WhenRiot GamesreleasedLeague of Legendsback 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 withLeague of Legends: Wild Rift. This time around, Riot appears to want to show mobile MOBA players what aLeagueconversion would look like in a smaller, portable platform.
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Wild Riftmade no attempts to force the complexity of PC’sLeagueinto its mobile counterpart. However, fans do mention howWild Riftretains its “Leaguespirit” with most of its features. Either way, just how doesWild Riftcompare to the original PCLeague of Legends?
Updated August 11, 2025 by Rhenn Taguiam:As the mobile version of the hit MOBA,League of Legends: Wild Rifthas gathered both fans and detractors for a wild ride. Admittedly,Wild Rifthas both its strong points and weak points. And some fans may even say thatWild Riftis a simpler, more compact version of their beloved PC MOBA. However, fans looking for more grounded differences between the mobile and PC iterations ofLeague of Legendsmay 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 twoLoLiterations differ in scope and gameplay.
15Smaller Champion Roster
Players ofLeague of LegendsloveSummoner’s Riftdue 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. InWild 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 theirWild Riftcounterparts.
Moreover, a radical difference inWild Riftwould 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.
14Autofill Position Based On Preference, Not Choice
InSummoner’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 Riftmakes queueing much easier with an autofill feature. Essentially,Wild Riftintroduces 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.
13Ease Of Targeting
Thanks to the mouse,Summoner’s Riftcan 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 Riftadjusted these mechanics for players as well.
Essentially,Wild Riftnow 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
12Smaller Maps, Wilder Fights
UnlikeSummoner’s Rift,Wild Riftaccommodates 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 Riftopens the floor to more fast-paced and aggressive play on part of players. This fits well with other adjustments inWild Rift, as the lack of item actives and ease of targeting can help players have a more straightforward approach towards a match.
11Vast Item Changes For Faster Gameplay
Unlike other MOBAs, Items play a huge role in theSummoner’s Riftoverall 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. InWild Rift, the devs made Items much more simplified to use. Essentially, Items will no longer have active effects, contrary to theirSummoner’s Riftcounterparts.
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In exchange, players can choose only one active effect as a boots enchantment. However, unlikeSummoner’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.
The arrival ofLeagueto mobile platforms meant scaling down on most aspects of the PC MOBA to fit a more portable experience. Unlike the more graphically-sophisticatedLeague,Wild Riftwill 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 inWild Rifthad a “limited” appearance versus the PC but sophisticated enough for mobile devices. Thankfully, there’s plenty ofbeginner-friendlyChampions acrossWild Rift’s initial 40+ lineup.
9Shorter, Fast-Paced Matches
The more complex nature ofLeaguemade 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 ofWild Riftmade 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 toLeague.
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.
8Monsters Receive More Flexible Mechanics
Asidefrom laning,Leaguesets itself apart from other MOBA due to its unique Jungling mechanics. InLeague, 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 Rifthas 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.
7Items, Boots, Wards Got Reworked For Mobile
GivenWild 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 accessas 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 inLeague, players now assign Wards to certain Ward points. Lastly,Wild Riftremoves 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.
6Champions Have More Dynamic Interactions
Players ofLeaguewho mained Champions featured inWild 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) inLeaguetravels 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 appliesto Miss Fortune’s attacks, where she can target opponents via skillshots.
These changes make players feel more in control of their Champions.
