Teamfight Tactics (TFT) is an auto-battler game mode within the Riot Client, separate from League of Legends. In each match, eight players compete over the course of 20-30 minutes, navigating through various stages while positioning their units, coordinating strategies, and engaging in tactical battles. Mastering TFT is key to climbing the ranks and improving your gameplay. Think of it as chess; with a passive approach, you set up your units and then watch them execute their strategies autonomously, leaving you to focus on planning and adapting, when things go wrong.
Diving into the fast-paced action of TFT, you'll quickly develop your own joys for strategic thinking, whether it's adapting to RNG or predicting your units AI behavior. To improve your chances of winning, it's essential to understand the core principles of how TFT works. Let’s break down these fundamentals and explore how mastering them can give you an edge in the game over everyone of your opponents. While it may be confusing at first, you'll soon get the hang of it.
What is AutoChess?
TFT can be thought of as a chess-like game that plays itself. You place your units on the battlefield, and they automatically fight for you, with minimal input required beyond adjusting their positions and equipping items between rounds. To succeed, you must craft a strategy and make the most of the resources at your disposal. Simply placing units without a plan won't get you far, it's about maximizing their strengths and also minimizing their weaknesses.
No two games will ever be identical. If you're the type of player who enjoys sticking to the same playstyle each time, keep in mind that TFT’s unpredictability makes that difficult. Each item drop and unit availability are never guaranteed with the same composition as before. Since everyone shares the same unit pool, it becomes a challenge if another player picks up on your strategy. Be sure to scout out other players and observe their builds to stay one step ahead.
The Unit Pool
The unit pool refers to the number of units currently in and out of play. Since there’s a limited number of units available, it’s difficult for every player to reach a 3-star version of the same unit, especially the higher-tier ones.
Let’s say you’re aiming to get a 3-star Tristana. You notice that two other players have a 2-star Tristana, which removes 6 of the 17 Tristana's from the available pool, leaving you with only 11 potential Tristana's to pull. To make a 3-star , you would need 9 of her. Even with a strong economy, it would be challenging to force a 3-star Tristana if any other player pulls another 2-star Tristana, as the pool will be drained. If you or another player uses a duplicator to create a unit, it adds one to the pool when sold back to the shop. The same happens when you defeat an opponent with a similar build, their units return to the pool when they’re eliminated.
Unit pool chance
In TFT, your level controls the unit pool available to you. At lower levels, the chances of getting high-tier units (4-cost or 5-cost) are zero to very low. So, it’s better not to rush leveling up just to get these champions before you're ready. Focus on building your economy, rerolling strategically, and gaining enough EXP to level up at the right pace, vice versa, the higher your level the less chance you have at 3 starring (1-cost, 2-cost or 3-cost units).
To win, place in the top four!
Competing against 7 other players might seem intimidating, but all you need is to finish in the top 4 to avoid losing LP and secure a win. The real challenge lies in aiming for the top spot.
What was the Carousel?
In past sets and seasons after a certain number of rounds, players ranked 8th to 1st would compete in a carousel to select a unit, portal or item of their choice.
Your selection could greatly impact your strategy for the rest of the match. Any items equipped by a unit you pick from this carousel were removed once you placed them on your board. There were many changes introduced in Sets 8.5 and of course Set 17, with it's removal in favor of the new mechanic, I personally found that this was a crucial QoL improvement to making the game fairer and less influencable through strategy / trolling by purposefully losing to gain advantages.
CAROUSEL RANDOM ENCOUNTERS
If you're returning to TFT previously, set 13 removed the portal mechanics and item carousals and once again set 17 removed it outright. But now with Season 18, it's brought it back once again, which will once again allow you to cherry pick your own units or items they are holding, with even more variety than ever!
Improved Carousels
Carousels have for some time offered more than just a champion and an item, thanks to the effects of set mechanics or the game mode. They could also provide entire items, emblems, and other valuable resources.
CAROUSELS FEATURES
While it's not always guaranteed, you may encounter a wide variety of items in the first few carousels, particularly in game modes like HyperRoll or Double Up. Choices can change the pace of your games. If you're unfamiliar with a unit, the eye above the unit you acquire will open a new window on the right side of the screen, providing detailed information, including their best items, origins, and classes.
Forcing the carousel
Whether you were in first, last, or in between, you could always force a chance at getting a specific unit or item.
