Hafu explains why RNG isn’t the reason you’re bad at Teamfight Tactics

Joe O'Brien

Twitch streamer Rumay ‘Hafu’ Wang explained why Teamfight Tactics players shouldn’t just blame RNG when things aren’t going their way.

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Teamfight Tactics is Riot Game’s take on the autobattler genre, and sees teams build compositions of League of Legends champions to take on opponents, with success determined by factors like  champion synergies, items, and levels.

Randomness in Teamfight Tactics has been one of the main points of criticism by players in the early stages of the game’s lifecycle, with many focusing in particular on the item RNG. There are several rounds in which players fight neutral monsters with chances to drop items, but bad luck in these rounds can lead to having limited items available and therefore a harder time in the game.

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Riot Games have actually already responded to this particular complaint, stating that while they don’t want to remove the RNG entirely, in the next major update they will be adjusting the early rounds to ensure some item drops are guaranteed and the potential variance in the number of drops players get is reduced.

Item RNG isn’t the only element of randomness in Teamfight Tactics, however, as players can also benefit or suffer depending on whether they find the champions they’re looking for in the shop, or even if the right champion or item comes up during the shared draft carousel.

Riot GamesTeamfight Tactics is Riot Game’s take on the autobattler genre.
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Some players may have a tendency to point to the randomness in the game when they don’t succeed, but Hafu, who is one of the top players in TFT, thinks this attitude isn’t helpful.

“People are like ‘oh my god I get so unlucky all the time!’ But in reality that’s just not true, you’re gonna have unfortunate rolls sometimes but your opponents are also going to have unfortunate rolls. It’s just a very toxic mentality to always think about all these elements you can’t control.”

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Hafu argues that like poker, in which a player’s success is influenced by the cards they draw, randomness can effect individual rounds, but when you look at a much larger set of results players who are more skilled at the game will consistently perform better.

Hafu was the number one-ranked player in Teamfight Tactics during the PBE, and recently finished fourth out of sixteen of the top TFT players in Pokimane’s $15,000 tournament, so she can certainly speak about the game with authority.

Fortunately for players who do find the RNG particularly frustrating, however, the worst-case scenario should be softened a little once Patch 9.14 arrives.

About The Author

Joe O'Brien was a veteran esports and gaming journalist, with a passion and knowledge for almost every esport, ranging from Call of Duty, to League of Legends, to Overwatch. He joined Dexerto in 2015, as the company's first employee, and helped shape the coverage for years to come.