Since its launch until now, the champion appearance rate has been one of the few mechanics in TFT that has seen little change. Early in Season 5, Riot made adjustments to the champion appearance rates at each level to benefit players, reducing the appearance rate of 1 gold champions at level 6 while increasing the availability of higher quality 3 gold champions. However, with the arrival of Season 6, Riot has once again “intervened,” and this time, players are crying out.
Specifically, according to the updates of patch 12.2 on the PBE server, Riot has decided to reduce the appearance rate of 5 gold champions at level 8 from 5% to only 4%. For those who are not aware of how significant a 1% change can be, here’s a simple calculation: In the current Season 6, there are a total of 8 champions that cost 5 gold (excluding Veigar due to the Yordle mechanic), and each champion has a total of 10 units. The initial rate of 5% out of 80 means players would have the chance to roll up to 4 champions costing 5 gold. Now, with the rate reduced to 4%, players will only be able to roll up to 3 champions costing 5 gold at level 8. Notably, this is under the assumption that all 80 units are still available and no player has any 5 gold champions yet. Thus, for every player who possesses a 5 gold champion, the chances decrease even further.
Moreover, besides rolling champions, the number of 5 gold champions appearing in common selection rounds, falling from the “exploding chest” makes the chances of rolling 5 gold champions even lower. And when the appearance rate of 5 gold champions at level 8 remains so low, the game TFT has essentially become a “luck-based game” as players now need a lot of luck to acquire strong pieces in the late game.
However, in return, the appearance rate of 5 gold champions at level 9 will be increased from 15% to 16%. However, it is essential to note: in a typical game, reaching level 9 is quite challenging for players. Even if players accumulate enough resources, the game might have already ended by then. If they rely on losing streaks to gain benefits from the “exploding chest,” it carries too much risk.
The reduction from 5% to 4% may not be significant enough to completely change TFT, but in reality, players will face quite a bit of difficulty in each of their games. On the other hand, Riot is showing its determination to bring TFT back to its original nature as a “luck-based game” just like when this game mode first launched over 2 years ago.