League of Legends can now be played using WASD, controlling movement with the keyboard. The control scheme of the vast majority of PC games finally works for League as well! How does it work in this game? Is WASD better in League of Legends? Should you continue with the mouse or switch to WASD? Let’s try and find out.
WASD was released for the League of Legends live servers on patch 25.23. It first rolled out in Korea and Oceania for stress testing. A few hours and bugfixes later, Riot made it available on every server.
WASD is currently only available in non-draft queues. ARAM, Arena, Swiftplay, and rotating game modes use it, but you can’t play with WASD in normal draft or ranked queues.
This restriction will surely be lifted in 2026, but Riot wants to make sure that it’s fully ready and balanced relatively to point-and-click before taking that step.
A brand new sight in League’s settings
With the WASD controls, you move around the map using, well, WASD instead of clicking. Attacking is still done with the mouse. This lets you keep the movement and the aiming to separate hands. You can activate WASD by going in the options while in game, in a non-draft game mode.
These are the other default commands:
| Command | Default key binding |
|---|---|
| Movement | W A S D |
| Attack | Mouse left click (MB1) |
| Ability 1 (Q) | Mouse right click (MB2) |
| Ability 2 (W) | Left shift |
| Ability 3 (E) | E |
| Ability 4 (R) | R |
| Summoner Spell 1 (D) | Q |
| Summoner Spell 2 (F) | F |
| Items | 1 to 7 |
One important binding to notice is that attacking is done by left-clicking instead of right-clicking. This is normal for WASD users, but can be confusing if you’re used to League’s legacy controls. Left click also remains the control to select something, interact, or release a spell if you aren’t using smart cast.
Next up, unlike every other similar game, the first ability is on mouse button 2 instead of Q. Q is instead the first Summoner Spell, probably to avoid putting something too periodic on MB2.
“Rotate WASD inputs relative to map lane orientation” causes the WASD keys to move you diagonally rather than horizontally and vertically. Every input is basically tilted by 45°.
There is no attack move button in WASD.
WASD allows you to move while keeping your mouse on your target. In other words, you can run away and still weave in basic attacks and spells against your opponents more easily. With point and click, kiting requires clicking backwards to run, forward on your opponent, backwards to run, and so on. On the other hand, there’s no hand movement needed with WASD: simply alternating left and right hand inputs.
So, if I use WASD, I can now kite like Gumayusi without needing to put any practice into it, right?
Fortunately, no, Riot made sure that wouldn’t be the case.
Image Source:
Riot Games
Playing with WASD lowers the skill floor when it comes to kiting and everything around movement management. If you hold down the direction key and click on your opponent once, you’ll move, fire one attack, and immediately start moving again.
You can also mash left click instead while holding down the direction key. If you do that, you will keep moving and fire an attack each time it’s available, provided the target is in range. If it’s out of range, the game will ignore the attack command and you’ll simply move.
This does make kiting much easier.
However, Riot built in a downside. When doing the above, you will fire attacks at a slightly lower rate than with point and click. At the start of the game, it’s a minor change, but on high attack speeds, the penalty becomes noticeable.
This is similar to Kalista having reduced attack speed when using the attack move button at high attack speeds.
Instead of simply holding down WASD to move while attacking, you can also release the movement key to attack and press it again after attacking. If you do that, the attack’s delay will be lower. It will still be higher than with point and click, but by a lower margin. So while the skill floor is lower on WASD, your peak will also be lowered.
A second downside to WASD is having to click with a moving camera. It’s surprisingly easy to click just next to your target instead of on it. If you miss your target for your basic attack, your character simply will not attack. Since there’s no attack move command in WASD, there is no way around this. This also creates a consistency drawback when kiting in WASD.
In the end, that’s up to you! Riot aims to make WASD even with point and click at all ranks. Whether you’re brand new to the game or hitting Challenger, they should both be even. So far, it looks like they’re committed to that.
Some things are easier with WASD, but their cap is lower. At the same time, it’s not like the attack speed restrictions lower your damage by a noticeable amount, just enough to counteract the possible gain in consistency.
So, if you’re used to WASD controls in games, it’s there for you. If not, point and click is there to stay as well. Make sure to test it out in a custom game or against bots, though, as adjusting and setting the controls might take a while.
Featured Image Source: Riot Games
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