Replays are Live in the New Client!: FAQ & Pro-Tips

RiotMrBurnaby·Nov 16, 2016·1 votes·353,962 views

Now that you’ve had some time to fiddle with the Open Beta for the updated League Client, we wanted to spin up a post for frequently asked questions & pro tips for using the new Replays feature.

**How do I find & watch a Replay?: **

After you finish playing a match, look for the download button in the upper right of the End of Game screen (next to Advanced Details).

Replays can also be found on your Match History screen. Once you’ve downloaded a Replay file (.rofl), the button should change to a new “Watch Replay” state . Click there to launch your Replay.

How long do Replays last?:

Replays last for the length of a patch cycle, meaning they’ll expire once you patch up. For example, if you played a game on 7.1, you’ll be able to watch that Replay until 7.2 drops.

How do I share my Replays?:

We’re actively exploring ways to help players share their Replay files (.rofl) with one another, but that’s not currently supported. At the same time, we’ve excited to see all of the video clips you take using the new Record Button.

Wait, there’s a built in video recorder?!:

Yep. Just click the red Record Button on the new Annotated Timeline to start recording, (watch your sick play), then click again to stop. We’re calling these video clips “Highlights” and they’re in the .webm format. Your Highlight will be saved on your computer in the following location:

C:\Users\Documents\LeagueofLegends\Highlights

(This path is also displayed when we confirm the Highlight was captured after you stop your recording). From there, you can upload it wherever you’d like to share with all of your friends.

What’s a .webm?:

.webm’s are an open sourced video format that plays nicely with HTML5. That means you can drag and drop those video files into Firefox & Chrome and they’ll automatically play. Additionally, we’ve found that VLC media player http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html works well for playback.

Additional Pro Tips:

The hotkeys I use the most are:

Ctrl + V for starting and stopping recording a Highlight.
Hitting [1,2,3,4,5 or Q,W,E,R,T] to move between different champions. (You can also click on a champion on screen or on their portraits on either side of the screen)
Hitting [1,2,3,4,5 or Q,W,E,R,T] twice locks the camera on that champ. (You can also double-click on a champion on screen or on their portraits on either side of the screen)
When you lock the camera on a specific champ, the marks on the timeline for their kills gets a little brighter, while all the other landmarks fade back. Hopefully this makes it easier to find a specific moment you’re looking for in a match.
Holding down on the middle mouse button while panning allows you to move the camera more smoothly.

Hope this was helpful. We’ll be around to answer additional questions.

250 Comments

DruceNov 16, 201669 votes

Will there possibly be a way to show Highlights on our Profile in the future?

False 001Nov 16, 20166 votes

Really good idea, there could be like a highlights tab on the top one you click on your profile.

Sofa PillowNov 17, 201613 votes

{quoted}

Will there possibly be a way to show Highlights on our Profile in the future?

Please make this happen! It'd be amazing for scouts and our friends.

CremepieNov 17, 201656 votes

I would so fill my profile with the most useless clips ever First video - Fail Flash Second video - Warding Third video - Just pointlessly following scuttle

DamynNov 18, 20165 votes

Logged in to upvote for your name.

Deep Terror NamiNov 16, 201629 votes

The replay file name makes me laugh XD

OdinakosNov 16, 20169 votes

Was going to comment this. .rofl extention?! Well played Rito well played. Who is the mastermind behind this?

Shizu AlphaNov 17, 20167 votes

Freak i bet ...

AnìvìaNov 17, 20162 votes

I genuinely believe the only reason we got this feature now is, because they found out they could name the files like that. Sadly it does make sense. "replay overwatch file" or something along the lines.

It is also the reason, why it was mentioned two times in the head post.

Clever Riot Games.

TheUngodNov 17, 201610 votes

Or you know... Replay OF Legends?

DeathawaitsyouNov 17, 201610 votes

BRING BACK ITEM SET BUILDER!!!! DONT BE LAZY RIOT!!!! THAT WAS MY ONLY WAY TO BE UNIQUE AND CREATIVE IN THIS GAME AND MAKE MY OWN BUILDS!! I DONT WANT NO DAMN COOKIE CUTTER META BUILD!!! FFS!!!

KrisNunu007Nov 18, 20169 votes

I can find the .rofl files in my computer. But I fail to see any one replay. When I hit the watching replay bottom, an error occurs which said 'failed to open replay. The game will now exit'. Need help... item 3070

FPX TiånDec 9, 20162 votes

Same problem! I tried to reinstall and full repair but nothing works. item 3070

Darth HeliousDec 11, 20162 votes

Same here!

Valor BotNov 16, 20168 votes

Is there any way to watch a replay of a match from the current patch that has fallen out of my match history? It seems that previous replays I've downloaded and watched have been saved to the Replays folder on my Mac, but loading the .rofl replay files into the League app does not seem to do anything in the way of allowing me to watch that specific match again.

