Thoughts on TFT

So i've gotten in some good playing time on TFT already and i think i've played enough to share some initial thoughts.

First of all i think TFT is a lot of fun and definitely has some potential. My two biggest complaints are that i feel like it's too much RNG and also the the game isn't quite as respectful of our time as it should be.

I'll start by asking a big question... why does this game need to have multiple players? IMO it would make the most sense to just play a single player one on one for a couple of rounds. Not only would this speed things up but there'd be more skill in trying to counter your opponent and playing the psychological game, as opposed to just optimizing your play to beat the average.

On the same note, i feel like minion waves as a sort of gear check type of thing are pointless and they are a waste of time. I want to be playing against other players, not against the AI. As for the XP and items gains from these rounds, just give me the items and XP directly or find other ways to progress the player, we don't need to sit their and watch our champs beat AI to accomplish that.

Same thing can be said for the shared draft round. It's a lot of time spent on a mini-game that realistically does not add anything to the core value of the game. This is supposed to be strategy/decision making gaming, a mini game that tests your precision and reflexes is pointless and frankly just boring and a waste of time. I get these things, the draft, the minion waves, etc. add to the "experience" and add a little bit of variety i guess, but if there's one thing Riot has always done better than other companies it's respecting the player. I may not speak for everyone but i am playing TFT for the chess-like strategic aspect, not the mini games, not to have the feeling of farming like in LoL, etc. I really don't think this stuff adds anything positive to the game.

The shared draft round could easily be replaced by giving each player a random selection of champions on their own screen. We could just decrease the chance of rare champions and items, decrease the selection, etc. for the higher scored players. Simply put there are better and more efficient ways to re-balance gear and champion comps.

I think there are also a bunch of QoL fixes that could again, have us spend less time on presentation and waiting and more time making decisions and seeing our decisions play out in battle. Things such as a ready check so that if everyone is ready the round can start. Not making us wait 15 seconds in the "planning" stage at the start of the game when there really is no planning to be done, not having shared drafts and minion waves. I think the possibility of giving us "time cards" for use in later rounds when you need a little extra time planning are also an interesting idea.

As for the RNG aspect i feel like half the skill in this game is making the best of the hand that your dealt. And while that is definitely a skill, i am wondering if a more static approach might be better and feel more skillful and rewarding. For example, maybe let players choose items and champions directly. I'm not sure of Riot's thought process was for not doing it that way, i guess we run into the issue that chess runs into where it could become a solved game rather quickly, but i think if the game is balanced enough and players get good at countering certain moves, i think we could avoid that problem. There are still RNG elements in the simulation itself, and also in not know what your opponent will do next.

As of now it's just a little too heavily RNG based if you ask me. Again, i get that making the best out of whatever situation you are dealt is a skill, but it comes at the cost of RNG being a big factor. I think even if we don't let players statically choose their paths, i do think there are better ways to decrease RNG while not removing it completely.

For example let's say you want a certain item and you have a random chance to get it each round. Maybe we could add something where the player can pay into increasing the chances for that item to drop until it does. Same thing can be said for champions. I think this might be an interesting way to keep that X factor in the game, while reducing the chances that a bad streak of luck can completely screw you over.

Anyway that's it for me. Let me know if you agree or disagree and why. Looking forward to seeing what Riot does with TFT.