{"id":606795,"date":"2026-04-14T18:49:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T18:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/606795\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T18:49:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T18:49:18","slug":"dev-wasds-ranked-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/606795\/","title":{"rendered":"\/dev: WASD\u2019s Ranked Release"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello everyone! We\u2019re back for our third and final act to discuss WASD one last time as the WASD dev team. From here on out, WASD will be a live feature and will receive ongoing support and maintenance, just like SR!\u00a0<\/p>\n

First and foremost, thank you to the hundreds of thousands of WASD playtesters across the globe. Your feedback and time spent playing has been critical and, as a team, we\u2019re very grateful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As we shared in today\u2019s Dev Update, WASD will be going live in Ranked in patch 26.9 with the release of Season 2! Read below for more details on what to expect, as well as stories from development too!<\/p>\n

Ranked Readiness<\/p>\n

Every patch since WASD\u2019s initial release, we (and some of you) kept asking: \u201cIs WASD ready for Ranked?\u201d<\/p>\n

We decided on these two goals to determine WASD\u2019s Ranked readiness:<\/p>\n

WASD is not overpowered: WASD\u2019s win-rate should not be greater than Point and Click\u2019s win-rate.WASD is generally equitable: There should be a low win-rate difference between control schemes.<\/p>\n

After extensive testing, analysis, and adjustments, we\u2019ve gotten to a point where WASD has reached a similar performance level as Point and Click controls. There’s still a small delta in the win-rates between the control schemes, with Point and Click having a minor advantage. We expect that difference will decrease over time as players gain more mastery with WASD, but we will continue to monitor this stat in the future.<\/p>\n

Blind Experiential Analysis<\/p>\n

In addition to the quantitative data, we also measured the experiential quality of both control schemes since launch last year. We did this through sentiment analysis surveys sent to players after they finished games.<\/p>\n

These surveys were sent when players completed games where both control schemes were in use. Across every queue with WASD controls enabled, we found that there was almost no game experiential impact: Players were generally unable to detect what control set was being used by their opponent.<\/p>\n

Question 1: \u201cHow would you describe the skill of your lane opponent?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Question 2:\u00a0“What control scheme do you think your lane opponent was using in the match you just played?”<\/p>\n

Fine-Tuning for Ranked<\/p>\n

Before bringing WASD to Ranked, we spent time adjusting its core mechanics to ensure that gameplay would be smooth and enjoyable. We read a ton of your feedback and did plenty of playtesting to identify things that we could further polish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at two examples of things we iterated on extensively.<\/p>\n

Pathfinding<\/p>\n

Before WASD, champions didn\u2019t often directly interact with walls. When you right-click to choose a movement destination in Point and Click, champions plan their way around obstacles in advance. That\u2019s very different from the immediate directional movement that WASD brings. With WASD, it\u2019s more common to input movement commands that path directly into walls and other impassable areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To help folks find their way around map terrain smoothly it was key to calibrate WASD movement to handle walls of all shapes and sizes. The engineering team provided our design team with adjustment parameters to help perfect when a champion would slide around a curve, or come to a stop up against a wall to line up for a gank. We tested every pit and corner in Summoner\u2019s Rift to make sure that we were always moving in the ways we expected.<\/p>\n

In the clip below you can see the debug visualization of our WASD pathfinding algorithm helping Viego find his way through the jungle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After a lot of jungle playtest feedback, we discovered a critical optimization to make a jungler\u2019s job a bit easier: We completely changed how we handle wall movement interactions when your champion isn\u2019t in the view of your camera.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When your camera is looking at a distant location, WASD pathfinding now always routes your champion around all walls in your way\u2014even those that would normally bring you to a stop. This resolved situations where playtesters thought that they were en route to a critical gank, but instead found themselves stuck inside the blue buff alcove!<\/p>\n

Ability Attack Followup Logic<\/p>\n

As a convenience, some champions have always automatically started an auto after you use an ability. This is set up for abilities like Tristana\u2019s Explosive Charge or Jayce\u2019s To the Skies, where in most cases you want to follow up with an attack right away.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WASD introduces a unique wrinkle to this setup: While using WASD, attacks can\u2019t be cancelled once they begin. This can lead to WASD users feeling \u201clocked in\u201d to an additional action they didn\u2019t expect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To improve game feel, the development team tested dozens of champion abilities and turned the specific follow-up attack logic on or off when WASD is in use depending on if it felt right.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tristana\u2019s Explosive Charge: No.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Garen\u2019s Decisive Strike: Yes!<\/p>\n

Champion-specific Keybinds<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been asking for it, and we\u2019re excited to finally share it with you all. Starting tomorrow (Patch 26.8), we\u2019ll be shipping the ability to change keybinds per champion for both Point and Click and WASD.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can customize more than just ability hotkeys. This includes settings like toggling on and off smart cast (Rumble and Vikor mains rejoice)!\u00a0<\/p>\n

We suggest jumping into the Practice Tool to experiment with customizing your settings so that you have plenty of time to tinker with your options before minions spawn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New Input System & Accessibility<\/p>\n

To bring WASD and champion-specific keybinds to life, we\u2019ve given our input system a complete overhaul. While we were working on all of these features, we also added some new input options to improve the game\u2019s accessibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are a few options introduced over the past few patches that you may want to explore:<\/p>\n

