According to the official Wild Rift Twitter page, they supposedly accidentally leaked a video showcasing brand new feature in the game: an automatic execute smite.
This provides extra functionality to the summoner spell, automatically casting smite when the jungle monster falls below a certain threshold of health. On top of that, junglers wouldn’t need to actually take smite. Instead, they’d be free to take any other summoner, such as ignite or exhaust, with smite being built into the role.
This brought an uproar in the Wild Rift community. Content creators, casual players, and experienced veterans all came together to voice their concerns regarding the change.
[Related: Wild Rift new champions revealed]
“If they are serious with adding auto smite to Wild Rift I’ve lost all hope…” popular content creator iTzSTU4RT posted on Twitter.
All over the Wild Rift Reddit community, players cry out in outrage over the direction the game is seemingly going towards.
“They’re already making this game easier and easier, and now they’ve added a new bulls**t: execute smite. […] They are trying to take all the difficulty and complexity out of the game and make it so that even a gorilla can play it,” a redditor posted.
The biggest concerns regarding the implementation of this new execute smite feature are that the game is becoming far too easy to play, taking away from Wild Rift’s main appeal as a competitive MOBA. Many of the players enjoy the game for its complexity, providing a fulfilling game play experience which, for the most part, rewards game knowledge and skill.
Riot Games has since redacted their video, privating the YouTube content and stating “this afternoon a video featuring Execute Smite came out on one of our channels in error. This feature is being taken back to the lab for now, and will not be released next patch.”
It’s difficult to say whether this was a real “error” or if Riot is simply stepping back from their intended direction due to community feedback. But one thing is clear: the community has at least two more patches before this feature will be implemented.
Considering the developers at Riot had a video planned for Execute Smite, and they actually play tested it in fun game modes, it’s highly likely the feature will be implemented for ranked. Hopefully, the community’s feedback to this “leaked” news let’s the developers know that Execute Smite won’t be appreciated, and changes their planned direction for the game.
You can find more articles like ‘New Wild Rift feature has community concerned for the future’ and you can ‘Like’ The Game Haus on Facebook and ‘Follow’ us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Terry!
“From Our Haus to Yours”
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
