TFT Set 8.5 Glitched Out: New Champions and Traits

Everything New in TFT Set 8.5: Uncharted Realms

Set 8 is coming to a close, and Set 8.5 is looking to bring a breath of fresh air to the game.

Keep in mind that the information for new champions are constantly being updated on the PBE. Our website will continually be updated, so make sure to check out the Champions Page to stay updated on any changes.

To see ALL the new changes, head to our all-in-one TFT page for Set 8.5.

When Does Set 8.5 Glitched Out go live?

Set 8.5 Glitched Out officially goes live on Wednesday, March 22nd with the launch of Patch 13.5.

Everything Leaving TFT Set 8

Here’s a list of the Champions and Traits leaving Set 8. Note: Champions with a trait gone but still remaining, (like Ashe and Recon) will have their traits reworked.

Traits

• Civilian
• Recon

Champions

• Galio
• Sivir
• Senna
• Sett
• Zac
• Talon
• Zoe
• Cho’Gath
• Soraka
• Sejuani
• Yuumi
• Vel’Koz
• Zed
• Taliyah
• Aphelios

TFT Set 8.5 New Tacticians

Can’t go a new update without some new little legends to play. Here are the new Tacticians coming to 8.5.

Scuttle

Noctero

Shork

No image yet 🙁

Chibi Zed

Chibi Project Zed

Rango Squad (Multiple Colors)

Red Hot Rango

Ultra Threat Whisker (Mythic)

Super Evil Sprite (Battle Pass)

Nemesis Nimblefoot (Battle Pass)

TFT Set 8.5 Mechanics Update

Every mid set update usually comes with a small system update to keep the game mechanics fresh. Here’s the new change coming to Set 8.5

Item Pop Off

Whenever you take something from the carousel, the item on the champion (or non champion) will pop off automatically now. FINALLY. No more auto combining into things you didn’t want.

Glitched Carousels

Set 8.5 now comes with “Glitched Carousels,” which contain things different than usual. The Stage 2 Carousel will always be glitched, while others have a chance to be glitched as well. Some examples include champions having 2 items, or the champions all being Item Armories instead.

TFT Set 8.5 New Traits

InfiniTeam

Bonus: The InfiniTeam opens a portal to an alternate timeline. At the start of combat, any InfiniTeam unit placed on a portal summons an alternate version of themself with different items. They get 1 for each Augment you own. The copies have reduced Health and damage.

• (3): 1 portal opens, 40% damage and 40% HP.
• (5): 2 portals open, 55% damage and 55% HP.
• (7): 2 portals open, 90% damage and 90% HP.

Champions: Lucian (1), Pantheon (1), Sivir (2), Shen (3), Twisted Fate (4), Ultimate Ezreal (5)

First Impressions:

InfiniTeam looks to be an interesting early game trait. In Stage 2, having an extra unit with an item can be quite a good power spike. Also, it would appear that the portal locations on the board differ every game (but is the same for every player in a game).

Getting to higher levels on InfiniTeam sound quite good, but putting in units like Lucian, Pantheon, and Sivir in the late game seem like too many wasted units. I would imagine most comps will stick with 3 InfiniTeam.

Quickdraw

Bonus: After every 2 damaging ability projectiles, Quickdraw units fire a bonus ability
projectile. Bonus Shot Damage:

• (2): 60% total damage.
• (3): 100% total damage.
• (4): 140% total damage.

Champions: Lucian (1), Ezreal (2), Kai’Sa (3), Miss Fortune (4)

First Impressions:

Quickdraw is essentially the new Recon, a backline DPS focused trait with only a few units. Quickdraw is quite nice as Lucian and Ezreal provide an early bonus, and in the late game, Ultimate Ezreal can synergize with Lucian for InfiniTeam while also providing Parallel with both Ezreals.

Miss Fortune seems a bit like the odd one out, making 4 Quickdraw teams seem unlikely to me. All of the units are also heavy magic damage based, so be sure to build the right items on them. (Mana generation, AP damage, Crit, etc)

Riftwalker

Bonus: (3) Riftwalkers open a gap between dimensions and summon their ally Zac,
who grows in power based on the star level of Riftwalkers.

