All April Fools & URF Skins: How Urf Day Became League of Legends’ Craziest Mode

When people think of April Fools in League of Legends, they think of URF. The wild mode with 80% cooldown reduction, no mana costs, and nonstop chaos feels like it was made for the holiday. But URF wasn’t always the star of April 1. Back in 2010, Riot created Urf Day—a mix of jokes, fake reveals, and community contests that laid the groundwork for everything that came later.

This article covers the full story: from Urf the Manatee’s “death”, to the 2014 launch of League URF mode, to why Riot keeps experimenting with ARURF instead of bringing back the original. We’ll also look at when URF might return in 2026, and highlight the funniest LoL April Fools & URF skins over the years.

April Fools’ and URF Skins in League of Legends

April Fools’ Day in League isn’t just about URF. Each year, Riot drops goofy, over-the-top skins to mark the occasion. Some became permanent fan favorites, while others are pure meme material. Here’s a year-by-year list of April Fools skins, with links to each cosmetic so you can check them out in detail.

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The Lore of Urf the Manatee

The story of Urf began as one of Riot’s earliest April Fools’ jokes, but it stuck because it was so bizarre and so memorable. Urf was a friendly manatee who dreamed of joining the League as a champion. He admired Jax, the Armsmaster, known for fighting with ridiculous weapons like a lamppost and a spatula. Inspired, Urf carried his own “weapons”: a giant fish to honor the sea and a frying spatula to honor his people’s cooking traditions.

But Urf never got his spotlight. On April 1, 2010, Riot posted that Urf had tragically been slain by Warwick. The werewolf supposedly skinned him and wore his hide as a disguise. That gag gave birth to one of League’s most infamous joke skins: Urfwick. It showed Warwick dressed in Urf’s manatee skin, spatula and all. The skin was originally priced at a ridiculous 5,000 RP before dropping to a joke discount of 50 RP, with sales later supporting Save the Manatee Club in real life. Later on Urfwick was re-released in Blue Essence Emporiums and can be acquired during the event for Blue Essence!

Urf Day 2010: “Happy Urf Day” and a Manatee Memorial

The very first Urf Day in 2010 set the tone. Riot posted a dramatic story about Urf’s tragic end, complete with Warwick sneaking out of the jungle, a flash of blue light, and the screams of a fallen sea cow. What remained? Only Urf’s skin—stolen by Warwick himself [source].

This joke turned into a community event. Riot ran an Urf Memorial Contest, which pulled in over 800 submissions in just 24 hours. Players sent poems, songs, short stories, artwork, and even flash games. Riot was overwhelmed and ended up selecting winners across multiple categories—songs, art, videos, and more.

And here’s the part that stuck with people: Riot donated all sales of the Urfwick skin to the Save the Manatee Club. Over 15,000 players bought it, making it both a meme and a real-world fundraiser. This mix of joke + charity made Urf Day more than a gag; it felt like the community was part of something.

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Urf Day 2011: Lee Sin Fake-Outs and Urfrider Corki

Of course, Lee Sin did release—for real—on April 1. But Riot wasn’t done. That year’s April Fools skin was Urf Rider Corki, a plane-riding Corki firing fish missiles and wielding spatulas. Riot announced it in a tongue-in-cheek blog post:.

Urf Day 2011 proved Riot could mix actual champion content with April Fools gags, keeping players second-guessing every announcement.

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Urf Day 2012: 3D Mode, Fisherman Fizz, and Another Contest

By 2012, Urf Day had become an annual event, and Riot wasn’t running out of ideas. That year included:

• Riot Games Presents 3D Mode! — a fake announcement claiming League could now be played in “breathtaking 3D,” with promises like “feel the heat as Brand unleashes Pyroclasm”. All you needed was a pair of red-blue glasses

• Fisherman Fizz skin — which featured Urf himself as part of Fizz’s ult animation, popping up to smack enemies with a spatula

• Another Urf Remembrance Contest, inviting the community to submit videos, art, and tributes. Riot posted some of their own office-made Urf memorials, showing how much the joke had become part of company culture.

