In the upcoming Season 6, Riot is bringing many new mechanics to Teamfight Tactics, and certainly, there will be plenty of old elements that can be reused, such as the Armory and System Emblems… Along with the highly anticipated duo mode 2v2, another mechanism called Hextech Augments is also expected to change TFT significantly in Season 6.
The Hextech Augments mechanism will provide 6 advantages for players. These elements are similar to a form of random “buff”.
1. All ranged champions will gain an additional attack range of 2 units
Firstly, with the buff for all ranged champions increasing their attack range by 2 units, it can be understood that only ranged champions receive this buff. For this reason, this buff is almost ineffective unless players use Archers or Cannoneers. Names like Yasuo or Riven this season can fully build Cannoneer, and that is sufficient. As for magic damage champions like Vel’Koz and Karma, their strength lies in their abilities, not basic attacks, and especially, even without the buff, the damage of these champions already sweeps the battlefield. Moreover, champions like Lucian and Akshan need more power-boosting items than a mere attack range buff. However, if they already have Archers and Cannoneers, and also receive this buff, it can be seen as an increase in their ability to penetrate the opponent’s defenses.
2. All champions with items will gain an additional 200 health and 20 attack damage
For the second buff, this is a factor to increase the “tankiness” of the main damage dealers – those champions equipped with many items. Some players may want to distribute this buff to the entire tank line, but in reality, this will be a waste. Not to mention, tanks typically only require durability (which can be achieved through items made from Cloak, Chain Vest, and Giant’s Belt) and do not usually deal too much damage from basic attacks, so this could be seen as a pure buff for the main damage dealers.
3. Gain an additional gold and a free reroll each time you lose a round
The buff “gain an additional gold and a free reroll” is essentially another version of the “jackpot,” aimed at players who play the “sell health” strategy. However, with the new mechanism, players will need to be very careful. Riot is almost certain not to carry over the Divine Blessing into Season 6, so gaining an additional gold and a free reroll may not be very helpful, especially when sometimes you need dozens of gold and several continuous rerolls to find the champions needed for upgrades.
4. Open the Armory and receive an upgraded item from Ornn in Season 4
This can be considered a quite powerful buff as items upgraded by Ornn always provide superior power compared to regular items. Since the Light and Shadow item system (the theme of Season 5 and 5.5) will definitely not appear in Season 6, this can be seen as a supplement to the strength of pieces alongside regular items. However, it is likely that they will also be similar to Light items, only appearing once, or Riot will find some way to prevent players from acquiring too many upgraded items and crushing their opponents’ lineup too early.
5. Allows players to know opponents in the following rounds
For some players, this is considered the strongest Hextech Augment in TFT. The reason players often lose is that they cannot know who their next opponent will be to arrange their lineup accordingly (usually, they can only guess when there are about 4 or 5 opponents left). Therefore, knowing the opponent in the next round not only helps players arrange their formations, calculate item combinations, and reroll, but for experienced players, this is considered a 50% victory already. There is a saying, “know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.”
6. Allows players to jump straight to level 10
This can also be considered another extremely strong buff coming in the upcoming Season 6. Jumping straight to level 10 means a significant advantage over all other players (as the max level is usually only 9 and leveling up costs a lot of gold). Additionally, level 10 means players can freely roll and upgrade 5-cost champions with superior power. Just imagine, when you are still struggling at level 7 and encounter a level 10 opponent with at least 2 two-star 5-cost champions, it might be quicker to surrender.
However, Riot will likely implement these buffs with a condition or randomly in some way, for example, a special game mode similar to the Tiny Planet Galaxy or Neeko’s Galaxy in Season 3 or in the form of Divine Blessing like in Season 5.5. If players are allowed to choose in the shared selection rounds, it would eliminate the randomness factor and players would likely become extremely frustrated when seeing their opponents know all the strategies they are using or are already at level 10 by round 3.