Champions: Pyke (2), Vex (3), Jhin (4)

First Impressions:

Zac is no longer a unit you can buy in the shop, but you can still summon him with the Riftwalker trait. This is quite an interesting trait, as having an additional tank on the team is quite valuable. The issue comes with synergizing all of the units together. Pyke is a Hacker, Vex is a Mascot, and Jhin is a Renegade.

This makes it seem like team building can be quite limited for Riftwalker teams (likely Jhin based). Even still, if Zac is a powerful enough unit, this small synergy can be an effective one.

Parallel

Bonus: (2) Ezreal learns from his older, more handsome self and joins him in future
adventures. Ezreal’s Ability becomes a blast that hits all enemies in a line. Ultimate Ezreal’s Ability summons one additional temporal duplicate.

Champions: Ezreal (2), Ultimate Ezreal (5)

First Impressions:

Without a doubt, everyone will be trying to play Ultimate Ezreal when the Set releases. The ability is just too cool to not want to do. There are also plenty of transitions you can with with Underground, InfiniTeam, or Quickdraw to get you to level 8.

We will have to see if Ultimate Ezreal can carry the same way the Aphelios did in Set 8, but a regular Ezreal carry that gets stronger once you find Ultimate Ezreal looks to be promising already.

Set 8.5 New Champions: Tips, First Impressions, and Positioning

Positioning Key

We’ll be giving basic positioning suggestions for every champion to get the ball rolling for you, but remember that positioning is incredibly contextual in TFT and to always adapt to the situation at hand.

The terminology we’ll be using in this article will be frontline, midline, and backline.

1-Cost Champions

Lucian – InfiniTeam + Quickdraw

Ability: PASSIVE: Lucian’s attacks deal bonus magic damage. ACTIVE: Lucian fires 4 shots in his target’s direction. Each shot deals magic damage to the first target hit.

First Impressions: Lucian seems like a fairly simple backline DPS for the early game. InfiniTeam is a new trait, and getting 3 early looks to be a solid way to try and win streak. Also, as one of the few new units, lots of people will probably pick him up from the shop. The Quickdraw trait and low mana pool makes Lucian a good Blue Buff holder early game. Overall, a solid unit that can flex a lot of items well.

Positioning: Backline

Pantheon – InfiniTeam + Heart

Ability: Pantheon leaps onto his target, dealing magic damage (scales off Magic Resist) and stunning them for 1.5 seconds. He then grants himself a Health shield for 4 seconds.

First Impressions: Pantheon is an interesting unit. Cho’Gath was another unit whose ability scaled off MR. Considering he has a decent amount of utility in his kit, I expect Pantheon to be another solid early pickup alongside Lucian. The Heart trait does make it a bit awkward, as he doesn’t have any tank traits to help him out.

Positioning: Frontline

2-Cost Champions

Pyke – Riftwalker + Hacker

Ability: Pyke stabs his current target for true damage. He then summons a phantom at his current location and dashes behind the furthest enemy. After 1 second, the phantom returns to Pyke, stunning all enemies it passes through and dealing magic damage to them.

First Impressions: Pyke seems to be quite the strong unit. His CC ability is very powerful for only a 2-cost unit, and even without Hacker, it’s still a strong ability. If you lower your frontline and can make the enemy walk forward, you can almost guarantee a stun on their corner carry, as long as your Pyke is on the opposite side.

Frozen Heart isn’t in the game anymore, so we won’t see that interaction, but I like that Pyke brings some utility to the Hacker trait rather than it being solely for a carry or some Omnivamp.

Positioning: Backline

3-Cost Champions

Gnar – Gadgeteen + Prankster

Ability: Gnar slashes around himself, dealing physical damage (110% Attack Damage) to enemies hit. His current target takes 300% damage and the Ability critically strikes them.

