TFT Glossary: Every Teamfight Tactics Term Explained
TFT players use a lot of shorthand. Here are the 60 terms you'll run into most in guides, streams and our own tier lists, explained in plain English.
#
- 1-cost, 2-cost … 5-cost
- How much gold a champion costs in the shop. Higher costs are rarer and stronger.
- 2-star, 3-star
- An upgraded champion: three copies make a 2-star, three 2-stars make a 3-star.
A
- AD
- Attack damage: the damage of basic attacks and of physical abilities.
- AP
- Ability power: increases the damage or effect of abilities.
- Artifact
- A special item with an unusual effect, usually from an augment or event, outside the normal recipes.
- Augment
- A powerful upgrade chosen from three options at set points in the game.
B
- Backline
- The rear rows of a board, where ranged carries and supports stand.
- Bench
- The row below your board where champions wait. Benched champions do not fight.
- BIS
- "Best in slot": the ideal items for a champion.
- Board
- Your side of the hex grid where your fighting champions stand.
C
- Carousel
- The shared draft: players pick a champion carrying an item from a rotating ring, lowest health first.
- Carry
- The champion (or two) that deals most of a team's damage and gets the best items.
- Cash out
- Spending a large amount of saved gold at once, often after a loss streak.
- Component
- A basic item; two components combine into a completed item.
- Contested
- When other players are buying the champions you need, making them harder to find.
- Corner
- The back corner hex, a common spot for a ranged carry because it is hardest to reach.
- Crit
- A critical strike: an attack, or with Precision an ability, that deals bonus damage. Champions start at 25% crit chance and 140% crit damage.
D
- Damage amp
- A bonus that raises all the damage a champion deals by a percentage.
E
- Econ
- Economy: your gold income, and playing to keep it high.
- Emblem
- An item that gives its holder an extra trait.
F
- Fast 8, fast 9
- Saving gold and levelling quickly to 8 or 9 to find expensive champions.
- Flex
- Playing without a fixed plan and building whatever the game offers.
- Frontline
- The front row of a board: tanks and melee champions that take damage first.
H
- Highroll
- Getting unusually lucky: an early upgrade, strong items or a perfect augment.
- Hit
- Finding the champion copies you were rolling for.
I
- Interest
- Bonus gold at the start of each round for the gold you hold: 1 per 10, up to 5.
L
- Level
- Decides how many champions you can field and which costs appear in your shop.
- Lobby
- The eight players in a game.
- Loss streak
- Losing several player fights in a row, which pays bonus gold.
- Lowroll
- The opposite of a highroll: bad luck with shops, items or augments.
- LP
- League points: the points you gain or lose in ranked play.
M
- Mana Regen
- Mana a champion gains every second on top of the mana from its attacks.
- Meta
- The comps and strategies that are strongest in the current patch.
P
- Pair
- Two copies of the same champion, one away from a 2-star.
- Patch
- A balance update from Riot that changes champions, traits, items and augments.
- Pivot
- Switching to a different comp in the middle of a game.
- Placement
- Your finishing position, from 1st to 8th.
- Positioning
- Where you place each champion on the board.
- Precision
- Lets a champion's ability damage critically strike; each extra source adds 10% crit damage.
- PvE round
- A round against neutral monsters instead of another player.
R
- Radiant item
- A much stronger upgraded version of a normal item.
- Reroll (action)
- Refreshing your shop for gold to see five new champions.
- Reroll (comp)
- A comp that stays at a low level and rolls for 3-star cheap champions.
- Roll down
- Spending most of your gold on rerolls at one level to complete your comp.
S
- Scout
- Looking at other players' boards to see what they play and how they position.
- Shred
- Lowering a target's Magic Resist so it takes more magic damage.
- Slam
- Building a completed item early instead of holding the components.
- Spike
- A sudden jump in a board's strength, such as a 2-star carry or a new trait level.
- Stabilise
- Strengthening your board enough to stop losing health.
- Stage
- A block of rounds; later stages deal more damage when you lose.
- Streak
- Several wins or losses in a row; both pay bonus gold.
- Sunder
- Lowering a target's Armor so it takes more physical damage.
T
- Tank
- A durable champion that absorbs damage for the team.
- Tempo
- Using gold now to stay strong, rather than saving it for later.
- Tier list
- A ranking of comps, items or augments by strength in the current patch.
- Top 4
- Finishing in the top half of the lobby, which counts as a good result in ranked.
- Trait
- A shared label on champions that grants a bonus when enough of them are fielded.
- Transition
- Changing from an early board to your final comp.
V
- Vertical
- A comp built on as many champions of one trait as possible.
W
- Win streak
- Winning several player fights in a row, which pays bonus gold.