

Chosen units were fantastic as a design idea, ensuring that each game would play out differently due to the randomness of which Chosens would appear and encouraging players to adapt to what they found rather than forcing the same team composition in game after game. As a reminder, Chosen units started out as a 2 star version of the champion with bonus stats and counting as two copies of one of their traits. These things are important due to the biggest gameplay mechanic underlying the whole set: the implementation of Chosen units. I think that the best way to approach this task is to look at the traits and champions which were swapped in for Set 4.5 as compared to the ones that they replaced for Set Four. This is my attempt to identify some of the reasons why Set 4.5 could feel more like a Festival of Bad Beats. However, there were also specific choices made by the TFT design team in terms of the traits and the champions that made Set 4.5 less of a rewarding experience to play.

Some of this was unavoidable as the Chosen mechanic persisted for both sets and any gameplay mechanic will be less interesting on the hundredth repetition as compared with the first time experiencing it. While Set 4.5 was still quite good overall, it failed to preserve the best aspects of Set Four and grew stale much more quickly. I don't think that it's a stretch to say that Set 4.5 was a step backwards in several ways from Set Four. (I've been critical of the constant turnover and neverending patches applied to Teamfight Tactics and the fact that Set 4.5 will last for just over 90 days is very much part of this same pattern.) This article is an attempt to evaluate Set 4.5 now that its limited days are already coming to a close. The life of Set Four was artificially extended by the end-of-year holidays when Riot staff had time off which meant that Set 4.5 ended up being notably shorter at roughly three months duration. Several more months have passed since the release of Set 4.5 and we're rapidly drawing close to the conclusion of the set. It might as well have been an entirely new set and I've found it easier to consider Set Four and Set 4.5 as standalone entities in their own right. For example, Set 4.5 removed 22 champions and 6 traits while introducing a corresponding number of replacements. Set Four went through major gameplay changes at the beginning of 2021 with the introduction of Set 4.5, the mid-set revision that largely created an entirely new gameplay structure.

The introduction of the Chosen mechanic in Set Four proved to be overwhelmingly popular with players and Riot's design team was thrilled with the reception that the set received.
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Thanks in large part to the full implementation of TFT's mobile version, the game's playerbase exploded in Set Four to reach new heights, particularly in North America which tripled its TFT server population from 2020 to 2021. Set Four proved to be a huge success for Teamfight Tactics, bringing many players back to the game (including myself) and introducing vast numbers of new players to the autochess genre. Teamfight Tactics Set 4.5 YouTube Videos Playlist
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We’ll get to see it in action when set 4.5 arrives with patch 11.2 on January 21.TFT Set 4.5 Festival of Bad Beats: Teamfight Tactics Set 4.5 Overall, Executioner looks like a solid trait that has some very strong late-game potential. TFT lead designer Stephen “Mortdog” Mortimer added that Xayah is a carry “that will take some interesting positioning to do well with.” Perhaps that’s in reference to the Keeper trait providing a shield to nearby units. She will be a 4-cost with three traits: Elderwood, Executioner and Keeper. Kayle was a very strong carry in Galaxies (Set 3) and it looks like she’ll be returning as a powerful carry in Set 4.5. She’s a Divine Executioner, which means she’ll be doing true damage as well. Kindred exists as a strong early- and mid-game carry and looks to retain that role, especially as the other two Executioners are 4-cost. Kindred will remain a 3-cost champion but is being reworked from Hunter Spirit to Executioner Spirit (since Hunter is being removed from the game).
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