Move the Mouse Cursor with Custom Inputs<\/p>\n

This has long been the number one request from the players who use accessibility features. We\u2019ve added new preferences to allow you to directly move the mouse cursor with any input of your choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These settings are available for everyone!\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Cursor custom input settings.<\/p>\n

Support for Accessibility Controller Joysticks<\/p>\n

Something we heard from a lot of folks was the desire to use WASD on a joystick. While we don\u2019t have plans to officially support controllers or joysticks broadly right now, we did want to enable play on joysticks through remapping of WASD for accessibility reasons. So, when it\u2019s live, you\u2019ll be able to use WASD controls on a joystick.<\/p>\n

Rotate WASD Input with Map Direction<\/p>\n

If you primarily play Summoner\u2019s Rift, you may find yourself holding both W and D (or A and S) a lot as you move up and down the lanes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you want to give your fingers a break, try activating \u201cRotate WASD inputs relative to map lane orientation!\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Rotate WASD inputs relative to map orientation settings.<\/p>\n

With this option active, pressing W will move your champion up and to the right and pressing S will move your champion down and to the left.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you play on a laptop, you may find this setting extra helpful: Some keyboards handle a limited number of simultaneous key presses, so using this option frees up an extra key for performing more actions while moving.<\/p>\n

Expanded Keybinding Possibilities<\/p>\n

With our input system update, we\u2019ve loosened the restrictions on what keys can be bound to actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For example, you may now freely bind MB1 (the left mouse button) to any action directly inside League\u2019s options menu without operating system specific overrides or needing to dig into system configuration files on your own.<\/p>\n

In addition, all keyboard keys other than Delete and Escape are now available for keybinding.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Required Keybinds<\/p>\n

With great power comes great responsibility. Because keybinding options have been expanded, we\u2019ve added warning labels to the handful of inputs we consider absolutely required.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t be able to leave the options menu until these inputs are set.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Movement click is required for Point and Click\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u2026and movement keys are required to play WASD.<\/p>\n

In-Depth Mouse Options<\/p>\n

The initial version of WASD combined attacking, selecting, interacting (such as using a Hexgate), and casting ability into one shared keybind, which defaulted to MB1 (the left mouse button).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Based on feedback for more ways to further customize these actions, we\u2019ve split this single setting into discrete options. You\u2019ll find Select Object, Interact with Object, Auto Attack, and Cast Ability in the Casting and Interaction section of the menu.<\/p>\n

These options are a little special, and will allow you to assign the same mouse button or keyboard key to as many of them as you prefer. Follow the default behavior and have them all bound to the same mouse button, or go your own way and choose a different input for each one. The choice is yours.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Expanded Casting and Interaction options.<\/p>\n

Any Input Issues? Try \u201cRestore to Defaults\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

While we did our best over the course of this update to support as many unique setting customizations as possible, there\u2019s a chance that some players may still experience issues as we perform these critical system upgrades.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re having issues with any inputs, we suggest giving \u201cRestore to Defaults\u201d a try to get you back on track as quickly as possible. If you continue to have issues, send a ticket to our Player Support team so that we can assist you directly.<\/p>\n

When will you officially support controllers?<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve added some support for accessibility oriented controllers, along other new features intended to enhance accessibility. Full controller support is not currently planned, though we are always listening to what players request!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bug Gallery<\/p>\n

Before we finish our discussion of WASD, let\u2019s take a look at some of the most interesting (or strange) bugs the team encountered while bringing a whole new control scheme to League!<\/p>\n

The Syndra Wiggle<\/p>\n

Bug report:\u00a0Only while using WASD controls, and only after casting her ultimate at least one time, Syndra often wiggles while walking in a straight line.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Root cause:\u00a0In some situations Syndra\u2019s orbs were incorrectly flagged to be able to collide with her. This previously had no impact on gameplay, but the unique pathfinding used by the WASD control scheme revealed the problem by causing her to minutely pathfind around her own rotating orbs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aphelios\u2019s Most Unorthodox Auto<\/p>\n

Bug report: While using WASD controls, Aphelios can auto attack an enemy within range he has not attacked before exactly one time if Infernum is equipped\u2026 while dead.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Root cause:\u00a0A complex ability script combined with the way the WASD control scheme\u2019s kiting logic issues attacks to expose this extremely specific situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Super Warwick Drifting<\/p>\n

Bug report: While using WASD controls, holding a direction while jumping behind a target using Jaws of the Beast allows Warwick to drift in any direction (rather than only behind his target).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Root cause:\u00a0All movement inputs are disabled while Warwick is mid-dash, but the WASD input direction was still updating. The calculation of his intended dash destination with the interference of WASD input resulted in some really odd-looking slide animations.<\/p>\n

Closing<\/p>\n

That\u2019s it from the WASD team for now!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thank you once again to the hundreds of thousands of players who have been enjoying WASD and sharing feedback.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a joy to see WASD help players join in on the fun of League, find a more comfortable and accessible way to play,\u00a0and convince their friends to give our favorite game a try. We’ll continue to tune and maintain it so it stays a viable way to play for years to come.<\/p>\n

See you on the Rift!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hello everyone! We\u2019re back for our third and final act to discuss WASD one last time as the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606796,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,63,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-606795","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}