LoL: WASD enabled on PBE, Riot Meddler gives details on the adjustment

As part of his ongoing communication with players about the changes coming to the game, Andrei "Meddler" van Roon, Riot’s Head of League Studio, made a post on X on Aug 25 about a new movement scheme coming to League of Legends. WASD inputs, coming from FPS games, will represent a major change for everyone from random Silver players up to professional play — the game has always been played with point-and-click movement.

The WASD controls arrive on the Public Beta Environment (PBE) this Tuesday, Aug 26, presented as an important long-term alternate control scheme. The first balance adjustments, which will be iterated upon over time, will help ensure that WASD controls don't outcompete traditional playstyles: if you’re using WASD and holding down movement while constantly attacking, your swing timer will be slightly delayed; WASD movement will no longer cancel animations at the earliest possible frame; and attack speed will be reduced if you’re constantly holding movement keys while attacking.

Riot is exploring ways for WASD to feel intuitive and performatively comparable to click-to-move when used skillfully, while still rewarding mechanical ability and avoiding dominance over other control schemes. The aim is to maintain fairness across all playstyles, ensuring players aren’t pressured to adopt a control method they dislike to remain competitive. This initiative isn’t intended to replace the existing system — Riot simply hopes it can provide a meaningful alternative for those who prefer a different approach. While WASD usage may be noticeable, it should never confer a net advantage or disadvantage.

In responses to players in the comments, Meddler clarified that the new WASD controls will remain on PBE for one to two months, followed by several months in normal games before finally reaching Ranked. He also explained regarding adjustments to this system: “Last I checked, the plan for day 1 was no adjustments in place, so we can get a read on how WASD fares with a much larger test group than we have internally. After that, we can start testing and adjusting.”