IokuaNov 16, 20164 votes

I have been asking this for a week at this point and still haven't received any answer.

RiotMrBurnabyNov 16, 201618 votes

Ok, so this looks like a simple thing, but it touches a ton of different stuff and is a bit more complicated than even we initially thought. That said, the first thing I should mention is that we're aware Match History only displays the last 20 matches, and are actively exploring ways to make that a better experience.

In the meantime, I can shed some light on a super manual & janky way to watch .rofls (from the current patch(es) only) that may work. The instructions are really long and will require a ton of clicks, but it's the best we can do for now. Longer term, better, solutions are being explored (like the one above), but it's too soon to go in depth of those.

Ready?

Here we go:

Locate the .rofl in C:\Users\MrBurnaby\Documents\League of Legends\Replays
Select the .rofl you want to open from step 1 and hit 'ctrl+c' (copy)
[ This should copy something like the following to your clipboard C:\Users\MrBurnaby\Documents\League of Legends\Replays\NA1-2247576397.rofl ]
Navigate to the most recent deploy of the build where the rofl was captured (e.g. C:\Riot Games\League of Legends\RADS\solutions\lol_game_client_sln\releases\0.0.1.152\deploy
Find the LoL application and create a shortcut
Right-click the shortcut, select properties, then paste the copied rofl to the end of the target name (e.g. C:\Riot Games\League of Legends\RADS\solutions\lol_game_client_sln\releases\0.0.1.152\deploy\League of Legends.exe" "C:\Users\MrBurnaby\Documents\League of Legends\Replays")
Apply and OK
Double click the LoL shortcut to launch the replay!

(be careful as syntax matters a ton in step 5... the space between "the path of the latest executable" and "the path to the .rofl," the two sets of "" "<.rofl>", etc.)

(also, the location of the .exe will change patch to patch, so this path won't work forever)

Hope this helps.

ShibleyNov 17, 20161 votes

You mentioned VLC works for playback well but I am assuming it isnt as simple as just opening the .rofl file in VLC (it didn't work for me). Is it even possible yet?

SoratorNov 17, 20164 votes

They said VLC works for playing the .webm highlights that you create when watching a replay, not the .rofl replay file itself.

DirrtyNov 16, 20167 votes

Lol for some reason i get 15 fps while recording a replay, same for Very high Graphics and same for Very Low.

RiotRiot TheYoungDNov 17, 20164 votes

{quoted}

Lol for some reason i get 15 fps while recording a replay, same for Very high Graphics and same for Very Low.

Sorry you're experiencing this! Fortunately, we're aware of this issue and have stuff coming out soon! In the meantime, what I've been told is that you can try changing the screen resolution and seeing if that improves FPS :).

The Last ZicaNov 17, 20167 votes

Just feel the need to point out here that I have no real interest in replays but do have an extreme interest in the Item Set Creator from the old client - to the extent I may quit League of Legends entirely if the creator is still missing when the old client is dropped. I would not mind at all if the replay feature and new client were dropped entirely as long as the item set creator remains available. I don't like it one bit that effort is being spent on replays and not on maintaining a vital feature we currently have in the old client. And I have yet to see any viable 3rd party alternative to replace the item set creator, while 3rd party alternatives existed for replays long before the new client entered development. And on top of that, the 3rd party replay alternatives remain largely or completely superior anyways. The replay feature is a complete waste of resources.

codebrackerNov 18, 20161 votes

They already said it will be implemented later, I mean it's still in beta of course some features might be missing. Also if you really like them so much, just use the old client.

NotSoEvilDeadNov 18, 20166 votes

They never said that anywhere, as far as I can tell. They've explicitly stated they're NOT working on implementing item sets in the new client. Regardless, telling someone to go back to the old client is pretty garbage advice, since it won't even be an option soon and there will still be no item set support.

NotSoEvilDeadNov 18, 20165 votes

Completely agreed on all counts. Item sets were a great feature, and the current implementation of replays is downright awful (only working for the duration of the current patch). Riot seems to have incredibly inappropriate priorities.

Your LastWhisperNov 18, 20167 votes

how can we change rofl. into mp4

ShandisAhriNov 16, 20166 votes

I don't know which way this bug would go(gameplay or just replay), but see links below links in inconsistency from replay

The Morgana Q is not visible with blue fog vision after using blast cone. Video recorded from the new client replay.

Fog Vision All: https://gfycat.com/LikableTameGalago

Fog Vision Blue: https://gfycat.com/DazzlingBlindAsiaticwildass

QuadraKevNov 17, 20166 votes

It would appear that .webm files created in the replay/spectator client are recorded at 30FPS and 720p, which makes me sad :c

Any chance of this being increased in the future?

