As the title suggests, these are Best tips and strategies for beginners who are new to Wild Rift. Now I’m not getting into specific roles since there are five different roles in the game and there are even different play styles to each one but I’ll mention a few mini tips here and there that explains how some roles use these tips and strategies differently.
1. Picking and banning a champion
The start of the game isn’t just when your champion spawns into the rift, It’s when you enter the picking and banning phase. Here you will see what your allies will pick and if you’re playing a ranked game you will see what your enemies pick. Picking a champion that is strong against certain team compositions will give you a huge advantage in the game, if the enemy is picking a lot of tanks you can use a champion that deals damage based on their max health or champions that deal true damage or have in-built penetration in their kit. Picking a champion that is strong against your enemy is the first step in winning or atleast try not to lock in a champion that is countered by your enemy.
Banning a champion is commonly done in rank, this is to eliminate a lot of META champions or champions that are just broken in the current patch. What you should keep in mind is which team gets the first pick, if your team has first pick then it’s fine to leave one of the must ban champions open for your team to pick, if the enemy has first pick then ban the needed champion. If you have no idea who to ban then you can just ban whichever champion you think you can’t win against.
Try to learn about what each champion can do, although this isn’t easy as there are a lot of champions in Wild Rift and there will be more added, but you don’t need to learn everything about every champion, you just need to have a general idea of what each champion can do. For example, Annie is a champion that can stun you, but she needs to stack her passive so that she can do that, the good thing is you can also see how many stacks she has, allowing you to play around it by either playing aggressively when she just used her stun or playing safe when she’s saving her stun. There are many more champions that have these mechanics that you can learn about so try learning about them or you can try every champion for free in the practice mode in the game.
How it works:
- Press enter once a match is found.
- Ban a champion that is too strong in the current meta.(Only in ranked games)
- Observe what champions the enemy picks(only ranked games and if you’re not first pick.
- Pick a champion that is good against the enemy.(This is optional, if you play better with a different champion, who isn’t necessarily strong against the champions the enemy picks, then you can go ahead and play that rather than playing a champion you aren’t good at.)
2. Knowing what items to build and setting an item build path
At the start you’ll be given enough gold to buy a component of what item you want to build, so before buying you should know what item you’ll be building first. Most of the time you’ll be building the recommended build that is already set or a recommended build, but you should change your build depending on who you are up against in lane. If the enemy is commonly building items that give HP you can build items that deal damage based on that. An example of these items are “Blade of the Ruined King”, “Liandry’s Torment”, “Divine Sunderer” and the newest item “Searing Crown”. These items all deal damage based on the HP of the target. Anti-heal items are also important if your enemy has a lot of ways to heal them or their allies. Knowing what to build isn’t just knowing which items work well with your champions but also knowing which items will let you have a bigger advantage.
Reading item descriptions is always a good habit, it lets you learn what stats each item gives and what useful passives , just don’t take too long window shopping while your team is getting destroyed. Choose items that improve your ability not just because it gives a lot of one stat.
How it works:
- You can set your recommended build path in the main menu screen of the game. In champion select you can also select the build paths you have already set..
- Set the items you want to be recommended in game. You can choose to use the build paths of the top three players, who uses that particular champion or go with what is recommended.
- Optionally you can make your own build path if you feel like there are better items you can build than the ones recommended.
- You can set different build paths, make one for different team compositions. Preferably you should have an item build path that can deal damage, a build path that is effective against tanky champions, and a build path that can help you survive more.
3. Farming minions
Of course to build items you need gold. Killing gives you a lot of gold but besides that the main source of gold for all players are minions, with the exception of some roles who don’t rely on minions for gold which are the support and the jungle. How much gold a player has accumulated is also a good way to measure how strong they are compared to your team, the higher their gold the more they are in the lead, why? Because that means they’ll have more items than you. Farming minions is also good if you’re behind, as it will let you get enough gold to buy items to hopefully allow you to catch up with those that are ahead.
Farming minions is important as it gives gold and experience, more items increases damage and/or survivability and more experience will let you level up and put points to your abilities while also increasing some of your base stats. Putting points in your abilities increases their damage as well so try to soak up as much experience as you can. Try to always last hit minions as it will give a bigger amount of gold. If you can’t last hit you can look at the health of the minions, it will change color once they are low enough for you to last hit with just a basic attack. If you can’t last hit because the enemy is zoning you from getting close to dying minions you can just stay close enough to get gold and experience from the dying minions, although this won’t give you a lot, this will at least stop you from getting behind in experience while also getting a bit of gold, you lose more when you are dead.
