Set 1: The Game of Luck
Score: 8.5/10
As the first season that Riot brought to the gaming community, it’s not surprising that all the champions appearing in this set almost carried over their strengths from the League of Legends. Among them, the “national champion” Yasuo is considered a very popular 5-cost unit, especially when he reaches 3 stars, as he can single-handedly “carry the board” in both the literal and figurative sense since Yasuo is only truly powerful when he stands “alone.”
Moreover, Set 1 is also the season where players were still getting used to a new game mode from Riot, so it was rare for a composition to be spammed continuously. Instead, luck played a decisive role, and players had the freedom to be creative with the items and units they had on hand. According to some gamers, Set 1, while lacking many mechanics seen in other sets, is still one of the most enjoyable seasons to play.
Set 2: The First Mechanics of Influence
Score: 8/10
Moving into Set 2, for the first time, there were improvements in Teamfight Tactics as the Elemental aspect was introduced, requiring players to not only use their available units and items but also pay attention to what Elemental was present in the match to maximize the advantages it offered while minimizing the disadvantages of the battle.
Additionally, some formations like the Glacial Tribe began to see a surge in usage among players towards the end of the season. However, Set 2 is still seen as a season that retained many advantages of Set 1 while adding new elements, with the Elemental feature being a prime example. This season is also considered one of the more complete seasons, maintaining the luck factor while incorporating elements that require players to employ their skills.
Set 3: The Multiverse Mode and the Rise of Spam Compositions
Score: 8.5/10
After two seasons of getting accustomed to Teamfight Tactics, by Set 3, players began to have more ways to improve their rank while fully enjoying the game. One of those ways was to follow streamers and YouTubers… However, this habit led to a more frequent phenomenon of composition spamming in Set 3, where certain compositions were repeated by players without getting bored.
The Multiverse feature is a highlight of Set 3 and is also considered one of the key elements affecting gameplay and player calculations. One of the most popular universes among players is the Neeko Universe and the Weapon Vault Universe. However, there are also some universes that players find a bit difficult to utilize, such as the Tiny Galaxy or the Rescue Sphere.
However, the Multiverse aspect is also seen as a drawback of Set 3, as players could not consistently fix their gameplay and had to adapt based on the existing Universe. For some players newly exposed to Teamfight Tactics, this made it even harder for them to get accustomed.
In Set 3, it was also the first time that some “broken” meta or units had the opportunity to appear. Notable examples include the “Bluetooth” Master Yi meta or the 4 and 5-cost units capable of decimating entire compositions like Jinx, Jhin, Vel’Koz, or Gangplank, Miss Fortune, and Xerath… Notably, at one point, the “Bluetooth” Master Yi was utilized by at least 3 or 4 players in the same match.
Additionally, the Pirate composition of Set 3 is regarded as one of the “overpowered” formations with a strong “money and item hack” mechanism that also boasts enough damage and resilience to carry the team. Units like Darius, Gangplank, or Jayce are considered very strong, with Darius costing only 2 gold and Jayce 3 gold – making them very easy to upgrade. Notably, the Pirate composition only consists of 4 units, making it perfectly suitable to integrate into other compositions and fully maximize the power of these units.
Set 4: The Chosen One Shakes Up Teamfight Tactics
Score: 7/10
This can be considered one of the least favorite seasons among players as it completely depended on the Chosen One mechanism – a new feature that left players with little room for creativity in new strategies and forced them to revolve around Chosen champions. If you didn’t quickly acquire strong Chosen units, that match was practically doomed.
Additionally, the fact that Riot continued to introduce overly “broken” units compared to the rest also contributed to player frustration in Set 5. With both broken units and the Chosen One mechanism, these already strong units became even stronger. Notably, some units like Lee Sin had a special mechanic that could kick opponents off the board. This meant that with proper composition arrangement, Lee Sin could easily incapacitate the enemy’s carry in just two skills.
Furthermore, in Set 4, the money and item hacking ability of the Pirate from the previous season was transferred to the God of Wealth, and the strategy of accumulating losses, also known as “exploding the jackpot,” was utilized by many players. This is a strong but highly risky mechanism for less skilled players, but it guarantees a large amount of gold and items if the “jackpot explosion” occurs in the mid-game phase.
In addition, Set 4 also introduced a champion named Ornn, who had the ability to upgrade items for other units in the composition. He is also one of the “broken” units of Set 4 and 4.5, especially if players acquired Ornn early, almost all units would have items made by Ornn from the start. If Ornn was upgraded, his item creation time would shorten, making him one of the most sought-after units in Teamfight Tactics season 4, alongside champions like Kayle, Ahri, Lee Sin, and Sett.
Set 5: The Introduction of Dark Items and the Spam Composition Phenomenon
Score: 7/10
Moving into Set 5, Teamfight Tactics is no longer just a game of luck; now skill plays a significant role. The changes forced players to learn much more from higher-ranked players and almost “copy” entire winning compositions according to formulas or well-reviewed metas on websites and YouTube channels. Therefore, it’s not uncommon to see posts and complaints from players to Riot about the phenomenon of “5 out of 8 players playing Demon in one match” or “every household is running Vel’Koz, everyone is running Vel’Koz.”
Additionally, the introduction of Dark Items further required players to utilize their skills more due to the trade-off involved when using them. For example, alongside certain items that offered more benefits than disadvantages, like the Hand of Vengeance or Blue Buff, they quickly became hot items and even “signature items” for some metas like LeBlanc “god chain” or Ryze “bind to death.” However, some other items rarely appeared or only showed up with specific champions like Bloodthirster (Draven) or Dark Lightning Bow (Hecarim).
Currently, Set 5 is nearing its conclusion and will be replaced by Set 5.5. Many players hope that Riot will truly make more positive and balanced changes so that the gameplay experience becomes less monotonous and players can freely create their compositions instead of just spamming one or two compositions according to instructions.