Teamfight Tactics: Strategies for Balance Updates and Reworks

Keeping up with the ever-changing landscape of Teamfight Tactics is quite the challenge, especially as the game continues to evolve with each new set. Much like its fellow League of Legends games, Teamfight Tactics balances the introduction of fresh content with the tweaking of current champions. The Lunar Festival—a major highlight for millions of players globally—provides an opportune moment to examine the trajectory the game is taking.

Recently, Game Rant sat down with Kent Wu, who is at the forefront of finalizing sets for Teamfight Tactics, to delve into strategies for handling reworks and balance tweaks within the game. Sharing insights into the methods used for making critical balance decisions, Wu highlighted the efforts to steer clear of more complex situations in the future.

Balance updates are a pivotal topic for the development team, and it’s no surprise they face unique challenges with Teamfight Tactics compared to other Riot Games titles. Wu outlined the meticulous step-by-step approach they adopt to achieve a stable meta.

“We look at three main sources to guide us on balance issues,” Wu explained. “Data gives us a broad view of what’s not sitting right within the game, even though it never tells the whole story. Experience is vital; by playing and observing, we set a baseline for what is overpowered or underpowered. Lastly, we gauge player sentiment—it might spotlight issues that aren’t immediately obvious from data or gameplay alone. Even if there’s a disparity between player perception and the data, it’s crucial to understand why the players feel that way. Combining these insights allows us to make informed decisions about patches.”

The League of Legends community, known for being deeply engaged, also extends its enthusiasm to Teamfight Tactics. Developer reliance on player feedback underscores the importance of maintaining a productive relationship with the community. Ideally, this feedback loop keeps player experience front and center in future game adjustments.

Discussing reworks, Wu reflected on the ripple effect that Arcane’s take on Viktor had across Riot’s suite of games. Fortunately, the Teamfight Tactics community received his revamped design positively since he was introduced in that manner. Wu noted that a champion design should allow players to build around a “3-item fantasy,” where players can equip three items on a unit and watch them perform spectacularly, whether that’s obliterating opponents or soaking up damage.

He further elaborated, “Take Ahri from Set 12 (Magic n’ Mayhem) as an example. Players needed a precise strategy with 3 specific items to make her effective, killing multiple units with her true damage. If executed incorrectly, she underperformed. Simple balance tweaks wouldn’t change the core issue, so we opted for a rework. Now, we’re validating these design goals much earlier, minimizing mid-set changes for players.”

This approach aims to sidestep unnecessary reworks, a move that most players will likely support. Simultaneously, it recognizes when a rework is needed to maintain game balance. Achieving this delicate balance is crucial for developers working on a continually evolving game like Teamfight Tactics. If this methodology persists, the game is expected to remain robust beyond the Lunar Festival and into the future.