As we say goodbye to Fates and move into Set 5, we can look forward to an entirely new game mode to enjoy based around the general Teamfight Tactics mechanics. With the arrival of Set 5, also comes the arrival of Hyper Roll. Hyper Roll is to TFT what ARAM is to Summoner’s Rift, but Hyper Roll doesn’t have the opportunity to turn into an unexpected forty-minute affair. Hyper Roll is a condensed version of TFT that focuses more on champions and items alone rather than levels and economy. Hyper Roll has arrived on the PBE and the execution is immaculate, here’s what you need to know.

What’s New

In Hyper Roll, the first change that you’ll notice when you load into the game is that you only have twenty health at the start of the game. This is because the amount of damage you take each time you lose is predetermined by what round you are on with initial losses dealing two damage, with the damage you take increasing to four on round 5-1, and all the way up to six on round 8-1. This health change is designed to create a streamlined and fast paced version of the game that focuses on other aspects of the game. 

The second major change is the structure of stages and rounds. The faster paced Hyper Roll game mode features only one shared draft that occurs at the very beginning of the game, and from there on out there are only PvP rounds, minion rounds, and Set 5’s new item rounds. Item rounds are depicted with the item cube TFT players are familiar with and allow you to select an item of your choice before the round starts that will be added to directly to your bench. Following the selection of an item, the round will proceed like a standard PvP round. Additionally, most stages only have two to three rounds with the outliers being stages one and nine. Below you can see an example of an item round, where a shadow item is offered. 

Now, the biggest change that comes with Hyper Roll is that you can no longer spend gold on leveling and your level will be determined by what stage you are on. For example, on stage five you will be level five and this pattern remains throughout the game. This creates a game mode where your gold can only be spent rerolling and buying champions hence the name of the game mode. Hyper Roll also removes the interest system and win streak/loss streak system so there is no penalty to losing except for the loss of health. Additionally, there is no benefit to saving gold other than to hyper roll for a unit at a specific level.

Game Plan

The game plan that comes with the new game mode has quickly been theorized to favor those who create strong early boards with items that can translate to late game carries as well. Most of the people I have seen win lobbies on the PBE often turn a strong early game into a powerful late game board. This strategy seems to succeed more often than sticking with the early board or waiting to roll for a late board. While the strategy for this brand-new game could change and likely will, this strategy is what has been dominating games so far. In the game below, I translate an early Spatula and Hellions board into a dominant position in the lobby. 

Appeal

Hyper Roll is a brilliant addition to the TFT lineup and adds a much-needed version of the game. The pacing of Hyper Roll is phenomenal with the shortest games taking about twelve minutes and the longest games taking around twenty. Hyper Roll delivers upon the idea of a quick, more casual with near perfect execution that something like ARAM lacks. Hyper Roll has measures in place, so you never experience that unexpected, often unwanted, forty-minute experience. Hyper Roll allows for the player to experience TFT without the potential of a forty-five-minute game. Hyper Roll is perfect for casual players who just want to try out experimental compositions, mess around, or simply not be that sweaty player who ran Kayle every game in Set 4.5. 

Hyper Roll is also a perfect complement to standard TFT. Hyper Roll complements standard TFT in that it is faster paced, hectic, and players often benefit by simply choosing a direction and committing to it. Hyper Roll is what that person who rerolls all their gold at level 6 has wished for since they started playing TFT. Hyper Roll is also perfect with friends as even when you have a bad game, you are only waiting around five minutes for your friends to finish up the lobby. 

Hyper Roll knows that it isn’t seriously competitive and the changed ranked mode that comes with it acknowledges that. Hyper Roll introduces a completely different ranked system than any other game mode in the League of Legends client in that it simply is based on points with wins granting more points than losses will ever take from you. In addition, Hyper Roll’s “ranked” system also removes the actual ranks we are used to and replaces them with colored badges. Hyper Roll has been confirmed to have a reward attached to hitting “Blue Rank” which if live is anything like the PBE, seems like it’s an achievable task for any dedicated player. The new “ranked” system which is more of a road to whatever reward is given, allows for players to still take the game mode seriously if they want with most players likely to just play the game mode for fun and with friends to check out the new set.

TFT Changes

There are some things to remember when moving into Hyper Roll and most of them have also been shipped to traditional TFT. The first thing to recall is that this is an entirely new set with new synergies and traits as well as new champions. The set also features Teemo who deals health when you purchase him rather than costing you gold. Teemo will in fact kill you if you buy the unit when you don’t have enough health to purchase him. 

Additionally, in this set we see the introduction of Shadow Items. Shadow Items combine to make similar items to what we expect them to make, but with some very unique text compared to what you may be used to. Shadow Items are often high impact, but keep in mind some of them do have some negative consequences.

Conclusion

The addition of Hyper Roll gives Teamfight Tactics its own identity and begins to develop the possibility of future unique game modes for Teamfight Tactics. Overall, Hyper Roll gives a great alternative to the traditional half hour to forty-minute edition of Teamfight Tactics. While Hyper Roll clearly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, it’s a nice alternative that could be preferred by the more casual player. With Set 5 on the horizon as well as Hyper Roll I hope you’ll check out Hyper Roll as it just might be the TFT game mode for you.