Fans of League of Legends, as well as mobile MOBA players in general, are in for a huge treat as Riot Games, Inc. launched an open-beta release of League of Legends: Wild Rift in selected SEA countries. As League of Legends remains to be one of, if not, the top MOBA games around the globe, every MOBA aficionado would want to test their mettle in League of Legends: Wild Rift.
League of Legends: Wild Rift has quickly cemented itself as the top new mobile game in countries where it has been made available on Google Play and has likewise secure the top slot as the #1 strategy game on the App Store. Although there is evidently more to come to the game following future updates, you can already tell that a lot of hard work and planning has been invested into League of Legends: Wild Rift.
League of Legends: Wild Rift is not just a mobile clone or replica of the original game and while fans and players of the latter will be familiar with the characters and basic mechanics of the game, there are plenty of changes and adjustments implemented in League of Legends: Wild Rift that should be noted, even by veteran players.
With a lot of mobile incarnations of popular games being a lot faster and more convenient to play on mobile devices, it can be expected that League of Legends: Wild Rift will be set to capture the interests and preferences of experienced and veteran mobile MOBA players, as well as players totally new to the genre.
Like most MOBA games, League of Legends: Wild Rift is a game that is very easy to learn, yet very difficult to master. The game mechanics and interface are simple enough for everyone to understand within minutes, but the number of heroes available, in combination with the individual and team strategies involved in utilizing each one, can make the learning process a practically endless one.
The quick tutorial session at the start of the game can easily fill you in on all the basic controls and mechanics but there are still a lot of things you will need to learn before you partake in serious matches. Whether you are a total beginner in the genre or an experienced MOBA player, our League of Legends: Wild Rift beginner’s guide can certainly help you dominate each match with our tips, tricks and strategies!
1. Get To Know The Basics
It took quite some time from League of Legends: Wild Rift’s announcement to its open-beta release and, chances are, that everyone will be very eager to dive in on the action as soon as they have loaded the game. Although more experienced players maybe inclined to skip certain sections of the tutorial, it is always best to let all the basic concepts sink in first and absorb as much info as you can from the guide.
For players who have little to zero ideas about what MOBA games are, it is a team-based strategy game where 2 teams are pitted against one another with the goal of destroying the other one’s base or main structure. Conventionally, the battlefield, which is a constant map, has 3 distinct lanes and players typically have lane assignments based on the roles they have in the team. Having a wide array of unique heroes is also a common aspect of every MOBA game, stretching strategic plays to near-infinite possibilities.
Each player’s chosen character grows stronger over the course of the match. Experience is earned with each kill and skills can be upgraded. Currencies earned can also be invested in purchasing various gears. With these considerations, strategizing includes prioritization of skills that need to be upgraded ahead of the others as well as gears that ought to be purchased first.
On top of player-controlled heroes, each team has mobs that constantly move towards the enemy team’s side of the battlefield. Beyond these minions, there are also NPC enemies that lurk in the map, providing buffs to teams that can slay them.
As an added tip to familiarize yourself further with the basic mechanics and features of League of Legends: Wild Rift, be sure to proceed with the completion of the entire tutorial session. You will initially run through 2 of 9 stages of the entire tutorial and be able to engage in actual matches but completing the rest of the chapters earns you a champion selection chest on top of the added knowledge to acquire. You can tap on the checkbox icon at the upper right side of the screen to view activities and choose the beginner missions to continue with the tutorials.
2. Understand Lanes And Roles
MOBA games typically have 3 lanes in the battlefield, which are the top lane, the mid lane, and the bottom lane. Both teams have the same perspective of the map where one’s base is at the bottom right and the other team’s base is at the top left. In League of Legends: Wild Rift, however, the other team’s perspective is mirrored in such a way that every player will see their base at the bottom right and the enemy base at the upper left side of the map.
With this feature in mind, players on the red team will have switched top and bottom lanes as an effect of the mirrored perspective which is why these lanes have been renamed to avoid the confusion. The conventional top lane, or the top lane from the blue team’s perspective, is called the Baron Lane as it is close to the Baron Pit. The bottom lane, on the other hand, is now called the Dragon Lane given that it is near the Dragon Pit.
Roles that each unique hero play and how players strategize around playing these roles with their selected champion is key to dominating each match in the arena. League of Legends: Wild Rift hosts a wide variety of classes and subclasses that every player needs to familiarize themselves with as it is one of the many fundamentals every player should be aware of.
