League of Legends: Wild Rift is a free MOBA for smartphones based on the older version of Loll for computers. It is developed by Riot Games itself and is already available to play.
Considering the general popularity of League of Legends and the total dominance of mobile games in terms of annual revenue, it was only a matter of time before transferring the title to smartphones. And so, in 2019, Riot Games announced Wild Rift, a special version of the game for mobile devices.
On the afternoon of December 9, the game finally became available for download, which we immediately took advantage of. After a few hours of a hot gaming session and a couple of dozen matches, it became clear that market leaders like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang had not just a worthy competitor, but a real killer.
How to play it?
After installation, Wild Rift will offer to go through a little tutorial. Even if you are a real master in mobile MOBAs, you should not neglect this opportunity – the prospect of asking yourself “What should be pressed” will disappear. The hero moves with the left stick (appears in any area from the bottom left after clicking on the screen), and the main controls are placed on the right panel – attack, use of skills, accessory (ward or ward gap), summoner spells and quick signals for help.
There are three attack buttons: normal (closest target), only on minions or only on towers. You can also clamp the first one and attach it to a specific object so that the focus is only on it, be it a tower or an enemy champion in a batch. All skills can be used either by quick pressing (then the volley will be at the nearest enemy), or by clamping and directing yourself.
The purchase of items occurs when you return to the base, the game will notify you of the accumulation of the required amount. Artifacts in Wild Rift, unlike the older League of Legends, are old – old’s will appreciate. Only boots and some artifacts have changed. When buying a boot, you can click on it (it appears on the interface) and accelerate for a short time, and for a certain amount of gold it can be turned into QSS (removes control) without losing bonuses to movement speed.
Since I have been playing League of Legends for many years, it was not difficult for me to get comfortable with the local mechanics – just a few matches were enough. And, to my delight, the Wild Rift gameplay does not cause any disgust or inconvenience – it’s like I’ve returned to my native place, it’s just now it is in my smartphone, and not on my PC.
How does Wild Rift differ from the older version?
The match speed is significantly higher than in the original game. If there you need to spend about 20-25 minutes to win (or lose), then on the mobile you spend 10-12 minutes on each meeting.
Not all heroes are available. The 153rd champion will soon arrive in League of Legends, while there are only 47 of them in Wild Rift. But the choice of the creators is more than high-quality – Jinn, Lee Sin, Camilla, Blitz crank, Zed, Kaia’s, Miss Fortune, Mumu are available to choose from and many other heroes.
Some characters have changed their mechanics. For example, Li Sin’s W-move no longer requires a ward – the champion will jump to any area you specify. Or Miss Fortune’s Q-skill. If in the basic version of Loll the girl shoots exactly at the target, then in Wild Rift this skill was done as a skill shot.
Small card. Wild Rift is a very compact game, which is why the action almost never stops. In many ways it is worth to thank the card for this. This is done for additional convenience, but at first it causes a slight dissonance – Baron Nash or will be on the right side, and the upper line will turn into the lower one.
And-and-and … that’s all. Seriously, that’s where the differences between the large and small versions of League of Legends ended. In During matches for Master Yi, you can dodge enemy control with the help of a timely applied Q, and on Jinn you can collect a critical build and rush around the map like a madman. There is no difference at all – the fans will feel right at home.
There are elemental dragons here too, which provide similar bonuses. Foresters go to gawks with smites (the choice is pumped into red or blue almost at the very beginning), and the madmen push and roam to other lanes.
The in-game economy is built in the same way, only with a greater bias towards the specifics of mobile games. For several matches, you can complete various achievements and get characters and currency for this, or you can donate and immediately buy whatever you want. The item cost is almost equivalent to the older version of League of Legends.
What happens outside of games?
After completing all the required tutorials and a couple of matches with bots, you will be presented with the full Wild Rift main menu. In terms of content, it is very similar to the interface of the League of Legends client.
There is a store where you can buy champions and skins (also for two currencies), a separate tab for the content you open, a special menu for customizing your own build, a collection of consumables (like champion orbs) and a personal profile button. In it you can see the history of games, statistics and the list of achievements.
The coolest thing about Wild Rift is a huge amount of pre-recorded videos with champions and skins. While viewing the hero in the store or inventory, a cool intro is played on which the hero flaunts. And it changes even depending on the skin! The authors did this on purpose to please the fans. Have not lost!
