Riot Games unveils Wild Rift for mobile and major updates for Teamfight Tactics and League of Legends

Happy 10th anniversary to LoL

Man, I honestly can't believe it's already been 10 years since Riot Games' beloved MOBA title came out - I'm really getting old.

At 9 am SGT this morning (Oct 16), Riot kick-started their ten-year celebration with a special edition of their Riot Pls livestream.

Prior to this, they hosted several show matches for both Teamfight Tactics and League of Legends, having the developers duke it out against each other. In terms of building hype, I think it was quite a good play. No pun intended.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=38&v=ggIMDjWURIA[/embed]

On that note, Riot also proceeded to drop several bombshells during the course of the stream, which we'll be covering in the next few pages and in our other anniversary articles. But if you're here for news regarding League of Legends, TFT, and LoL's long-awaited mobile version (gasp!), you're in the right place.

Aesthetic Updates, plus Senna

I never thought I'd be this impressed by a cosmetic improvement.

But I am.

As usual, Riot kicked off their Riot Pls stream with some updates for both LoL and TFT. But as LoL is their biggest title, we'll be giving it first dibs in the spotlight.

Strangely enough, there isn't much coming to LoL in the near future. In terms of quantity, that is.

First off, Riot will be introducing a new Dawnbringer Karma skin down the road, which in my opinion looks absolutely amazing. Here's a screengrab from the stream for you to marvel at first - don't worry, we'll provide the link further on!

Next up, there are two aesthetic changes coming to Summoner's Rift. The first of these is what appears to be a redesign of the red and blue buff spawns. Instead of having a single front-facing entrance, the new layout features 2 additional paths, one along each side, for players to engage the mobs more easily.

The second aesthetic change is with regard to the elemental drakes, or more simply the "dragons". With the update, killing a particular type of drake will now cause environmental changes across the map. For instance, slaying the fire-breathing Infernal Drake will now see the jungle area exhibit a charred appearance, and so on.

The last, and perhaps most impactful addition is of another playable champion: Senna. Sharp-eyed fans might recognise the name - yes, you're right. Lucian's supposedly deceased wife takes to the stage as the game's first-ever support marksman, wielding a heavy laser cannon in the Rift.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjvDFvzfxsQ[/embed]

As for her exact abilities, we don't know anything yet. But what we do know is that the Senna-Lucian pair might be a repeat of the Xayah-Rakan synergy players are familiar with. An interesting addition, indeed.

On a side note, there's a familiar face returning. More specifically, a familiar game mode that many players have a love-hate relationship with. In celebration of League's 10th birthday, Riot will be bringing back the full, undiluted Ultra Rapid Fire mode!

That means no champion restrictions, infinite mana and ultra-short cooldowns.

More "fight" in Teamfight Tactics

For those who aren't familiar, Teamfight Tactics, or TFT for short is Riot's take on the strategic turn-based gaming concept made popular by Auto Chess and Dota Underlords.

In the stream, Riot unveiled a series of major updates for the game heading into the new year. The first of these talks about a few new champions that will be added into the game, plus adjustments for existing units. Zed appears to be one of the remastered ones.

They also introduced the new "Seasonal Sets" concept, which in our opinion is largely similar to themed rotations we see in other games. Still, there's enormous potential here, given the rising popularity of the "Auto Chess" concept, so to speak.

What's more important for TFT is the second bit: the game will not only be getting a mobile version in 2020 but cross-platform play as well! Riot gave the textbook "many players have been asking for it" reason but hey, at least it's good news!

Unfortunately, cross-platform play for TFT will only be available to players outside Southeast Asia (aww!), but the rest applies. The mobile beta will come online sometime in December, and the full game in early 2020.

Finally, a League of Legends mobile game

Alright, I want to get one thing straight.

I know, you know and even my pet goldfish knows; a mobile and console version of League of Legends is way overdue. Well, Riot has finally answered our prayers in the form of League of Legends: Wild Rift.

That's just a working title for now, but it's a minor point. After summing up the upcoming changes to Teamfight Tactics (TFT), another developer came up on stream to announce Wild Rift. He admitted that Riot's entry into other aspects of the MOBA market was a little late, but that it was due to their desire to perfect the uniquely-LoL formula for their audience.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YdOIx-k2vI&t=168s[/embed]

Well, perfection or not, Wild Rift isn't going to be a straight-up PC-onto-mobile/console port (PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch). There were a lot of differences across the three, and while the core vision remains intact throughout, the gameplay, visuals and mechanics have seen a near-complete remaster specifically catered for the various markets.

On that note, cross-platform play will also be a thing, although users in Southeast Asia will have to sign up for a separate Riot account to play Wild Rift, instead of the usual Garena.

Unfortunately, this also means any progress on the PC version of LoL will NOT carry over to Wild Rift. Riot has also mentioned that some of the newer champions and skins might not be available at the start either, although he did assure players they would be included in due time.

Well, that's a slight bummer considering I really like my Deadly Kennen skin, but cosmetics are the least of my concerns right now. It's about time Riot answered rival Moonton's grip over the mobile MOBA industry, and with Wild Rift set to release worldwide in 2020, I can't wait to see how they differentiate themselves from the competition.

In any case, if you've still got a bit of time to kill, here's the link to the recap video!

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7BLtQHYY7g[/embed]

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.