Rioter Andrei “Meddler” van Roon says WASD movement is being enabled on the PBE as an alternate control scheme. The goal is to help new players feel at home while keeping click to move fully viable.
WASD will be live on the PBE while Riot tunes balance and feel. Once Riot is happy with it, WASD will move into normal queues for a longer trial, and only later into Ranked after it has proven fair.
To keep parity between inputs, Riot will test a few balance levers:
- If you hold movement and attack constantly, your swing timer may be slightly delayed
- WASD inputs will not allow the earliest possible animation cancels
- Attack speed may be reduced if you keep movement keys pressed constantly
These tweaks are meant to stop hold-to-win patterns while keeping high-skill inputs rewarding.
Timeline
Timeline wise, Meddler’s current assumption is roughly a month or two on PBE, then multiple months in normals before any Ranked rollout. That is a working estimate that will change based on data and feedback.
Riot’s aim with WASD is still parity: click to move and WASD should be equally strong, so choice comes down to preference. Even if WASD looks different, it should not change the balance.
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