League of Legends is about to shake things up in a way nobody really expected, introducing WASD movement controls. Yep, instead of just right-clicking your way around Summoner’s Rift, you’ll soon be able to move like you’re playing an FPS.
Riot says the change is meant to make the game more accessible, especially for PC gamers who aren’t used to the traditional click-to-move MOBA style. It’s still in testing, and won’t be available until it hits the PBE, but a handful of pros and streamers have already given it a whirl, including former pro and popular caster Caedrel.
Caedrel tried the controls during MSI 2025 in Canada, and his first impressions were… interesting.
“You can kite very easily as an AD carry. If you play on WASD, you’ve already got Master to Grandmaster-level spacing,” he explained during a stream.
Essentially, WASD makes it easier to keep enemies at the perfect distance while dishing out damage, something that normally takes years of practice to nail. He even revealed that he bound his Q ability to the left mouse button, which gives us a glimpse at how ability layouts might adapt with this new system.
But not everything felt perfect. Caedrel pointed out that WASD movement sometimes feels like it has built-in aim assist. He used Ezreal’s EQ combo as an example, normally a tricky move, saying it felt a little too easy and predictable with the new controls. Riot has already said they’ll be keeping a close eye on balance, and there’s even a chance the feature could be pulled entirely before it goes live.
Of course, there are some clear downsides. Since WASD only lets you move in eight directions, junglers in particular might struggle, clearing camps takes longer, which can throw off the early game. It also makes map awareness harder, as you’ve got fewer keys free to jump around with the F-keys. In other words, it might be a nightmare for players who pride themselves on fast macro play.
Caedrel also floated some creative ideas, like using foot pedals to free up more keybinds, or Riot tweaking WASD so champs like Kalista feel smoother to play. He reckons this could make the control scheme more viable across all roles, instead of being mostly ADC-friendly.
The community, as always, is split. On Reddit, some players are excited about a fresh way to play, while others worry it could break balance wide open. One common theory? This could be Riot’s first real step toward bringing League to consoles, especially since the setup looks a lot like how Wild Rift already works.
For now, nothing’s set in stone. But one thing’s clear: if WASD controls make it to live servers, League might start feeling like a completely different game. Whether that’s a good thing or not, well, that’s up to the players.