How it works:
- Every lane will spawn minions from both sides, looking at where your newly spawned minions are will also tell you where the enemy minions are.
- Last hitting minions is your goal while in the early stages of the game, a minion’s health bar will change color once they can be killed with a single basic attack.
- If you can’t last hit minions because you’re getting zoned, you can still gain gold and experience if you stand close to dying enemy minions.
4. Poking or throwing out poke
Poking is using abilities or basic attacks to damage enemies without you yourself taking any damage, this is to lower the health of the enemy in order to either engage on them when they are low enough. Poking is more commonly done by supports as they don’t last hit minions for gold, but they do have an item available to them that gives them gold when they damage enemies, this makes it so they don’t fall behind in gold while also being incentivised to poke enemies.
The thing about poking enemies is damaging them without taking damage yourself, so try to not be open to being hit by an enemy skill shot. Keep in mind that if you hit an enemy champion you will aggro nearby enemy minions, so try not to poke them while in the middle of a huge minion wave since you might just take more damage than you can deal.
How it works:
- Poking is hitting the enemy champion and not taking damage.
- Observe the movement of your enemy.
- Predict their movements.
- Position yourself where you can hit the enemy without risking getting damaged by the enemy.
- Use your basic attack or ability to damage them.
5. Positioning
Not an exciting tip but probably one of the most important knowledge to have in the game. Positioning is where you position yourself in the game, it’s a simple thing to know but it isn’t that simple, players should always position themselves in the best places possible, being close to hit enemies isn’t good enough. Good positioning will give you a lot of advantages in the laning phase and in team fights, if you’re a marksman the enemy will most of the time aim for you, and if you position yourself in between your team and the enemy team, you’ll be making it easy for them to win the fight by being able to burst you down, but if you’re behind your team and away from the enemy, you’ll have a lot of opportunity to hit enemies while you’re in a safe distance.
There are a lot of things to consider in positioning but what you should know is that tanks position themselves in between their allies and enemies, damage dealers position themselves safely behind tanks, bruisers and assassins position themselves ready to go in.
How it works:
- Find out your role in your team, if you're the tank and initiator position yourself to be in front of your team.
- Damage dealers are mostly behind their team, letting tanks initiate a fight or block damage for them.
- If you're an assassin you're positioning should be allowing you to flank the enemy to target squishy champions.
6. Knowing when to back off
Learning when to back off or recall is important, if you're dying a lot this tip and strategy should help you not increase your death counts while also making it less likely for your team to flame you.
Whenever a teammate pings you that you're in danger, just back off, unless you're willing to risk dying. When you're getting poked and the enemy is playing really aggressively you should also back off, if they're more confident than they usually are it could mean that they have an ally nearby. Take into account when an enemy will have their ultimate ability available, if you're sure that they can all in you with your current health then just back, you lose more gold when you're dead.
How it works:
- Observe the movements of the enemy, back off when they try to move forward to try and poking you.
- Try to always ward where enemy champions may try to gank you, as this will let you know when and when not to back off.
7. Recalling at the right time
Knowing when to recall is important, if you just keep recalling at any time the enemy can take advantage and push the lane allowing them to possibly get a tower of tower plating gold. A good recall will allow you to recover health and get more items while also losing little to no gold and experience.
Try to recall after achieving a goal, these can be anything to farming enough gold from minions to buy a whole item or a component of it, or getting a kill, although of you get a kill if you know where the enemies are and you think you'll still be safe you can push the wave and possibly get a tower plate.
How it works:
- Clear the enemy minion wave before recalling.
- Recall if more than one enemy champion is nearby while you have less than 50% health.
- Recall when you can buy an item that will give you a big advantage in lane.
8. Buying items
Buying items is a pretty obvious thing to do, but sometimes when you still have a lot of health and mana you might want to stay, either to just farm minions or to push a tower as well.
If you can buy a full item try to always recall and get it before trying to engage in a fight, as each item will give you a huge advantage.
How it works:
- Earning enough gold through farming minions, Jungle monsters or using the passive of the support items.
