TFT Gets Its Own Client as Riot Addresses Ongoing Issues

Teamfight Tactics (TFT) is getting its own PC client on Wednesday, November 4, with Patch 18.6, moving out of the League of Legends client after years of sharing the same home. The release comes as Riot Games continues addressing performance problems, bugs, and missing cosmetics following TFT's transition to Unreal Engine earlier this year.

PC players should expect a larger download than usual. According to Riot, the standalone client's initial release will prioritize functionality and stability, with additional features arriving through subsequent updates.

Why Is TFT Getting Its Own Client?

Riot says the separation will give the TFT team more freedom to develop tools and experiences specifically designed for its players. Planned features include more elaborate in-client events, improved lobby visuals, and the ability to preview Tacticians and Arenas before equipping them.

Despite having separate clients, players will still be able to switch between TFT and League of Legends, including Summoner's Rift and ARAM, with a single button.

The move will also affect how cosmetics are shared between the two games. Starting with Patch 19.1, newly released Little Legends will no longer be available as companions in ARAM. Existing Little Legends will remain usable, while new TFT emotes will become separate from League of Legends emotes beginning with Patch 19.2. Previously released emotes will retain their cross-game compatibility.

What Features Are Coming to TFT's Standalone Client?

The first version will not include every feature Riot has planned. Several improvements are already scheduled for future updates, with some changes responding directly to feedback from players testing the client on the PBE.

• Patch 18.7: Leaderboards will return, alongside easier friend invitations and improvements to switching between solo and party lobbies across different queues.
• End-of-game screens: Riot is exploring new ways for players to share their winning compositions and team codes.
• Interface improvements: The team plans to improve UI scaling on larger PC displays after complaints that the current interface does not make full use of available screen space. No release date has been confirmed.
• Patch 19.1: New interactive in-client events will arrive alongside Set 19.

One of those upcoming features is the Tour Collection, a customizable room where players can display their Set 19 progress and memorabilia from the game's music-themed content. Riot says the feature will offer more than 70 customization options.

The upcoming set will also introduce a new mechanic for the True Damage trait. Players will be able to switch between two versions: an A-side focused on winning streaks and a B-side designed to benefit from losing streaks. Riot plans to reveal more details in the upcoming Set 19 Dev Drop.

Riot Continues Addressing Problems From TFT's Unreal Engine Migration

The standalone client arrives after a difficult transition for TFT. In August, the launch of Set 18, Enchanted Wilds, brought the game's migration to Unreal Engine, replacing technology that Riot said was reaching its limits.

According to the developer, the previous engine had also forced the team to build certain experiences separately for PC and mobile devices. Moving to Unreal Engine was intended to provide a stronger foundation for future development, but the transition introduced significant problems for players.

On October 13, Riot publicly apologized for the state of the game following the migration. The company acknowledged that TFT felt worse than expected, citing frame-rate drops, crashes, delayed shop interactions, missing cosmetics, and other bugs.

To provide more transparency about the recovery process, Riot launched Follow the Fix, a public tracker documenting reported problems, ongoing investigations, completed fixes, and planned improvements.

Several major issues, including crashes, inconsistent frame rates, and delayed inputs, were still being worked on in the tracker's October 21 update. Other problems, such as champion movement and targeting inconsistencies, had already been marked as fixed in previous patches.

Patch 18.6 introduces another round of fixes and quality-of-life improvements, including a more readable in-game chat, the return of Streamer Mode, shorter waiting times during Carousel rounds, and fixes for missing item borders on mobile.

The update also improves Combat Recaps, makes the Buy XP and Reroll buttons easier to identify on PC, and addresses several crashes and gameplay bugs.

Cosmetic restoration remains another priority. According to the official patch notes, 75 previously unavailable cosmetics are returning in Patch 18.6, along with additional Arenas, as Riot continues converting older content for the new engine.

However, the company has not indicated that the standalone client will immediately resolve every problem introduced by the migration. Further optimization and stability improvements remain part of its ongoing development plans.

Free Mythic Chibi and Other Rewards Are Coming With Set 19

Alongside the technical improvements, Riot is preparing a series of appreciation missions for Patch 19.1, scheduled for December 1, 2026. The rewards are intended to thank players for their patience following the troubled Unreal Engine transition.

All players will be eligible for two rewards by completing simple missions during Set 19:

• Play one game: Earn 500 Treasure Tokens.
• Play 20 games: Earn one random Mythic Chibi.

The latest announcement provides an important clarification about the 20-game reward. Players will receive a token redeemable through a special banner containing only Mythic Chibis, excluding Unbound Tacticians and Mythic Little Legends.

This is more specific than the initial reward details covered in Strafe's earlier report on TFT's free compensation rewards.

Additional compensation will be available to players who owned certain premium cosmetics before Patch 18.7. Those with a Mythic Tactician or Mythic Arena will receive two Mythic Medallions, while players who owned a Prestige Tactician will receive an unrevealed Mythic Chibi.

Riot says these ownership-based rewards will be delivered automatically when eligible players log in after Patch 19.1 launches.

For now, Patch 18.6 marks the beginning of TFT's independent client rollout. Additional client features, technical fixes, and the full reveal of the music-themed Set 19 are expected in the coming weeks.

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Featured Image Credit: Riot Games

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