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THE DETAILED GUIDE TO TFT (SET 13)

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Teamfight Tactics Guide

Teamfight Tactics is an auto battler game mode separate from League within the Riot Client.

For 20-30 minutes, eight players struggle through numerous levels, positioning, coordinating, and competing against one another. Understanding everything about TFT is critical if you want to climb.
It's chess, but it's more hands-off, with you just watching your units do their specific things.

You'll find yourself becoming quite the strategist in this fast-paced game style, whether through RNG or AI prediction. Let's go through the principles of how TFT works and how to properly understand it to improve your chances to win.

What is AutoChess?

The term means a chess based game that plays itself. You set your units on the field, and they battle for you with no more interaction from you other than adjusting their positions and items after each fight. To win, you must use your own plans and make use of the resources. Placing units haphazardly is ineffective, try to play to their full strengths.

There will be no two games that are the same. You could be the type of player that enjoys playing games in the same way, in the same style, every time you play because it's fun. You are never guaranteed the same composition or style in TFT because of the unpredictability of item drops and units. Because everyone shares the unit pool, it is much more difficult if someone else tries to deploy your chosen composition. Scout out other players, see what they're building.

The Unit Pool

Simply refers to the number of units that are currently in and out of play. You only have a limited number of units to distribute, making it hard for everyone to obtain a (3) star for the same unit, especially the higher tier units.

Assume you want to get a (3) star . However, you note that there are two players with a (2) star , which eliminates (6) of 's available pulls (17). This leaves you with 11 available 's to potentially get.

To make a (3) star , you'd need (9) of him. Even with a strong enough economy, it would be unlikely to be able to force him if any of those players pulled another (2) star of him mainly due to the pool being drained of him.

If you or another player uses a duplicator to make a unit, their pool will grow by one if they sell the unit to a shop. The same may be said of defeating a player who has a composition similar to yours; all units will go back into the pool.

Unit pool chance

To win, place in the top four!

Competing against 7 other players may sound scary, however, you only need to live long enough to finish in the top 4 of 8 players. This ensures that you win and do not lose LP. The true difficulty is to place as the number one player.

What is the Carousel?

After a certain number of fights, two players, starting from the bottom (8th-1st), compete to obtain a unit/item of their choosing. Fully built items may sometimes appear on the carousel. This is random, but can be game changing.

It may influence what you get later in the game depending on the unit or item you select. All of the items a unit you've picked up has from the carousel will be immediately detached upon returning to your board. This is one of the many QoL changes implemented back in set 8.5 that was desperately needed to make things more fair.

CAROUSEL RANDOM ENCOUNTERS

Improved Carousels

Carousels may occasionally give more than simply a champion and one item, whether due to the effects of portals or game mode. They can also provide entire items, emblems, and other things.

CAROUSELS FEATURES

Forcing the carousel

Regardless of if you are first, last or in between, you always have a shot at a specific unit or item. It does help to lose a few games on purpose if you really need to be first for that item/unit. It is a strong & valid strategy.

There are instances where the entire carousel will be nothing but full items or one specific item, this could be anything in the game. Use this information to acquire items that work with the unit, especially if it is a part of your current composition. If you have the chance to do so, as it benefits them and you if they are going to be used in your comp.

What's new?

Into the Arcane introduces a new set of units, attributes, origins, and more. However, with the shift to a new set comes the removal of a few features, such as portals and champions that you may have come to like more than any others and of course the addition of more quality of life features. Unlike with previous sets it shouldn't take too much of your time to get acquainted with the new elements, though there is sure to be a lot of balancing changes.

NEW UNITS AND TRAITS

Evolutions

Quality of Life Changes

Anvils

EXAMPLE: TIER 1/2/3 SET OF AUGMENTS.

Many of the augments you are accustomed to still remain while some have been replaced and new ones have been introduced. It would be beneficial to go over some of them to get a sense of the new set 12. Fact in the matter is you are never guaranteed the same augments you acquired in a previous game, so you won't be able to play a similar comp as a previous game. A lot of old traits and origins have returned from older sets, slightly reworked.

AUGMENT TIER LIST

The Magnetic Remover and Golden Remover is obtained through loot orbs, augments & carousels. It alters the rules by allowing you to remove item(s) from a unit. You may then use them on other units rather than selling the unit. Unfortunately, you may find that you have no purpose for this item or that you receive too many instead of strong and useful components. Unfortunately that's the RNG.

The Reforger is obtained through loot orbs, augments & carousels. It modifies the rules allowing you to recraft items. You may use it on a created items or components/emblems, and it will reroll them randomly, giving you an new item you might desperately need for your composition. When used on a unit with 1-3 items, all of them are unequipped and rerolled, are you willing to gamble?

