The Inkborn Fables PBE rundown is up! If you want to listen to myself, @RiotBluecove@twitter.com and @TFTSloan@twitter.com talk about the new set for an hour, this video is for you!

PBE is generally the most exciting time for the team. You get that satisfaction of seeing players interact with all the work you’ve done, and that’s a great feeling. Streamers are all playing the set but still trying to figure it all out, and that mystery is a joy to watch. It’s a good time to be a TFT dev!

For me personally though, it’s THE MOST intense week of development. You go from having around 100 games total experience (most of which is irrelevant since so much has changed) to instantly having so much more through all the players playing the set. And the window to perfect all the issues is incredibly narrow. Tuesday afternoon PBE goes live, and Thursday night you need all the changes in for Loc Lock.

TFT has so much content now. 60 champs, 28 traits, more than 240 augments, more than 90 encounters, more than 100 items, etc etc…and if even one is not properly balanced players will let you know. A single misstep can ruin the experience for someone, so there’s a ton of pressure to make sure it’s fun and fair.

Granted we do this to ourselves, with our insane ambition. But for me, that challenge is what keeps me motivated. Always trying to do better than last time, always pushing to see if you can surprise players in new ways in a game that’s almost 5 years old. I might complain a bit because of how intense it is, but the reality is I love it. I thrive under the pressure.

Anyway, PBE will be up in like 7 hours or so if all goes well. Can’t wait! Going to be fun. Give us your feedback as you play it, send clips of bugs, complain about stuff we need to make better and we will. It’s time to take the set from an A to an S. Until then, take it easy 🙂