- You can only buy items in the base so you need to recall before you can buy items.
9.Map awareness or observing the map
Map awareness is another skill that players should have to become better players. Having map awareness will let you access a lot of information that will assist you in making decisions like recalling, pushing or engaging your enemy in a fight.
The map is always there so try to make use of it as much as you can, if you see the enemy jungle on the other side of the map and you're confident you can all in on the enemy and feel safe that you wouldn't get ganked.
How it works:
- The map can be located on the top right side of the screen.
- You can look at the map every time you don't have much to do besides waiting for minions to be low enough for you to execute.
- Observe how the enemy moves or if some of the enemy are missing.
- Back off or ward so that you won't be ganked.
10. Zoning enemy champions
Zoning is when you prevent an enemy from getting close or trying to get into a position to do something. In lane if you are ahead you can zone your enemy by standing in the middle of their minions and them, hitting them with abilities whenever they try to last hit minions, this prevents them from getting gold and experience. You can also zone enemies from objectives by throwing abilities whenever they try to come close and applying some poke on them before they try to fight.
Zoning in lane is a good strategy to keep the lead and prevent the enemy from catching up. Zoning should mostly be done by champions that have spammable long range abilities, if you are playing marksman don't try to zone as you will most likely be targeted instead of the objective.
How it works:
- When you are laning and you're already confident you can win a fight but not sure you can kill an enemy because they have dashed or any other form of escape, just zone the enemy.
- Whenever the enemy tries to last hit minions, hit them with abilities.
11. Trading
Trading isn't what you think it is, trading is done by hitting back when an enemy tries to damage you, or just trading attacks and abilities. Trading should be done whenever the enemy tries to poke you, running away Will just let them have an advantage but if you commit to a trade they will also suffer some damage.
Although trading is good to do so you don't get bullied and zoned out in lane, try not to trade against high sustaining champions when you still have no way to counter them. Some champions also excel in trades so knowing when you can trade is also important. Trading damage with champions will also let you have a good idea if you can take them on or if you have to play safe and get a bit more items.
How it works:
- Position yourself where you won't get hit by the enemy champion's abilities.
- When they use an ability to damage you, make sure to use an ability to damage them as well.
- Use all abilities you can to damage the enemy.
- Back off if you cannot kill them or commit if you can.
12. Warding
Warding is one of the most important things players should do. Warding gives a lot of information that can help avoid your team getting killed by a gank, or by enemies that are trying to set up an ambush. It also lets your team know when the enemy is trying to do an objective, allowing you and your team to contest them.
At the start of the game you have the normal ward that can become invisible and reveal the area where you warded on but you can also switch to the control wards, these wards never expire but it doesn't become invisible, but it can reveal wards that are places nearby it. Control wards also reveal nearby camouflaged enemies.
How it works:
- As you spawn choose a ward that you'd want to use, you can also swap to a different type of ward when you go back to base, just keep in mind that wards have a cooldown before you can place another one.
- The normal wards will become invisible once you place them, revealing an area without letting the enemy know that the place is warded.
- Use control wards against champions that have camouflaged like Pyke and Evelynn.
13. Dewarding
Dewarding is important especially mid to late game when grouping up for team fights is more common. Removing enemy vision can give your team the advantage in team fights.
Try to remove wards as much as you can, while it may seem like a waste of time it isn't, you gain gold and experience when you destroy a ward and most importantly, remove an advantage the enemy team may have with that ward.
How it works:
- To dewards you'll have to be able to see the wards, Control wards are easy as they aren't invisible but normal wards need you to use a control ward or sweeping lens to be able to see them and destroy them.
- Placing control wards will automatically reveal wards an enemy places nearby it, and wards that are revealed won't become invisible.
- Wards can also be seen if you use the vision plants to reveal an area.
14. Counter Building
Counter building is a good strategy to have an advantage against the enemy, it either helps fight against an advantage an enemy has, or to be able to deal more damage against them. Counter building is good against team compositions that can heal a lot or have a lot of ways to gain shields.
Try to counter build when you have already built your first core item as counter building immediately should only be done in extreme cases where the enemy just has a huge advantage against you. Supports can counter build early if they need to because they don't need to rush certain items.
How it works:
- Analyze the composition of the enemy team and if your main build isn't gonna work against that you can start counter building.
