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Just a few days ago, Riot Games made a blockbuster announcement saying that they will be releasing their own version ‘autobattler’ later this month. The announcement brought excitement and concerns to the League of Legends fans around the world, so I thought I should introduce what’s known about Teamfight Tactics and what’s different from the original(?) Dota 2: Auto Chess.
*Some information may not be correct and is subject to change for the actual release.
Let’s face it, you can’t help it but notice that the whole concept is very similar to the widely popular Dota 2: Auto Chess. In Teamfight Tactics, they made a few changes so that it isn’t exactly the same. For one thing, the ‘Races’ are not called Races, instead, they’re called ‘Origins’. There are 13 origins and 10 classes in the game, mostly in accordance with the lore of the game. Aatrox is a Demon Blademaster, Gnar is a Yordle Shapeshifter, and Gangplank is a Pirate Brawler. There will be 50 champions on release; below are the known champions and traits for each origin and class.
※ Origins
- Demon: Demons burn mana and deal true damage
- Dragon: Dragons are immune to magic damage
- Exile: If there are no adjacent allies at the start of combat, an Exile gains a shield
- Glacial: Glacials have a % chance to stun
- Imperial: Imperials deal double damage
- Noble: Grants bonus armor and heal per attack to random ally (all allies)
- Ninja: When 1 or 4 ninjas are on the board, ninjas gain % attack damage
- Pirate: Earn extra gold per turn
- Phantom: Turns random enemy HP to 100 at the start of combat
- Robot: Robots start combat with full mana
- Void: Voids ignore % of enemy armor
- Wilds: Gain attack speed up to 5 stacks
- Yordles: Yordles gain % chance to evade attacks
※ Classes
- Assassin: Assassins gain % critical chance/damage
- Blademaster: Blademasters gain chance to have extra attack(s)
- Brawler: Brawlers gain bonus max HP
- Elementalist: Summons an elemental at the start of combat
- Gunslinger: Gunslingers gain chance to fire extra shot(s)
- Knight: Knights block damage from basic attacks
- Ranger: Rangers gain % chance to double attack speed
- Shapeshifter: Shapeshifters gain max HP when transformed
- Sorcerer: Allies gain % magic damage
The board for the Dota 2: Auto Chess is, like its name, a 8x8 board, in which the player has access to half (4x8) of the board. In Teamfight Tactics, it’s a 6x7 hexa board. Players can move their units along the 3x7 board which seems to be one of the biggest differences (aside from the fact that all the characters are different). Another factor that caught my eye is that Teamfight Tactics has 9 bench slots which is 1 more than that of Dota 2: Auto Chess, so it would be less stressful when you want to buy something but don’t have the space to do so.
The items would be a bit different as well. There are a lot more items and more combinations. Many items from League of Legends appear in the game and have similar effects on the champion that carries it. B.F. Swords gain extra damage, Guardian Angel revives, and Warmog’s regenerates health. According to Scarra, CertainlyT came to work on the item system of Teamfight tactics. That may be why Items have much bigger effects as they get combined and upgraded. Here’s a list of the items.
Basic Items
- B.F. Sword: Attack Damage
- Chain Vest: Armor
- Giant's Belt: Health
- Magic Dust: All Stats
- Needlessly Large Rod: % Spell Damage
- Negatron Cloak: Magic Resist
- Recurve Bow: % Attack Speed
- Tear of the Goddess: Mana
Combinations
- Bloodthirster: Attacks heal for % of damage
- Brawler's Gloves: Wearer is also a Brawler
- Cursed Blade: Attacks have a low chance to Shrink (Reduce enemy's star level by 1)
- Dragon's Claw: Gain % resistance to magic damage
- Essence Reaver: - Max Mana
- Force of Nature: Gain team size (Magic Dust + Magic Dust)
- Frozen Heart: Adjacent enemies lose % Attack Speed
- Frozen Mallet: Attacks have % chance to stun
- Guardian Angel: Wearer revives
- Guinsoo's Rageblade: Attacks grant % Attack Speed, stacks infinitely
- Hextech Gunblade: Heal for % of all damage dealt
- Hush: Attacks have a high chance to Silence
- Infinity Edge: Critical Strikes deal +% damage (B.F. Sword + B.F. Sword)
- Ionic Spark: Enemy takes damage on casting spells
- Locket of the Iron Solari: All adjacent allies gain a shield at start of combat
- Luden's Echo: Spells deal splash damage on hit
- Morellonomicon: Spells deal burn damage equal to % of the enemy's maximum health per second
- Phantom Dancer: Wearer dodges all Critical Strikes
- Rabadon's Deathcap: Wearer's Spell Damage stat is amplified
- Rapid Firecannon: Wearer's attacks cannot be dodged, Attack Range is doubled
- Red Buff: Attacks deal % burn damage
- Redemption: Heals all nearby allies on death
- Runaan's Hurricane: Attacks target additional enemies; these additional attacks deal % damage
- Seraph's Embrace: Regains mana each time a spell is cast
- Spear of Shojin: Wearer gains % of its max mana per attack after casting
- Statikk Shiv: Every 3rd attack deals splash magical damage
- Sword Breaker: Attacks have a chance to disarm
- Sword of the Divine: Each second the wearer has a % chance to gain 100% Critical Strike
- Thornmail: Reflects % of damage taken from attacks
- Titanic Hydra: Attacks deal % of the wearer's max Health as splash damage
- Warmog's Armor: Wearer regenerates % max Health per second
- Wit's End: Attacks drain mana
- Youmuu's Ghostblade: Wearer is also an Assassin
- Yuumi: Wearer is also a Sorcerer
- Zeke's Herald: Adjacent allies gain % Attack Speed
- Zephyr: Banishes an enemy on start of combat
*Item list from tftactics.gg
Everything’s still quite familiar, but the biggest feature that distinguishes Teamfight Tactics from Dota 2: Auto Chess is the comeback mechanism, the Carousel. Every few rounds, players will have access to ‘the Carousel’, which is located in the center island of the map. In the Carousel, there are champions equipped with items and players will be able to pick up what they want. However, the player with the lowest health is enabled to move first. This way, the person losing will have the highest chance to get what they need.
Another comeback mechanism is that the losing streak begins immediately at 2 straight losses. So you wouldn’t need to push yourself to lose intentionally for longer rounds to gain the losing streak bonus.
And last but not least, there are these ‘Little Legends’ that are too cute to be passed without mention. Up to now, there are six Little Legends that are revealed: Featherknight, Furyhorn, Hauntling, Molediver, Runespirit, and Silverwing. Considering that the only thing you were able to do with the earned ‘candy’ in Dota 2: Auto Chess was buying the avatars, this would be perfect for the players to enjoy.
Image source: Riot Games
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