By intentionally losing a few rounds you were capable of picking any item or unit first. Acquire items that complement the unit. If they fit into your current composition.
What's new?
Enchanted Wilds offers a returning concept of wards, which are now called "Wisps" which appear in the far right corner of your shop, offering a plethora of different effects and power ups. You can purchase one wisp per turn, and that's about it, outside of a few obviously gentle aesthetic shifts.
While charms were less sought after, because of their weird mechanics. Wisps are a much more simple and streamlined approach to offering random rewards. But the biggest change here is the atmospherically nature aesthetic.
New Units & Traits
New units
Once again, with the removal of units and the introduction of new ones, it’s important to get familiar with who’s in and who’s out. As always it's going to take time to get familiar with the changes, so be sure to check out our official Classes and Origins page on Mobafire for all the details. Lore & Legends plays the same way as every other set, offering a broad range of playstyles to mix and match. You're sure to find something you'll love.
Wisps
Wisps
Wisps are, like many new mechanics, essentially a reimagining of previous features from past seasons. So in this case, the charms from Season 12. Wisps grant players the opportunity to purchase powerful, temporary boons that last for a single round every other shop planning phase and can only be purchased once in that stage.
The effects of these boons vary significantly. Some wisps provide only minor advantages, while others can dramatically influence the outcome of a match. Their cost reflects their impact, ranging from as little as 1 gold up to 8 gold. Wisps can offer support, defensive, or offensive benefits, allowing players to adapt their strategies to the evolving dynamics of each game.
Anvils
Anvils
Anvils are consumable items that sit on your bench until you sell them to unlock their components or fully built items. When you sell an anvil, it provides a list of components or complete items based on how far you’ve progressed in the game, hovering your mouse over each item will offer you a more detailed understanding of what you will be getting and how they are used. Defeating tougher bosses will reward you with further upgraded versions, like Radiant or otherwise, depending on the game modes. There’s no rush, as you have plenty of time to decide when to choose, sometimes it's better to hold out and get what you need.
EXAMPLE: TIER 1/2/3 SET OF AUGMENTS.
Tier 1 augments provide modest buffs. While they may not be game-changing, they can sometimes give you a small edge over your rivals, especially when it comes to trait emblems.
"Gain 1 ___ Emblem," "Gain 1 Component," or something a bit stronger.
Tier 2 augments offer stronger outcomes and can be powerful when used effectively with your compositions. They can significantly alter how units perform, both in the backline and the frontline.
Rerolling these augments is often more beneficial than Tier 1, especially if you’ve previously received weaker options. The free shop rerolls and increased economy can give you a major advantage.
"Gain a free reroll every round" or "Gain ___ gold"
Tier 3 augments are game-changing, delivering a range of powerful effects, from providing additional items, gold, and units to enabling difficult 8-unit compositions or overwhelming opponents.
This tier stands out as one of the best thanks to the sheer variety of benefits it brings. Not only can it completely shift the flow of the game, but it also affects your Little Legend, offering up to four augments and granting some undeniably strong advantages early on, definitely the most worth to reroll to sneak peak the goods.
"Gain a masterwork upgrade" or "Gain a ___ Emblem, Items & Champions"
Important
You can reroll each individual augment once when prompted to select. If you find an augment you like more than the others, don’t stress; reroll the remaining options to see what else appears, especially with Prismatics.
Many aguments remain, while others have been replaced, and new ones have been introduced. Reviewing them will help you get a sense of the new Set 17. Keep in mind that you won’t always get the same augments as in a previous game, so you won’t be able to run the same composition. Many old traits and origins have returned, with slight reworks.
The Magnetic Remover and Golden Remover is obtained through loot orbs, augments & carousels. These items allow the removal of items from a unit instead of selling that unit. However, you may find that these items don’t always serve a purpose or that you receive too many of them instead of stronger, more useful components. Unfortunately, that’s just the RNG at work.
The Reforger is obtained through loot orbs, augments & carousels. It modifies the rules by allowing you to recraft items. You can use it on created items, components, or emblems, and it will randomly reroll them, potentially giving you an item you desperately need for your composition. When used on a unit with 1-3 items, it unequips and rerolls all of them. 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. Typically, you’ll want to keep that for harder-to-2-star or 3-star 4-5 gold cost units later in the game. It can also be useful when attempting to 3-star level 1 units late in the game. If sold, this unit will add one extra copy to the pool.
