Cover Photo By Hannah Lacaden
Cover Photo By Hannah Lacaden.

LoL Wild Rift: Setting a new standard for mobile MOBA


The well-known esport League of Legends has finally come to the mobile platform.


By Jade Clarito, and Rdee De La Paz | Friday, 22 January 2021

League of Legends: Wild Rift is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) developed by Riot Games and released to the public on October 27, 2020 in Southeast Asian countries. The game is a mobile version of the famous esport title, League of Legends. 

League of Legends is one of the most-played multiplayer online games released in 2009. Reaching around 115 million monthly players by 2020, developers announced a mobile version of the game which was initially released for alpha testing in June 2020, limited only to the Philippines and Brazil. The game was open for public beta in October, competing with another MOBA game, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, developed by China-based Moonton Games. 

Much like the PC version, players go head-to-head in designated lanes, the Mid lane commonly for mages and assassins, Dragon lane for the AD Carry and Support, the Baron lane for top lane champions, and the Jungle where camps are located. The map is mirrored depending on which side the players are in.

Players must destroy the enemy’s Nexus in order to win, which is achieved by earning gold from killing minions and enemy champions, buying items for increased stats, securing objectives like Dragon and Baron, and destroying enemy turrets in order to push the lane. 

Game modes and other features

The game has an unranked PvP and a ranked matchmaking, which are only available for players in level 10 and above. Rank Tier starts from Iron all the way to Challenger, however, the game’s developers added an Emerald tier for broader skill distribution. 

To rank up, players must win matches to earn the Ranked Marks required in their respective tier. A Ranked Fortitude system is added for players to protect their marks after losing a game. In higher tiers, Ranked Marks are replaced with Victory Points and a leaderboard system is implemented, similar to the PC version.

Although it already features several designs of each champion, there are more available skins in store purchased with in-game currency called Wild Cores. These are in-game purchases availed in the game or through Codashop used to exchange for champions, skins, and other Rift content.

Not all items from the store should be purchased by Wild Cores. Some of them are exchanged with Poro Coins and Blue Motes, both earned by playing the game, yet the former are only in exchange for banners, poses, and skins from the Poro Coin Store while Blue Motes are for the champions.

Wild Rift vs. LoL and ML: BB (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang)

While League players are thrilled for the mobile version of their favorite PC game, the mobile version lacks some of the original game’s distinctive featuresincluding some of the known Champions. Sources say that champions which best fit the new scheme will first be adapted, while mobile-only champions will follow.

Although Wild Rift is an abridged version of the PC Counterpart, cross-play between the two is not offered. They are said to be completely separate games, because even champions or other unlocks from the LoL PC could not be transferred to the Wild Rift account.

Despite that, mobile players can’t seem to get enough of Wild Rift. Numerous reviews have been in favor of Wild Rift as it has been eyed as the next mobile esports possibility. 

With that, here are some features that Wild Rift has an edge over Mobile Legends:

  • Map: Wild Rift has an organized lane system compared to Mobile Legends.
  • Runes/Emblems: Wild Rift does not require rune upgrades unlike the Emblems in Mobile Legends. 
  • Spells: There are two equippable spells in Wild Rift while only one in Mobile Legends.
  • In-game item purchases: Wild Rift players have to be in the base to purchase from the store while Mobile Legends players can buy items anywhere in the map.
  • Graphics and Design: Almost everything in Mobile Legends is inspired and evidently identical to League of Legends, while Wild Rift inherits the better graphics from its parent game.

Overall, Wild Rift has lived up to expectations and has set a higher standard for MOBAs in the mobile platform. The game is still in open beta and has no clear date for final release, so players should anticipate more changes and added features to the game.

League of Legends: Wild Rift is available for free on Android and iOS devices. 

Rating: 4/5

 
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Last updated: Friday, 22 January 2021