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League of Legends: Wild Rift

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League of Legends: Wild Rift
Developer(s)Riot Games
Publisher(s)Riot Games
Director(s)Andrei "Meddler" van Roon[1]
Composer(s)Brendon Williams[2]
SeriesLeague of Legends
EngineUnity[3]
Platform(s)Android, iOS, iPadOS
ReleaseOctober 27, 2020
Genre(s)Multiplayer online battle arena
Mode(s)Multiplayer

League of Legends: Wild Rift (abbreviated League: WR or simply Wild Rift) is a multiplayer online battle arena mobile game developed and published by Riot Games for Android and iOS. The free-to-play game is a modified version of the PC game League of Legends.

As in League of Legends, players control a character ("champion") with unique abilities and battle against a team of players or AI-controlled units, with the goal of destroying the opposing team's "Nexus". Each League of Legends: Wild Rift match is discrete, with all champions starting off relatively weak but increasing in strength by accumulating items and experience over the course of the game. Character design is influenced by a variety of genres, including high fantasy, steampunk, and Lovecraftian horror.

Gameplay

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See also: League of Legends § Gameplay
Wild Rift's gameplay showing the touch controls and minimap

League of Legends: Wild Rift is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game in the three-dimensional isometric perspective.[4] With a gameplay similar to the League of Legends PC version, the objective of the game is to take down the opposing team's base.[5][6] To be compatible with mobile devices, Wild Rift received some adaptations, making the game faster compared to the PC version. Its map has been reduced in size, the respawn time is shorter, the gold gain is greatly accelerated and the regeneration time has been cut in half. Due to this, while on the PC version a match can last regularly 45 minutes, on the mobile version matches last approximately fifteen to twenty minutes.[7][8] There are currently two different modes: Wild Rift (which covers PVP, ranked, and tournament draft) and ARAM.[9]

Wild Rift

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Each match is played by ten players who are distributed in two teams for a 5v5 confrontation.[5] The players must each select a character, which are called champions by the game. To win the match, teams work together to destroy a structure called the Nexus in the enemy team's base, bypassing a line of defensive structures called turrets.[5] Unlike the PC version of League, inhibitors and Nexus turrets were removed, and the Nexus itself is able to attack target units.[10] The mode has a ranked competitive ladder with a matchmaking system determining the player's skill level. There are currently 11 tiers; from least to most skilled, Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Master, Grandmaster, Challenger, and Sovereign.[11]

ARAM mode

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In addition to the normal field, present in ranked and PVP mode, there is the ARAM (All Random, All Mid) mode. In this second mode, the number of players is the same as in the normal, 5v5 mode, however, the champions are chosen randomly. Also, the battlefield is reduced, as there is no jungle area nor top and lower route, only mid. Consequently, there is no dragon or baron quest in this mode.[9]

Development

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Pre-release

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After fully acquiring Riot Games in 2015, Tencent asked them to turn League of Legends into a mobile title. However, Riot declined and claimed that the game could not be replicated on smartphones. Tencent then created their own mobile MOBA, Honor of Kings (with its international adaptation known as Arena of Valor). The aforementioned games was then reportedly straining their business relationship, and the relationship between the two firms became further strained when Tencent used notable League of Legends players to promote Arena of Valor and its esports tournaments.[12]

Riot Games's complaints initiated a two-month marketing freeze for Arena of Valor and demands that Riot Games would be given the option to review all marketing plans, including a veto for use of select celebrity gamers.[13] Nonetheless, Riot Games implied that their relationship with Tencent is still strong, and the conflict between them and their games is only "a bump in the road".[14]

Riot Games eventually acknowledged the potential of the mobile market for the MOBA genre, and agreed to develop a mobile title for League of Legends. Tencent then temporarily pulled marketing plans for Arena of Valor in Europe and North America in 2019, clearing room for Riot Games's announcement of League of Legends: Wild Rift a few months later.[15]

League of Legends: Wild Rift was announced on October 15, 2019, on the 10th anniversary of League of Legends.[16]

Release

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League of Legends: Wild Rift was set to be released on October 27, 2020,[17][18] with a limited alpha launch in Brazil and Philippines in June 2020.[19] Along with the release, a cinematic trailer was posted by the official League of Legends: Wild Rift channel on YouTube.[20]