Tanks are the basic defenders in the battlefield and are either classified into wardens or vanguards. Wardens provide defensive support to the team while vanguards are often tasked to be initiators in combat.
Fighters are melee units who are second to tanks in terms of defensive strength and also have potential to inflict decent amounts of damage. Juggernauts are fighters that have good offense and defense attributes but lack speed and mobility. Divers are more mobile and can exhibit high single target damage.
Slayers are the melee champions on the opposite end of the offense and defense spectrum, relative to the above classes. Both assassins and skirmishers have high levels of mobility, allowing them to jump in, deal damage, and jump out of combat. Assassins will typically have to escape quickly as they have lower defense values while skirmishers can stay longer in combat and do not necessarily have to escape immediately.
Mages are the ranged counterpart of slayers and can deal high amounts of damage from a distance. Burst mages specialize in targeting and eliminating single targets except tanks. Battle mages technically can engage in close combat better that other mage types and typically have AoE skills. Artillery mages also deal great damage from a distance but lack mobility the most.
Controllers are support types who do not specialize in either offense or defense but can benefit the team with various buffs as well as incapacitate enemy champions with debuffs. Enchanters can augment the abilities of their allies as well as boost their defenses in general while disruptors or catchers can weaken enemy units and champions, as well as lock them down.
Marksmen are ranged damage-dealers who do not heavily or entirely rely on their skills and instead bank on their auto attacks to eliminate targets. Marksmen are effective against tanks and can continuously deal decent damage to their targets.
Once you are familiar with class and subclass types in League of Legends: Wild Rift, which is basically the same with most other MOBA games, it is important to understand how each player’s role or class fits into which lane they should be assigned to defend. There is an established setup that players and experienced players often adhere to, but keep in mind that the whole idea of strategizing in MOBA games, is to always venture into different plays and keep up with the constantly changing scenarios in combat.
The Baron Lane, which is the top lane for the blue team, is the shortest lane between the opposing team’s bases. This is the solo lane and is best saved for champions who can perform well on their own. Fighters are typically assigned to this lane.
The Dragon Lane, or the bottom lane for the blue team, is usually manned by the main damage-dealer of the team, which is usually a marksman, supported by either a tank or a controller whose primary task is to protect and defend the attack damage carry or ADC.
The Mid Lane is also typically a designated lane for just one champion, who is typically a fighter as well that specializes in pushing objectives and clearing mobs fast. The last champion is typically the designated jungler or ganker in the team. The jungler thrives in the jungle in-between lanes and is tasked to eliminate the drakes and the rift guardian to secure buffs and resources for champion and the team as well.
With a unique role that plays outside of the lanes, junglers are also tasked as the gankers of the team, or champions that provide support to any lane with surprise attacks. Slayers and Marksmen are typically favored as junglers, although most MOBA games, including League of Legends: Wild Rift, has been continuously building champions to be more versatile for different roles.
Again, just because the above roles and relative lane assignments are the established norms does not mean you and your team need to adhere to it in the strictest sense. For total beginners and less experienced players, it serves as a basic guide on keeping a good balance between offense and defense but with more experienced teams, especially with very coordinated players, strategies can evolve as quickly as pace of battle grows within each match.
3. Get To Know Each Champion
League of Legends debuted over a decade ago with a massive roster of different champions and to date, holds more than 150 champions. In League of Legends: Wild Rift, there are currently 47 champions available and the roster will surely grow as huge as the original game. While all current champions on mobile are available in the original League of Legends game, some of them have gone through some revisions. It is also possible that new champions will emerge exclusively for League of Legends: Wild Rift. For these reasons, it is always best to get to know each character, even if you are aptly familiar with them on the PC version.
Having an idea about classes, subclasses, roles, and lanes preps you to decide on the class you want to consider specializing on before you dive into your next match. As there are plenty of champions that categorically fit on each role, getting to know each of them, most especially the stats and skills each one possesses, can further trim down your list and help you decide on which hero to focus on.
While some champions still need to be unlocked for starters, there are numerous ways to unlock more for free. It is also fortunate that League of Legends: Wild Rift lets you see the skills that each character holds even before you unlock them. This way, you can more or less have an idea about the heroes you wish to unlock even if you have to settle for the starting heroes first.
Having a solid idea of how each champion works goes way beyond knowing what to do in the battle arena. You should always keep in mind that League of Legends: Wild Rift, like all other MOBA games, team-based games, which means that regardless of which champion you choose, you should always be mindful of everyone else’s choice of characters.
