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Teamfight Tactics recently released the brand-new Inkborn Fables update, completely changing the game. Using a theme of mythic legends and fantastic spirits, it launched back on March 20, 2024, for both PC and mobile players. Originally teased during the TFT Remix Rumble Championship Finals, it’s now available to play for everyone.
We had a chance to sit down with several developers of the Teamfight Tactics: Inkborn Fables set to learn more about the new characters, what makes it special, and what the secret sauce is that keeps the Autobattler relevant. With many of the original Autobattler/Autochess games falling off in popularity, TFT remains a popular option.
We spoke to Lynda Tang (Set Lead Designer/Senior Tech Designer), Michael Sloan (Game Designer), and Michael Sherman (Head of Teamfight Tactics Esports) to learn more about the game. While sadly we have no idea if the new Kobuko will be available in League of Legends in the future, he would certainly fit right in.
Teamfight Tactics developers open up about the latest update: Inkborn Fables
Q. Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. Teamfight Tactics continues to go strong with the latest update, Inkborn Fables. It has a unique aesthetic, and a wealth of new content, but what inspired the visual design?
Lynda Tang (Set Lead Designer and Senior Tech Designer): I wanted Inkborn Fables (Set 11) to feel like a refreshing vacation after the amazing party that was Remix Rumble (Set 10), and to capture that setting in a way that felt different than the previous sets we’ve shipped.
I went to our Senior Art Director Tori Ero and our Senior 3D Environment Artist Phillip Zhang with the idea of exploring League of Legends champions in a painting. They created a beautiful world for the set with different biomes and their individual aesthetics.
Q. Teamfight Tactics's Inkborn Fables offers an impressive list of champions, including two new ones: Alune and Kobuko. While Alune was familiar, due to Aphelio's lore, Kobuko is brand new! Can you give us more information about their design philosophy?
Michael Sloan (Game Designer): We knew right away we wanted to feature Alune as her own character in the Inborn Fables world, and we wanted to show she’s got her own formidable strengths. So we settled pretty early on making her a damage-oriented moon-mage, and that never really changed.
Amusingly, Kobuko also didn’t change much in terms of gameplay. We knew we wanted a Yordle tank for the Fortune trait, and our team united around the idea of a big, cheerful, friendly character almost immediately.
Our rough draft for what would become Kobuko was the line “he dances, and while dancing he heals,” which is really close to how he shipped. Then we started writing a character and exploring concept art, making sure that he always looked and sounded huggable and jovial, but also wise and considerate.
The reason he’s a martial artist rather than just a large Yordle is because we wanted to make sure he had a flexible identity, so we have options for when he next appears in Teamfight Tactics. With his magical paws and his martial prowess, Kobuko could appear as a primary tank, a supportive front-liner, or even a durable brawler in future sets!
Q. On that note, with Kobuko being brand new, is there any chance of them appearing in either Wild Rift or the Standard League of Legends game? Or does that depend on how they're received in Teamfight Tactics?
Lynda: We’d be happy if Kobuko could be used outside of Teamfight Tactics, but we don’t know whether he’ll be appearing in either game yet, and we aren’t able to promise anything.
Q. What I think is interesting, is the Autochess genre itself. It really exploded a few years ago, with games like Dota Underlords and others really blowing up, but then losing their fanbases. What's the secret sauce for Teamfight Tactics remaining in the spotlight?
Lynda: Early on, we made the decision that instead of following a drip content model, TFT would follow a full set swap model.
This decision meant that players would always have new content to look forward to, and we could use a set to try out unique mechanics that may or may not work, but would give us a chance to start off with a clean slate in the next set. This allowed us to accelerate our learning and understanding of the genre.
Q. While Teamfight Tactics is an interesting, fun way to dive into LoL's lore, it's not a perfect title. Are there any recent bits of negative feedback you've heard from fans that you plan on addressing?
Lynda: We think about TFT as a way for players to engage with beloved League of Legends champions in a fun, different format as a strategy game. We're really happy about the player response to Inkborn Fables thus far, and we're excited to hear more feedback from fans throughout the set!
Q. Do you have a favorite aspect or portion of the Inkborn Fables update? Something you think players might not expect to be exceptionally powerful or fun?
Lynda: My favorite thing to do in Inkborn Fables is to figure out what interesting team comps I can build, especially with the Exalted pool. It’s been a blast trying to mash two comps that are usually far apart together!
Michael Sloan: Lynda took my answer, so I’ll fall back to the joy of watching Bard with Trickshot active. He’s a pretty solid carry, and seeing Meeps bounce around and shred enemy backlines never gets old for me.
Q. Inkborn Fables features a brand-new feature: Encounters. These randomly put legendary figures in play to give players bonuses or adjust the game in some way. Is there any worry that these will wildly unbalance matches?
Michael Sloan: Not really! We designed Encounters to be something every player in a game will experience fairly equally. While you can sometimes high-roll an encounter that’s better for you than for another player, TFT has a lot of these moments already, and figuring out how to navigate around them is part of the main skill test of the game.
We’ll keep an eye out for stuff that might be more warping than expected, and if we need to make changes to individual encounters for game health, we can!
Q. There are so many champions, traits, augments, and ways to play in Teamfight Tactics. With as many updates as the game has had, it can be pretty overwhelming. Are there any points of advice you have for new players who are just coming to the game?
Lynda: Pick a comp or character that you like and just focus on learning that as a baseline, then branch out!
Michael Sloan: I always teach new players to build Econ (gold) and learn some itemization basics like having a good mix of frontline and backline items, which they can use to help their team.
Since those are core skills that remain the same from set-to-set and let you start seeing success early, I think it’s a great place to start once you’ve explored a bit and have a rough idea of how a team comps together.
Q. Compared to other tactical, strategy games, what do you think makes Teamfight Tactics such a special game?
Lynda: I think what makes TFT special is that the focus of the game is not just on the strategy. We spend a lot of time making TFT fun to watch after you’ve assembled your team. It has the same feeling as tinkering with a machine and then watching it play out in expected, or maybe unexpected, ways.
One of the things I try to emphasize is that we as designers have to “love” the champions we put in the game, since we know that there are players who will be excited to see the champion they love do something cool. It’s important for us to capture that fantasy.
Q. There are plenty of tournaments for Teamfight Tactics, which is great to see. What has the overall reception been to it as a competitive game?
Michael Sherman (Head of TFT Esports): As a player vs. player game, TFT is inherently competitive. Players love getting that feeling of outsmarting seven other players in a game to win. That's part of why we want to make competing in TFT approachable to all players. Similar to a game like chess, we're focused on the sheer number of competitors in our scene, and we've seen great responses to that strategy so far.
Last year, we ran our first TFT Open in Las Vegas, a 512 player tournament with a $300k prize pool on the line. When we released tickets to players, they sold out in less than five minutes. With the launch of Inkborn Fables, we released an overhaul to our global competitive scene to give more players around the world access to the competition, and so far we're really excited with how it's been received.
Q. What's the future hold for Teamfight Tactics? If you could release an update or setting based on anywhere in/around Runeterra, what would it be?
Lynda: We can’t reveal any plans for future sets right now, but I’d personally like to do a set centered around Shurima one day!
Michael Sloan: If you gave me unlimited time, money, and a massive art budget? I’d love to do a comedy-action-adventure set in Bilgewater themed around Twisted Fate and Graves pulling off a grand heist. Ever since I saw the Double-Double Cross video, I’ve wanted more in that setting.
Teamfight Tactics' Inkborn Fables is now available as a free update for the Riot Games Autobattler, on both PC and mobile devices.