What is the significance of items?
Items are crucial, especially strong ones that complement specific units and compositions. They help you combat other players while boosting your strength. DPS items are essential for your damage dealers, while tank items are needed for your frontliners. Once you equip an item to a unit, you cannot remove it unless you sell the unit or use a Magnetic Remover. When placing an item on a unit, exercise caution. It’s often better to wait and see what happens before applying it to a random unit, unless you feel the need to equip items early on.
While you should generally avoid giving tank items to squishy units, sometimes they can work really well in keeping them alive, like Rengar or any form of Rogue. The same thing goes for DPS items to tanks, unless the tank is intended to be a DPS unit or the squishy unit is meant to be a backline tank with a unique origin/class setup.
It’s not always necessary to slam items; it depends on what you can get away with. If you have several tier 2 units, it’s fine to save your items for a specific composition you plan to build later on. In the later game, after losing a combat round and taking more damage, holding onto "useless" items that could be upgraded into better variants is a poor choice. It's better to slam them into useful items that can help you in the short term and reforge them later.
OUR TFT ITEM CHEETSHEET
Here’s a list of every component in the current TFT set that you can combine to create items. For your convenience, you can simply right-click an item on your item bench in-game to see what combinations are possible. Keep in mind that with each TFT set change, these combinations will shift slightly.
Item Inventory Management
Items and Crafting
If you haven’t played TFT in a while, the new item system might take some getting used to. In previous sets, items would pile up on your bench, making management difficult and preventing item removal from units and loot orbs until the clutter was dealt with. Set 13 introduced a streamlined system that lets you craft and manage items directly in your inventory, by hovering them over one another. No more sacrificing units or forcing them to hold items longer than necessary. It was a massive quality of life feature that continues into 17.
Item drop rates
Items are now more plentiful in PvE battles, so don't worry too much. In the past, you could go through several battles without receiving a single item. Didn't get any components? You can still earn gold or units; it's a lot more fair these days. It's more effective to equip items on units that can fully benefit from them.
For example, attaching a Guinsoo's Rageblade to a unit that can't make full use of it is a waste. Units that need high attack speed, like backline carries, benefit more from it. Many compositions can work for nearly any unit, depending on their origins and classes. However, the best way to learn is through experience. A tutorial can only teach you so much; you need to adapt and understand the game through practice, so get out there and experiment for yourself!
Check the right side of your screen for your current HP and placement among the other seven players. You’ll always begin with 100 health. If your HP hits 0, you lose.
At the carousel, the closer you are to the bottom, the more likely you are to get first pick. Going first improves your chances of securing key items and units. If you’re at the top, you’ll pick last, which can set you back. Having items or units taken from you can be frustrating, but you can use that to your advantage. If you need an item that won’t drop in PvE or from augments, consider purposely losing a few matches.
Losing in TFT can be very beneficial, as you can control and receive more rewards.
If another player is "on fire," it means they're performing very well and gaining extra gold per turn. Monitor their strategy and consider countering them specifically, especially if other players aren’t a significant threat. Every composition has different ways to play, and you’ll learn these through experience. You can also refer to our compositions page for guidance.
Each time you lose against an NPC or player, you'll take damage based on the number of units remaining and their level. You’ll take more damage from 8 units than from just 1.
Try to build a composition that keeps you alive.
Calculating Unit Roles
Above your health and placement, you’ll find a sword icon. This is a feature you should be paying close attention to every game, without it, understand your comp is difficult.
Selecting it opens a list of your unit outputs, helping you identify your best DPS, healer, or tank. Think of it as a basic calculator to optimize your comp. This helps you to strategize who to protect as the carries, empower the tanks and of course, give you that extra edge needed for success. Let's take a look at OUR details!
Pebbles and Mama Beak cover up our main damage for AP and AD. This is our hard early game carry in this instance that hit level (3). Because of this and the items we had equipped, to deal more damage, it's the reason why they dealth the most in total.
Equipping them both with AP or AD, was crucial, but damage alone won't carry the game. Every character still needs peel and preferably attack speed since most are a slow units. A single tank that can survive more than 10 seconds is often more valuable than three frontliners that fall apart in five. Tanks are built for durability, so make sure you’re adjusting their items based on the enemy comp. Don’t stack armor against a mage team, for example.