First Impressions: Gnar is replacing Zoe as a Gadgeteen unit, which I have mixed feelings about. Without Zoe, the Gadgeteen trait seems to lack a solid source of damage. On the bright side, Gnar does scale well with Attack Damage, which the trait lacked before, but I’m still a bit worried for the trait.

Zoe was also very flexible with Prankster and Hacker, while Gnar is only a Prankster. I’m not too high on Gnar at the moment, but he could be a powerful hybrid frontliner.

Positioning: Frontline

Morgana – Threat

Ability: PASSIVE: When Morgana deals damage to an enemy, she 40% Sunders and Shreds them for 4 seconds. ACTIVE: Morgana sends out dark bindings towards the 2 closest enemies, dealing magic damage and stunning them for 1.5 seconds.

First Impressions: Morgana seems like a unit that a lot of teams will want, or every board in the mid game will want. Being able to Sunder and Shred is huge, and her ability is also a powerful CC effect. I expect Morgana to be heavily contested in the mid game and even the late game.

Positioning: Frontline

Shen – InfiniTeam + Defender + Hacker

Ability: Shen tethers himself to the ally who has done the most damage this round and reduces all damage he takes for 3.5/4/5 seconds. While the tether is active, his ally is invunerable and any damage they would take is redirected to Shen instead.

First Impressions: Shen looks to be a solid frontliner, boasting three traits, making him a flexible pickup. His ability on the other hand is interesting to evaluate. In a normal front to back fight, it feels like his tether will be useless and mostly a damage reduction. However, vs AP comps that bypass frontline or Hackers, Shen can be the difference between your carry living and dying.

Positioning: Frontline

Vex – Riftwalker + Mascot

Ability: Vex launches a blast of gloom at her current target, dealing magic damage. Every third cast, her gloom becomes unstoppable, passing through enemies and dealing magic damage to each enemy hit.

First Impressions: Vex is another Riftwalker and Mascot, meaning that Riftwalker teams will most likely gravitate toward Mascot for at least one team  slot. Her ability is damage focused, and she will likely be a midline unit. Yuumi is no longer in the game, so maybe Vex will take up the mantle of Mascot AP damage carry.

Positioning: Midline

4-Cost Champions

Aatrox – Threat

Ability: Aatrox sucks the soul of nearby enemies dealing magic damage and gaining maximum Health (40/40/150% of his max HP ). He then unleashes his demonic form for the rest of combat, replacing his spell with The Darkin Blade.

The Darkin Blade: Aatrox slams his greatsword down on his target, dealing magic damage to all enemies hit and healing himself.

First Impressions: Aatrox is replacing Zac as a 4-cost Threat, and he is more of a hybrid tank and damage dealer rather than a true tank. Aatrox’s tankiness relies on his damage and healing, making him want different items than a traditional tank. Personally, I think Aatrox is a much less flexible unit than Zac, as he needs more help to be a strong frontliner.

Positioning: Frontline

Garen – Mecha:PRIME + Defender

Ability: Garen brings his sword down on a nearby enemy, dealing physical damage (170/170/450% of Attack Damage) to enemies within 2 hexes and stunning them for 1.8/2/8 seconds.

First Impressions: Garen is replacing Sett as the 4-cost Defender Mecha, and his ability is more damage and CC focused rather than Sett’s damage and shield ability. I expect Garen to be played similarly to Sett, and maybe his damage will be a bit stronger than Sett’s. Garen will likely be played out similarly to Sett in the previous set.

Positioning: Frontline

Jhin – Riftwalker + Renegade

Ability: PASSIVE: Jhin’s Attack Speed is always 0.8/0.8/1. He converts 80% of bonus Attack Speed into Attack Damage and replaces every 4th attack with an Ability cast.

ACTIVE: Fire a bullet towards the lowest health enemy, dealing physical damage (244/244/544% Attack Damage) to all enemies in a line, increased based on their missing Health. The bullet’s damage is reduced by 43% each time it hits an enemy.

