Patch 9.20 for Teamfight Tactics has been released and brought some balance changes. We have compiled the highlights of the update for you.
What are the biggest changes in 9.20? The new update brought, unlike Patch 9.19 two weeks ago, no major innovations. Nevertheless, there were some adjustments, including the nerf on the item “Frozen Heart”.
The duration of the effect was reduced from 4 to 1 second. Previously, the Frozen Heart was especially strong in combination with the assassin Pyke, as it hit many champions on the board. The strong nerf weakens both the item and Pyke.
Somewhat surprisingly, the adjustments to the XP and the appearance rate of the champions came as well:
- Required XP for Level 5: 12 ⇒ 10
- Required XP for Level 9: 70 ⇒ 66
- Chance of champions at Level 8: 15/25/35/20/5 ⇒ 15/20/35/22/8
- Chance of champions at Level 9: 10/15/33/30/12 ⇒ 10/15/30/30/15
The innovations ensure that players continue to try to reach level 8 as quickly as possible and find rare champions.
Why is Patch 9.20 smaller? According to Riot Games, the first set of champions is drawing to a close. Therefore, the developers now only want to make small changes.
With the second set, new champions and origins will be introduced. Then the updates will also be more significant. However, we do not yet know when exactly Set 2 will be released.
Buff for Guardians, Nerf for Beasts and Assassins
Which champions and origins were strengthened? The new update mainly benefited the Guardians and Gunslingers, although the buff for the latter was smaller than originally on the PBE:
- Guardian – Armor bonus increased from 35 to 45.
- Leona – Health increased from 750 to 800.
- Gunslinger – Additional shots increased from 1/2/3 to 1/2/4.
- Gangplank – Attack damage increased from 55 to 60.
- Lucian – Ability damage increased from 100/225/350 to 125/250/375.
There were also small buffs for various champions, including the newly introduced champion Kai’Sai from two weeks ago:
- Aatrox – Armor increased from 25 to 35.
- Fiora – Health increased from 400 to 450.
- Kai’Sai – Ability attack speed increased from 30%/60%/90% to 50%/75%/100% and shield from 300/600/900 to 400/700/1,000 increased.
- Volibear – Attack speed increased from 0.6 to 0.65.
Which champions and origins were weakened? The new update mainly affected the previously strongest combo of Beasts and Assassins. It received several nerfs:
- Assassin – Chance for critical strikes reduced from 10% to 5% with 3 Assassins.
- Beast – Attack speed per increase reduced from 12% to 10%.
- Akali – Attack speed reduced from 0.85 to 0.8.
Additionally, the Knights were slightly adjusted:
- Knight – Damage reduction reduced from 15/35/65 to 15/35/60.
- Poppy – Health points reduced from 800 to 700.
Buffs for many new items
What changed with the items? Many of the items introduced in Patch 9.19 are still not perfectly balanced. Therefore, there were some adjustments:
- Deathblade – “Initially has 0 upgrades” was adjusted to “initially has 1 upgrade”.
- Mercury – Cooldown reduced from 5 to 3 seconds.
- Thief’s Gloves – The average quality of item combinations was decreased.
Besides the nerf on the Frozen Heart, there was also one on the Infinity Blade. The critical damage was reduced from 150% to 125%.