2012 also reinforced the idea that Urf was never “coming back” as a champion, but he’d always haunt April 1.

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Urf Day 2013: CHEW and Astro Teemo

2013 was the last big Urf Day before URF mode appeared, and Riot went all out. Instead of a lore gag, they built entire mini-games:

These April Fools experiments showed Riot’s willingness to go beyond blog posts and skins. It also set the stage for 2014, when Riot decided April 1 would feature something bigger than a joke: a full new game mode.

2014: When URF Took Over April Fools

It was released out of the blue. At first, it felt like the world stopped making sense. Riot announced that a new mode—Ultra Rapid Fire (URF)—was a play test for the preseason, where mana wouldn’t exist and cooldowns would be slashed to almost nothing. It was pitched as a preview of a “fast-paced future of League of Legends.”

For a moment, people believed it. Was Riot really about to delete mana costs and throw balance out the window? It wasn’t until players looked at the calendar that things clicked: it was April 1. This had to be a joke. But then they logged in… and found the queue was real.

That mix of parody and reality is what made URF’s launch so legendary. Riot didn’t just joke about balance changes—they let everyone play them for a week.

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The “Welcome to Ultra Rapid Fire” Reveal

The announcement video leaned into the prank. It opened straight-faced, as if this was the future of the game:

“Welcome to Ultra Rapid Fire. I’m your host, Ja, and today we’ll be going over the future of League of Legends in a special sneak peek. Ultra Rapid Fire is a major balance update set to debut next season. Rather than spring these changes all at once, we decided to share a preview of what’s around the bend.”

The pitch was simple: everyone should be a playmaker. Riot claimed their “data” proved that being out of mana wasn’t fun, so they had removed mana and energy entirely. Cooldowns were cut by 80%. Casters were happy, but to keep marksmen relevant, ranged champions received double attack speed bonuses and an extra 25% crit damage on top. Supports were promised “substantial impact throughout the game.”

The video also threw in absurd balance notes that made the gag even stronger:

• Teemo and Shaco had their trap limits reduced because maps were covered in mushrooms and boxes.

• Zilean could revive multiple teammates in one fight, so his rewind was nerfed.

• Kassadin was so hated that Riot announced he had been deleted from the game.

• Ryze was also removed, just because.

The script ended with an invitation: “Hop in, make plays, and share your thoughts.” What was supposed to be a prank turned into one of the most fun—and most demanded—modes in League history.

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Patch Notes Snapshot: The “Future” of League

Riot didn’t stop at a video. They posted full patch notes, written as if URF was the next big preseason update. Here’s a breakdown of the global changes that defined the mode:

• No Mana or Energy Costs – all abilities set to 0.

• 80% Cooldown Reduction – for abilities, summoner spells, and activated items.

• +60 Movement Speed for every champion.

• +25% Tenacity baseline.

• Ranged Champions Buffed – double attack speed from items/abilities, plus +25% crit damage.

• +500% Gold Gain on Summoner’s Rift.

Riot devs Pabro and Pwyff posted them like any other patch update, explaining that the philosophy was to “tune down anti-fun mechanics” and make every fight a highlight.

For players, it felt like playing League with cheats turned on. Games were faster, flashier, and ridiculous. And after that week, there was no going back: April Fools and URF had become inseparable.

URF vs. Urf Day: Same Spirit, Different Things

This is where people often mix things up. Urf Day came first. From 2010 to 2013, April 1 was about honoring (and joking about) Urf the Manatee. Riot used him for fake reveals, silly announcements, and skins like Urfwick and Urf Rider Corki. It was part April Fools prank, part community event, and part charity drive.

URF mode, on the other hand, only arrived in 2014. That was the year Riot blurred the line between parody and reality by making Ultra Rapid Fire playable. From then on, April Fools in League became tied to URF matches, not just Urf-themed jokes.