First Impressions: Jhin is almost always a consistent backline carry in every set he is in. Riftwalker is a smaller trait that provides Hacker and Mascot. Renegade, on the other hand, might be more difficult to splash in as you use weaker units like Sylas or Camille until you can find Leona. Maybe there will be a Riftwalker Mecha Prime team comp that uses Jhin as the backline carry. That’s my initial impression so far.

Positioning: Backline

Neeko – Star Guardian + Spellslinger

Ability: Neeko throws out her frog familiar at her target. It hops to the nearest enemy 3 times, each dealing magic damage to enemies in an area. The last hop is empowered, dealing magic damage to enemies in a larger area instead.

First Impressions: Neeko is replacing Taliyah and is the exact same Star Guardian Spellslinger unit. While her ability is different, I expect the game plan to remain almost the same. Probably a Shojin carry with Jeweled Gauntlet, similar to Taliyah. It’s a bit less exciting, but maybe this will bring more consistency to AP comps as Taliyah could sometimes whiff her ability, or nuke the enemy carry.

Positioning: Backline

Twisted Fate – InfiniTeam + Duelist + Spellslinger

Ability: Twisted Fate draws 6/6/12 cards and begins drawing another card after every auto attack. After 2.5 seconds, Twisted Fate throws all of his drawn cards, each dealing magic damage. The final card thrown is a red card that deals magic damage to nearby enemies.

First Impressions: Twisted Fate is a unique addition to the game as he is both a Duelist and a Spellslinger. He may fit into both vertical Duelist or Spellslinger comps, but it will be hard to know. His ability appears to scale better with Attack Speed than Ability Power, but we won’t know for sure until more games are tested.

Positioning: Backline

Warwick – A.D.M.I.N. + Lasercorps + Brawler

Ability: PASSIVE: Warwick gains Omnivamp. Upon his first takedown, he enters KILL MODE 2.0, granting himself 60% Attack Speed and causing him to leap to new targets for the rest of combat.

ACTIVE: Warwick attacks his target 6 times, dealing a total of physical damage. (459/480/800% Attack Damage). If his target dies he gains 10 mana for each remaining slash.

First Impressions: Warwick is replacing Zed as a 4-cost Laser Corps carry, and he seems to fit the role much better. His Admin trait synergizes with Leblanc, a Hacker unit, and his Brawler trait helps make him tanky. Having a tanky bruiser unit jump into your backline is unsettling for many comps. I expect Warwick to be a popular carry unless his numbers are underwhelming.

Positioning: Midline

5-Cost Champions

Ultimate Ezreal – InfiniTeam + Parallel + Sureshot

Ability: Ezreal shatters the timestream, calling in 5/5/25 temporal duplicates of himself that each fire a blast of energy towards the largest group of enemies. Enemies hit by a blast take physical damage (133/133/276% of Attack Damage).

First Impressions: Ultimate Ezreal is one of the most flavorful addition to the game. If you have both Ezreals, the 2-cost Ezreal’s ability will be much more powerful. Ezreal himself can also add a lot of damage to team comps. Relying on hitting Ezreal can be difficult, but with Underground still in the game, I expect them to go for Ultimate Ezreal as their end game.

Positioning: Backline

Other Champion Changes

Ashe – Laser Corps + Sureshot

Changes: Recon -> Sureshot

Ashe being a Sureshot is nice as you can activate the trait easier in the early game with something like Ashe + Sivir. Sureshot now also has a (3) trait bonus, making it easier to transition with in the mid game.

Ezreal – Underground + Parallel + Quickdraw

Changes: +Parallel, Recon -> Quickdraw

Ezreal is looking to be a hot commodity. His new parallel trait makes him much stronger when combined with Ultimate Ezreal. Furthermore, his new Quickdraw trait allows him to pair alongside Lucian, another early game unit that looks to be quite strong.

Sivir – InfiniTeam + Sureshot

Changes: Civilian -> InfiniTeam

Sivir is mostly the same, but Civilian never really was a trait people cared about. Either you wanted Galio for Mascot, Sivir for Sureshot, or Janna for Windy. With InfiniTeam, Sivir finds herself in a more loving home.