The Champion Duplicator is obtained through loot orbs, augments & carousels. It alters the rules by generating an extra 1-star unit of your choice. Normally, you'd keep this for your more essential and harder to 2 star or 3 star 4-5 gold cost units later in the game. The same may be true while attempting to 3 star level 1 units late in the game. This will add (1) extra unit to the existing pool if sold.

What is the significance of items?

You need items, particularly strong ones for specific units and compositions that allow you to combat other players while simultaneously boosting your own. DPS items for damage dealers, tank items for your front liners.

If you equip an item to a unit, it cannot be removed unless the unit is sold or the magnetic remover is used.

When deciding to place an item on a unit, exercise caution. It's sometimes best to wait and see what happens next before applying it to a random unit, unless you feel inclined to slam a few items as early as possible.

You don't want to give tank items to a squishy unit or DPS items to a tank unit. Unless that particular tank is intended to be a DPS unit or the squishy unit is intended to be a backline tank with a unique origin/class setup.

"Slamming"

While gathering items and picking units in the early game, you should always attempt to slam tank or utility items so you don't limit your flexibility. Got a double ? Slam on a front line tank..

It's not always necessary to slam, it all depends on what you can get away with. Greed your items if you have many tier 2 units and are capable of holding your own, while storing up for a certain composition if you believe you can pull it off.

Similarly, in the later game once you've lost combat, you receive a lot more damage, therefore sitting on several "useless" items that could be built into better items is a bad idea when you can quickly slam them into helpful items.

OUR TFT ITEM CHEETSHEET

Item drop rates

Items are now much more plentiful in PvE battle, so don't be too concerned. Previously, you could go through numerous battles without receiving a single item. If you don't obtain any components, you can still get gold or units.

It is more effective to apply items to units that can benefit from them. If you were to attach a to a unit that cannot fully exploit it, it's a waste. A unit that needs high attack speed and backline carries work better.

There are several compositions that may be applied to virtually every unit, as well as their origins and classes. However, you must try to learn for yourself. A tutorial can only take you so far in learning how to play TFT, adapt and understand.

ITEM CHEAT SHEET

Health & Current Placements

When you start a match, look to the right of your screen for information about your current HP and position among the other seven players. You'll always start with 100 health. If you hit 0 HP, you will lose. There is a single augment that can increase this to 130 and heal you.

When you're sent to the Carousel, the closer you are to the bottom, the more likely it is that you'll be chosen to go first. Going first gives you a better chance of obtaining essential and strong items and units. You will be the last participant chosen in the carousel if you are top.

Having items/units taken from you may be quite depressing. So you can use this information to purposely lose a few matches if you require an item that won't drop in PvE or augments. In most circumstances, losing in TFT is advantageous because you get compensated more.

If another player is on fire, it means they are performing really well; keep an eye on them and devise a strategy; perhaps a special comp can counter them if others are not a serious threat. Every composition has various ways to play it, which you eventually learn through playing it firsthand. You can also look at our compositions page below for help.

Every stage you lose against an NPC or player will deduct (x) amount of health based on the number of units remaining and their level on the enemy's playing area. You will receive more damage from 8 units than from one. Try to design a comp that will keep you alive.

Calculating Unit Roles

Just above your health and placements is a sword icon that, when selected, displays a list of all of your units computations. This information can be used to properly place items on your best corresponding DPS, HEALER, or TANK units. This is a basic calculator to help you.

If you're ever unsure of who is doing what in your current comp, give these calculations a quick glance after a fight. It will help you theorize what would be the best course of action for your unit's current placement and how to get the maximum potential out of them.

In this example we showcase a set 12 that is tanking the most damage as a front liner. She would be better off being a tank with supporting items, to help keep alive longer to continue dishing out damage in the backline with AP items.

A fully equipped tank capable of sustaining through 10 or 15 seconds of combat, is much more reliable than 3 frontline tanks that can barely survive for 5 seconds together because they are not inherantly designed to be tanks so always remember this.

It may appear confusing at first, but you'll quickly grasp the fundamentals!

Following these figures will give you a sense of who is doing what on your team and what you currently lack. Take the necessary steps to make the proper changes.

UNIT CHEAT SHEET

Current Compositions

Origin and Classes are displayed on the left side of the screen. You will automatically activate one or more of these effects if you have any units. This ultimately shapes your team.

Your major goal in TFT is to obtain as many as you can while also working on compositions that complement each other and are triggered with synergy and items that can counter your opponents or boost your own potential. Everything boils down to this info.

You may receive items that have no synergy with your current units. You simply have to work with what you're given and do your best to shape it into something great from early to late. You could try to force a Pandora's Box to randomize those items or try to work with what you're given, but at the end of the day it's up to you with how you approach it.

