The new TFT Set 7: Dragonlands has been out for a few weeks and the auto-battler genre has never felt better and more balanced to play. Despite the original game concept having completely randomized game mechanics, Riot Games managed to evolve the genre into something that allows for a competitive scene to exist without a huge part of the game being reliant on luck. Players have never been more satisfied and let’s take a look at how they managed to make it so good.
TFT Set 7: Dragonlands – What’s New?
The Dragonlands set focuses on dragons as the main them in this set with traits and character models revolving around medieval fantasy themes involving some eastern-inspired characters. The new traits are fun to play and play much more synergistically with others. The dragons themselves offer a unique type of playable unit similar to the Colossus of set 6, but are used as a key piece rather than a complete build in their own (unless you get the Dragon Alliance or Dragon Horde augment).
The best feature that came to TFT Set 7 was the addition of the Treasure Dragon. Augments which were featured in TFT Set 6 introduced a unique way to play the genre, but the treasure dragon gave it a legitimate chance of being a competitive game without the luck factor being too much of a hindrance. Good players will almost always be able to win more games because they aren’t punished as much for having bad draws.
How the Treasure Dragon Revitalized TFT
The Treasure Dragon solves the biggest problem that players experience when playing Teamfight Tactics – itemization. In past sets, even if you set up the perfect board, the chances that you win isn’t guaranteed if you don’t have a decent item set at least. Players who go first for the early stages end up getting really bad items and they often end up building suboptimal gear for their carries. This means that the luckier player has a huge chance to win.
With this feature being introduced in TFT Set 7, players can hold components until later into the game and be able to get the items that they want without relying on the chance to get the need to get the Pandora’s Items augment. Of course, players will still need to survive until then so the need to play smart during the early game whether they’re maintaining a win or lose streak is still necessary. Needless to say, the Treasure Dragon feature doesn’t completely remove having bad luck on getting items.
The New Traits Are AWESOME!
The new traits in the game are really fun to build with even more overlapping traits thanks to the fact that we have lower-tier units having triple traits, making it easier to pivot in case your initial plan fails. Not just that, the overlapping traits synergize with each other really well that it makes the combat really fun to watch. Personally, I really love the interaction of Cavaliers just stampeding through the field.
The featured traits – Dragons – give the game a very special feel when you finally top off the comp you’ve been working hard for with the Dragon that fits the build. If you’re really lucky, you may even get to play a full Dragon Board with a low chance to get Dragon Alliance or Dragon Horde on the 2nd augment to simply wreak havoc on all the other players with the overpowered units unleashing waves of powerful abilities absolutely tearing through all their units.
The Competitive Aspect of TFT
There are no active tournaments yet featuring the TFT Set 7: Dragonlands expansion, but we’re excited to see how it plays out. We predict that top players will really be able to define themselves, winning out consistently since they won’t have to worry too much about the game screwing them over with bad RNG all that often. This means that players who have mastered the fundamental and advanced skills in TFT are rewarded for their ability to turn the game in their favor.
For now, the Chinese TFT scene still dominates the competitive meta with others trailing behind them. We don’t know if the changes in TFT Set 7 will favor them even more or give way to a new meta that will showcase the abilities of other regions. Regardless, games will be even more entertaining since we won’t get to see a lot of players getting steamrolled just because they didn’t get the components they needed for their comp to success.
Is TFT no Longer Luck-Based?
Teamfight Tactics will never not be luck-based. The entire concept of the game revolves around re-rolling for units and items that you hope will appear sooner or later while managing the resources that you have to increase the odds that you get those things. In that sense, the game still uses about 50% luck at the very least. Even the addition of the Treasure Dragon relies on getting a good combination of units because it will never guarantee that you’ll get the items that you need even if you use 50 gold to reroll.
Of course, TFT isn’t completely based on the luck factor. Skilled players in this game still get screwed over by the luck factor, but what makes them top players is that they’re able to play around what the game offers them, instead of forcing to get something knowing that the chance to get those things is low. There are also comps that are naturally stronger than others, so the luck factor can still determine who wins or loses at the beginning of the game. If you want to get good, it’s time to learn how to play!
Should You Play TFT’s New Set?
Yes! It’s an absolutely amazing experience to play TFT Set 7 because it has removed a lot of the things that made the genre so annoying to play in large doses. You are rewarded more for playing intelligently and no matter what comp you get, it will always be a really enjoyable experience that you won’t regret building.