Kai’Sa – Star Guardian + Quickdraw

Changes: Recon -> Quickdraw

Kai’Sa’s ability synergizes well with her Quickdraw trait, and it will be interesting to see if Quickdraw becomes the new Recon trait that can use Threats well.

Vayne – Anima Squad + Duelist

Changes: -Recon

Vayne is losing her Recon trait, which is a bit unfortunate. She will still be seen in vertical Duelist comps, and Anima Squad comps will likely use her as a trait bot as well.

Miss Fortune – Anima Squad + Ace + Quickdraw

Changes: +Quickdraw

I’m not sure what to think about Miss Fortune being a Quickdraw. I believe it works with only one ability cast, turning 8 waves of bullets into 12 waves, but I’m not too sure yet. Anima Squad comps are already quite tight on units, so fitting in Quickdraw may be hard. Even still, it’s a way to scale MF’s damage, making it a strong option to include.

Viego – Ox Force + Renegade + Heart

Changes: +Heart

Viego is gaining the Heart trait, which synergizes very well with his kit. None of the Heart units seem to synergize too well with the Ox Force units, but having a Syndra in the late game can boost Viego’s carry potential through the fight.

Other Trait Changes

Ox Force

Bonus: Ox Force units gain bonus defenses. Once per combat, when they would drop below one health, they instead go to one health and become  immune to damage for 1 second.

• (2) 20 Armor and Magic Resist
• (4) 50 Armor and Magic Resist
• (6) 125 Armor and Magic Resist

Changes:

Ox Force now gives bonus resistances rather than bonus Attack Speed. Attack Speed was kind of a weird bonus to work around. While it was great for the early game and Aphelios, Viego barely cared about it. The bonus resistances is nice, but it will be interesting to see if the trait has enough damage compared to other comps.

Laser Corps

Bonus: When a LaserCorp agent attacks or is hit by an attack, their combat drone deals magic damage to the agent’s target (0.4 second cooldown). When an agent dies, their drone is reassigned to the nearest living agent. Drone lasers deal:

• (3) 30 magic damage
• (4) 42 magic damage
• (5) 50 magic damage. All units get a LaserCorp drone.
• (6) 70 magic damage. All units get a LaserCorp drone.

Changes:

Laser Corps is mostly the same, but now, the (5) trait gives everyone on your team a drone rather than only Laser Corps units. This should make Laser Corps more interesting and flexible rather than simply trying to go as vertical as possible every game.

Hacker

Bonus: Hackers gain Omnivamp and summon a H4ckerr!m. Any unit placed in the rider hex will be sent to the enemy backline and is untargetable for the first few seconds of combat.

• (2) +15% Omnivamp
• (3) +30% Omnivamp for Hackers, 10% for the rider
• (4) +40% Omnivamp for Hackers, 20% for the rider

Changes:

This new change allows for non Hacker units to gain Omnivamp, making Hacker much more flexible than before. Even still, this bonus only applies at (3), so it may not see too much play.

Sureshot

Bonus: Combat start: Sureshots gain bonus Attack Damage now, and every 4 seconds.

• (2) +5% Attack Damage
• (3) +10% Attack Damage
• (4) +15% Attack Damage
• (5) +21% Attack Damage

Changes:

Sureshot now has trait intervals with every Sureshot you add, making it much more flexible in game. We mostly saw comps go for 2 Sureshot toward the end of Set 8, as putting in 4 was often too hard unless you had an Emblem. Now, there is more variety in how many Sureshots you want in your comp to balance your frontline and backline.

Closing Words

Overall, Set 8.5 is one of the smaller mid set updates. There are some notable changes, but overall, the feel of the set doesn’t look like it’ll change too much. The Glitched Carousels will be a fun addition to see, but I worry a bit about the longevity of the mid set.

Even still, a lot of the new additions look very fun to play with, so there’s lots to be excited about.

To learn about the new TFT Set, head to our all-in-one Teamfight Tactics Set 8.5 reveal page that covers all champions, traits, and more!