On September 16, 2020, Wild Rift was released in closed beta in Southeast Asia via Google Play and Apple's TestFlight, with more regions to be added at a later date.[21][22] On October 8, 2020, the closed beta returned, adding South Korea and Japan.[23][24]

The regional open beta for Southeast Asia began on October 27, 2020.[25] On December 7, 2020, the beta was expanded to include Vietnam, Oceania, and Taiwan. On December 10, 2020, the open beta was expanded ahead of schedule to include the Commonwealth of Independent States, Europe, Middle East, and Turkey.[26][27]

The open beta launched in the Americas on March 29, 2021.[28]

For China, Wild Rift has received game approval from China's National Press and Publication Administration in early 2021. On October 8, 2021, the game went out of open beta and was officially released by Tencent.[29][30]

Riot Games intends to release Wild Rift on consoles.[31] Executive producer Alan Moore reported that the version was in development, but no updates on the work were provided in 2022.[32]

Revenue model

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League of Legends: Wild Rift uses a free-to-play business model. "Skins", used as purely cosmetic customization of champions can be acquired after buying and using an in-game currency called Wild Cores.[33] New skins are debuting in Wild Rift, such as the "Stargazer" skin line, and other standalone skins.[34] A new feature currently exclusive to Wild Rift is "champion poses", changing the pose of the selected champion just before the game begins and right after the game ends. These are unlocked through chests in events.[35] Similar to "battle passes", a system called Wild Passes have been introduced as a way to get skins, currency, player icons, emotes, and other cosmetic upgrades. Upon purchasing a pass, players will be given an exclusive skin (the "Hexplorer" skin line), and reaching the maximum level will grant a pose for that exclusive skin. Passes can be leveled up through in-game missions, or buying levels for certain amounts of Wild Cores.[36][37]

Reception

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League of Legends: Wild Rift was well received by video game critics. On the review aggregator website Metacritic, the game received a score of 89 out of 100 based on 7 reviews.[17] Cass Marshall, from Polygon, said Wild Rift provides "a great alternative for those intimidated by the PC version of League".[5] Jordan Minor from PCMag gave Wild Rift 4 out of 5 stars and called it "a surprisingly capable mobile edition" of League of Legends. The editor praised the art style of the game and also its capacity to function on weak hardware devices.[38] The Washington Post's Shannon Liao said the game was "a much more beginner-friendly" than League of Legends, but felt that its tutorial could be more comprehensive.[39] Andrew Webster with The Verge wrote that despite the complexity of League of Legends's gameplay, Wild Rift, in contrast, "does an excellent job of easing in new players by explaining the basics in simple terms".[40]

Regarding game control, while the touchscreen controls used for attacks were praised as "perfectly playable" and "intuitive",[41][38] the virtual joystick utilized for movement was described as "serviceable, but like all virtual joysticks, it can be unresponsive at times".[40] Still about it, Minor wrote that command "don't always keep up with the action".[38]

During the 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated League of Legends: Wild Rift for Mobile Game of the Year.[42]

Player behavior

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Wild Rift's player base in the United States has reportedly been "way less toxic" than League of Legends', which Liao and PC Gamer's Steven Messner attributed to the amount of effort required to type on a smartphone.[41] Liao observed that despite some occurrences of bickering she encountered "over taking a role someone else wanted", the game "seems to be injecting new life into a community that has grown pretty insular".[39]

