A Quick Guide to AoS' Game Modes

[MOTHER]

As of the v3.00 patch, Aeon of Storms' Hero Selection interface will be updated and will accommodate 3 new game modes for players to enjoy. Below you will find an overview of the changes to the UI, as well as a reference for the key differences between each game mode.

A) Overview




1- Time remaining in this round of this phase. In both Free Pick and Draft Pick, there are 6 pick rounds during the Pick Phase - 3 per team. See below for more details.

2- Name of the game mode you are currently playing.

3- Display that shows whether this is a Ban Phase (Draft Pick Only) or a Pick Phase. Changes to display Penalty Time when you run out of selection time. See below for more details.

4- Notification text area. This display will inform you of the current status of the hero selection such as whether it is your turn to pick or the enemy's. Pay attention to his space.

5- The team symbols on the left and right side of the screen light up when it is your team's turn to pick. The gauge beneath them informs you which round you are currently in (again, each team has 3 pick rounds). When a round is done, the gauge is filled and moves to the next.

6- Player Hero Portrait. When it's gray it means the player is hovering over this selection. Colored with a check mark means this hero is locked in. Hovering your cursor over this portrait will display the hero name for you. Additionally, there is a drop down menu (arrow button) on your portrait that can be used to inform your team of your preferred position - Top, Bottom, Mid, Jungle, or Support. You cannot see the Enemy Team's heroes until they are locked in at the end of their turn.

7- The first section of the hero display informs you on the base attributes each hero starts with as well as the attributes gained per level.

8- The second section displays (from top left to bottom right) the Attack Damage, Attack Speed, Physical Resistance, Movement Speed, Attack Range, and Spell Resistance starting values. At the bottom, the base Health and Base Energy values for the hero are displayed.

9- The ability display shows (from left to right) Teleport (Default Active Talent), Active Talent, Heroic Passive, Q, W, E, R, and Stat Bonuses.

10- Talent Builds Manager to select your talents and save your talent builds. You can manage and select your talents up until the end of the entire Hero Selection period, even after you have locked in a hero.

11- Hero Select button to be used for picking a hero or banning a hero in some cases. When it's grayed out with a lock symbol in the corner it means you cannot pick this hero at this time - either because it is picked or it is not your turn. When it is red, it means the hero has been banned. Green is your selection. In the top right corner of this button, a text will also inform you if this hero taken, banned, or is your Hero.

12- Random Hero Selection.

13- Suggest a hero. By highlighting a hero and using this button, you can recommend a hero to be picked or banned and your team will be notified visually and with text of your recommendation.

14- Category filters are used to highlight heroes based on their potential roles and ideal functionalities in any team composition.

• Melee: Has a melee basic attack.
• Ranged: Has a ranged basic attack.
• Initiator: Excel at starting fights.
• Bruiser: High damage potential & durability.
• Tank: Able to sustain significant incoming damage, lasting longer than others in fights.
• Disabler: Able to reliably 'crowd control', restricting or stopping enemy activity.
• Support: Resource independence allows for focus on keeping allies safe, and setting up and securing team opportunities.
• Carry: Extreme damage potential; Weaker early game, but scales to be much stronger later.
• Jungler: Effective at clearing Neutral Camps in the early game.
• Nuker: Able to reliably and frequently cast high damage spells.
• Pusher: Effective at taking down Enemy Structures, particularly in the early-mid game.

15- Heroes are divided into their 3 primary attributes here. Whenever a hero is picked or banned, their portrait in this section will respond to these changes similar to the Hero Select button - Gray means picked, Red means banned, and your pick is highlighted with your color. Hovering your cursor over the portrait will display the hero name for you.


B) Free Pick

'Free Pick' is a departure in many respects from the old 'Blind Mode' but still attempts to capture the casual nature of its predecessor. The glaring difference between Free Pick and Blind Mode is that the blind has been lifted, and you are able to see your team and the enemy's hero picks in real time as they are locked in. 

This allows you to adapt and react with your team to create a stronger and more prepared composition of heroes for the battle ahead.

After a short grace period, the game will randomly decide which team will start picking their heroes. Each team will be allowed 3 rounds to pick their heroes for a total of 6 rounds - 1/2/2/2/2/1 - alternating between Team 1 and Team 2. Any player on the team that has not locked in a hero can choose a hero during a pick round. The round ends when the minimum number of heroes per round are chosen by players on a picking team.

The pick phase rounds for Free Pick Mode are 45 seconds each. If players do not pick within that timeframe, they are granted an additional 15 seconds of Penalty Time.



During Penalty Time, each player on the team that has NOT chosen a hero yet will lose 1 mineral per second until players on that team choose a hero. If no hero is chosen by the end of Penalty Time, a random hero is granted to a random player that has not chosen a hero yet.

 

Free Pick is not the default game mode and therefore needs to be manually selected when first creating a lobby.




C) Draft Pick

Draft Pick is the more competitive gaming variant for Aeon of Storms and the default mode for the game. In this mode, the game starts with 30 second Ban Phase that requires each player to BAN one hero from the game, totaling to a maximum of 10 heroes removed from play for both teams.

The pick phases of Draft Pick are largely identical to Free Pick - 1/2/2/2/2/1 - With 1 key difference: Duplicate picks are not allowed on opposing teams.


D) Captains Pick

Captains Pick is the most competitive variant for Aeon of Storms and follows the standard tournament and inhouse community format of play. In this mode, the game at first asks the players on each team to become the Captain of their team.

The first player to press the "Become Captain" button will do so and then face off the enemy Captain in a series of bans and picks over 4 phases (1b/1b/1b/1b - 1p/2p/2p/1p - 1b/1b - 1p/1p/1p/1p). The Captain that goes first is completely randomized and each individual ban is allocated 60 seconds and each individual pick is allocated 120 seconds. If no ban is made, the ban is lost, and if no pick is made, a random hero will be given to your team for that pick. 

During these 4 phases, the 8 other players relinquish control while their Captains create a hero composition for their team and deny the enemy team certain compositions. It is highly advised that players communicate with their Captains either by text or over voice (on our Discord) their preferred picks and strategies during this time.

In the final stage, 'Strategy Time', all players regain control and must now choose their heroes from their Captains Picks and secure their talents before the game starts.


 

[Head]

thanks this is exactly what i needed