New TFT Dev Blog Hints at Set 10 Update and Beyond
Teamfight Tactics’ ninth expansion, TFT: Runeterra Reforged is on its second to last patch as the TFT Runeterra Regforged Championship is right around the corner. As Set 10 draws near, it's time to reflect on what Set 9 brought to TFT.
At the end of every TFT set, the lead designer for the game Stephen “Mortdog” Mortimer likes to take the time and be transparent with the playerbase by putting into words what the successes and failures of the last several months of work and gameplay looked like. The newest dev blog for TFT Set 9 is no different as Mortdog outlined the good, the bad, and the ugly that TFT: Runeterra Reforged brought to the autobattler ecosystem.
Riot Games
And while there were some things the team missed the mark on, there were things that Set 9 brought that will actually make their way into Set 10 in what are essentially the first mini-reveals of what players can expect when the new expansion drops in mid-November.
Ironically, the first reveals of Set 10 that were addressed in the dev blogs are actually things that will be absent from it. For the first time ever there will be no trait in Set 10 that can access the backline. So no Assissins, Rogue, etc and the reasoning behind it is that the trait historically has been a nightmare to balance as its always too good or unplayable and is typically frustrating for players to play against.
Another reveal was that Legends will not be returning to TFT in Set 10 which has been a controversial mechanic ever since it made its debut in Set 9. However, Riot did say that the other main mechanic of Set 9, Portals, was a massive success and Mortdog even said that it should be considered “one of TFT’s greatest hits” Whether that means they are returning or not is not confirmed though.
Level 10 Is Here to Stay
An actual addition to the game coming in Set 10 though is the permanent stay of Level 10. Up until now, players could only reach Level 9 in XP but with certain augments, players could reach Level 10 for increased odds of hitting high-cost champions. Design-wise, Level 10 is where players would have the ability to hit three-star four and five-cost champions. However, in Set 9 hitting those was substantially easier than in previous sets which led Mortdog and his team to rework the level design. On top of the leveling system, the article outlined changes to bag sizes drop odds, and the XP costs for each level.
Rounding out the big changes outlined the the dev learnings article was that in Set 10, there will not be any crown, heart or soul augments that add extra towards a trait. Instead, the Set 10 mechanic will replace that need in the game design space. It is not known what the mechanic is for Set 10 but back in TFT Fates, The Chosen mechanic added extra towards a trait so the mechanic could be something like that or something totally different.
To cap off the article, Mortdog explained that the complexity of TFT is at an all-time high and that they believe that TFT is nearing its complexity ceiling meaning that the game will get a little bit harder than it already but the team behind TFT is as big as it ever has been and they are up to the challenge to make sure that hard can be fun.
