LoL Dev Update - ARAM Mayhem, Arcane Anniversary, Fight Against Cheaters and More

On October 06, a new Dev Update video was released on the official League of Legends channel, where Paul “Pabro” Belezza, Andrei “Meddler” Van Roon, and other members of the development team shared with fans what to expect in the upcoming patches. This update mainly focuses on ARAM enthusiasts and highlights Riot’s ongoing efforts to combat players who buy accounts, use boosting, cheats, or other unfair methods. So, let’s go through everything step by step.

ARAM: Mayhem

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ARAM has long been an essential part of League of Legends — for some, it’s a way to relax with friends; for others, a quick warm-up before ranked, or even their main mode of play. In the new Dev Video, Riot shared their plans to increase the fun factor and shake up the familiar formula while keeping its spirit intact. In patch 25.21, they’re introducing ARAM: Mayhem — a version of the mode enhanced with augments. Eduardo “Cadmus” Cortejoso and Ezra “Phlox” Lynn also discussed what players can expect and what inspired this chaotic twist.

In this new mode, players will be able to choose from four to five augments that dramatically change gameplay. You can turn Sona into an unkillable tank or dash across the bridge as a high-speed Mordekaiser. Augments unlock at levels 1, 7, 11, and 15, and can be selected after death — or, if you’re lucky, through a special “cheater” augment.

The idea was inspired by the success of AAA ARAM in Wild Rift and Arena — the developers decided to combine the fast-paced chaos of one with the strategic depth of the other. The prototype was built in just two days, and even then it was clear that these powerful and crazy upgrades fit perfectly into ARAM’s signature mayhem.

Since then, the team has created over 40 new augments. Among them are King Me, which crowns you as a “king” after using transporters in the enemy base, and Biggest Snowball Ever, which increases your Snowball’s size to absurd proportions. Add Snowball Upgrade and Fetch to the mix — and you’ve got a true “triple Nunu” nightmare.

One of the biggest challenges was maintaining readability during teamfights. Persistent visual effects from Arena were removed, leaving only short, impactful ones to keep fights clear and exciting — while preserving that classic ARAM feeling.

And don’t worry — traditional ARAM isn’t going anywhere. Mayhem will be available in a separate queue, offering players a fresh dose of chaos, wild combinations, and creative fun without losing the essence of what makes ARAM special.

Account Linking and Streamer Mode

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Riot Games continues its fight against smurfs and unfair play. Next up were Matt Leung-Harrison “Phroxzon” and Drew Levin “Capybara,” who went into more detail about the upcoming security measures, answered fan questions, and shared future plans.

Back in patch 25.6, Riot introduced an LP refund system for players who had a cheater in their match, with Vanguard helping to detect such accounts. In patch 25.9, the detection of inters and griefers was significantly improved — now 10 times more offenders are banned daily. The Behavioral Systems team continues to refine these systems.

Starting with patch 25.18, Riot began actively implementing measures against smurfing, boosting, and account selling. But that’s just the beginning — the developers plan to take it even further, with two new security updates coming before the end of the year.

Alt Account Detection (patch 25.23)

Riot will introduce a system that links alternate accounts to main ones so that penalties apply across all profiles belonging to the same player. The linking process will only occur when there is a very high confidence that the accounts belong to the same person.

Botting and Account Selling

With the help of Vanguard, Riot has already banned 400,000 accounts used in ranked games, 1.5 million botted and sold accounts, and another 2.5 million accounts that were in the process of being sold. Riot clarified that not everyone will be punished — players who bought an account long ago and have played fairly won’t be affected. However, smurfs and rule-breakers will face permanent bans.

If you’re worried about whether your account might be at risk, you can read more about the enforcement criteria on the official leagueoflegends.com page. And don’t worry — if you’re a legitimate player, you have nothing to fear. Even in rare cases of mistaken bans, Riot assures that such penalties won’t be permanent.

Streamer Mode (patch 25.20)

To protect streamers and pro players from focus and griefing, Riot is introducing a new anonymity mode with three levels:

• Hide Other Names – hides other players’ names on your screen only.
• Hide My Name – hides your Riot ID and in-game name but keeps your profile progress visible.
• Hide My Everything – completely hides all account information.

This feature will help streamers drastically reduce the risk of running into stream snipers who intentionally ruin matches or behave disruptively during games. A well-deserved shoutout to Riot for implementing such an update.

Arcane Anniversary

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The anniversary celebration of Arcane’s finale will begin with patch 25.23. Players will receive small Arcane-themed rewards such as icons and emotes, and the Arcane skin line from Season 1 and Season 2 will return — including an updated version of Arcane Fractured Jinx with several improvements.

New visual animations will also be added for certain champions at the start of the game. Shimmer Jinx and Powder are getting brand new recall animations, along with multiple Chompers variations to match different Jinx visual styles.

And the best part — if you already purchased the skin last year, all these updates will be completely free.

For more details about the Arcane anniversary event, you can visit Arcane.com, where you’ll find everything about what’s coming both to League of Legends and other Riot Games titles.