League of Legends’ fan-favorite game mode, Nexus Blitz, is finally returning in 2023.
League of Legends has a fair share of rotating game modes under its belt. While some, like the 2v2v2v2 Arena, were a massive hit, so much so that Riot is thinking of re-releasing in a few months, other game modes were not so lucky, to say the least. And one of those game modes is Nexus Blitz.
Nexus Blitz is League’s only experimental game mode that was first introduced in season 8 and later brought back in season 10.
While it did have a core audience due to its unique playstyle and the fact that it has its own map, players quickly turned their back on the game mode after just a few days, as per Riot’s data. But to make the mode somewhat more fun and balanced, Riot added a couple of new changes, like Events & Rewards, that were very well-received in 2021.
And since 2021’s run was a hit, many players asked for its return in 2022. Even though Riot did promise that Nexus Blitz would return, it never got released that year—resulting in a backlash. Many players even assumed that Nexus Blitz might never return.
But to keep transparent, Riot clarified the issues and later announced that Nexus Blitz will return in 2023. And following up on the promise, in the latest Dev Update, Riot finally revealed that Nexus Blitz is indeed returning this year after a three-year hiatus.
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Nexus Blitz 2023 Release Date
As per Riot Brightmoon and Meddler, Nexus Blitz is returning in October 2023 for a five-week run. Since it is coming back in October, it is safe to assume that Nexus Blitz will be released on League of Legends patch 13.20, scheduled for October 12, 2023.
However, Riot has yet to reveal the official date, and it could also be released on patch 13.21. So, we will update the article when there is an official confirmation of the release date.
Nexus Blitz 2023 New Changes
As of now, there’s no information on the new champion balance or any map changes. However, per the dev update and Riot Cadmus’ reply from Reddit, Nexus Blitz’s gameplay will be pretty much the same as last time. And this year, the only new addition we can expect is the Jungle Pets, which is already there for the Summoner’s Rift.
To clarify the lack of changes, Riot also said that Nexus Blitz was “completely broken” due to various types of League of Legends updates. As a result, they want minimal changes, so that they can analyze the mode better and make adjustments as it goes to improve it for future release.
How Does Nexus Blitz Work?
Nexus Blitz is a Draft Pick style game mode where each game lasts around 15-20 minutes. In the lobby, players can choose from 2 options: Lane or Jungle; though there’s an option for Fill as well. Among five players, two players will be assigned to Jungle, with Smite being mandatory, and three players will be assigned to Lane.
As for the map, it is divided into two lanes: Mid lane and Bot lane, with each side having a Jungle.
Here’s the complete Nexus Blitz map:
Events
In Nexus Blitz, a random event occurs every 3 to 3.30 minutes, where the winning team is granted various rewards. The first event usually starts at 5.00, and it is revealed during the champion select, and the other in-game events are revealed 30 seconds before it starts.
Here are all the events for Nexus Blitz:
| Event Name | Details |
|---|---|
| Bardle Royale (Classic) | Fight for survival in the flaming circle of death while it closes in on a part of the map. The last surviving team wins. |
| Bardle Royale (Paranoia) | Fight for survival in the flaming circle, but everyone is nearsighted, like you’re all being Nocturne ulted. The last surviving team wins. |
| Bardle Royale (Juggernaut) | Fight for survival in the flaming circle and one random champion on each team gains a high amount of health and the On Fire! buff at the start of the event. (As a reminder, the On Fire! buff gives you bonus attack speed, adaptive power, and mana/energy regen, but makes you more vulnerable to damage). The last surviving team wins. |
| URF Deathmatch | Every player goes into URF mode surrounded by a bunch of cheering minions! Defeat the enemy team in a best-of-three to win. |
| Loot Teemo | A wandering Loot Teemo spawns randomly on the map. Hitting the Loot Teemo grants players gold. The team that last-hits Teemo wins the event. |
| Loot Veigar | A wandering Loot Veigar spawns randomly on the map, using Dark Matter and Event Horizon while running away. Hitting the Loot Veigar grants players gold. The team that last-hits Veigar wins the event. |
| Push the Cart (Classic) | Escort the cart by standing near it to move it toward the nearest enemy structure to destroy it. |
| Push the Cart (Attack / Defend) | Race your opponents for who can blow up an enemy structure the fastest, except now both teams have a cart they can navigate! |
| Prize Fight | Both teams square off in a series of rounds, paired in fights of 2v2 and 1v1. |
| King of the Hill | An area of the map is designated as “the hill.” Hold the position and fend off the enemy team to claim victory. Scuttle Racing: Two scuttles charge down a track (or scuttle down, I guess). One scuttle for each team, the first scuttle to reach the finish wins for their team! |
| Protect the Soraka | Two Soraka bots enter lane, but only one can leave (cause one team is gonna destroy the other one). |
| DPS Check | It’s like practice mode, but you need to out practice your opponent’s practice on the same Teemo dummy. |
Rewards
Here are the rewards that you can have after winning an event:
| Reward Name | Effect |
|---|---|
| Catapult of Champions | A cannon that launches your champion anywhere on the map appears in your base for the rest of the game. Upon landing, deal damage and push away nearby enemies. |
| Blessing of Blitzcrank | Allied turrets, siege minions, and super minions have the ability to Rocket Grab nearby enemies for the rest of the game. |
| Poro King | The Poro King spawns to aid your team in pushing forward and sieging enemy turrets, breathing fire on enemies, and healing nearby allies periodically. |
| Battle Sled | Players can jump aboard a sled from their base to nearly anywhere on the map. First person in the sled is in charge of where you go. |
| Guardian Angels | Each member of the team gains a one-time Guardian Angel effect, lasting 90 seconds. |
| Statikk Shock | Each player gains chain lightning zaps on their basic attacks for three minutes to help mow down waves and champions. |
| B.F. Shields | Each member of the team gains a hefty shield until it is broken. |
| Cloud Soul | Team gets mega out-of-combat movement speed and CDR on their ultimate for three minutes. |
| Ocean Soul | Restores health and mana/energy when dealing damage for three minutes. |
| Elder Dragon | You can now execute enemies under a specific health threshold for a few minutes by the force of a BIG DRAGON. |
