An essential, easy to follow Guide to get started in Teamfight Tactics (TFT)

Teamfight Tactics (TFT) is a game based on League of Legends that was launched by Riot Games in 2019. Roughly speaking, this mode starts from the concept of Auto Chess and consists of teaming up 9 champions to fight against the eight players that conform a game. Last player standing in the arena will be the winner.

Despite there's a lot to take into account if TFT is new for you, the truth is that nowadays getting into this world seems to be a must. League of Legends is still leading esports worldwide, but TFT presents itself as a serious contender. Best thing for Riot Games is that those two are twin games.

How do I play TFT?

This is the question, and the answer is simple. Same thing as if you were to play LoL. First, you need to create a Riot Games account and install the game afterwards. It is totally free, and once the application is installed, you will be able to choose between diving into League of Legends or Teamfight Tactics.

Don't be fooled, starting in Teamfight Tactics can be really hard for a beginner who is unaware of the LoL universe. Hard does not mean impossible, though.

What do I need to know before playing TFT?

As we already mentioned, each game is an 8-player, free for all match in which we team up an army of champions to defeat our opponent. Every fight is a 1-on-1 until a player has no life left.

A so-called carousel takes place before the fight, a sort of spinning roulette where the eight players in the game quickly choose their starting champion. Each game is arranged by rounds. The first three stages are against the CPU to collect items and to plan our strategy. These are called PvE battles.

Once the bot enemies are defeated, the real challenge —the PvP battles— will start.

Little Legends are the avatars of the players. They will appear all the time on the left side of your screen, although they will not join the battle at any point. We can right-click to move our avatar and collect items and gold after every fight.

The level of the Little Legend indicates how many champions are we allowed to place in the arena. For instance, at level 4 we can have up to 4 characters in our army.

Champions

Champions in TFT are the same characters as in League of Legends. They will be held accountable for winning or losing depending on the strategy we plan. Unlike in LoL, here they don't receive orders directly from us. They don't need our help in the battlefield because fights are, so to speak, 'simulated'.

There are many variables regarding each champion, and plenty of origins and fight classes. This is the most difficult thing to pick up. Class shows the fight mode of the champions:

1. Assassin
2. Knight
3. Ranger
4. Invoker
5. Cruel
6. Brawler
7. Cavalier
8. Legionnaire
9. Skirmisher
10. Mystic
11. Caretaker
12. Renewer
13. God-King
14. Spellweaver

Champions are arranged in tiers from 1 to 5. As we level-up our Little Legend, chances of getting higher tier champions will increase. Combine three of the same champions to get a two-star copy of that champion.

Two-star champions have additional health and damage points. The most powerful combination is that of three two-star champions which yields a supreme, three-star version of the same champion. This is something quite secondary for the beginners, though.

Store and objects

Apart from the champion's powers, there are a total of 9 objects that boost different classes, and they can be combined. To use an object on a given champion, you just need to left-click on the object and drag it towards the character you want to use it on.

Apart from the champions and objects, there's another important factor to have into account, which is the way you handle the economy and your gold. In the bottom of the screen, you will see a random selection of champions that you can buy.

The price of the champions depends on their tier. While Tier 1 champions cost one coin of gold, Tier 5 champions have a price of five coins of gold.

At the end of every round, players will be compensated with a certain amount of gold depending on their win or loss streak. This gold can be used to buy champions, as well as to refresh the store and look for characters that best suit your strategic plan or to simply buy levels to upgrade our Little Legends - which is totally recommended.

The map is a mess. How does it work?

Teamfight Tactics' arena can be challenging, especially the first time you play it. However, you can easily work your way around it if you understand four basic things.

You can find the store in the bottom of the screen. The store shows which champions you can buy, as well as your win or loss streak, the little legends' level, the probability of obtaining higher-level champions, and the amount of gold you have.

In the middle of the board, you can see the arena. This is where the action takes place during the match. There is plenty of space. However, you must bear in mind that you can only use half of the squares to set your warriors in. The placement of your characters is key in this game, as it will determine what kind of attacks you can perform. Champions that attack from a distance should be placed on the furthest end, while those that shine for their resistance to incoming damage should be placed on the front line. By the way - if you buy a champion, you won't be able to equip it just yet. Instead, they will wait on the bench until their turn comes. You can have up to 9 substitutes.

On the right side of the screen, you will find all the information regarding the other 7 enemy players - from their stacks of gold to their ranking during the game. This way, you can take a look at their stats at any moment. However, we recommend that you focus on your own game, at least at the beginning, as there is usually too much going on.

On the left side of the screen, you will find the abilities and synergies, along with the number of units of each class you have in your army. In the left corner of the bottom of the screen, you can see the objects you can combine or use with your characters. Each time you gain 10 units of gold, an interest indicator will show up. From a distance, these indicators look like golden bells. This information may be useful, as it allows you to guess how much gold your enemies may have.

Finally, in the top of the screen, you will find information regarding the match, round, and stage you are in. The seconds that are deducted at the end of each round constitute the planning phase, during which you have a period of 20 to 30 seconds to change or position your champions. Red swords mean that you lost the previous battle, while blue swords represent a victory.

We are aware that the world of TFT is not an easy one to get into, and it certainly has a few barriers that are not that easy to overcome, especially if you're not used to Riot's games. However, we believe that it's possible to grasp a basic understanding of it if you keep this advice in mind and get some practice in. Researching the champions and their abilities a little bit won't hurt either.

We hope that Teamfight Tactics' fandom continues to grow, as more and more Teamfight Tactics competitive tourneys are hosted these days.