Wild Rift Guide | Gameplay Basics, Wild Rift Map, Characters, and More

Wild Rift is slowly but surely becoming a household name in the gaming sphere. Gamers across the world are spending increasingly more time gaming on their smartphone than on their desktop PCs and consoles.

Considering that, it’s no wonder smartphone games like Wild Rift, PUBG Mobile, and CoD Mobile are enjoying quite the popularity nowadays.

If you haven’t had the chance to play Wild Rift yet, this piece is a great place to start. We’ll be taking a closer look at some of the core gameplay elements including Wild Rift map info, characters, and more.

So, if you’re ready to learn about one of the most rapidly growing smartphone games these days, grab yourself a hot beverage and enjoy the ride!

How to Play League of Legends Wild Rift

The gameplay of LoL Wild Rift delivers much of the same as its big brother, the desktop version of League of Legends. But, since we’re talking about a mobile game here, the learning curve is not nearly as steep as it is for the desktop version.

League of Legends: Wild Rift is much easier to pick up for new players. The game doesn’t have the same depth as its big brother, though. Some players consider this to be a plus while others say they’d like the full desktop LoL experience on their smartphones.

You see, not all items and characters are available il Wild Rift. But, that doesn’t mean the game doesn’t have enough diversity. It’s still the good old MOBA experience we’ve come to appreciate, but it has a slightly more casual connotation.

Gameplay Basics

The core gameplay elements are pretty much identical to any other MOBA game out there, but it on smartphones or desktop PCs. Of course, the game’s mobile nature makes it easier for gamers to play the game using touch controls. But, if you’re not used to that, you can always grab one of those smartphone joysticks… though we’re not sure how much that’d help you for Wild Rift gameplay. Long story short, your mileage may vary.

In short, Wild Rift is a 5v5 MOBA game featuring three lanes, towers, jungle, and Nexus’, all of the things you’d come to expect from a multiplayer online battle arena. There are three turrets in each lane and the lane are named slightly differently than in LoL:

• Baron Lane (bottom)
• Dragon Lane (top)
• Mid Lane

More on this in the Wild Rift map section of this guide.

Legends in Wild Rift

At the moment, Wild Rift has 91 playable characters, though the list will keep on growing. The next character to be introduced to the game is Vex, a Yordle from the Shadow Isles. The newest additions to Wild Rift characters are Yone (Yasuo’s brother), Gwen, and Warwick.

As mentioned earlier, LoL Wild Rift doesn’t have all champions from the original League of Legends game. But, with frequent updates and a healthy player base demanding more versatility, new Wild Rift heroes are bound to keep on coming.

As things stand now, there are lots of options to choose from no matter which position you’re aiming to play. Team compositions are rather diverse too, which is always important when talking about MOBA games.

Overall, the current number of legends Wild Rift has is good enough, though it will only keep getting better with new updates.

Wild Rift Map 101 | Everything You Need to Know

Moving on with our section on “how to play Wild Rift”, let’s talk about the game’s map. Here’s what it looks like:

As you can see in this Wild Rift complete map guide image, it’s pretty much the exact copy of the desktop League of Legends map. There are some differences, mind you, but they don’t affect the gameplay and make the game slightly easier to jump into for new players.

The biggest difference Wild Rift map has in contrast to its big brother is the lack of inhibitors. Players argue that this makes comebacks really difficult and demand Riot Games to add them into the game. Their addition would make high-elo games a few minutes longer while the gameplay length difference in low-elo matches would be non-existent.

Is Wild Rift Map Smaller than Desktop LoL?

This is one of the most commonly asked questions regarding Wild Rift map guide. The answer is yes - Wild Rift map is slightly smaller and it doesn't feature inhibitors which are a vital part of late-game killing monsters in the desktop version of the game.

This is because the devs want Wild Rift map to facilitate shorter matches and give a slightly more casual atmosphere. Everything about this game moves it closer to the casual spectrum, but that's nothing surprising since it's the path all mobile games tend to make these days.

Wild Rift Jungle

Jungle in Wild Rift is the most OP role in the game… at least in the current meta. There are several different paths you can take, which is what makes jungle one of the most important aspects of our complete map guide for WIld Rift.

Yes, mid-lane bears a lot of importance too due to its very high damage output potential, but it doesn't even come close to the jungle. If played correctly, the jungle in Wild Rift can also be a great source of OP and high damage output traditionally present on the desktop game.

You don't want to play this role too passively. As a jungle, it's on you to gank both dragon lane and Baron lane as well as mid. Make sure you thoroughly clean the map of enemy wards and snatch the Rift Herald as often as you can.

Dragon Lane

Dragon lane in the Wild Rift map is basically the top lane in conventional League of Legends nomenclature. It typically focuses on high universal skill champions that tend to be a bit on the tank(ish) side of things.

Even though melee champions play a vital role here, dragon lane in Wild Rift is no stranger to ranged champions too. But, these are typically played as glass cannons which means their warding game has to be far better to prevent recurring ganks, especially on the blue side.

The Dragon lane has three towers, just like Baron lane and mid lane. As mentioned earlier, there are no inhibitors on either of the lanes, but don't let that fool you into thinking there's no late game in LoL Wild Rift.

Baron Lane

Moving on with our Wild Rift map guide, let's talk about bottom AKA Baron lane. This is a duo lane, meaning it's typically played 2v2. It's the same setup you'd expect from standard League of Legends gameplay - AD carry and support.

No matter what role you're playing on Baron lane, it's on you to make sure the opposing team's minions aren't killed by the players. Preventing the enemies from making the killing blow will maximize your g0ld and ensure minions provide resources for you rather than your opponents.

Wild Rift map guide needs to emphasize the importance of well-executed ganks on the Baron lane and taking the Rift Herald as often as possible. If done properly, ganks on Baron lane will maximize your winning potential and feed not one but two champions.

Considering the recent changes, support champions are now more viable than ever before, making Baron lane ganks ever so important.

But, Baron lane has its caveats too. It's much more susceptible to two-man ganks with mid lane champions teaming up with the opposing team's jungle to create 4v2 scenarios.

That said, if you're imagining the Baron lane, you need to ensure that everything is properly warded up so you don't get surprising visits here and there. Killing the RIft Herald is a good idea too.

Wild Rift Mid Lane

We're all done with the Baron lane - now is the time to talk about mid lane! As mentioned earlier, the mid lane is home to some of the highest damage output champions in the game.

It's also the most difficult lane to play as you can get ganked by the opposing team's jungle from both sides. If you're new to playing Wild Rift, perhaps it's best to stick with the Baron lane as it offers a lot more leeway for beginners' errors.

As the game moves forward, LoL Wild Rift mid champions will become stronger and stoner. As the games progress goes on, they will be able to destroy opponents with just one combo and that's what makes this lane so dangerous.