Hey everyone, and welcome to your ultimate guide to cracking the code of Teamfight Tactics (TFT)! Whether you’re a strategic mastermind or just starting out, understanding the lingo is your first step to dominating the game. Today, we’re diving into the 8 essential terms that every TFT rookie needs to have in their arsenal. So, gear up and get ready to transform from a TFT novice to a savvy tactician in just 8 to 15 minutes! For those who prefer watching over reading, check out the accompanying video where I walk you through these concepts in action.
1. Mastering Econ: The Art of Gold Management in TFT
The backbone of your TFT strategy is gold management, known as “Econ.” It’s about making more gold and using it wisely.
- Interest: Gain more gold by saving gold in increments of 10 to get extra gold every round (up to 5 gold per round).
- Win/Loss Streaks: Rake in bonus gold by winning or losing multiple rounds in a row.
- Spend or Save: When to roll down for champions or save up to level up or power spike.
In TFT, your gold isn’t just currency—it’s a strategic resource. “Econ” refers to the practice of managing this resource effectively. By understanding how to accumulate interest, which increases your gold by up to 5 extra per round based on what you’ve saved, you set the foundation for your victory. Master the delicate balance between spending to strengthen your team and saving to invest in future rounds. Remember, a healthy Econ often leads to a powerful late-game presence.
2. Build Winning Comps: Building Synergistic Teams
“Comps” are the dream teams of champions that you assemble to win. Crafting a killer comp requires:
- Synergy: Combining champions that share traits to unlock powerful bonuses.
- Flexibility: Sometimes the best comp is the one you can switch to, not the one you start with.
- Meta: Stay updated on which comps are dominating the current gameplay landscape.
Think of “Comps,” or compositions, as the blueprint for your success. These are the synergistic teams of champions you meticulously select to secure victory. Comps are built around shared traits that activate bonuses, providing your team with the strength to dominate the board. But it’s not just about the champions you choose; it’s about the combinations you make. Synergistic teams can outclass a group of individually strong champions that don’t work well together.
To dive deeper into what is needed in a team, you must know win conditions of your comp.
3. The Power of Pivoting: Adaptive Strategies in TFT
Pivoting is all about adaptability. If Plan A fails, you need a strong Plan B.
- Sunk Costs: Know when to give up on something
- Countering the Meta: Changing your tactics to throw your enemies off balance.
- Opportunistic Plays: Turning an unexpected champion roll into a game-winning move.
Flexibility is key in TFT, and “Pivoting” is your plan B when the game doesn’t go as planned. We don’t always want to pivot, but you need to if you aren’t ‘hitting’ your desired champions, your opponents are ‘contesting’ your units, or if you see great opportunities to go other comps.
4. Carousel Strategy: Snagging Game-Changing Picks
The Carousel is a roundabout of opportunity.
- Priority Picks: Pick order goes from lowest health to highest health in pairs. That means you can influence your pick order, but can’t guarantee your desired item.
- Item or Champion?: We usually pick the item over the champion, but there are scenarios where you want to pick the champion.
The Carousel round is a rotating selection of champions and items. The catch? Your pick order is determined by your current standing, with the lowest-health players picking first. This ensures balance, giving those who are behind a chance to catch up. Choosing the right champion and item from the Carousel can be tricky, but normally we like to choose the item component that can complete an item.
5. Strategic Itemization: Maximizing Champion Potential
Items can supercharge your champions. Itemization is the strategic placement of items, and it includes:
- Item Components: The building blocks of more powerful artifacts.
- Spatula Usage: For those game-changing trait flips.
- Adaptive Choices: Sometimes, the best item for your comp isn’t the best item in the game.
Items are game-changers in TFT, offering powerful boosts to your champions. The process of selecting the right items and placing them on the appropriate champions is known as “Itemization.” Items are made from Item Components and you can easily check their recipes. Try to build a balance of all types of items in order to make a well rounded team. If you have a lot of damage items, build a tank item and vice versa.
6. Scouting: Staying One Step Ahead
Keep your friends close and your enemies’ boards closer. Scouting allows you to:
- Counter-Play: Adjust your board based on what others are building.
- Positioning: Outmaneuver your opponents with superior placement.
- Econ Checks: Keep an eye on rivals’ gold to predict their power spikes.
“Scouting” is the habit of checking out your opponents’ boards. By doing so, you gain valuable insights that inform your strategies. You can tell who you are going to face by looking at the sword on the right hand side. It helps you anticipate their moves, fine-tune your positioning, and even keep tabs on their economy. You can also find out what comps your opponents are going and try to see if you want to contest them or pivot. Effective scouting can give you the upper hand, allowing you to outplay the competition with strategic counter-moves.
7. Champion Positioning: A Tactical Advantage
Positioning can be as critical as the champions themselves. It involves:
- Frontline and Backline: Knowing where to place your tanks and damage dealers.
- AOE Spells: Maximizing the impact of area-of-effect abilities.
Where you place your champions on the board is as crucial as which champions you choose. “Positioning” can protect your key units from enemy attacks or enable them to deliver devastating blows. It’s about creating formations that maximize your champions’ abilities while minimizing the threats from opponents. Proper positioning requires foresight and can often protect you from—or expose you to—game-altering spells and abilities. To find out more about their abilities, go to teamfight.lol which has a database for every TFT champion, trait, item, augments, and more!
8. Rolling Right: When and How to Refresh Your Options
Rolling is the act of spending gold to refresh the champion shop. It’s a gamble that can pay off big if done right:
- Timing: When to roll and when to save.
- Odds: Understanding champion probabilities at different levels.
- Health and Econ: Balancing the need to strengthen your comp against the risk of going broke.
- Other Terms: Reroll, Slow Roll, Hyper Roll
Lastly, “Rolling” is when you spend gold to refresh the champion shop’s offerings. It’s a risk-reward maneuver that can fill out your comp or upgrade key champions. Knowing when to roll is a skill that comes with understanding the game’s mechanics and champion probabilities at different levels.
Definition of Reroll, Slow Roll, and Hyper Roll
Also there are 3 other phrases that involve the term “roll” which are
- Reroll: A leveling strategy that revolves around getting 9 copies of a unit (also called 3 star unit) often done through rolling aggressively at a specific level
- Slow Roll: A subset of Rerolling. Rolling down every turn and buying units of a specific cost until you reach 50g and then stopping. For example, you could have 70 gold, then roll down to 50 gold, then wait until the next round and repeat until you hit your desired units.
- Hyper Roll: Another subset of Rerolling. This involves aggressively rolling down your gold until you hit your desired units–no matter the cost. Often done with 1 cost units on Stage 3-1.
Conclusion: Your Path to TFT Mastery
And there you have it! With these 8 crucial terms up your sleeve, you’re now equipped to jump into the fray of TFT with confidence. Remember, every game is a fresh start, and with the right knowledge, you can adapt and overcome any challenge on the board.