Riot celebrate the end of URF mode with a Party IP Weekend

Did you play the April Fool’s special event – Ultra Rapid Fire mode in League of Legends over the past fourteen days? I sure did. It was a time filled with madness – two weeks of OMG I NEVER KNEW THAT CHAMPION WAS SO BROKEN RIOT PLEASE FIX WTF UNINSTALLING THIS GARBAGE! And it was a ton of fun. Sadly, the event is now over, but it’s not all doom and gloom. To show their thanks for everybody’s participation, Riot are hosting a Party IP event this coming weekend.

That’s right, we’re talking bonus IP. It’s the perfect time to play if you’re saving up points into that virtual piggybank for an expensive champion. Here’s the announcement from Riot:

We’re grateful for everyone who participated in URF mode, from the oldest League vets to the newest players just getting started during these wild two weekends. As another thank you for playing along with our joke and cannon-balling back into the ultra-rapid waters, we’re hosting a Party IP Weekend from April 17th at 12:01 AM PDT to April 19th at 11:59 PM PDT. Team up with your friends and earn guaranteed bonus IP when you play matchmade games. The more friends you queue with, the more bonus IP you earn.

So basically, if you’re a broke schmuck like I am (hey Ahri and Katarina weren’t cheap), and your IP funds are lower than my dating standards, you’ll want to grab some mates and party up for some good ol’ fashioned IP boosts. Here are the bonuses:

2 players in pre-made – 100% bonus IP
3 players in pre-made – 150% bonus IP
4 players in pre-made – 200% bonus IP
5 players in pre-made – 300% bonus IP

Well, that’s my weekend gone. Now to round up my imaginary friends so I myself can take advantage of these glorious IP increases! I will miss URF mode, though I have to agree with Riot. It’s something best enjoyed in tiny doses:

We know, we know. It’s too soon. It just came back. But the ultra-rapid awesomeness is best savored in small servings. The original run of URF taught us a fantastic lesson about the novelty of game modes over time and the cost of ongoing maintenance. Featured Gameplay Modes taper off in popularity sharply after a short period of time.

Look at Ability Draft in Dota 2 for example. I’ve hardly touched it over the past few months. Make it a rare occurring gamemode however, and I think I would have fits of joy each time it came around.

Reading through the comments on Riot’s post, many suggest that URF should be a once-a-week affair, say a Friday for example. I think that would be pretty cool. Riot know how to listen to their community (unlike a certain vapour manufacturer I know), so I wonder if we will see them at least give this idea a trial run.

What do you think? Are you happy or sad to see URF mode go? Will you be farming up IP into the wee hours of the morning this weekend?

Last Updated: April 14, 2015