Current Compositions
Each Origin and class is displayed on the left side of the screen next to items. These effects activate automatically when you have matching units, shaping your team.
Your main goal in TFT is to obtain as many synergies as possible while building compositions that complement each other, using items to counter opponents or boost your team. Everything hinges on this. You might receive items that don’t fit your current units. Adapt to what you’re given, whether that means forcing a Pandora's Box to randomize items or work with what you have. The approach is up to you.
You'll need to build around what you have early on and proceed to plan for the proper upgrades and unit switches later. Do you invest in your current units or adjust for a stronger composition somewhere down the line? It’s up to you. There are many ways to shape or break your comp, so don’t try to force the same strategies.
Economy
Gold is crucial in TFT. The more you have, the more you can level up and strengthen your team, staying ahead of opponents. You earn gold by winning, losing, selling troops from the carousel, and battling PvE. Maintaining a strong income is a key strategy. Don't spend your entire time rerolling, let it build up to acquire a steady income.
(4 Gold): The Level Up button lets you grow stronger and hold more units. A key strategy is to earn 50+ gold consistently and gradually level up, with a focus on using the economy method outlined below.
(2 Gold): The refresh option lets you reroll the shop to gamble for units. Use it to acquire lesser units early or force them at higher levels later, all while managing your economy.
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
You can quickly familiarize yourself with the screen layout, including levels, gold, wins/losses, available units, and more. Note: Refreshes cost 2 gold, but certain augments can reduce that to 1 gold, and also offer plenty of free rerolls. These are just a few of the game-changing changes in the new set.
Basic Economy
Bonus income is shown on the left side of the board, alongside your Origins and Classes. Each chest adds 1+ gold per turn. You can use this feature to gauge your opponents' gold and their ability to level up or upgrade units compared to you. If an opponent’s economy is drained, play aggressively to exploit their inability to challenge your composition. You can even try to exhaust the unit pool; they need to weaken them if you have a stable setup. Avoid overspending. Losing a bit of HP for a strong late-game economy is often better than re-rolling early and becoming weaker. TFT has three main strategies: fast-8, slow-roll, and re-roll. Each has its pros and cons, with different approaches to winning.
Normal Leveling Strategy
This strategy has been around for quite some time. This leveling approach is considered standard for most.
It focuses on a four-cost unit as the primary carry. These comps look for 5 cost units to help the team late in the game, but not as their major win condition, but rather to provide support for their tier 4 carry.
This method, will vary the most because it plays differently based on the units and components that you discover. You might be able to find a strong composition centered on Tristana but only find items for a mage that could be altered to fit Cassiopeia if you had the ability to reorganize quickly enough.
Method of achieving this strategy
You'll be playing a variety of early game setups, anything that is both strong and defensive enough to lose little HP. You will never want to level up or reroll for units if you're on a lose streak, build your economy.
If you're unlucky with low-tier units, leveling up on Krugs will be required to survive and receive item drops.
If you've been fortunate to go on a win streak, you should level up as soon as stage (2-1) to (2-2) and right after the carousel on (2-4) to maximum and continue your win streak while you try to build your economy back up.
One of the most prevalent ways is to gradually grow your economy to more than 50 gold, forcing level 6 by stage (3-2) all at once, in order to maintain a healthy economy while catching up to others and to transition to late.
SLOW ROLL STRATEGY
Slow rolling revolves around rolling your gold once you have 50+ to find the core units needed to 3 star.
This is typical when your primary carry is a tier (1)-(3). This strategy can be useful if you level up these units in PvE engagements before the game begins, but it can also be dangerous if you find your units too slowly and lose too much life, especially if other players are attempting the same composition or rushing a fast-8 to overwhelm.
However, if your main carry is a 3-Cost, you should follow the Normal strategy and begin to Slow roll your levels to 7 where you have a better chance of obtaining them, while keeping a 50+ gold economy to afford to do so.
If you are on a losing streak up to level 7, you may want to try rolling down to 40 or even 30 gold to stabilize your team with 2 star troops before rolling. Remember you're trying to balance the economy, comps and your HP.
Slow-rolling in the current set is oftentimes suicide and weaker than a fast-8.
