When Riot Games released League of Legends back 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 with League of Legends: Wild Rift. This time around, Riot appears to want to show mobile MOBA players what a League conversion would look like in a smaller, portable platform.

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Wild Rift made no attempts to force the complexity of PC's League into its mobile counterpart. However, fans do mention how Wild Rift retains its "League spirit" with most of its features. Either way, just how does Wild Rift compare to the original PC League 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

Wild Rift Changes From Summoners Rift - Smaller 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

Wild Rift Changes From Summoners Rift - Position Preference

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

Wild Rift Changes From Summoners Rift - Lock On 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

Wild Rift Changes From Summoners Rift - Map Changes

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

Wild Rift Changes From Summoners Rift - Item Changes

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

Garen in Wild Rift - Wild Rift Differences From League of Legends

The arrival of League to mobile platforms meant scaling down on most aspects of the PC MOBA to fit a more portable experience. Unlike the more graphically-sophisticated LeagueWild Rift will 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 in Wild Rift had a "limited" appearance versus the PC but sophisticated enough for mobile devices. Thankfully, there's plenty of beginner-friendly Champions across Wild Rift's initial 40+ lineup.

9 Shorter, Fast-Paced Matches

Skills showcase in Wild Rift - Wild Rift Differences From League of Legends

The more complex nature of League made 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 of Wild Rift made 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 to League.

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

A Dragon in Wild Rift - Wild Rift Differences From League of Legends

Aside from laningLeague sets itself apart from other MOBA due to its unique Jungling mechanics. In League, 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 Rift has 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

Boots Upgrading in Wild Rift- Wild Rift Differences From League of Legends

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 Rift removes 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

Skills in Wild Rift - Wild Rift Differences From League of Legends

Players of League who mained Champions featured in Wild 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) in League travels 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

Runes in Wild Rift - Wild Rift Differences From League of Legends

In League, 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 Rift has a less-complicated system. In Wild 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 Matches Rely Mostly On Marks, Victory Points

Silver Rank in Wild Rift- Wild Rift Differences From League of Legends

Compared to LeagueWild Rift has 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, in Wild 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 Rift introduces Victory Points, the mobile equivalent to LP, from Diamond upwards.

3 Queues Become Riskier

Champions on Queue- Wild Rift Differences From League of Legends

Team play remains an essential aspect of Wild Rift. However, unlike League, players of Wild Rift no 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 of Wild Rift, the system will soon come into play once more champions get added to the mobile game.

2 Age Range Affected Champion Appearances

Miss Fortune in Wild Rift - Wild Rift Differences From League of Legends

On a tangent, it seems Champion redesigns affected not just their graphical representation but also overall themes as well. Fans might've noticed that League top waifus such as Janna and Miss Fortune had "dressed up" for Wild Rift. However, it seems Riot Games had a lot of considerations for these "touch-ups" in Wild Rift.

For instance, Wild Rift researcher u/ThuggInUggs clarified the team's take on the issue in r/LeagueOfLegends. The researcher explained that some players found the revealing outfits of some Champions "didn't make sense" for their lore and motif. In turn, they wanted to take Wild Rift's direction to redesign Champions that feel like they're going to wear that gear into battle.

On a simpler note, Wild Rift also 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

Playing Wild Rift on Phone- Wild Rift Differences From League of Legends

Unlike the PC-exclusive League 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 see Wild Rift being 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 of Wild Rift for mobile phones.

NEXT: League of Legends Wild Rift: 5 Reasons We're Excited (& 5 We're Scared)