Today’s behind-the-scenes look at the reworked Patch 11.4 Chosen system on Post Mortem revealed differences of opinion between lead balance Riot Statikk and Principal Teamfight Tactics lead designer Stephen “Mortdog” Mortimer.
Patch 11.4 initially brought about an influx of players rolling for specific four-cost and Legendary Chosen units. And while it remains a viable strategy, the meta has begun to open up more due to the flexibility of being able to roll for a better Chosen. Changes made to the Chosen system in Patch 11.4 lowered power levels while increasing the percentage at which Chosen units show up in the shop.
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Mortdog and Statikk agreed on lowering the power level of Chosen units but not on “how to get the Chosen [to feel] a little less high roll.” Those differences in opinion led to an “executive override” on Mortdog’s part, resulting in the base odd increasing from 33 to 50 percent. Riot Statikk is happy with the adjustments but still feels it’s a bit strong on the high roll side.
“What we landed on was a good outcome,” Statikk said. “But I feel like there was something that maybe we could have done to make the system just a little bit more forgiving to players who are getting owned by it.”
Riot Mortdog agrees with Statikk that the system still feels “a little off,” hinting that small adjustments may take place in the future. He also noted that the Chosen system could remain this way for the rest of Set 4.5.
The overall consensus regarding Chosen champions among the TFT balance team is that most players don’t feel bad when they sell a Chosen unit and roll down to look for a better one. Both Mortdog and Statikk believe there is some “Chosen fatigue” across players as Set 4.5 comes to an end in two months. Despite the disagreements, they both also believe there were lessons learned from the Chosen mechanic that can applied to future TFT sets.
The next scheduled TFT patch will take place on March 3, with Riot previewing those changes yesterday via the 11.5 Patch Preview.
