Revolutionary controls: League of Legends on the brink of a historic upheaval

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Crossing the chasm with WASD?

Have you ever thought: „Wouldn't it be cool to control League with WASD?“ Probably not. But what initially sounds like a joke will soon become reality: Riot is testing a completely new control scheme.

Right-click to move - previous standard

Since League of Legends has emancipated itself from DotA, the control system is largely based on its roots inWarcraft 3. SSince then, everything has remained the same: Q, W, E for abilities, R for the ultimate, D and F for summoner spells (Flash on F - honour to whom honour is due) and right-click to move.

Targets are attacked as soon as you move the mouse pointer over them.

But now Riot is turning everything upside down.

How is that supposed to work?

The well-known content creatorSkinSpotlights – a permanent fixture in the community - has published his first insights into the new control concept. His videos on skins, voice output and interactions have long been a must for fans. 

Now he shows screenshots of the new system in a recent thread - but it raises more questions than it answers.

Interesting: There are even different control modes for Flash. However, this is content from the Public Beta Environment (PBE) – i.e. experimental features that are not necessarily included in the main game.

The community is more divided than ever before

What at first glance appears to be an optional feature is causing heated discussions. 

Some celebrate the new freedom of movement, others warn of massive consequences for the game experience.

The fear that such a change could shake up what used to be the most popular online game is not entirely unfounded.

Does this make the game easier?

One thing is certain: Certain mechanics are much more accessible thanks to the new control system. One example isKiting– constantly retreating while attacking at the same time. Currently, this requires quick right-clicks, targeted positioning and perfect precision. A technique that many professionals have spent years perfecting.

With WASD movement, however, kiting could be drastically simplified. 

While running with the buttons, you can simply point the mouse pointer constantly at the opponent - a clear advantage for all those who found the previous controls too demanding.

If you don't change, you lose

In a competitive game like League of Legends every advantage counts. Anyone who masters the new control system could gain a significant edge - which increases the pressure on everyone else to switch too.

The question also arises for e-sports: How can two such different control types be compared fairly?

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Are PC and mobile merging?

Many are already drawing comparisons with Wild Rift, the mobile version of League. Some are even speculating whether Riot wants to phase out the PC version in the long term. 

Whether this will become a reality is uncertain - but one thing is certain: League of Legendswill no longer be the same game as a result of this change.

Image source: Riot Games