LEGENDS OF RUNETERRA Leaves Beta, Goes Mobile Adds Faction and Expansion
In a world of online games, Steam indie gems and long development processes, it seems like some games will never leave that “beta” stage. However, Riot Games has already taken Legends of Runeterra out of Beta after about four months, brought it to mobile, added new cards and a new class. Let’s take a quick look at everything and how well it is running.
Being out of beta didn’t really change much on the player side of things. We do have a number of small menu and UI changes, but nothing drastic. Everything just seems to run smoother, be better organized and look a little nicer. One change is the daily log-in bonuses, which is just a nice touch and way to get more cards to a wider audience. This is one of the biggest attractions of LOR, the free-to-play model is actually quite generous. Giving a lot of cards out for free allows players to focus on tactics and encourage cosmetic purchases. Players can buy their way into the game for sure, but playing for four or five hours can actually get you a lot of really great starting cards and it only gets better from there.
The move to mobile is another massive win for Legends of Runeterra. Yes, most professional players still use a PC probably, but being able to play on the go, right before bed, on the toilet or anywhere is great. Also, so far I haven't had any real latency issues while on my phone and being on data versus being on WiFi. I’m sure you’ll have issues playing if you are on a subway or in the middle of a farm, but LOR is not to blame for that obviously.
Lastly, there are new cards from the Rising Tide expansion and a new faction. There are over 120 new cards, 11 new champions and 6 new keywords. In other words, there is a lot of new stuff to this already expansive experience. The new faction, Bilgewater, brings the horrors of the seas to the table with champions like Miss Fortune, Fizz and Nautilus. But if you’re just getting into the game, don’t worry, it’s still very easy to approach with good tutorials, balanced A.I. battles and just the right amount of cards to start.
Like I said in my initial impressions of this game, Legends of Runeterra is one of the few titles that could actually rival and surpass Hearthstone’s success. It has a lot of familiar elements, fresh takes, beautiful art, excellent free-to-play model and more. Let us know what you think of it so far and what you do or don’t like about the game in the comments below!