Perhaps the most discussed aspect of Teamfight Tactics’ design is the way it dishes out items. A match of Riot’s League of Legends-themed auto chess game includes a number of PVE rounds, each designed to give players items or gold.
This system adds randomness to the game – something Riot believes strongly in – but it’s felt players who get lots of items early on have an advantage over those who do not.
Only now, though, are players finding out that the game will give players a leg up later on if you don’t get items early on.
“Getting no items early increases the odds of getting items later,” confirmed Principal Game Designer at Riot Games Stephen ‘Mortdog’ Mortimer in a tweet.
“So yes, there is some bad luck protection! You just have to adapt and play through your weaker early game.”
This bad luck protection is something Teamfight Tactics players had suspected since the game launched, but now we know for sure it’s in.
Mortimer published an image showing exactly how the item / gold distribution works in the opening three PVE rounds. There are eight possible outcomes, ranging from three or more items to nine gold. I imagine most will consider getting three or more items the best outcome, given how powerful the right items on the right characters can be.