Has League of Legends Spin Off Wild Rift been successful?

League of Legends is one of the most popular games in the world, although perhaps not the easiest to understand. The spin-off version, Wild Rift, released in 2020, was a positive surprise for gamers as it was a mobile game that also made the series much more accessible. But how successful has Wild Rift actually been?

In the original League of Legends esports, each match was always played with two teams of five. The battle is fought on a map, with the three running along a wide path. One player walks along the top path, or lane, while the other walks along the middle lane. The other two take the lowest route and one goes through the jungle on the map. The aim of the game is to destroy the opponent's towers that line the three lanes. This gives you the opportunity to surround their base as well.

Differences between Wild Rift and the original

In the League of Legends spin-off, Wild Rift has many of the same features and the same main objective. It's still a slightly more stripped down version of the original. At the heart of Wild Rift is that it's a five-person team game where the goal is to destroy your opponent's base. The game takes place in three lanes, interspersed with a jungle full of creatures to destroy.

Another difference from the original League of Legends is that the controls are touchscreen, rather than requiring a separate mouse and keyboard. There is a digital knob at the bottom left of the screen to control movement. On the opposite side are icons that can be used to trigger special abilities or perform basic attacks.

The map is also smaller than the original, making it easier to clear the lane. Getting to an enemy base won't take as long.

In addition to these, Wild Rift offers a good tutorial series that will teach you all the basics, such as how the different positions work or why you need to wander around to kill a dragon. The in-game map can be easily accessed at any time. Despite the tutorial set, the game is still very complex and it takes a lot of time to fully learn it. On the other hand, for those who are completely new to the League of Legends game world, it brings a huge amount of help.

Complexity of the game

One of the complexities of the game is the management of abilities. At the very beginning of the game, the player is given one skill point, which unlocks one of the three basic abilities. Success in battles brings you to a new level, slowly adding more skill points that can be used for abilities or to improve existing abilities. The complexity here is mainly seen in the fact that abilities should be remembered and understood in order to use them at the right moment. A lot of time needs to be spent on training to master even a handful of different characters.

Underneath the cartoonish surface lies even more complexity. Players are given the option to dive into a master's profile page and create customised downloads, such as basic spells or rhymes. Sure, all of these concepts will be familiar to old hands, but the massive selection of masters can easily overwhelm a brand new player. Of course, in their own way, they also add interest to the game.

The mobile version makes a lot of sense

The mobile version of League Of Legends Wild Rift makes a lot of sense. While the complexity of the game is still there, it opens up to new players in a much more understandable way than the original.

The gameplay also doesn't suffer much despite the mobile version and the controls work brilliantly. The addition of a tutorial suite is a big plus, as it makes the game easier to understand.

Wild Rift's popularity continues

League of Legends has undoubtedly been one of the most popular games for as long as it has been available to play. Which is even perhaps a little surprising given its complexity. It has a number of spin-offs behind it and rumours of an animated series in the works.

Wild Rift is perhaps a little late in the game's arrival, as it would have been welcome even earlier. In addition, the game was not released in every country from the start, but arrived in Europe, for example, much later. But it still seems to be a very important part of the next decade of gaming, and most likely it will be very popular too.

Although Wild Rift has been stripped down and simplified a bit, in many ways that can be a good thing. Especially for new players. Even for older players, it still offers some interesting gameplay and still retains the basic League of Legends feel. All in all, Wild Rift is a game that is definitely worth trying at least once.