Although Teamfight Tactics is a relatively new game, players will need to relearn much of how they thought the game works with an upcoming patch 9.22. One of the biggest changes coming will be the introduction of new elements and the start of Season Two of competitive play.
The introduction of elements should be a big game changer as Champions will be designated with one or more elements:
- Crystal (Skarner, Taric, and Ashe)
- Desert (Renekton, Sivir, Azir, Khazix)
- Electric (Ornn, Volibear, Zed)
- Glacial (Warwick, Volibear, Braum, Ezreal, Olaf)
- Inferno (Zyra, Diana, Qiyana, Kindred, Annie, Brand)
- Light (Nasus, Vayne, Jax, Aatrox, Soraka, Yorick)
- Steel (Rek'Sai, Nocturne)
- Mountain (Taliyah, Qiyana, Malphite)
- Ocean (Vladimir, Thresh, Syndra, Qiyana, Nautilus, Nami)
- Poison (Kog'Maw, Dr. Mundo, Twitch, Singed)
- Shadow (Malzahar, Kindred, Veigar, Sion, Master Yi)
- Wind (Yasuo, Qiyana, Janna)
- Woodland (Maokai, Ivern, Neeko, LeBlanc)
Leaning hard into what is essentially tribal synergy should pay off when building a strong composition. However, changes to what is offered throughout a game will be having a secondary effect, which is to say that there will be far more opportunity for counter play to the building of a composition, and players who attempt to build a strong team must keep an eye on their opponents decisions, or their supposedly strong composition will easily be defeated.
Other changes in the patch come in the form of a larger board with two extra rows, one for each half. Each game will have two specific elemental spaces placed on the board of either fire, earth, wind, or water. Placement of units on corresponding elements can provide an advantage, adding to the layer of strategy in each game. As synergy looks to be more important in this patch, items are now more relevant than before when they correspond with synergies.
Finally, Riot Games writes in the patch notes, “We're decreasing the number of each champion in the pool. It will be much more difficult for multiple players to build similar teams. Keep an eye on what your opponents are building and find the open synergies for maximum success
- Tier 1: 39 ⇒ 29
- Tier 2: 26 ⇒ 22
- Tier 3: 18 ⇒ 16
- Tier 4: 13 ⇒ 12
- Tier 5: 10”
The upcoming changes could in some ways be interpreted as a positive response to the way in which the Twitch Rivals Tournament played out with Juan "Jschritte" Freitas dominating the competition.
There, Jschritte demonstrated a willingness to shift his game plan based on the decisions made by his opponents. While most competitors chose one composition and attempted to stick with that same plan all the way through, Jschritte pivoted often and adjusted his own team to win. The patch notes overall appear to mirror that strategic, dynamic style of play and should encourage players to build and respond throughout a match, and also prevent similar builds from dominating the meta.
Due to these major changes, ranked play has been disabled and will return with patch 9.23.
Source: na.leagueoflegends.com