Teamfight Tactics’ new mid-set removes controversial Shadow Items

Shadow Items will disappear in Teamfight Tactics: Reckoning’s mid-set update, Dawn of Heroes. In lieu of the Shadow Items that players have been using for the past few months, Dawn of Heroes will introduce a feature called Radiant Items, Riot announced in a blog post on Friday.

Shadow Items were powerful tools that also came with major drawbacks. By powering up one member, you might weaken others nearby, or something similar. Radiant Items do not have these drawbacks, and only offer powerful boons for players and their units. But unlike Shadow Items, players will only get one Radiant Item each game.

In round 3-6 of Dawn of Heroes — which replaces the 3-2 Armory round, where players got a free item — the Radiant Armory will appear. Each Radiant Armory offers players five random Radiant Items, and they can choose the one that best fits their team composition. These items are much stronger than base items and even more powerful than Shadow Items were. For example, the Banshee’s Claw Radiant blocks the first spell against the holder of the item and all their allies. As a bonus, it also offers 200 bonus health for all allies.

Dawn of Heroes also adds the Divine Blessing mechanic, which can help players get back into a game that they’re losing. When players hit 40 HP, a Divine Blessing will appear on their board. Divine Blessings are the same for every player in a given game, and it’s a guaranteed drop for everyone. It can include gold, item components, consumables, spatulas, or even Champions.

The final new addition to the TFT formula is the rare Tome of Emblems item. The item occasionally drops from Divine Blessings or PvE monsters. When players pick it up, it moves on their bench. They can then drag the Tome to their shop to get a special selection of Emblems, allowing them to transform one of their units by offering them another Trait or Origin.

The Tomb of Emblems will help players get certain Emblems for characters now that all the Shadow Items are gone and Shadow Emblems are impossible to build.

The move from Shadow Items to Radiant will remove some of the complexity from Reckoning, one of the game’s most complex sets. But in turn it should provide a friendlier environment for all kinds of players.