Back when we first introduced the loot orbs all the way in Set 1, the item and gold drops served the primary purpose of offering variance into the game. Some games you would have a gold opener, other games you might be down some components but get a spatula, and it was up to your skill to show how you used those differing resources each game to try to win. It served its purpose for the time, and was met with success.

But as time went on, our understanding of TFT has changed a lot, as well as tons of new systems and features that add variance to the game. Players have learned that gold early is a lot more powerful, and how to use that to get advantages. At the highest level, the slightest difference, or sometimes larger ones (tome drop from gold orb) can be the deciding factor. So we agree it’s time to move past that and focus on a more fair loot system.

So the first major change her is that at every PVE stage, all players will get the same quality and quantity of orbs. This means if you get a gold orb and two blue orbs, everyone else in the lobby also got a gold orb and two blue orbs. There should never be a moment where you feel like the game cheated you or you’re just at a massive disadvantage due to bad luck. We think this should help the game quite a bit.

However, this isn’t to say all variance is gone. If every game was a 3 item 6g opener into 2 items and 10g into 4 items, etc…the game would get pretty stale fast. The loot system does still need SOME game to game variance to make each experience unique and increase the combinatoric possibility of outcomes. So variant drops on each round are back, and you never know what you will get each round. This means gold openers for example, are back. But again, if you get a gold opener, everyone got one. But no two games should feel the same anymore.

Finally, we also think that a Tome and 10g from a gold orb aren’t the same, so we rebalanced every orb to be more fair, and based on when they appear. For example, the contents of a Gold Orb on Stage 2 is going to be different than what’s in them on Stage 4. And finally, we are introducing a new Prismatic Orb, which includes some pretty high roll drops including the Masterwork Upgrade. (Turns an item into a radiant item). This in conjunction with augments and portals should make the game to game experience pretty exciting. A bedge silver augment game can still get woken up by a Prismatic Orb drop!

We’re excited to keep improving TFT and it’s core systems, and think this is another step to continuing on that path. We’ll be using the next month to fine tune the system as well as we head into the next set, so it seems like the perfect time to try it out on PBE or Live and let us know what you think. I’ll also post the current drops for each orb in the post below, so take a look. I’ll also be streaming 14.5 PBE this weekend, so you can try it out with me!

We’re also talking about this now because there’s so much coming with the new set soon! Can’t wait to talk about it. Until then, have a great weekend, good luck TFT competitors, and take it easy 🙂

Drop table for orbs currently being tested on PBE –>