Riot Mort@Mortdog
Hey everyone. I wanted to take a moment to talk about some larger changes to the unlock mechanic coming in Patch 16.6 (the one in 2 weeks), and what you can expect from that patch.
So as we've seen Lore & Legends develop and has been in players hands for a few months, we've learned a lot about what has worked and has been less successful with the unlock system, which was one of our bigger swings for TFT in a while. The thing to talk about today has been the accessibility of divergent paths, and how the more restrictive unlocks hamper the ability to make adjustments as the game goes on. We've made a few minor adjustments each patch here (things like making Kennen or Kaisa easier to access) and all of these have been successful in opening up new strategies. So in Patch 16.6, we're going to take this to kind of it's maximum, and ease up on pretty much every unlock condition.
The goal of these changes is that there is still a minor "hoop" to jump through to unlock champs, but that it's the easiest possible version of it so that if you want to pursue those lines, you have complete agency to do so. Here are some examples of changes you can expect.
-Darius: Have Draven Drop 1 Gold >>> 1 item equipped to a Draven
-Nidalee: 2x Two star Neeko >>> Two star Neeko with 3 items and Level 7
-Rift Herald: Void for 8 combats >>> Void for 2 combats and Level 7
-Veigar: Unit with 2x Deathcap >>> Yordle with 1x Deathcap
We believe these changes will breathe even more life into the set with 100 champions, and open up more ways to play then before. We also believe it will lead to some valuable insights on the unlock system as a whole.
This change comes at an exciting time in the competitive calendar, with Regional Finals and the Tactician's Crown right around the corner. We expect this will require players to explore new builds and open up lines, as they head towards the end of the set. We hope it will be exciting for players, viewers! One final challenge for the competitive scene in Lore & Legends.
We're aiming to get these changes onto PBE as soon as possible. I'll post again once they are on PBE so competitive folks can practice as early as possible, as well as give us any feedback around any glaring issues they see (hopefully none, but better safe than sorry!) Again, we do believe this will make an already fun set even more interesting...but let us know once you get your hands on it. Thanks everyone, and I look forward to seeing how everyone enjoys!