PC Gamer - UK (2021-12)

MOBILE MAGIC

WILD RIFT follows in

LoL’s footsteps.

ByAlistairJones

W

ild Rift was never
intended as a like-for-
like mobile port of
League of Legends, but
its developers aren’t planning to
veer too far from the original. “I
think Wild Rift will be closely
intertwined with League PC,” says
game director Alan Moore. “WR
embraces the core foundation of
‘League the MOBA’ and will look to
continue to bring that to mobile
and console as it evolves.”

That could be easier said than done.
With 25 champions making their way
to the game so far this year, Moore
and his team have brought Wild Rift’s
roster to be nearly half the size of
League of Legends’. That breakneck
pace will probably have to slow down
in future; while no characters are
“entirely off the table”, some
champions are harder to adapt.
While some of WR’s tweaks are so
small as to be classed “invisible”,
larger changes will continue to
“drastically alter” the game. Those
will be rare, often limited to “annual
large scope changes” similar to LoL’s
own preseason, but could continue to
make Wild Rift its own unique take
on the mobile MOBA.

FULLAUTO

T

heautobattlercraze

erupted from nowhere,

and Riot swiftly

capitalised. Satisfying

that initial flood of interest was one

thing, but keeping up with ongoing

player demands is another.

Product lead TJ Bourus says “new

sets will continue to be a way we

keep the game as fresh as possible”

• the sixth set, Gadgets & Gizmos,
  has been recently unveiled – but

while alternative and limited time

modes are a possibility, “we believe

the way TFT will continue to stay the

freshest possible is through

innovative set design.”

System level changes – like the

fourth row of tiles between the first

and second sets – are something Riot

talks about “on occasion,” and there

are a few ideas “that are on our radar

to revisit, but we have no official

changes yet”. But with new sets as

the focus, the question of which

champions will make up each

rotation is also on players’ minds.

Bourus says they hope to add every

LoL champion to Teamfight Tactics,

“But it’s not a goal we are rushing

towards. When it makes sense to use

a champion in a given set, we will,

but not at the cost of quality.”

TEAMFIGHT TACTICS

continues to innovate

By Alistair Jones

COVER FEATURE

RIOT TV MUSIC GAMES

ABOVE: (^) Set six, Gizmos and Gadgets, offers powerful Hextech Augments
ABOVE: (^) Wild Rift is already catching up on LoL’s huge roster