When Riot Games releasedLeague of Legendsback in 2009, it had instantly become a MOBA sensation. After all, its unique take on Champions and the "traditional" way of duking it out in an arena had changed the way MOBAs look today. However, it seems Riot Games plans to do the same for the mobile MOBA market withLeague of Legends: Wild Rift. This time around, Riot appears to want to show mobile MOBA players what aLeagueconversion would look like in a smaller, portable platform.
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Wild Riftmade no attempts to force the complexity of PC'sLeagueinto its mobile counterpart. However, fans do mention howWild Riftretains its "Leaguespirit" with most of its features. Either way, just how doesWild Riftcompare to the original PCLeague of Legends?
Updated June 11, 2021 by Rhenn Taguiam: As the mobile version of the hit MOBA, League of Legends: Wild Rift has gathered both fans and detractors for a wild ride. Admittedly, Wild Rift has both its strong points and weak points. And some fans may even say that Wild Rift is a simpler, more compact version of their beloved PC MOBA. However, fans looking for more grounded differences between the mobile and PC iterations of League of Legends may realize that the two versions are vastly different titles. Whereas the PC version gives more control to the players, the mobile version offers a more fast-and-loose approach to combat. Both themes cater to specific gamers - and thankfully, it’s relatively straightforward to explain just how the two LoL iterations differ in scope and gameplay.
15 Smaller Champion Roster
Players of League of Legends love Summoner’s Rift due to the tremendous freedom when it comes to Champion choice. Aside from further customization via Runes and Items, the vast toolkits of Champions themselves can make no two matches the same simply through team compositions. In Wild Rift, however, players only have access to around 60+ Champions. An obvious setback here is that players with “mains” not included in the initial roster will have to wait for them to get their Wild Rift counterparts.
Moreover, a radical difference in Wild Rift would be the adjusted toolkits (and sometimes, the complete retooling) of some of these Champions. For instance, Champions no longer have passives while Katarina can move during her Death Lotus. Devs made this choice in order to accommodate the mobile version’s more fast-paced gameplay, and to “convert” mouse-only mechanics to a touch-friendly format.
14 Autofill Position Based On Preference, Not Choice
In Summoner’s Rift, players often have a difficult time queueing in matches - especially since players get the chance to declare their role of choice. As such, it’s a common occurrence for players to end up in a role they don’t necessarily excel in and end up underperforming. However, Wild Rift makes queueing much easier with an autofill feature. Essentially, Wild Rift introduces auto-filling positions based on preference.
Now, in the mobile MOBA, players can arrange the five positions and rank them according to preference. Say, they can choose a Jungle as their Top Preference, followed by Support, Mid, Duo, and Solo. This system gives players the opportunity to get the Jungle position as often as possible, and not getting assigned to Solo whenever the game could. Granted, the system doesn’t guarantee that players always get their top preferences - but it’s a welcome change for a lot of fans.
13 Ease Of Targeting
Thanks to the mouse, Summoner’s Rift can give players access to radically different approaches to long-range skirmishes. After all, a mouse has scroll controls that can help players view multiple instances of the battlefield with a quick gesture. Since the touchscreen doesn’t have this freedom, Wild Rift adjusted these mechanics for players as well.
Essentially, Wild Rift now comes with an enemy lock system that auto-locks an enemy Champion that players attack. This makes combos much easier to pull off. Moreover, the mobile MOBA also features camera assist for long-ranged abilities. This picture-in-picture feature makes it much easier to control the skillshot’s trajectory
12 Smaller Maps, Wilder Fights
Unlike Summoner’s Rift, Wild Rift accommodates mobile phones thanks to its smaller and more compact maps. This happened due to the removal of Nexus Turrets as well as Turret Platings to radically speed up matches. In turn, players have a more straightforward approach when eliminating the opponent camp’s Nexus and win the match.
Moreover, with the lack of extra protective units, Wild Rift opens the floor to more fast-paced and aggressive play on part of players. This fits well with other adjustments in Wild Rift, as the lack of item actives and ease of targeting can help players have a more straightforward approach towards a match.
11 Vast Item Changes For Faster Gameplay
Unlike other MOBAs, Items play a huge role in the Summoner’s Rift overall gameplay loop. After all, there are various Jungle Items, Support Items, and even Item Actives that can radically change the tide of battle for any Champion. In Wild Rift, the devs made Items much more simplified to use. Essentially, Items will no longer have active effects, contrary to their Summoner’s Rift counterparts.
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In exchange, players can choose only one active effect as a boots enchantment. However, unlike Summoner’s Rift, the unique active effect mechanic will open new gameplay opportunities for champions. For instance, Zhonya’s Hourglass might not have its stasis passive, but it’s become an active effect equippable to a pair of boots.
10 Graphics Had To Be Rebuilt From The Ground Up
The arrival ofLeagueto mobile platforms meant scaling down on most aspects of the PC MOBA to fit a more portable experience. Unlike the more graphically-sophisticatedLeague,Wild Riftwill have graphical adjustments to accommodate smaller screens and limited processing power.
While fans might notice a lack of multiple skins, Riot Games did explain that they have to redesign each Champion "from the ground up." Aside from their inherent skills, it seems Riot Games included their skins and overall appearances in these redesigns as well. As a result, Champions inWild Rifthad a "limited" appearance versus the PC but sophisticated enough for mobile devices. Thankfully, there's plenty ofbeginner-friendlyChampions acrossWild Rift's initial 40+ lineup.