Zw1dNov 17, 20163 votes

I'm also interested in this info, since 1080p/60 would be much better

DEMAGLIOOOOOOOOONov 17, 20165 votes

I just tried it out. Will you guys please add a way to let us zoom way out on things like they do in pro matches? Amumu

NullDragonNov 17, 20165 votes

...

Is the file designation for replays seriously ".rofl"?

IShunpoYourFaceNov 17, 20165 votes

Why only per patch? Replay.gg, Skinspotlights Replay and etc software/sites works with all patches only if you have "League Of Legends.exe" for that version. Why not add in new client a new feature that will automatically download "League Of Legends.exe" for every patch in separate folder somewhere in rads and write patch version info in .rofl and if replay is 7.2 it will select 7.2 "League Of Legends.exe" for a game (example that current patch is 7.4). Can somebody answer me is this possible and does riot have anything in plans about this?

DariusTheMonsterNov 17, 20165 votes

Sorry if that has been already asked but you said right now i can only watch replays of the current patch, does that mean my now saved replay is not rewatchable when you update the client? Will there be a player for the replays that detects in which patch the replay was recorded and adjusts to it so I can watch my sick S+ Talon replay in some weeks again?

NuppyNov 17, 20165 votes

You can only watch replays for one update? That's absolutely garbage. That's absolutely horrific.

The Last ZicaNov 17, 20166 votes

So you'd agree with me that the replay feature is currently and for the foreseeable future utterly pointless and that it should just be left a 3rd party feature because the 3rd parties literally do a more meaningful job? How about that re-implementing the Item Set Creator would be a MUCH better use of dev time than any further work on Riot's replay feature?

Rito, pls.

jmatatodosNov 17, 20165 votes

is it jus mine that doesnt work? after i press the download i pres play and there is an error saying that the replay doesnt exist and the folder is indeed empty

BronutNov 17, 20165 votes

Will there be the possibility to see the chat of your and the enemy team to see how they communitcated and how you can improve your communication in future game?

ÄrteczekNov 17, 20164 votes

Can i watch only my 20 last games? Nothing more?

DeviI TriggerNov 19, 20164 votes

Why WEBM files, I would rather have mp4 so I don't need to convert the file when I want to edit/use it.[zombie-brand-mindblown]

Onurcho11Nov 17, 20163 votes

they should add the option to save every replay automatically

WarMonkey85Dec 3, 20163 votes

I feel like you should be able to watch replays without the client. People are having issues with the replays not staying in their history or just the simple issue that they only last for one patch. You download the .rofl file for the video, but aren't able to open it without the client. Would there be a way for us to be able to convert this into an actual video file that is recognized by Windows Media Player or any other video watching/editing software. That way no matter what patch the replay is from we are still able to get to our old replays to watch them no matter how old they are.

Sir CansirŁotJan 25, 20173 votes

i have a problem, when i click in match history download replay it says (There was an error with your download click here to try again) but when i do it the same thing is happening, help meeee :(

hostilleNov 20, 20162 votes

We’re actively exploring ways to help players share their Replay files (.rofl) with one another, but that’s not currently supported.

Not true.

If you want to watch a replay (*.rofl) from someone else all you have to do is this:

go into your lol-account and donwload the replay of your latest game
then go into C:\Users...\My Documents\League of Legends\Replays\
copy the filename of the replay you just downloaded
delete your replay
insert the *.rofl file from your friend here
rename your friends file you just inserted into what you have copied before
go into your lol-account and start the replay of your last game
now it opens the replay from your friend instead of yours

it only searches or the name and nothing else and then opens it no matter what replay it is. that way you can open any replay from anyone as long as you have a valid filename and know to which game this name is associated

i laughed when i tried this and it really worked thought it might be worth to share until riot lets us share replays properly

do i get riotpoints for this?

greetings Baumsyndrome

HaydnJan 8, 20172 votes

Is there a way to download the whole thing or do I have to record it all.. I don't really want to sit afk for 40 minutes while it records. And how do we open a .rofl

GlîderJan 10, 20172 votes

What about macs?

CJ EntusJan 25, 20172 votes

My problem is with this rolf file format is that I have to record the saved replays with a video recorder and only after that, I can put it into a video editor, I use premier pro than make some editing in After Effects. It would save a lot of time if I could import it directly to the editor software. Are you considering to change the format? Or do you have any useful advice for the future? Thanks anyway.

ScorpioGGFeb 25, 20172 votes

MY QUESTION IS: HOW CAN I UPLOAD REPLAY VIDEOS ON THE BOARDS without the help of youtube or other internet server???? CAN I SIMPLY ATTACH A VIDEO ON BOARDS COMMENT? THX!!!