On December 10th, the open beta of League of Legends: Wild Rift will start. We at MeinMMO were able to test the mobile game in advance and reveal to you 7 things you should know before installing and your first matches.
What kind of game is this? Wild Rift will be a standalone mobile version of LoL. The matches are expected to be shorter, the controls will be adapted for smartphones, and there will be a smaller champion pool.
But there are also minor adjustments and things you should know about. And that’s what we are presenting to you now.
When does Wild Rift exactly release?
Wild Rift will start its beta in Europe on December 10 at 11:00 AM our time. You can then directly install the game and start playing during your lunch break.
You can download the game either from the Google Play Store or from the App Store. Those who register before the start of the beta will receive some bonuses, including:
- Skin cards
- Champion cards
- Bonuses for double essences or XP
When will Wild Rift leave beta? So far, Wild Rift does not have an official release date. We only know that it is expected to be released in 2021. However, since the beta in North America is only starting in spring 2021, you can probably enjoy the beta for a while.
Wild Rift is not a direct mobile port of LoL
As the developers revealed in an early video diary, they could not simply transfer League of Legends 1 to 1 to the smartphone, but had to make some adjustments:
- The matches must be shorter because players rarely want to play for 30 minutes or longer on a smartphone.
- The controls had to be adjusted, which also led to changes in champions and various mechanics.
- There are adjusted runes, and some are exclusively made for Wild Rift.
- The game has been made a bit more beginner-friendly overall.
- Currently, there is only one game mode – 5v5 on an adjusted version of the map Summoner’s Rift. The ARAM mode, where everyone plays on one lane, is not currently available.
Despite some differences, both games also have a lot in common. Everything about the similarities and differences between the two LoL titles we at MeinMMO have gathered in our preview report.
You can link your accounts to receive bonuses
When you start the game Wild Rift, you must first register. The game also offers the option to connect your account in the Play Store or App Store with your Riot account. You can find more information about the account linking here.
You should definitely do this, as you receive bonuses in Wild Rift that depend on your playtime in League of Legends itself. What exactly these bonuses are has not been revealed by the developers yet.
But even without the rewards, it’s worth it because you share the friends list, so you can either play with your friends or at least chat with them.
You will need time to learn the controls
Wild Rift uses a twin-stick control scheme. On the left, you have a controller with which you control movements, and on the right, you find all skills, summoner spells, and the active item. You use these by pressing the corresponding icon.
If the ability is a skill-shot, you need to aim precisely to hit your enemy. Especially in combat situations, things can get hectic, and you will shoot numerous abilities into nothing or not be quick enough with the summoner spell.
So just because you were good at League of Legends does not mean you will automatically be good in Wild Rift. You will need a number of matches to get used to the controls. But don’t let that frustrate you.
However, also calculate for some silly insults and flames from other players. Unfortunately, they were present during our first matches in the beta. But somehow, that is part of the LoL feeling, which MeinMMO author Phillip Hansen has experienced too:
You will need to get to know some champions again
As mentioned before, some champions have been adjusted. There are primarily two points to pay attention to:
- Wild Rift does not offer “point and click” skills. Everything that required you to click directly on an enemy has been turned into a skill-shot. Even the summoner spell Ignite now has to be “thrown at enemies”
- There are no pure passive skills anymore. Vayne’s Silver Bolts, for example, activated on every third hit. Now the ability has an additional active component that increases attack speed.
Champion Lee Sin, in particular, underwent several changes to fit into the gameplay of Wild Rift.
We therefore recommend that you try out champions in training mode first and not to jump directly into a match with other players, even if you know a champion inside and out.
By the way, the developers have already announced new champions for Wild Rift, including Teemo. He is expected to be released in December along with a larger number of other champions.
We have introduced you to the best champions in a tier list.
Items look the same but sometimes have different effects
In addition to the champions, we also had issues with the items during our playtesting. Many of these carry the icons and names of items in LoL but often have received adjustments.
The biggest difference is that you can only have one active item. This is always the shoes, which provide a speed boost when used. However, these can be enchanted with effects, including Zhonya’s Hourglass or Mercury. Yes, your shoes can make you invulnerable or free you from the stun.
Moreover, many items have adjusted values, slightly different passive effects, or have lost their active component. So look at the items before your first matches and set up a template that you can quickly buy in the match.
Ranked matches currently offer no advantages
As in LoL, there is currently a kind of pre-season in Wild Rift. Although you can jump into ranked matches starting at level 10, it does not have a major impact at first. A reset is still to come.
Additionally, there is currently no game mode with a fixed position, even in ranked. So it may happen that all 5 players suddenly want to go to the mid-lane. According to Riot Games, such a function will only be implemented when there are enough testers to avoid long queues. This will probably happen in January 2021, when Season 1 in Wild Rift is expected to start.
So, if you want to avoid frustration in Wild Rift, it is best to stay away from the ranked mode for now.
Do you have any further questions about Wild Rift? Or do you want to share tips with our community? Then feel free to write that in the comments.
In the coming days and weeks, we from MeinMMO will provide you with further articles and guides about Wild Rift. General information about the game can also be found in this article:
Wild Rift: Everything we know about the LoL mobile – Beta, Release, Champions