Build around what you have early and figure out what you can do for the rest of the game to upgrade or switch around units. Do you invest in the units already owned or perhaps make adjustments for a stronger composition later? It's up to you. This is but one of many ways to shape or break your current composition, so don't always try to force the same comps.

COMPOSITIONS SHEET

Economy

There are no surprises in this case. Gold is valuable to have. The more you have, the more you can accomplish for yourself while staying ahead of your opponents in terms of level/strength. You gain gold by constantly winning and losing, selling troops from the carousel, and battling PvE. As seen below, having a good income is an essential tactic.

(4 Gold): The LvL up button allows you to become stronger and house more units. One of the best strategies to rush level 9 is to earn a continuous income of 50+ gold and gradually level up. You should absolutely learn how to use the economy method stated below.

(2 Gold): The refresh option lets you reroll the shop and gamble for units at your own risk. Use this to acquire and level up lesser units early in the game, or to try to force them at higher levels later in the game, while keeping your economy in mind.

Your gold (placed and shown in the center) can be spent at the in-game unit shop in one of three ways.

Purchasing a Unit: costs from a range 1 to 5 gold. Pretty straight forward.

Locking the Shop: can help you purchase a unit. Lock your shop so you can buy it the next time you have more gold. Make sure the little lock is closed and secured in the bottom right corner of the shop before the round concludes.

Selling a Unit: can earn income by dragging them onto the shop or by clicking on them and pressing E. You may have acquired a pricey unit from the carousel that you do not require. This is excellent news for your economy.

EXAMPLE OF THE IN GAME SHOP

Basic Economy

Bonus income is located on the left side of the playing field, alongside your Origins and Classes. Every chest represents 1+ additional gold per turn. Use this information to determine how much gold the other players currently have.

Use this information to play aggressively against another player who, due to a drain in their economy, has no way of obtaining levels or higher tier units for their current composition. You can even choose to fight them by trying to exhaust the unit pool that they require to weaken them if you're already in a stable composition.

Try to refrain from going on a spending spree. Losing a little HP and having a massive economy late game is far superior than employing the re-roll technique in the early game until your exhaust, leaving you significantly weaker.

There are three methods to play TFT, both with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. They are known as the fast-8, slow-roll and re-roll, and they are simple concepts that employ somewhat different methods of winning games.

Normal Leveling Strategy

SLOW ROLL STRATEGY

FAST-8 STRATEGY

Apply this rule

The most crucial realization is that you must quit spamming "Re-Roll" and "Level Up" and instead use the standard leveling approach and understand how to control games with your economy instead of wasting it on nothing.

Don't worry, you'll eventually learn about each of these different economic tactics as you play the game first hand.


Need a refresher? You can check out the compiled list of Classes and Origins HERE. You can also use this as a guide to plan out your subsequent game, acquiring the units that will complete the extra effects. Having one of each unit trait is terrible since there is no synergy unless the entire trait is activated combined with ones that synergize well. It's strongly advised to experiment with builds. The game is constantly changing and sticking to one certain play-style will never work 100% because players love to employ the same compositions again and over. Pools of units are shared.


Stages and your early game Many stages will be available to you at the top of the screen, showing you what's next, and what to look forward to. These particular PvE/PvP fights ease you into a set composition based on the early game RNG rolls given to you, whether it's item drops, units, or gold. So give it some thought on what you want to build for your late game. Low health? Do you believe you'll be able to make it to the next carousel? If your economy is robust, you might utilize this information to attempt for a three-star or to push an extra level in an attempt to hold out.
More rewards the further you get The harder and more hazardous the PvE battles become as the game progresses. You will encounter increasingly difficult Bosses and Monsters, with increased chances at powerful equipment; this can be game changing. There is no practical limit to the number of stages or matches. However, in most cases, you'll only get to roughly Stage 6 before players start losing and leaving the game, in the last battle for the top four slots.

Positioning

TFT places a high value on organization and unit placement. You can't just arrange your units in any order. If your opponent's composition is countering yours, try switching your units around at the last second, replacing them with a less important unit to run interference. This has the potential to significantly alter the result of the next fight.

By clicking on other players' player icons, you can spy on them as well. It can be aggravating to see someone continuously snooping on you, but you should always be ready to make modifications in seconds to fight back.

TEAM PLANNER

A built up team that does not make full use of its board positions, especially while in the final stretch as one of the top four players, can significantly reduce their chances of winning so always be mindful. Have a look at the sample below.

UNDERSTANDING PROPER FORMATION

Watching another player's formation can tell you what they are doing, they may have switched around their main carry and put them on the other side. The same applies to really any comp that is trying to survive you or trying to take out yours. You would want to take a peek at what they are doing on their end and make changes as needed to survive.