Some of you will probably not be surprised to learn that League of Legends will soon add WASD controls. In fact, we reported this three months ago, but it was just a concept that was not confirmed. Well, this is no longer the case because the devs have officially said that LoL WASD controls are on the way.
Contents
WASD in League of Legends
The first and most important thing you need to know is that the point-and-click controls will not be replaced. People who are used to playing League of Legends the way they are will not need to adjust to the new changes.
LoL’s staff said that they “went into this project (the WASD controls) with a deep respect for the classic MOBA controls”. According to them, offering WASD controls will provide a fresh way for players to experience LoL. The best thing is that these controls do not change the fundamentals behind League of Legends.
The staff believes that offering WASD as an alternative will make the game more intuitive. After all, most other PC games support these controls, so new players should, in theory, have an easier time adapting.
Since the staff wants everything to run smoothly, the WASD controls will become available several months from now.
WASD in PBE & Beyond
Since Riot wants to ensure everything is okay, the company decided to send WASD to PBE for an extended run. According to the information, Riot already conducted tons of tests and even allowed pro players to experience WASD at MSI. Despite that, the company wants to ensure flawless gameplay, so it is going to listen to players’ feedback.
Following the PBE, Riot will release the WASD into non-ranked modes, and then it will find its way into ranked games and pro matches. The end goal is for players to have access to both styles of play without being disadvantaged.
Riot will pay special attention to how WASD affects the balance between moving and attacking. In fact, several changes have been made following the more extensive tests. We won’t go into details here, so feel free to check the complete news.
Updated Keybind Options
Alongside the WASD tests, Riot also made different quality-of-life changes. For example, players can now bind previous hidden actions directly from the in-game options menu. Before, people who wanted to do that had to go into the system fails, so it’s no surprise that most did not bother.
The new keybind system will be available to WASD players in the PBE. Once Riot has ensured everything is working as intended, the changes will roll out to everyone.
Dynamic Locked Camera
A locked camera is one of those options that many players use in League of Legends. Although it can be useful, it reduces in-game visibility, which is why Riot decided to add Dynamic Locked Camera. This enhances the field of view by shifting the camera with the way your mouse and champion move. The end goal here is to make it easier for players using this option to monitor incoming gans and specific abilities.
Last Hit Indicator
Alongside everything else, League of Legends players can access a Last Hit Indicator. This is one of the important QoL updates that will be available in the PBE. Since new players can be overwhelmed when trying to make the last hit, Riot will add special visual indicators to help users with their last hit.
According to our information, these indicators will reflect permanent sources of damage. In other words, basic attack damage and items will be included,but sources like Sheen procs will not. Consequently, users may find themselves missing some minions if they rely solely on this option.
The Future
There is no arguing that the League of Legends WASD changes are huge. Once they are available in the PBE, players will get the chance to test them.
Interestingly, Riot is also working on several long-term projects that will shape League’s future, but they can’t share them with us yet. Speaking of League, patch 25.16 became available just recently, so make sure to check everything new.
