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League of Legends is gearing up for one of its most surprising control updates in years. Riot Games has confirmed that optional WASD movement is arriving with Patch 25.24 on 3 December, bringing a brand new way to navigate the Rift that players have been testing for months on the PBE. The feature will roll out slowly, starting with non-ranked queues only, giving the community time to experiment before it moves anywhere near competitive play.

A Major Control Shake Up

For more than a decade, League has relied on a point and click movement system. It’s helped shape everything from champion design to high-level mechanics like kiting, chasing, and pathing. Now Riot is introducing WASD as a fully optional alternative, creating a keyboard-driven style that feels closer to other PC games.

Leagueofleaks first reported that the controls would be added on 3 December, and Riot has since confirmed the timing. The patch is expected to go live globally alongside an official developer blog detailing how the system works.

Only Available In Non Ranked Modes At Launch

Despite the hype, Riot is taking a careful approach. WASD won’t appear in Ranked or Normal Draft on day one. Instead, the new control scheme will only be available in non-ranked matchmaking, giving players space to learn how WASD feels in real matches without disrupting the competitive meta.

This slow rollout mirrors the system’s testing phase on the PBE, where developers collected feedback and addressed bugs. According to Riot, the goal is to ensure WASD stays balanced against point and click movement, with no hidden advantages that could affect fairness.

What The Developers Have Improved

Kellye Smith, Software Engineer at Riot Games, says the team has been refining the new scheme since it first appeared on the beta server. Improvements have been made to movement around minions, sliding along walls, and the newly introduced dynamic locked camera.

“Our goal is to keep WASD as an alternative control scheme at all levels of play, not just for brand new players,” Smith said. Riot plans to continue monitoring feedback and internal data to keep everything feeling fair.

Concerns From Players

Not everyone is convinced the change will be seamless. Some longtime players worry that WASD could disrupt years of muscle memory, break existing movement-based skills, or affect how certain champions are traditionally played. Others point out that losing automated pathing might make movement clunkier in some situations.

That’s exactly why the system is staying out of Ranked for now. Riot wants players to try it, find its strengths and pain points, and provide meaningful feedback before the team considers expanding its availability.

What This Means For The Future

WASD movement won’t be shaking up esports any time soon, especially since it isn’t available in competitive queues. Pros will continue using point and click, and most high level players likely will too, at least for the foreseeable future. But for newcomers and casual players, having two control schemes improves accessibility and may help ease the learning curve.

With Riot promising more details in its upcoming blog and Patch 25.24 landing on 3 December, the community won’t have to wait long to try the WASD system for themselves.