconds of charging they restore 16% of missing health and mana to everyone in the circle. You probably know how the frost-gates and turret remains work, since they were added recently.
• Minions take 75% damage  from AoE (Area of Effect) damage, and every third wave has a cannon minion. Cannon minions are empowered by Blackout, which reveals stealth traps. Make sure to kill that cannon minion if you have a Teemo or Shaco on your team.  
• All champions on the Howling Abyss get:+70 summoner spell haste and restore 0,15% of maximum mana per second
• Mele champions get 15 magic resist, and do 20% more damage to super minions and structures.

Champion kills are worth 180 gold and bounties increase based on the number of consecutive kills: 

• 2 consecutive kills: 150 ( 330 total)
• 3 consecutive kills: 300 ( 480 total)
• 4 consecutive kills: 375 ( 555 total)
• 5 consecutive kills: 450 ( 630 total)
• 6 consecutive kills: 600 ( 780 total)

ARAM Summoner Spells 

Like we mentioned, all champions on the Howling Abyss receive + 70 summoner spell haste. That is great, but you still need to know how to utilize them properly.  Flash remains a staple of this, both on Summoner Rift and on ARAM. Despite having a significantly lower cooldown on this game mode, you can decrease it even more. But what matters more is how you use it.

Flash

Please stop flashing away when you are low on health. ARAM is not your average League game. You don’t achieve anything by doing this. Sure you can get a bit more experience and gold. But that doesn’t change the outcome of the game as much as you think. If you survive on low health, not only did you waste your Flash doing it. You also force your team to play at a disadvantage, since you are low on health. Save your dignity, die, purchase items, and try to win the game. The same could be said about using ultimate abilities when you are low health. 

Unless it’s instant like a Malphite ultimate, it’s not worth it. Reset, purchase items and then use your ultimate ability combined with your Flash. Any team fight beyond 10 minutes can be decisive and you should use your Flash to make a play or reposition. The best way to use it is to Flash important cooldowns by the enemy. Ashe, Malphite, Pyke, Vex and many more ultimate abilities. Especially those that have a reset mechanic. Those can wipe out your entire team so make sure to not get caught.

Mark

The same could be said about this summoner spell. Mark is exclusive to ARAM only, so most League players don’t ‌know how to use it properly. But in the hands of a good ARAM player, it makes a world of difference. Mark was introduced as part of Riot’s balancing efforts. Before it, champions like Vel’koz, Nidalee, Lux, Ziggs, Xerath, and other poke mages could wreak havoc without consequences. Mana has always been an easily solvable issue on ARAM, and with long-range poke winning the nutrition war, it was hard to play melee champions. Now with it, champions like Amumu and Kennen can engage successfully, and turn the tides of a game. 

Mark is a summoner spell used like a projectile, which can hit minions and champions. Despite being a projectile, it can’t be blocked by Yasuo or Samira. It does a small amount of damage and also grants true vision of the target if it’s a champion. With a 45-second cooldown, it’s very important to plan when you are going to use it. On the other hand, it’s very important to dodge it, even if you are a tank. Bringing a Kennen close to your team is not something you would want. 

Mark summoner spell on ARAM usage

Some of the more fun and skill-expressive things you can do using Mark are avoiding damage and skill shots. With proper Mark usage, you can become invulnerable for a split second. That’s because when you recast it and fly toward your location, enemies can’t hit you or damage you. With proper timing, you can dodge a Karthus or Ashe ultimate with ease. 

A good example of this is trying to kill an Ezreal as Kha’zix while the Ezreal has a Braum support. The proper combo should be, jumping on Ezreal with your E ability and casting Mark while on top of him. This way you can’t miss it. Braum will naturally react and use his ultimate ability to protect Ezreal. The Ezreal player will naturally E out or use Flash. That’s when you recast your Mark and follow Ezreal to his location while dodging the damage and crowd control spells from Braum. If you use your Mark to get to Ezreal, you can get stunned immediately, you can miss it, your E ability might get canceled by Braum’s ultimate and much more.

Ghost and Exhaust on ARAM

A few months ago, the Ghost summoner spell got a significant buff. Its duration would be extended by 4-7 seconds on every takedown. A lot of champions Hecarim started using it immediately, but it has impacted ARAM even more. Since ARAM games are all about fighting and takedowns, Ghost fits the narrative perfectly. Running away, chasing down enemies, kiting. Ghost helps execute plays so much and many players don’t realize that.

Exhaust on the other hand is well-known in the League community.  Assassin players hate playing against it, your support never wants to take it and every ADC needs it. A well-timed exhaust can save you from many scenarios where you would usually die. The changes to the game with the durability update made it harder to kill someone in one rotation. But that can still happen, and Exhaust is here to prevent that. Use it when you duel someone before they start their combo. This will reduce their damage output significantly, and should guarantee your win. 

ARAM Runes 

Just like on Summoners Rift, some runes are better off than others on ARAM. This is mostly due to the faster pace of the game, no laning, and a focus on fighting and scaling. You generally want runes with no cooldown, that will give you the most value.

Precision runes

In the Precision tree you will always be better off choosing Lethal Tempo or Conqueror rather than Fleet Footwork and Press the Attack. Fleet might be nice against some teams, and Hail of Blades could do the same, but nine times out of ten it won’t. Triumph has been nerfed time and time again, but it’s still a good rune for bruisers that build health. Irelia, Jax, and many more. On the other hand, Presence of Mind is probably the best rune in this game mode. With constant fighting and ability usage, mana can be hard to come by. But instead of buying mana items, you can just take this rune and call it a day. Mages use it to rush damage items and boots, ADC use it so they don’t have to buy a Tear, and so on. 

