League of Legends: Wild Rift is based on the original game League of Legends, which was released for PC in 2009. It is a five-vs-five strategy-based Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game, and it can be confusing for new players unfamiliar with the concept of this genre. So, in order to help you understand, we have prepared a small guide for the basics of League of Legends: Wild Rift.
Main Objectives
A total of two teams (Blue and Red) face off and begin on the opposite sides of the map. The main objective is to destroy the enemy team’s Nexus, and the first team to do so wins the game. In order to do that, you need to kill minions, dragons, jungle monsters and destroy your opponent’s turrets in their respective lanes.
Map
The map is called the Wild Rift, and it’s based on the Summoner’s Rift in League of Legends. However, it has been designed and optimized for mobile devices with fewer features and territories. Each team has its base, which contains the Spawn point, or the Fountain, the Item Shop, and the Nexus. The bases of both the teams are connected by three lanes.
Nexus
The Nexus is the most important part of the game, and the first team to lose it is defeated — that makes it the deciding factor of the whole match. The Nexus produces minions to defend itself from incoming damage; additionally, it also attacks the opponent’s minions or champions if they come too close to it.
Lanes
To reach the enemy’s Nexus, you need to go through one of the three lanes present in the map:
- Baron Lane – Baron Lane is also known as the top lane on the map, and usually, only one champion with the Fighter/ Tank role goes through it.
- Mid Lane – As the name suggests, the lane in the middle of the map is known as the Mid Lane, and just like Baron Lane, players prefer to go solo in it. Mid Lane is for those who like to play aggressively, and we suggest to pick a champion with high mobility that can secure kills quickly and has the capacity to deal with high damage.
- Dragon Lane – The Dragon Lane is also called the Bottom Lane or the Bot Lane on the map and is usually played by a pair of champions with ADC and Support roles.
Turrets
Turrets are towers type structures that are present in each lane and just like the Nexus; they attack the enemy’s minions or champions if they come too close to it. You need to destroy the opponent’s turrets in order to take control of their safe territory and approach the Nexus.
It is worth noting that once a turret is destroyed, it doesn’t respawn. Each lane contains three turrets:
- Outer Section
- Inner Section
- Base
The base turret of each lane is known as the Inhibitor turret; once the opponent’s base turret is destroyed, your team will start producing Super Minions in that specific lane to help you push towards victory.
Jungle
The jungle lies between the lanes; it is where neutral monsters are spawned, and each team usually has a dedicated champion to play the role of jungler, whose primary objective is to kill these neutral monsters.
There are a bunch of different monsters present in the jungle, but Dragons, Rift Herald, and Baron Nasher are the ones to look out for the most. While monsters usually help to earn gold and experience, some of them offer greater rewards, like a buff or a “global” reward.
Fountain
The fountain is the safest area in the game where you can regenerate your health and mana quickly and buy items in the game. When the match starts, you spawn in the fountain, and if you die or recall yourself during the game, you are sent back here.
Roles
League of Legends: Wild Rift currently has a pool of 47 champions, and each champion comes with a different set of roles. A balanced team consists of champions with the following roles:
Fighter/Tank
A melee champion usually plays the role of a fighter and goes through Baron Lane. A fighter has the ability to give some serious damage and leans on their physical skill set. Thus, they require a close-range approach to attack opponents directly.
Whereas a tank has a high defending rate and the useful ability to help protect and assist teammates. Garen, Olaf, Blitzcrank, and Braum are some of the Fighters and Tanks available in the game.
Mage/Assassins (Mid)
Champions that play on mid lane usually deal with a lot of damage and are among the most mobile champions in the game. Usually, Mages and Assassins champions are picked for this role. Mage champions are skill-based champions and have ability powers in each of their skills, and they use skill shots and combos to eliminate the enemies. Ahri, Annie, Lux are some examples of Mage champions available in the game.
Although there are very few instances where we see Assassin playing the mid role, it has high ability damage and depends on both mage or physical skillset depending upon the champion. Zed, Master Yi, Jax are a few of the Assassin champions available in the game.
Marksman/Attack Damage Carry (ADC)
ADC champions usually play on the Dragon lane and provide the highest damage among all the champion roles. They are very fragile, and if given enough time, they can eliminate enemies in a blink of an eye; therefore, they need support from other champions in the starting phase of the game to level up. Jinx, Miss Fortune, Ashe are a few of the ADC champions available in the game.
Support
Support champions usually play in the Dragon lane with the ADC. They protect their teammates from the enemy champion by shielding, healing, engaging, or defending a teammate. These champions help teammates to empower themselves and reach the victory goal. Jaana, Nami, Alistar are a few examples of Support champions available in the game.
Jungler
Jungler is a unique role, and instead of playing in lanes, they start from the jungle and try to secure gold and experience by killing the jungle monsters and completing the neutral objectives. One of the important tasks of a Jungler is to kill Dragon/Drake, Rift Herald, or Baron Nasher before the opponents. Killing the jungle monster also gives temporary or permanent buffs to the champion or the whole team.
Minions
Minions are small NPCs that a Nexus generates. Each team has its own minions that help them fight the enemy. Killing an enemy minion gives you a certain amount of gold, which can be used to buy items in the game to make your champion stronger. There are three types of minions:
- Melee – Melee minions have a little extra health compared to others, and they are in the frontline among all of them. They have to be near the enemy target to provide any damage.
- Caster – Caster minions deal a bit more damage and can attack from a certain range.
- Siege – Siege minions spawn randomly to help you destroy enemy structures.
Neutral Monsters
Monsters in Jungle are neutral, as they don’t fight for any of the team and only fight if provoked. An exception is the Rift Scuttler, which instead runs away when attacked. There are two types of monsters in the jungle, including epic and non-epic monsters.
The non-epic monsters spawn after 20 seconds into the game, while each epic monster spawns at a different time. The monsters do not move from their designated spawning location, which is also known as the camps, unless they are attacked. In that case, the monster will move towards the nearest and attack it.
Rift Herald
A Rift Herald spawns after six minutes into the game in the camp of Baron Nasher and can be killed only once. The team which defeats the Rift Herald can summon it for a short duration. Once summoned, the Rift Herald will ram its head towards the nearest enemy turret, dealing massive damage to both the turret and itself.
Dragon
There are a total of five Dragons, and each Dragon spawns only once in the game. They offer unique rewards from killing them, and the first dragon spawns after four minutes into the game. There are five types of dragons in League of Legends: Wild Rift:
- Mountain Dragon
- Ocean Dragon
- Cloud Dragon
- Infernal Dragon
- Elder Dragon
After the other four dragons are killed, an Elder Dragon imbued with one random element keeps respawning until the game ends.
Baron Nasher
Baron Nasher is the strongest jungle monster, spawning ten minutes into the game. Killing a Baron requires the full team’s effort because of the massive damage it can inflict. Once a Baron is killed, your team gains a temporary buff that increases your attacking damage, ability power, the strength of your nearest minions, and reduces the recall time.
Gold and Experience
Gold is also an essential aspect of the game for buying items from the item shop in the Fountain to make your champion stronger. Thus, it is important to keep earning gold quickly and continuously in the game.
Just like Gold, you need to level up your experience, as it helps in earning skill points and lowering the cooldown period that helps in attacking your enemy faster.
Items
You can purchase items from the Fountain’s item shop starting at the beginning of the game. They can improve the champion’s attacks, abilities, or defense. Initially, you purchase items for the stats they offer, but as the items get stronger, they offer much more than better stats. For example, you can become invulnerable for a few seconds, or the cooldown period reduces, or you can even disable enemy skills.
