League of Legends’ Clash: Everything you need to know before playing
After numerous trial-and-error attempts, Clash is finally making a return to live League of Legends servers in a global launch. The infamous tournament mode will be run over two weekends with the first happening Dec. 7-8. The second weekend will take place Dec. 14-15. While the mode will look familiar to those who have played it before, there are quite a few changes related to the execution of the tournament. With that being said, let’s take a look at everything you need to know before playing Clash this weekend.
The requirements to play
While Clash doesn’t prevent players of different ranks from playing with each other, it does have a few requirements. The first and most obvious requirement is that you need five players on your team. Furthermore, all members of your team need to be placed in a division, meaning they have to at least finish their placements before playing Clash. Any ranked queue works, so don’t worry if you only play FlexQ.
Secondly, all players must be put on the same team. The person that creates the team will also be the captain. His job is to invite other players to the team; choose the name, tag, and icon; and handle pick and ban. Team creation is already available so you can do it beforehand.
What is more, Riot is trying to prevent smurfing in this League of Legends tournament mode, keeping it competitive for all players. Subsequently, each player is required to have their account verified with their phone number before playing. Lastly, each player needs a ticket to play in the tournament. Players can get tickets from missions or a teammate or buy them in the store for Blue Essence. You can also use Premium tickets, which can get you better rewards for winning but also require RP to purchase.
Opponents based on tiers
Even though Clash allows players from different divisions to play together, it comes with a few caveats. Based on every team member’s ranking, the Clash system determines a tier for your team. Tiers range from IV to I, with IV being the lowest tier. According to the tier, Clash teams will be matched with teams that have similar tiers. An important thing to note here is that Clash puts heavy emphasis on the highest-rated player. If, for example, a team of four Iron players plays with a Diamond player, their tier will be much higher than one might expect. So don’t think having a high-rated player on your team means an easy win and free rewards for everyone.
Don’t forget to lock in!
Once your team is assembled and all requirements are met, you are ready to play Clash. However, to participate in the tournament, your team has to “lock in.” The general lock-in window opens two hours before the tournament starts, but the actual window is based on tier. Lock -in for Tier IV teams starts two hours before tournament, lock-in for Tier III teams starts half an hour later, and so on. It is important that every player locks in during the window in order to play. After you lock in, you can leave until the actual tournament starts without having to wait in front of your computer.
Carefully scout your opponents in the scouting phase
Shortly before the match begins, your team will be taken into the scouting phase. Once there, you will be able to see your opponents’ rank, most played champions and their win rates, KDA, and a few Clash-related stats. Make good use of this time to look up your opponents and prepare a strategy based on champions they often pick or have good win rates with. Try to find the weakest player and make a plan on how to exploit him. The possibilities are endless, and efficiently using the scouting phase can give your team a much-needed advantage.
Use what you learned in champ selection
If you are familiar with how the pick and ban works in competitive League of Legends matches, Clash’s champion select isn’t any different: two ban phases, two pick phases, and your team captain doing all the bans, while having some time to swap champions at the end. However, unlike when playing ranked, if you fail to pick a champion, it will be chosen for you randomly. This is to prevent dodging and subsequently make the whole experience more tournament-like.
The bracket & Sudden Death
Finally, let’s take a look at how the tournament bracket looks in Clash. Even though the event lasts the whole weekend, the tournament days aren’t connected in any way. This means your team can play only on Saturday or Sunday, or play both days. Of course, playing through the whole weekend gives you better prizes, but it’s not a big deal if you only have time on one day. The bracket is a simple single-elimination bracket with eight teams, meaning each team will play at the utmost three games. However, teams that lose the first match fall into a losers bracket to continue competing.
A small feature added in the latest version of Clash is Sudden Death: After 60 minutes of play, towers will become more vulnerable and will be fairly easy to push. Five minutes later, they will start self-inflicting damage at a fixed rate. Finally, by the 70th minute, a team will automatically win the game. Remakes and pauses are also disabled to prevent unsportsmanlike behavior.
Thank you for reading through this guide. By now, you should have a thorough understanding of how League of Legends‘ Clash works and how you can participate in it. Would you like a more detailed guide about optimal Clash strategies and tricks? Let us know in the comments!
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