References

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  1. ^ "Riot Meddler talks about Wild Rift's future endeavors".
  2. ^ Remington, Kate (May 8, 2021). "Brendon Williams' Soundtrack for 'League Of Legends Wild Rift' Goes Big". WSHU (AM). Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  3. ^ Technologies, Unity. "Riot Games Chooses to Build Next Games in League of Legends Franchise on Unity". unity.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  4. ^ March 2021, David Lumb 29 (March 29, 2021). "League of Legends: Wild Rift release date, beta and everything you need to know". TechRadar. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b c d Marshall, Cass (March 29, 2021). "Wild Rift finally lets me recommend League of Legends to my friends". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  6. ^ Moon, Mariella (October 16, 2019). "League of Legends: Wild Rift' will land on mobile and consoles in 2020". Engadget. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Gregoire, Albin (December 14, 2020). "Test du jeu League of Legends : Wild Rift". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  8. ^ Webster, Andrew (March 30, 2021). "League of Legends: Wild Rift makes one of the world's biggest games more accessible". The Verge. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Ahmed, Wasif (April 5, 2021). "ARAM is live in League of Legends: Wild Rift for a few days". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  10. ^ Juras, Marta (November 6, 2019). "The differences between Wild Rift and Summoner's Rift". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  11. ^ "Ranked Overview". support-wildrift.riotgames.com. October 11, 2021. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  12. ^ Mickunas, Aaron (August 13, 2018). "Riot's relationship with Tencent has reportedly been strained over declining profits and mobile games". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  13. ^ "Tencent reportedly gives up on Arena of Valor". GamesIndustry.biz. June 5, 2019. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  14. ^ Mickunas, Aaron (August 13, 2018). "Riot's relationship with Tencent has reportedly been strained over declining profits and mobile games". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  15. ^ Gamesforum (November 5, 2020). "League of Legends: Wild Rift enters the mobile MOBA arena". Gamesforum. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  16. ^ Webster, Andrew (October 15, 2019). "League of Legends: Wild Rift is coming to mobile and console". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  17. ^ a b c "League of Legends: Wild Rift". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  18. ^ "League of Legends Mobile release date WARNING ahead of LoL Wild Rift beta news". Express.co.uk. March 19, 2020. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  19. ^ Lumb, David (May 19, 2020). "League of Legends: Wild Rift is nearly ready for alpha testing – but invites are extremely limited". TechRadar. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  20. ^ "You Really Got Me | Cinematic Trailer - League of Legends: Wild Rift (ft. 2WEI)". YouTube. October 27, 2020. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  21. ^ "LoL: Wild Rift - Regional Closed Beta". Riot Games. September 16, 2020. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  22. ^ "LoL Wild Rift Enters Closed Beta on Sept 16 in Southeast Asia". IGN Southeast Asia. September 15, 2020. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  23. ^ "The Regional Closed Beta Returns!". Riot Games. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  24. ^ "Haven't Had A Chance to Play LoL: Wild Rift? Closed Beta Resumes October 8". IGN Southeast Asia. October 7, 2020. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  25. ^ "League of Legends: Wild Rift Open Beta Release Date Announced". October 16, 2020. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  26. ^ "Wild Rift to get 3 new champions and 7 skins in upcoming update". Dot Esports. December 6, 2020. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  27. ^ Çakır, Gökhan (December 9, 2020). "League of Legends: Wild Rift has gone live early in Europe". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  28. ^ "League Of Legends Mobile Version Wild Rift Hits America March 29". Screen Rant. March 14, 2021. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  29. ^ "League of Legends: Wild Rift Receives Game Approval in China". The Esports Observer. February 9, 2021. Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  30. ^ Ye, Josh (October 8, 2021). "Tencent releases long-awaited League of Legends mobile game in China following Beijing's crackdown on the industry". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  31. ^ Fanelli, Jason (March 11, 2022). "League Of Legends: Wild Rift 2022 Plans Revealed, Console Version Delayed". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 9, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  32. ^ Tu, Trumann (March 13, 2022). "League of Legends: Wild Rift Provides Updates, Console Version Delayed". Game Rant. Archived from the original on January 9, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  33. ^ "Wild Cores". support-wildrift.riotgames.com. October 19, 2021. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  34. ^ Tuting, Kristine (April 14, 2021). "Stargazer is Wild Rift's first exclusive skin line". One Esports. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  35. ^ "Poses". support-wildrift.riotgames.com. September 29, 2021. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  36. ^ "Wild Pass". support-wildrift.riotgames.com. October 19, 2021. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  37. ^ Galloway, Ryan (March 22, 2021). "League of Legends: Wild Rift to introduce 'Wild Pass' rewards system in April". Dot eSports. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  38. ^ a b c d Minor, Jordan. "League of Legends: Wild Rift (for iOS) Review". PCMAG. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  39. ^ a b Liao, Shannon. "Review | 'League of Legends: Wild Rift' is 'League' Lite, targeted at new players". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  40. ^ a b Webster, Andrew (March 30, 2021). "League of Legends: Wild Rift makes one of the world's biggest games more accessible". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  41. ^ a b Messner, Steven (April 5, 2021). "League of Legends: Wild Rift is a kinder, gentler League of Legends". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  42. ^ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details League of Legends: Wild Rift". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
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