TFT Set 4: Top Three Things to Expect from TFT Fates
By Josh Tyler
Riot released a look-back post as they looked at what worked or didn’t in TFT Set 3, as well as what we can expect to come in Set 4.
Now that Set 4 is officially coming to Teamfight Tactics in Patch 10.19, Riot is continuing to give us teasers about what we might expect to see in TFT: Fates. Today’s look-back post gave Riot an opportunity to talk about the things that worked in Set 3 and let us know what concepts will carry on into Set 4 and which will need further tweaks. Here are the three biggest reveals from the look-back post today.
1. Galaxies Will Probably (Sort of) Return
Riot explicitly said that they liked the fact that galaxies gave a different feel to each game and how players played around the Carousel, and that they will be trying to replicate that in TFT Set 4. I would expect that with Fates there will be some sort of mystical spells or something that will cause some variance between games, but operate basically like galaxies or at least alter each game similarly. I think that’s absolutely the right direction for TFT to take going forward given how much galaxies improved Set 3.
More from Blog of Legends
- Bee’koz Vel’koz Skin: Splash Art, Price, Release, How to Get
- King Beegar Skin: Splash Art, Price, Release, How to Get
- EMENES retires following leave from Cloud9, cites military service
- EMENES Donezo Manifesto: Former Cloud9 Midlaner airs out grievances
- Team Heretics Perkz: European legend reportedly playing for TH
Riot also teased that they would want to bring “some of these variants back to TFT as a permanent part of the game.” I would expect that this means that these unique types of games will probably develop into a core mechanic of some type, that would go beyond Set 4. Again, this is great because it gives Riot more time to iterate, improve, and develop new ways to make TFT fun!
2. Champion Pool Size Won’t Change
Adding new units to TFT always gives players a high amount of excitement, as they look forward to seeing how the newest champion can fit into comps or create new ones. However, Riot noted that the constant changing to the champion pool size made it hard to balance the “behind-the-scenes” systems (i.e. it became much easier or harder to get 3-star champions, they had to change drop rates, etc.).
To counteract this, we can expect to see a stable number of champions in the pool at 58 for all of Set 4. This means that when a new champion (or champions) get added, other champions will be removed. I think that this is a fantastic move not only for Riot (because they don’t constantly have to re-balance system changes) but for players as well, since those changes often affected the meta in subtle but powerful ways.
3. No More Full Item Carousels and Item Rebalancing
Full item Carousels (where you have nothing but completed items, like Spear of Shojin or Red Buff) generally don’t feel that good because it means you’re either putting an inefficient item onto a unit or putting an item onto a unit you don’t really care about. To counteract this, Riot says that in Set 4 we will not see full item Carousels. However, I would expect that in Rounds 5 and beyond, we will see a mix of full and component items on the Carousel.
Finally, Riot is making it a priority to ensure that certain champions are not heavily item-dependent. They gave the example of Cassiopeia needing Blue Buff to be effective in Set 3 as something that they don’t want to see in Set 4, because without Blue Cassio just was not a viable carry.
Next. Teamfight Tactics Guide for Beginners Part 1, the Basics. dark
This is the first area where I disagree with Riot. I think it’s good to have certain champions be gated by items. It makes players more carefully consider the risk and reward based on their components and alter their desired comps based on what items are available. Taking away item dependency will just make it easier for players to force the strongest comps without getting punished.