Although it would be ideal to always be able to use just one champion across a series of matches, it is highly likely that someone may choose your favorite champion ahead of you, which is why you also need a good level of familiarity with other champions as you will have to use a secondary or tertiary choice at some point in your game. On a similar note, you need to determine how to make adjustments to your play style depending on which champions are members of your team and how each teammate plays as well.
Last, but definitely not the least, you also need to have a solid enough idea of how each champion works, with their skills and limitations, to know how to deal with them when you encounter them as enemies on the battle arena. Having an idea of each champion’s set of passive and active skills can fill you in on the player’s potential tactics and be able to predict to some extent the plausible choices of move they will make. After some time, you can even gauge the level of expertise a player has based on how they utilize their champion’s skills.
To be honest, all the information you need to absorb can seem overwhelming for beginners and this is essentially what we mean when we say that League of Legends: Wild Rift is easy to pick up and play but difficult to master. In any case, there is no need to rush into absorbing all the information you need as no one can be a MOBA expert overnight. After all, League of Legends: Wild Rift is also suitable for casual gamers and you can still very much enjoy matches as you learn every step of the way, regardless of your pace.
4. Remember To Set Or Adjust Loadouts Before Each Match
Absorbing all the information you can gather on all 47 champions in League of Legends: Wild Rift can be a grueling task, but one that is certain to reap you rewards in subsequent matches. While there are high enough chances of meeting the same champions over and over in succeeding matches, you will come to discover that similar champions used by different players can have varying tactics imposed as well as unique attributes.
While each player’s unique preference and play style is reflected enough on how differently they utilize their champion, a great deal of it is attributable to their loadouts. The loadouts feature in League of Legends: Wild Rift can be quickly accessed via the sword icon at the bottom of the main screen. You can customize and save 3 different loadouts for each champion you have.
Loadouts are divided across items, runes, and spells. As far as items are considered, what you need to set for loadouts is the prioritization of items to purchase within the match. Items are categorized into physical, magic, defense, and boots, and it is also important to read through what each one does, even if you are an experienced League of Legends player. There is one main rune and 3 sub runes to set as well for your champion, with some more appropriate than others for your chosen champion. Runes provide conditional passive buffs that may affect your allies as well. You can also set a pair of spells that go along with your active skills in combat.
By default, the set names of the 3 different loadouts provided for each champion and the recommended sets are decent enough. As a beginner, you can afford to leave it as is but be sure to choose the type of role you would want to take for your champion. Once you have immersed yourself deeper to understanding each item, rune, and spell you can choose for your champion, then feel free to customize each build and test it out on your subsequent matches.
5. Be Quick But Careful In The Rift
League of Legends: Wild Rift sets a much faster pace of battles compared to League of Legends and its overall settings can pour more pressure on beginners as well as experienced MOBA players on PC to act more hastily in the rift. In addition to sporting a smaller map where travel time is cut shorter, some of the champion’s skill cooldown periods have been reduced as well. Gold is earned at a much faster rate in matches along with gear prices trimmed down, making for faster upgrades that push players towards quicker settlements of each match.
While we typically suggest taking as much time as you need in most games we prepared guides for, the battles in League of Legends: Wild Rift simply require you to think fast and act faster for the most part. Beyond always staying active and busy, though, employing too much haste that can lead to careless mistakes should be avoided at all cost.
To start off, the auto attack and skill activation buttons have preset prioritization when it comes to targets whenever applicable. Naturally, simply tapping away on the buttons can get things done quicker but with less accuracy. Instead, you should choose to drag attacks toward the enemy or area you wish to target to increase your accuracy and be able to strategize more effectively against moving targets.
Although destroying enemy towers is of great importance, you should never hesitate to return to base when your champion is low on health, even at times when you feel the need to rush and push towards clearing the tower ahead of you. Getting killed will just take a much longer time for you to complete the task at hand anyway, so avoid getting killed for starters.
Being overly aggressive makes you an easy target to be baited by enemy players and can also lead you to make some beginner mistakes. For the initial matches you engage in, try to set a slower yet more careful pace. Once you have fully mastered your favorite champion, then you can gradually employ a much faster strategic approach.
There are still a lot of mechanics and features in League of Legends: Wild Rift worth diving into but for now, this is where we will end our beginner’s guide. A lot of new champions and features are certain to be added in future updates, but the tips and strategies we shared in this guide will hopefully prepare you enough for all things to come. If you have spent a lot of time playing League of Legends: Wild Rift and have more tips and strategies to share, be sure to tell us about them through the comments!