In previous seasons of TFT, one of the factors that the community loved was the “jackpot” mechanism. This mechanism was born when resource-hacking traits were introduced, with the most notable being the Pirates in Season 3. This was also the season where players could easily implement resource-hacking gameplay because the units belonging to Pirates were very strong and could easily scale into the late game.
In the following seasons, most champions from traits like Fortune, Dragon Tribe, or currently Mercenaries are only used to exploit resources. Cheap units are “liquidated” as soon as players have enough economy and necessary items.
This mechanism also helps players experience thrilling moments. Players who follow the “selling health” strategy, also known as eco white, stacking losses waiting for the “jackpot” must carefully consider and require a lot of skill and luck. But sometimes, this playstyle can lead to certain frustrations, especially when those “dying and reviving” players early have 4 or 5 gold units at 3 stars and begin to dominate the board.
However, recently, the “father” of TFT – Riot Mortdog hinted that the “resource-hacking” mechanism might disappear starting from Season 7: “I think randomness, or the kind of ‘jackpot’ is a good factor for the game, but there must be a huge caveat. For example, if high risk comes with high reward, that would be good, right? It would be when you have a certain trait and you activate it at round 2-1. Then you could win at 5-1. But this kind of randomness is really hard to design. I don’t think we can repeat this every year. I will consider it, but it really is a challenge for us to redesign a mechanism similar to Mercenaries, although I also admit that it is very interesting.”
Thus, from Riot Mortdog’s sharing, it can be understood that in some future, even in Season 7, those traits that allow players to “jackpot” may disappear. And those players who “fall in love” with the “jackpot” mechanism may feel extremely disappointed and regretful if they have to say goodbye to a playstyle that, while frustrating, is also one of the most interesting in TFT.