And that’s why people today often think “URF” is April Fools. The manatee lore has mostly faded into the background, while the mode became the tradition. But without Urf Day laying the foundation, URF mode might never have existed.

Why We Get ARURF Instead of Regular URF

Players always ask: “Why do we keep getting ARURF or Snow Battle ARURF instead of classic URF?” Riot answered this in detail in an Ask Riot post back in 2017.

Here’s the core reason:

“URF makes some people stop playing League.”

Every time we ran regular URF, we’d see a huge spike of games being played, and then the numbers actually dropped back down to a level that’s lower than it was just before we ran URF. In NA, for example, whenever we ran URF we’d usually see over twice as many longtime players leave the game compared to what we would’ve normally expected.

— Ghostcrawler & Riot Cactopus, Ask Riot: URF (2017)

Riot explained that they’re not sure why this happens. It could be that URF feels like playing League with cheats, so regular games seem slow afterward. Or maybe players just binge until they burn out. Whatever the reason, the data is clear: after URF ends, total games played and overall hours drop—and they don’t bounce back for a long time, if ever.

Because of this, Riot started running ARURF and Snow Battle ARURF instead. These versions still give players the chaos they want, but with fewer side effects:

• Random champ select stops the same OP picks from appearing every game.

• The churn problem is smaller, since the variety keeps things fresher.

• Riot can still experiment with balance tweaks without breaking engagement.

Riot summed it up like this:

“URF causes some people to stop playing League, but a lot of you really love it. So instead of killing URF altogether, we’re just gonna keep experimenting to find some healthier version of the mode.”

— Ghostcrawler & Riot Cactopus, Ask Riot: URF

When Is URF Coming Back? (2026 FAQ)

URF is one of the most requested modes in League of Legends, so it’s no surprise that every year players ask the same questions: when is URF coming back, how long will it last, and why does it disappear? Here are the answers we know so far.

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❓ When is URF coming back 2026?

Riot hasn’t officially confirmed dates for URF in 2026 yet. Historically, URF or ARURF shows up around April Fools (April 1st) as part of the seasonal event. Some years, Riot also runs it during special events (like summer or Worlds celebrations).

So while April remains the most likely time, it’s not guaranteed. The best way to know is to check the client’s event tab or Riot’s official patch notes as April approaches.

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❓ When does URF end?

When URF (or ARURF) goes live, it usually lasts two weeks. Sometimes Riot keeps it around longer if it ties into a bigger event, but the general rule is that it ends quickly. Riot has said this limited-time schedule helps keep the mode special (and prevents the long-term churn problem).

So if you see URF in the client, don’t wait—it won’t be there forever.

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Conclusion – April Fools, URF, and the Legacy of a Joke That Stuck

April Fools’ Day in League of Legends has always been about fun, chaos, and a little bit of trolling. What started in 2010 with the tragic story of Urf the Manatee grew into a full yearly tradition with Urfwick, silly skins, and eventually the launch of the Ultra Rapid Fire (URF) game mode in 2014.

Even though Riot learned the hard way that classic URF makes some players quit the game (Ask Riot: URF), they’ve kept experimenting with versions like ARURF and Snow Battle ARURF so the chaos never disappears completely. And each year, the holiday is marked with a new wave of April Fools’ skins — from Archduke Nasus to Pengu Garen (2025) — proving Riot knows how to balance jokes with style.

At this point, URF and April Fools are inseparable. Whether you’re spamming abilities on Sona in URF, laughing at Pug’Maw’s bark, or remembering poor Urf the Manatee, this day reminds us that League isn’t just about competition. It’s about the moments of fun we share along the way.

So, if you’re asking “When is URF coming back 2025?” the answer is simple: watch April. Riot might not always confirm it early, but the chaos usually finds a way. And when it does, grab your favorite champion, load into ARURF, and enjoy League the way it was never meant to be played.