The legendary runes are all great and stack up quickly, but Tenacity and Bloodline are recommended. Tenacity will help you against any ARAM team composition and you can buy other boots besides Mercury Treads to play the game.  Personally, I love Ionian boots on almost every champion since they give a 20% cooldown, which applies to abilities and summoner spells. It’s good to have your Flash, Ghost, Mark, and Exhaust up more often. Cut down is always the best rune here to fight the tanks and bruisers that dominate the meta. Unless you are playing the bruiser, in that case, Last Stand is what you want to be using.

Domination tree

From the Domination tree, the only two runes you should be considering based on your champion are Dark Harvest and Ultimate Hunter. Dark Harvest is much better than Electrocute since it does not have a cooldown and offers stacking damage. Ultimate Hunter can be really crucial to the performance of some champions. Irelia, Fiora, and Kennen can’t offer much to their team without ultimate abilities.

Sorcery runes on ARAM

 In the Sorcery Tree, Aery is good on enchanters and anything that has a shield or pokes. Arcane Comet is basically made for poke champions like Xerath and Phase Rush is really situational. Using it on mages with no mobility like Syndra is your best-case scenario. The same goes for Celerity since it benefits from Ghost. I like taking Nullifying Orb since it acts like a Hexdrinker for mages, when fighting against mages. Transcendence is the second most powerful rune  in this tree, especially since it reduces cooldowns on eliminations. But nothing can beat the scaling potential that Gathering Storm offers. This should be your number one option if you are playing a damage champion. It gives a lot of adaptive force past 10 minutes and only gets stronger the longer the game goes. Absolute Focus is also a situational rune that works better on some champions than others. Playing Draven with Bloodthirster and these two runes is a free win, regardless of how good you are.

Resolve runes

In the Resolve tree, Grasp is the best choice all around. It gives you damage, health, and has no cooldown. Guardian does have a cooldown, but it helps you win the game in ways you don’t even notice. Conditioning is miles ahead of Second Wind and Bone Plating, since those are laning runes that have a cooldown and don’t scale. And finally, Overgrowth is good on any champ, Revitalize is also great on sustain champs that heal a lot and Unflinching is insane on bruisers that fight at low health since it gives scaling tenacity. 

ARAM Items

Just like every other section, items on ARAM work differently than on Summoners Rift. There are no starter items like Dark Seal, Doran’s Blade, Doran’s Shield, or Doran’s Ring. You can purchase Corrupting Pot but its not worth it, also nowards nor trinkets. But stacking items like Tear of the Goddess, Seeker’s Armguard and Verdant Barrier stack much faster. Buying the refillable green pot is always the best case since it offers the most sustain. But one case when you could settle for buying a red pot is with the Guardian items. 

It’s important to understand that Guardian items provide you with much more value than any other item you can buy with 1300 gold. Sure, you are delaying your Mythic power spike. But purchasing Guardian items help your early game so much that it’s often worth it. You win so many fights you would lose otherwise, and you keep winning after you lose and buy items.  

Guardian items on ARAM

If you are playing a melee champion like a tank or bruiser (even Sylas), make sure to always purchase the Guardian’s Horn. The health regeneration the item gives is much more valuable than completing your mythic item quickly. It’s passive that reduces all incoming damage is often overlooked, but it often is the difference between life and death. Purchasing it alongside a refillable potion and boots is the best opening combination any melee champion can ask for. 

Guardian’s Blade is somewhat more situational and mainly depends on your enemies. An aggressive Jax or Renekton can use it, but more often that not, you would be better off with the Horn. Assassins like Kha’zix, Pyke, Qiyana, and casters like Jayce or Ezreal can pick it up. 

Guardian Hammer on ARAM

But what you do want to be picking up almost every single time is the Guardian Hammer. The health and life steal on this item is something many ADC players fail to recognize. With 90-second cooldowns on Galeforce and Shieldbow, you don’t need to be rushing these items. Please stop buying recommended items and think about the game. Not only does this item make you tankier by giving you health, it also increases your sustain the later the game goes. You can go Bloodline and Guardian Hammer and never purchase a life steal item since you would already be at 15%. If you are playing a champion like Vayne, Kog’maw, Aphelios, Jinx or any Lethal Tempo user in general, please keep this in mind. If your champion does little to no damage with their abilities and focuses on auto attacks, you should always rush Berserker Greaves. Guardian’s Hammer is still a good opener item, but boots can also be acceptable. 

Guardian Orb on ARAM

Finally, many mage players love taking Lost Chapter as their starting item. Everything you need is 1900 gold and your Ludens Echo is complete. But on the flip side, you don’t have boots to evade spells. You have to spend an additional 150 gold to buy a refillable potion since mages can’t lifesteal. Meanwhile, Guardian’s Orb gives you 150 health, making you tankier and harder to kill. You also restore 10 mana every 5 seconds, and regain health if your mana bar is full. And this happens throughout the entire game. 

Never mind the fact that no item worth 950 gold will give you 50 ability power on level 3. It’s just not happening. This item offers way too much value for players to not purchase it. Purchasing Guardian’s Orb and having Presence of Mind in your runes should give every mage enough mana to sustain the start of the game. The Health Relics also help with this, making it easier to not purchase a Tear. Short-ranged mages like Ryze, Anivia and Cassiopeia love the health and mana sustain this item gives. It also gives 5 magic penetration when you buy Ludens, making you stronger throughout the game.

Header: Riot Games