Damage-heavy compositions and burst damage in a short time frame have always been essential in auto chess games, and Teamfight Tactics is no exception. However, in the current Season 3, this is no longer 100% true as Sorcerer compositions are gradually disappearing in the metagame’s evolution. So, what is the reason?
Damage is no longer superior
A common trait of damage-heavy compositions is their incredible damage output in the late game. When fully assembled, they can wipe out enemy teams in one skill cast. However, in this Season 3, this is no longer the case; a multitude of champions capable of dealing significant burst damage rivals that of the Sorcerers. Notably, we have champions like Shaco, Irelia, and Jhin, delivering critical hits with thousands of damage.
Moreover, the requirement to have a complete composition to be strong leaves the Sorcerer builds feeling out of place in a meta where players must maximize their levels, and even a small combo can determine victory or defeat. Therefore, the most viable composition that includes Sorcerers is Pilot – Sorcerer; however, the goal is merely to enhance your Super Robot’s damage rather than playing traditional Sorcerer gameplay.
Too dependent on items
Of course, every champion or composition needs important items to unleash their power, but for Sorcerers, they are entirely reliant on this element of chance. As former pro player Scarra mentioned, you should only play Sorcerers if you have plenty of Tear of the Goddess; and by plenty, I mean more than 4, not just 1 or 2.
This dependency stems from the fact that the basic attack damage and attack speed of Sorcerers are extremely poor. Therefore, to charge energy quickly, you need as many Archangel’s Staffs as possible to unleash skills. If not, just allowing an opponent to survive through one turn of your skills can turn the tide against you. Not to mention Vel’Koz, the main damage dealer of this composition, sometimes has moments of ‘going underground’ due to player error.
What does Riot need to do to fix this?
In the latest updates from the PBE patch, Riot has introduced the new Sorcerer unit Xerath into Teamfight Tactics and added an 8 Sorcerer combo. Indeed, this unit is quite powerful for its expensive price of 5 gold; however, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Riot needs to address the energy starvation issue of the Sorcerer composition if they want them to truly be part of the meta.
Star Guardians provide that energy stat, but ironically, the champion with the highest magic damage in the Sorcerer team is Vel’Koz, who isn’t part of that race. Perhaps Riot needs to completely revamp the Star Guardian trait to enhance energy for the entire composition, allowing main damage dealers to unleash their skills freely, and players can confidently acquire more AP items instead of desperately searching for Star Guardian Blessings as they currently do.