9 Shorter, Fast-Paced Matches
The more complex nature ofLeaguemade room for matches that lasted 30 to 40-minutes long, giving players more than enough time to make opening gambits and make meaningful comebacks. However, the mobile constraints ofWild Riftmade Riot Games opt for fast-paced gameplay. Moreover, the Level 15 - instead of Level 18 - cap ensured Champions got to the endgame much faster compared toLeague.
Likewise, turrets will no longer have plates to ensure they can get eliminated much faster. They made this by making the entire game map much smaller and removing turrets that guarded the Nexus. The Nexus now has the ability to protect itself with its own turret shots. Super minions will start appearing in lanes as soon as turrets start disappearing from the map.
8 Monsters Receive More Flexible Mechanics
Aside from laning,Leaguesets itself apart from other MOBA due to its unique Jungling mechanics. InLeague, Jungler Champions focus on empowering themselves by killing neutral monsters in various camps. Junglers get massive boosts whenever they get to kill Dragons, which appear in elemental types that may transform the battlefield. Some Champions like Shyvana even focus on killing Dragons.
Meanwhile,Wild Rifthas a more straightforward approach to monsters. For instance, the Red Brambleback and Blue Sentinel respawn into stronger variants that give stronger buffs in the late game. Meanwhile, players will be facing a Dragon of each element before the game spawns an Elder Dragon, which now has an element of its own and grants element-exclusive bonuses.
7 Items, Boots, Wards Got Reworked For Mobile
Given Wild Rift's more fast-paced nature, players also get access to gold much easier. In fact, dying enemy minions grant gold to nearby Champions, and more to those that dealt the last hit. In turn, items have become easier to access as well. Players can now assign "Pre-Order" items that the game "reserves" for them as they earn gold throughout the match. Moreover, players have easy access to "Recommended Items" they can buy as soon as they earn the gold based on their set builds.
Instead of placing Wards throughout the map like in League, players now assign Wards to certain Ward points. Lastly,Wild Riftremoves the option of having separate items with active skills. Instead, these active skills get assigned to "enchants" for Boots, where each Champion can get only one upgrade per match.
6 Champions Have More Dynamic Interactions
Players ofLeaguewho mained Champions featured inWild Rift's roster might find themselves intrigued with the kind of changes the mobile game applied to these characters. Ashe's Enchanted Crystal Arrow (Ult) inLeaguetravels in a straight line that deals more damage to Champions it hits depending on its distance traveled. Meanwhile,Wild Rift's iteration of the same Ult allows players to actively control the arrow.
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Likewise, other skills of other Champions have an emphasis on skillshots instead of point-and-clicks. For instance, Annie's attacks can be directed into an area instead of having to rely on clicks. This factor also applies to Miss Fortune's attacks, where she can target opponents via skillshots.
These changes make players feel more in control of their Champions.
5 Runes Have Become More Straightforward
InLeague, Runes remain an extremely integral part of the game's core mechanics. After all, players of the PC game customize their Rune Page by choosing a Primary Path and a Secondary Path across five Paths that give various gameplay benefits. Under each Path are Keystone Runes and Lesser Runes that further diversify gameplay. This means Runes that Tahm Kench players use apply differently to other heroes.
Wild Rifthas a less-complicated system. InWild Rift, players choose one of eight Keystone Rune as their Main Rune. They get one Minor Rune each from the Domination, Resolve, and Inspiration Paths.
4 Ranked MatchesRely Mostly On Marks, Victory Points
Compared toLeague,Wild Rifthas a more liberal approach with regards to its Ranked Mode. In the PC game, players have access to League Points from Iron to Challenger, where they need 100LP before trying to move up a division or rank. However, inWild Rift, players only have Ranked "marks" from Iron to Emerald. Interestingly, the Emerald rank is the new transition rank between Platinum and Diamond.
In Wild Rift, players need wins to earn marks that move them up ranks, as losses remove marks as well. Meanwhile,Wild Riftintroduces Victory Points, the mobile equivalent to LP, from Diamond upwards.
3 Queues Become Riskier
Team play remains an essential aspect ofWild Rift. However, unlikeLeague, players ofWild Riftno longer have the option to queue based on positions or roles they prefer. Instead, Riot Games will rely on its matchmaker to queue up players that have a diverse range of positions.
Riot Games has also temporarily removed blind picking in the Ranked Queue and instead rely on Draft Mode. While bans don't exist in this iteration ofWild Rift, the system will soon come into play once more champions get added to themobile game.
2 Age Range Affected Champion Appearances
On a tangent, it seems Champion redesigns affected not just their graphical representation but also overall themes as well. Fans might've noticed thatLeaguetopwaifus such as Janna and Miss Fortune had "dressed up" forWild Rift. However, it seems Riot Games had a lot of considerations for these "touch-ups" inWild Rift.
For instance,Wild Riftresearcher u/ThuggInUggs clarified the team's take on the issue in r/LeagueOfLegends. The researcherexplained that some players found the revealing outfits of some Champions "didn't make sense" for their lore and motif. In turn, they wanted to takeWild Rift'sdirection to redesign Champions that feel like they're going to wear that gear into battle.
On a simpler note,Wild Riftalso has a 13+ age limit. In turn, Riot Games may have wanted to dial down on the revealing outfits to avoid offending parents and appeal more to younger audiences.
1 Upcoming Console Releases Outside Mobile Phones
Unlike the PC-exclusiveLeague of Legends,its mobile counterpart appears to have a console release underway as well. This move explains why Riot Games has been hard at work rebuilding most aspects of the game, as they want to seeWild Riftbeing played on large television screens via non-PC devices.
Granted, Riot Games didn't announce release dates for these console releases. However, from what fans have gathered from announcements, the console port will be a 1:1 copy ofWild Riftfor mobile phones.
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