Heading into Teamfight Tactics Set 4.5, several overpowered and underpowered champions are getting balance change makeovers, according to principal game designer Stephen “Mortdog” Mortimer and Riot Kent.
Scheduled to release on Jan. 21, Set 4.5 in TFT will contain 20 new Fates champions and seven traits. Many of the Set Four carries were removed heading into the mid-set, but several overpowered and underpowered units remain. Yone and Lulu were called out by Mortdog and Riot Kent during the Post Mortem rundown video last night, while also focusing on improvements aimed toward Talon in Set 4.5.
“Yone is one of the worst things in the meta right now, I think that we didn’t hit,” Mortdog said. “He just shuts down so many things by existing.”
Known for shredding entire comps, especially when equipped with Blue Buff, Yone has become one of the most sought-after legendary five-costs in the Patch 10.25 meta. Balance changes are in the works for Yone so he’s “less problematic,” according to Riot Kent. But it’s unknown whether these adjustments will occur in the upcoming Patch 11.1 or the Set 4.5 Patch 11.2.
Lulu was another problematic champion within Patch 10.25 thanks to an armor and magic resist buff to Elderwood. The buff was “the right call,” according to Mortdog, but he admitted that “leaving Lulu in the state she was in was a big mistake.” Teemo is also on the hot seat heading into Set 4.5, disrupting the meta with his AoE damage to frontline and backline units.
Having essentially disappeared from the TFT 10.25 meta, Talon will get adjusted slightly prior to the launch of Set 4.5. Talon is “strong and a difficult comp to run right now,” Mortdog said. Adjustments made toward the four-cost champion have led to him “popping off, according to Riot Kent, in testing.
Details of the TFT mid-set update should become public on Jan. 4 with Set 4.5 getting uploaded to the PBE with Patch 11.1. The official release of Set 4.5 Fates: Festival of Beasts is slated for Jan. 21.
