Significant changes to the item and loot drop system will hit Teamfight Tactics through Patch 14.5, according to game design director Stephen “Mortdog” Mortimer, along with a temporary fix through Patch 14.3 heading into the Remix Rumble Regional Finals and World Championship.
Variance within a game is healthy but “not every system needs to be something that increases potential outcomes,” according to Mortdog. The TFT design team has big plans for the item and loot distribution system that goes live after the Remix Rumble World Championship through Patch 14.5. As a temporary fix for high-Elo competitive players who are seeking to qualify for Worlds through Regional Final tournaments, though, Patch 14.3 will reduce the item variance to nothing.
“So as a temporary measure, in 14.3 we will take the current system and lower it’s max item variance from two to zero,” Mortdog said. “The short version of what this means is that all players will always have the same number of item components, and essentially gold starts are gone.”
Casual players may not like the changes but it’s the best move for “competitive integrity,” according to Mortdog. After Worlds is over, Patch 14.5 will reduce the overall variance in TFT. The team also has “some surprises” for players while keeping the randomness of the autobattler fair with healthy amounts of variance.
The final regional Set 10 events for Remix Rumble will take place over the next two weeks, followed by Regional Finals at the end of the month. The TFT Set 10 Remix Rumble World Championship is scheduled to run from March 1 to 3.
Changes to TFT’s item variance system will take place through Patch 14.3, which is scheduled to go live on Feb. 7. Players can likely check out these adjustments on the PBE servers later this week.