- Against enemies that have a lot of sustain you can build components that apply grievous wounds, this lets you build into your core items more.
15. Taking objectives
Taking objectives like Dragon, Rift Herald, Elder Dragon and Baron gives a huge advantage for a team and objectives like Elder dragon and Baron can most of the time win a game after taking them.
Taking objectives will almost always start a team fight so try to group up with your team even if you are playing in a lane that is on a different side of the map. Positioning is also more highlighted in these moments as some champions will fight inside the pit while some fight outside it, and good positioning will let you do the most damage while being able to take less than necessary.
How it works:
- On the map you can see the timer for when the objectives spawn, you use this to know when to make your way towards the objective.
- Never go alone as the enemy team will most of the time be close to each other.
- If you are the jungler make sure to save smite on the objective and stay inside or near the pit, if you have a dash you can stay behind the walls of the pit and just dash in.
16. Taking tower platings
Outer towers will have armor plating on them for the first few minutes of the game, taking these plating down will give gold to the players next to the tower. Each plating will give 150 gold and this will be divided to the players around the tower.
Having the Demolish rune will make it easier to take tower platings. If you’re playing in the solo lane and your enemy decides to go towards the dragon you can choose not to follow and just grab a few tower platings, just remember to ping your allies so they don’t play too aggressive.
How it works:
- Tower plating can only be found on outer towers and they will only be available for a few minutes after the start of the game.
- Use minions to tank tower shots and to make it easier to damage the tower to get a plating.
17. Pushing and destroying towers
Taking down towers is important as it gives gold to all ally players,while taking down inhibitor turrets down will also let you spawn a stronger type of minion that is a lot tankier, which can help a lane push without the help of champions.
Some champions are better at pushing towers as they have abilities that work on towers. You can also build items that have the spell blade passive like Trinity Force to help you deal more damage to towers, Hullbreaker is also another good item for taking down towers. The rune Demolish will also help a lot as it will deal a lot of damage to towers.
How it works:
- If the enemy champion on a lane is dead or recalled, clear the minion wave.
- Go alongside your ally minions and focus on the tower.
- Towers that are destroyed will give team gold.
18. Split pushing
Split pushing is good when you are having a hard time being useful in team fights, you can push a lane which is effectively putting pressure on the enemy team as they have to send someone to stop you.
Split pushing is about putting pressure on the enemy team, making them unable to group as five. It becomes more effective once there is an available objective as the enemy team will most likely try to group, if you split push at that moment they will either try to stop you or let you be, either way you gain something even if you lost the objective. Try not to split push if the elder dragon is alive as it is an objective that can lead to a win.
How it works:
- Look at the map to see if any objective is up, try to move towards the opposite side of that and start pushing the wave.
- Don’t engage if you see an enemy champion try to defend, but retreat because once the champion that is trying to defend that lane leaves you need to push again.
- Keep pushing towers especially if the enemy is engaging on your team, you can’t make it to them unless you have the teleport enchantment.
19. Flanking
Flanking is a good strategy to catch the enemy off guard. The enemy team will try to keep fighting, allowing you to target their back line or they try to engage on you which allows your team to engage on them. The point of flanking is making the enemy team collapse and give your team more of an advantage.
Some champions are good at flanking the enemy so try to make use of the abilities to flank the enemy. Using hard crowd control to flank is also important as it can make the enemy team collapse more. Flanking can only be done away from the enemy base.
How it works:
- Try to position yourself away from the enemy while avoiding warded areas.
- Once the enemy tries to engage you can immediately go for the flank.
- Target the squishy enemies like the enemy marksman or carries.
20. Grouping with allies
Grouping is when you stick with your team to try and start a team fight or get an objective. Late in the game grouping is more and more important, especially if you are a squishy champion, an assassin can easily burst you if you are isolated.
Try to ward as much as possible when you're grouped up. If you are a squishy champion try to stick with a tank or your support so that you won’t get picked off. An assassin isn’t needed to grouped up near their team, instead you should wait nearby while not being seen.
How it works:
- Once mid game to late game starts, start grouping up with your team.
- If you are a squishy champion, stay close to the tanks and support.
- Make sure to react as fast as you can if your team decides to fight.
