League of Legends strategy game Teamfight Tactics is getting a temporary single-player PvE mode called Ao Shin’s Ascent later in September, Riot Games has announced.
Teamfight Tactics is the 2019 spinoff of Riot’s enormously popular MOBA League of Legends based on Dota Auto Chess. Eight players build teams and fight to be the last person standing, with their units automatically battling after being placed strategically on the game board between rounds. Riot describes TFT as “the world’s largest PC strategy game.”
TFT is traditionally a PvP game, but Ao Shin’s Ascent, due out September 24, is its first-ever progression-focused PvE mode. Players take on escalating PvE battles and bosses, with roguelite progression that grants permanent power in the mode’s Journey Track.
Ao Shin
Here’s the official info, from developer Riot Games:
SUMMIT THE MOUNTAIN: Climb the mountain while strengthening your board, arming yourself with powerful Augments, and preparing for an ultra-powerful Boss.
CRAFT YOUR PATH AND CHALLENGE: Select your difficulty, your Guide, the Boss you’ll fight, and more to make every run feel and play differently!
KEY MECHANIC; GUIDES: The odds aren’t stacked in your favor at the start — recruiting a selection of unlockable Guides can help turn the tides by giving you access to novel strategies and power! Take Zoe for random loot, or grab a bundle-exclusive Guide like Battle Queen Gwen to access powerful Items from various TFT sets!
PROGRESS TO THE SUMMIT WIN OR LOSE: Make progress on your climb win or lose, via the Journey Track. The more runs you take on, the stronger you get!
UNLOCK GUIDES AND POWER WITH THE FREE JOURNEY TRACK: Unlock Guides, and power through the Journey Track. Clear the summit with at least 12 Guides to claim a free Ao Shin’s Ascent Portal reward.
PURCHASE BUNDLES: The Ao Shin’s Ascent Guide Pack (575 RP) comes with an emote and both Bundle-exclusive Guides: Truth Dragon Yasuo and Battle Queen Gwen. And the Ao Shin’s Ascent Mega Bundle (2780 RP) comes with that Emote, both Guides, Legendary Little Legend: Awakened Ao Shin, the Little Legend Sol Harbinger Ao Shin, and the second K.O. Coliseum Pass Plus!
Christina Jiang, Events Product Lead for Teamfight Tactics, said: “Ao Shin’s Ascent represents everything we love about TFT — experimentation, strategy, and a dash of chaos — while introducing a roguelite twist that challenges players to adapt and persevere. This progression-based mode is our most ambitious PvE experiment yet, building on the strong global player engagement we’ve seen with Set 15, K.O. Coliseum. It marks a major step toward giving TFT players more ways to play, more ways to test themselves, and more reasons to return for the next climb.”
And here’s a comment from Michael “Skip” Scipione, Senior Game Designer for Teamfight Tactics: “With Ao Shin’s Ascent, we wanted to push TFT forward with bold new mechanics that expand on its core gameplay. Bosses evolve with shifting modifiers, and the new progression system means each run builds toward the next, letting players experiment with different approaches against an ever-changing challenge. It’s a way to expand TFT’s core mechanics while giving players new stories to create with every climb.”
Teamfight Tactics: Ao Shin’s Ascent launches on September 24 at 10am Pacific Time, shortly after the release of patch 15.5. The mode will be available until the end of patch 15.6 on October 8.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
