A massive number of balance changes are taking place in Teamfight Tactics Patch 12.9, with game designer Kent “Riot Kent” Wu and director Stephen “Mortdog” Mortimer providing their own hot takes during the Patch Rundown.
Patch 12.9 is scheduled to go live on May 11 and is the “for fun” update for Neon Nights/Gizmos & Gadgets—a pile of changes designed to shake up the game.
As the team prepares for TFT Set Seven Dragonlands, a few experimental changes are taking place to test the waters for the upcoming set while also giving players a chance to compete with a variety of comps as opposed to the usual Sivir, seven Innovator, and level nine legendary board. The goals for Patch 12.9, according to Mortdog and Kent, are to shake up the meta on purpose while encouraging experimentation.
Most “for fun” patches from previous TFT sets have included buffs to chase traits and a handful of balance changes. Patch 12.9 takes practice and goes wild with a ton of balance changes, the addition of Dragon Eggs (Set Seven), and buffs to chase traits.
Within each Dragon Egg is a Tome of Traits, no matter that eggs size. A Tome addition will help players reach those chase traits easier, while also experimenting with possible new primary carriers. The chase traits that got buffed the most and should be on every player’s radar are Assassin, Challenger, Chemtech, Enchanter, Enforcer, Hextech, Mutant Omnivamp, and Debonair.
Related: Here’s every big TFT 12.9 “for fun” change via the Patch Rundown
Enforcer now has a new breakpoint of five, resulting in Enforcer units gaining 80 percent attack speed. Mortdog like five Enforcer with True Justice and Jayce as a primary carry while Ken is all about throwing an Enforcer Spatula on Zeri with a Rageblade in conjunction with six Clockwork.
Two former top comps have the potential to return within Patch 12.9: Mad Cow and Candyland. Poppy is getting a spell buff at two and three-star while Alistar is getting a spell damage and mana buff. Mortdog recommends running Alistar with Socialite and a Deathcap, or the traditional Infinity Edge and Jeweled Gauntlet combo in conjunction with Chalice of Power.
Illaoi has the potential to become a reroll carry, with Mortdog recommending triple Hand of Justice on the Bruiser, and Caitlyn should pop off as a three-star in Sniper comps. Vi is getting a buff across the board, making Deathcap a viable item on her and Zac has the potential to carry within a Chemtech vertical build.
The most dangerous change in TFT Patch 12.4, according to Mortdog and Kent, is the buff to Orianna. Attempting to change her from support to full-on carry, Orianna will cast faster and more often. Mortdog recommends Spear of Shojin in conjunction with her speed. She has the potential to pop off via five Enchanter. The Kent tech for Orianna is to frontline and clump with Orianna, similar to Keepers from Set Four.
Eager players that just can’t wait for release can test out all upcoming TFT Patch 12.9 changes via PBE. The official release for the update will take place on May 11.