21. Taking advantage of opportunities
This is pretty self explanatory, but sometimes players tend to forget it. If your team scores an ace, gets objectives or pushes, make sure to make use of every second the enemy team is dead. Late in the game you’ll have more opportunities to make use of opportunities as the enemy team will have longer respawn timers. If you couldn't score an ace and there are one or two enemy champions still alive you can take Baron or elder dragon.
Don’t recall if you score an ace, make use of the respawn timers of the enemy so that you’ll get more out of wiping the enemy team. Late in the game if you can’t push just take both elder and baron so you have a big advantage for the next team fight.
How it works:
- After winning a team fight by killing most of the enemy team if not all, check your map and see what you can do.
- If objectives are available and you can’t push to end the game, just take objectives as they give you a bigger advantage making your team have a higher chance to win the next team fight.
- If you ace the enemy team try ending the game, ping your team to attack the Nexus.
22. Reseting or going back to base
Resetting is going back or recalling after winning a team fight and getting an objective, instead of moving on with your team to get another objective or to push you will ping to go back to base to restore health, buy items and regroup before going to another objective. This is more often done in the mid game as respawn timers aren’t too long yet and staying too long with low health and mana will give the enemy team an advantage if they shut you down.
Learn to know when to reset, if you still have a lot of health but your team is low you can go to a lane and get some gold before going back. If you are low in health you need to go back especially if they have champions like Rengar or Yone, as they can easily take you down.
How it works:
- After winning a team fight and getting an objective, look at the respawn timers of the enemy.
- If the enemy still has a long respawn timer you can ping your team to get a tower or another objective. If the respawn timer is less than 15 seconds try not to ping for another objective and just go for some minion gold.
23. Don't be afraid to be aggressive with the elder buff.
Elder buff is probably the strongest buff in the game, allowing you to deal true damage and execute low health enemies. Be aggressive in starting team fights as you have a big advantage in winning them.
Elder buff executes enemies so if you’re playing an assassin you can be more greedy in trying to take down squishy enemies. Tanks can also engage squishy enemies because of how much damage the elder buff does. How it works:
- Once your team takes down the elder dragon you will have an aura around your champion.
- Target squishy enemies as the elder dragon buff can make it easy to kill them.
- Take down Baron while you have the elder dragon buff as the enemies will hardly ever try to contest it.
24. Pushing with Rift Herald
Rift herald is one of the early objectives that spawn, this will spawn at the Baron pit and once taken down it will replace the ward of the champion that kills it, allowing them to summon the rift herald to help them push. Rift herald deals a lot of damage to towers with its charge attack, making it easy to push towers really fast.
Stick with the rift herald, it can deal a lot of damage but it isn’t that strong once enemy champions try to stop it. Let it deal as much damage as possible to towers, try to always make the rift herald deal damage to at least two towers. Avoid holding the eye of herald for too long, as it will spawn once a certain amount of time passes and if it’s not near towers it will move along the lane and attack minions.
How it works:
- Taking down Rift herald will give you the eye of herald.
- Eye of herald will replace your wards so you won’t be able to place wards while you have it.
- Place the Herald near the enemy tower but not too close so that it wouldn't get damaged by the tower before finishing a charge.
25. Pushing aggressively with the Baron buff
The Baron buff is acquired by killing the Baron, it will be applied to all allied players that are alive. Baron buff will empower you allied minions, making them more tanky and deal more damage so pushing with minions while you have baron buff will make pushing easy. Cannon minions will also get more attack range, allowing them to deal damage to towers while out of tower range.
Try to push two lanes with the baron buff, this will make it harder for the enemy team to defend. Protect your cannon minions by either poking the enemy when they try to target them or by zoning them with abilities so they can’t get close to you cannon minions.
How it works:
- Once you kill the Baron you will receive the baron buff.
- Walking close to minions will give them buffs, making them stronger.
- Cannon minions will have increased range and damage making them great for taking towers.
- End the game by pushing with a lot of minions.
And those are all the best tips and strategies for beginners, these will help you get better in the game and give you a better idea of what to do in whatever situation you are in the game.
A bonus tip for you guys is to get better at communicating with allies. Use your pings to inform your team of what you know, if you see your enemy in lane roaming ping your ally to back off or that you're also coming. If you don't see your enemy in lane ping that he is missing. Information on where the enemies are can help reduce the possibility of an ally dying and an enemy getting a lead.