FAST-8 STRATEGY
Fast 8 is the process of quickly leveling up to 8 (often on Round 4-3 or 4-5) in order to find 4 and 5 cost units faster and easier than other players. You'll play the game as if you were using a normal strategy, saving up 50 gold and then hitting level 6 by 3-2. Once you've collected 50 gold again, you'll gradually start leveling up.
This permits you to save gold rather than wasting it all trying to get there with force and no method. So, once you've reached stage (4-3) or (4-4) spend the remaining funds for level 8, using the remaining gold to find your units. Alternatively, you could save up your funds if you're doing well to get 50+ gold again for a stronger push for level 9 or 10, which can be very difficult, but guarantees to get a 5 star headliner to win you the game.
It is important to mention
This strategy requires a ton of gold and a very strong economy. If you have the chance of obtaining an augment for gold or interest increase, you'll want that over anything else, unless the others are too good to pass up.
If you have a really powerful early and mid game, or an incredible economy, you can go Fast 8 with a conventional comp, or use this gold to find a lot of high cost units for a more powerful late game.
Apply this rule
The key is to stop spamming "Re-Roll" and "Level Up." Focus on the standard leveling approach and managing your economy to control the game, rather than wasting it. You’ll learn these economic tactics as you gain experience.
Need a refresher? Be sure to familiarize yourself with each class and origin. Use it them as a guide to plan your next game and acquire units that complete synergies. Having just one unit trait isn’t useful unless the full trait is activated with other synergizing units. Experiment with builds, sticking to one playstyle won’t always work, as players often use the same compositions. Remember, unit pools are shared.
Stages and your early game
Each stage is displayed at the top of your screen, showcasing in detail each upcoming PvE/PvP fights and what to expect. These early fights help guide you into a set composition based on RNG rolls, including items, units, and gold. You'll want to consider your late-game plan while progressing. Low health? If your economy is strong, use this information to aim for a three-star unit or push an extra level to hold out until the next carousel.
More rewards the further you get
As the game progresses, PvE battles become tougher, with stronger bosses and monsters offering better rewards, including powerful items that can be game-changing. While there’s no strict limit on stages, most games reach around Stage 6 before players start losing and dropping out in the final battle for the top four slots.
Positioning
Positioning plays a key role in TFT. You can’t just place units randomly. If your opponent’s composition counters yours, consider repositioning your units at the last minute, using a less important unit to interfere. It can change the outcome of the next fight.
You can also click on other players’ icons to spy on their composition. While it can be frustrating to be constantly watched, stay prepared to make quick adjustments in response.
TEAM PLANNER
Before you launch a game or while you are currently in a game, look for the penguin icon in the lower or upper right corner of the screen, you'll find valuable guidance to help you choose the best units or copy your current one for future games, whether you're a beginner or an expert. With a clear idea of the units and origins you need, you can plan your team in advance for better strategy to highlight them in shop to not miss out on. Over the years this feature has seen a significant overhaul streamlining it to be more ease of access to the player.
You won’t be able to force every comp you come up with, but overall, this system helps in the process of understanding. It makes building and adjusting your team feel more intuitive and hands-off. Perfect for players looking for a more casual ride through the experience.
In TFT, a team that doesn't fully utilize its board positions, especially in the final stretch as one of the top four players, can significantly lower their chances of winning. Always be mindful of your positioning. See the sample below.
UNDERSTANDING PROPER FORMATION
In this example, we showcase a formation within the Tonker's Trial PvE game mode. We had a solid front line ScuttleCrab tank, with a strong backline of of DPS units, even if we were missing out on Guinsoo's Rageblade.
This matchup was against a generic formation, capable of dealing a ton of single target damage. So after a few moments, we bunched up our main stay units in the back. Including our backup front line near our main carry (Pebbles) as we could, and spread out the other DPSers in case the front line died too quickly, until their front line was taken out and the rest could make their way to the enemies backline, which worked out well in the end.
That's all well said and done, but in a normal game, you'll have to consistently "peek" at other players by clicking their icon on the right side of the screen to see what comp they have, where units are placed and use that to your advantage to do the same, but quickly. They aren't just going to keep things in the same place, nor should you, unless it's a formation that has been considered up until this point perfect.
Watching another player's formation can reveal their strategy. They may have moved their main carry or adjusted their comp. So you'll want to keep monitoring their setup and adjust yours accordingly.
Build Guide By Sovereign Kitten
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Unit pool chance
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