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The days of going several minion rounds without receiving an item drop are behind us. With the newest update to Teamfight Tactics on the PBE server, item drops are only one of the several changes to come to the game mode.

After Rioter Richard “MapleNectar” Henkel announced that Twisted Fate was coming to TFT on patch 9.14, many were excited to see further changes. These changes are expected to roll out with the 9.14 patch.

Item drop changes

First things first, minions still have the ability to drop item components at random. However, players will face two Gromps at the end of the first round, and one Gromp is guaranteed to drop an item component. From this point on, the strongest monster of each minion round will always drop an item. In addition, the Dragon is guaranteed to drop a fully completed item.

Teamfight Tactics PBE changes: guaranteed item drops & ranked queue
A mystery item drop, from Sawgi on YouTube.

You will be able to determine which minion will drop the item component as well. This specific monster has one of three buffs during the fight. They will have Dragon’s Claw (which provides magic resistance), Guardian Angel, or the red buff. This does not indicate what the monster will drop, only which monster has the item. The Dragon stage can feature other items, as well.

Teamfight Tactics PBE changes: guaranteed item drops & ranked queue
A buffed-up Gromp encounter. From Sawgi, on YouTube.

It is still entirely possible to receive a random item drop from the melee or caster minions as well as the Gromp before starting PVP. However, this change ensures a consistent item drop from every monster camp as the game progresses. Players have been asking for guaranteed item drops, and it is great to see Riot responding to feedback during Teamfight Tactics’s beta.

Introduction of ranked

Ranked is now included in Teamfight Tactics on PBE! At the end of every match, the top four players will gain ELO, while the bottom four will lose ELO. The current number of placement matches on the PBE is five matches before officially getting a rank.

As time goes on, hopefully we will have more information on what determines ELO gained. For example, once you have a steady rank established, one would imagine a loss of ELO to be different if you placed fifth rather than last place. In addition, it might make sense to have placing first carry more weight in promotional matches.

Item changes

All items that provide a buff to adjacent champions now have a clear animation to show who is receiving the buff. Many items now have clearer descriptions as well. Zeke’s Convergence is an item that is affected by both of these changes. Not only does the item show an animation to highlight adjacent champions, but the item now clearly only buffs allies at the start of each round.

Zeke’s Convergence indicator, from Sawgi on YouTube.

Runaan’s Hurricane has been changed and now summons a spirit to mirror your attacks. The spirit deals 25 percent of your damage and applies on-hit effects, but it only hits one additional target.

Red buff and Morellonomicon now are the same effect, but with red buff affecting physical damage and Morello’s affecting magic damage. These items also received a buff that completely prevents healing.

Other buffs

Demons received a buff as well. They now deal percentage-based true damage, depending on how much mana is burned.

New Demon tooltip, from Sawgi on YouTube.

What do you think about the newest changes to Teamfight Tactics? What buffs, nerfs, or changes do you think still need to be made? We’d love to hear your feedback below! We’re also putting out many guides to give you the best compositions.