League of Legends’ newest game mode won’t be like anything we’ve seen before — unless, of course, you’re familiar with the popular Dota 2 mod, Auto Chess. Teamfight Tactics is an upcoming round-based strategy game which will be incorporated into the League of Legends client.
About the mode
Teamfight Tactics will be played in a series of rounds. Each round gives you gold to spend on adding champions to your board, which you can then move and have attack. The champions you add will likely bring their key attributes to the board, so you’ll need a balance of supports, tanks, and carries to outlast your opponent.
The mode will match players against seven opponents in a free-for-all battle, so having a balanced lineup will increase your odds of victory. Because your champions will attack independently, you only need to focus on composition and positioning.
New customization options are available as well. Avatars are available, called Little Legends, who will represent you on the Teamfight Tactics battlefield. These avatars will receive skins with new patches and can change in look with more playtime. These avatars will also make an appearance on the Howling Abyss stage to cheer you on.
Inspiration
Teamfight Tactics is undeniably based on Dota’s Auto Chess mod, and Riot Games isn’t denying it. The original post explains that many Riot employees have played the mode in Dota 2. While Riot has introduced a variety of game modes to League of Legends in the past, Teamfight Tactics has a promising future because of the success of Auto Chess.
Teamfight Tactics won’t be just another rotating game mode, however. The mode is expected to open a ranked ladder near patch 9.14. Even popular League of Legends streamers have begun playing Auto Chess on stream.
Mixed responses
Many League of Legends personalities have already expressed their interest in the game mode. Golden Guardians’ Henrik “Froggen” Hansen, Cloud9’s Greyson “Goldenglue” Gilmer, and Rogue’s Oskar “Vander” Bogdan are just some of those who have taken to Twitter to share their excitement.
LEAGUE AUTOCHESS? LETS GOOOO
— LGFroggen – Henrik Hansen (@Froggen) June 10, 2019
But the positive feedback isn’t just from those affiliated with League of Legends. Octavian “Kripparrian” Morosan, a popular Hearthstone streamer, commented after playing the game at Riot’s headquarters that “this game will be huge.” Variety streamer Josh “JoshOG” Beaver also excitedly posted on Twitter after the announcement.
This is Teamfight Tactics, an Auto Chess game in the LoL universe by @riotgames.
I played this at Riot already.
The short version: this game will be huge.
The long version: check YouTube tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/otVmf4X6WL
— Kripparrian (@Kripparrian) June 10, 2019
Because of the success of Auto Chess, however, some have critiqued Riot Games for ripping off the Dota mod. And because most haven’t played Teamfight Tactics, that is the only criticism that holds weight. But Riot acknowledges the inspiration, and time will tell if the game will rival Auto Chess in the future.
Great. Now it'll be impossible to ignore AutoChess.
— Froskurinn (@Froskurinn) June 10, 2019
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