In June 2019, Teamfight Tactics, an auto battler for League of Legends, was released. Despite initial enthusiasm, the game experienced a significant decline in 2020, leading to doubts about whether further development was worthwhile. The developers shared with MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch how they emerged from this low point and what to expect this year.
What is the history of TFT?
- In early 2019, a small hype emerged around the auto battler genre. The reason for this was a DOTA 2 mod called “Auto Chess”. It quickly gained popularity among streamers and DOTA fans.
- Throughout 2019, several new auto battlers were created, including Dota Underlords as Valve’s official game and Teamfight Tactics from Riot Games.
- Especially in the first weeks, more than 350,000 viewers watched TFT simultaneously at its peak on Twitch (via Sullygnome). Many LoL streamers tried it out and were convinced by the concept.
- However, interest sharply declined in 2020, partly due to the second set focused on Elementals, which did not fare well among players for various reasons. Throughout the year, the game only broke the mark of 100,000 simultaneous viewers three times on Twitch – and only during major announcements.
- Geoffrey Virtue, Executive Producer of TFT, described how dire the situation was for TFT. However, he now sees a bright future.
“At the end of the second set, everything was on the verge of collapse”
What did Virtue say about the development? At an event, Riot Games presented the upcoming 7th set of TFT. In this context, Geoffrey Virtue also revealed how tough things had been for the LoL spinoff in the meantime:
At the end of the second set, Rise of the Elements, everything was on the verge of collapse. Things did not look good for us. If our third set – Galaxys – had not become successful, TFT probably would not be the great experience it is today.
Virtue also mentioned that there have always been setbacks in LoL, such as with the maps Twisted Treelines or Dominion. TFT initially felt like such a setback, where players could not be retained in the long run.
However, the game has since made a turnaround. According to Virtue, this was mainly thanks to the community’s help. They provided important feedback, aiding the developers. Additionally, Riot Games stepped in and improved communication around the game:
You can see our adjustments set by set, mid-set by mid-set, and even patch by patch. And you can also see it directly in our communication, through blog posts like /Devs, where we examine our mistakes under a microscope.
An important role has also been played by better accessibility and guides that the developers now share themselves on the official site.
Overall, players are said to have played over 1.5 billion hours of TFT since release. The competitive scene is also said to be continually growing. However, the long-requested spectator mode, which was a topic right at release, is still not in the game.
New Set 7 is just around the corner – Brings huge dragons, but also old mechanics
What does the future of TFT look like? Much better. Early this year, Lead Designer Stephen „Mortdog“ Mortimer talked about the future and promised “content for decades”.
However, we were first presented only with the upcoming Set 7 – Dragonlands – which brings some interesting new features.
What’s in Set 7? As usual, the new set mainly mixes up the champions. The highlight is the new dragon champions:
- These cost double the gold (in the epic version 8 and the legendary version 10 gold) and are particularly strong.
- Dragons count as three for each specific attribute.
- However, you can only effectively use one dragon, as they take up two champion slots and have a trait that makes them weaker when multiple are on the field.
- The dragons are: Daeja, Idas, Shi Oh Yu, and Sy’fen (epic) as well as Aurelion Sol, Ao Shin, and Shyvana (legendary).
Additionally, there will be some new champion traits, including Shapeshifter, Astral, Tempest, Ragewing, Jade, Bard, or Guild. Much of the old set will not be retained.
All champions and traits can be found in our cheat sheet: Cheat sheet for Set 7 “Dragonlands” and all new champions.
What happens with the Hextech Augments? A unique feature of the currently ongoing Set 6 is the augments. Players receive three of them offered three times throughout a match, which dictate the direction in which their team develops.
There are augments that strengthen a trait or count as an additional unit of a trait. Bonuses for melee fighters, mages, or complete items are also possible.
The augments will be retained in Dragonlands, with adjustments:
- They now appear in rounds 2-1, 3-2, and 4-2
- There will be new augments, and old ones will be removed
- You will be able to reroll the augments once per match if you don’t like the three offered
A new augment will allow you, for example, to have more than one dragon on the field. This is considered particularly strong.
What else does the set bring? Another significant change concerns the enemy NPC creatures in the late game. They will soon no longer drop emblems with attributes that you do not use. Additionally, there will be a treasure dragon, where you will receive 5 rewards at once in the endgame, including items, item components, and gold.
There will also be slight adjustments to the items, including a renaming of Neeko’s help since Neeko herself will become a playable character. This is meant to avoid confusion.
As with every new set, there will also be a new battle pass and some new little legends.
Dragons will be important, but not overpowered
Are dragons mandatory in the new set? With the new set, a significant focus is placed on dragons. Mortdog confirms that dragons are indeed strong and useful for almost every team. However, it should also be possible to win a match without a dragon.
Additionally, there is said to be a trait that is specifically strong against dragons. This is meant to prevent dragons from becoming overpowering in the set.
Shyvana carries me easily to victory
As part of the event, I was able to spin three runes in the new set 7. Twice, I relied on Shapeshifter and Shyvana. In the early game, Nidalee took the lead, supported by Swain and Neeko. Accordingly, I placed two Guild units on the field, providing the entire team with a bonus.
In the endgame, it was Shyvana who led me to 1st and 3rd place. She is also a Shapeshifter, provides the bonus for Ragewing, and is also a really strong unit. During her transformation, she tosses several enemies in the vicinity into the air, giving my remaining units time to breathe.
Overall, the set makes a good impression on me. It retains some great content like the augments and brings fresh wind into the game with the dragons. Especially the adjusted timings for the augments and the adjustments to the NPCs sound good.
When it comes to balance, more will become clear when the set is playable for everyone on the PBE.
Alexander Leitsch
MMORPG expert and active TFT player at Platinum rank
What do you think about Dragonlands? Does the new set appeal to you? And what do you think about TFT and the development of the game? Feel free to write it in the comments.
