How smartphones are going to change League of Legends
League of Legends: Wild Rift is following the trail blazed by mobile MOBAs like Arena of Valor in China and Southeast Asia
One of the world’s biggest games is about to get even bigger. But just because League of Legends is coming to smartphones doesn’t mean it’s going to be exactly the same as the PC version, and players are going to have to adjust.
How do we know? Because League of Legends is late to the party. Similar MOBA games are already huge on smartphones in China and Southeast Asia, and they offer crucial clues to how League of Legends: Wild Rift is going to be different to the PC original.
MOBA explained: One of the most popular genres in esports is making a push on mobile
Commentator Jeff “SuiJeneris” Chau says mobile MOBA games tend to be shorter, faster and reward players in different ways, making positioning and teamwork extremely important.
“Positioning is probably more important in mobile than PC because smaller maps lend to a higher degree of error,” Chau said. “And if you die, the respawn time will cost you dearly.”
Chau added that the limitations of the mobile platform also require players to make better team-based decisions.
“Although one person can still outplay multiple foes, it does not happen as often,” he said. “Team-focused play is rewarded more greatly than individual god plays that we see often on PC.”
