TFT Economy Guide (Set 10)
Basics of Economy
Why is gold important in Teamfight Tactics?
Gold is important in TFT since players need gold in order to improve the strength of their board through leveling and upgrading their units. Effective economy is when players are able to efficiently save up gold, while not sacrificing too much board strength in the process.
Players who are able to effectively manage their economy are more likely to upgrade their boards on time, and can mitigate the consequences of TFT’s variance, thus winning more games.
How Do I Get Gold?
Players earn gold at the start of each round from 3 different sources: Passive Income, Interest, and Streaking.
Passive Income
The passive income in standard TFT is 5 gold per round. This means that after every round players earn at least 5 gold. However, during the opening rounds players will earn less passive income.
On round 1-2 and 1-3 players will earn 2 gold as passive income, on round 1-4 players earn 3 gold passive income and on 2-1 players will earn 4 gold. Starting on stage 2-2 players will begin earning the standard 5 gold per round as passive income.
Interest
At the start of each round players will be awarded gold based on the amount of gold they had saved up at the conclusion of the prior round. Players will earn an extra 1 gold as interest, for every 10 gold they had saved up.
Streaking
Winning or losing continuous rounds will also grant players bonus gold. The bonuses for a win streak and loss streak are the same and are as follows:
3-4 Streak: 1 Gold
5 Streak: 2 Gold
6 Streak: 3 Gold
Tip: Try to continue your streak right before a PvE round, as this allows you to get the streak gold for an extra turn.
Remember: It is almost always better to win streak than to lose streak, as you get an extra gold for winning a round and can maintain your HP. That being said, its better to loss streak than not to streak at all.
How To Spend Gold In Teamfight Tactics
Many top players agree that effective economy is the name of the game. Good players are able to spend gold wisely in order to conserve hp, and know when they need to spend and when to save.
A rule of thumb is to reach 50 gold as quickly as possible. This will allow players to start earning maximum interest as soon as possible, giving them way more gold later in the game.
However, it is important to spend gold on good intervals in order to maintain board strength and not lose too much HP, especially if other players in your lobby are also spending gold at these points.
Leveling Intervals
So what exactly are these intervals? And when do they occur? Intervals are rounds where players can expect the overall strength of the lobby to spike. These intervals can change slightly based on playstyle, but it is important for players to recognize what their “perfect intervals” are.
Standard Levelling
In previous sets, standard leveling in TFT revolved around keeping a stable board until a player reached level 8. However, due to the leveling changes of set 10, “standard” TFT has shifted towards a Fast 9 leveling system.
A stable board is one that more or less matches the rest of the lobby, either enabling you to maintain your win-streak or continue a loss-streak without taking too much damage.
To maintain a stable board, players are encouraged to slightly roll for a chance at upgrading to a higher-cost headliner upon reaching levels 6, 7, and 8.
A good level 6 interval is round 3-2, a good level 7 interval is 4-1, and a good level 8 interval is around 4-2 or 4-3. That being said, players should not be afraid to roll or level a little earlier than these intervals in order to preserve lobby tempo or maintain a win-streak!
The target interval for leveling to 9 is on round 5-5. Players here should roll for a 5-cost headliner, and try to cap their board around it with the strongest units possible. Players who are far ahead can even level to 9 at the beginning of stage 5, to ensure that their desired units aren’t gone from the pool already.
In TFT set 10, level 10 became reachable in every game, regardless of whether or not a player chooses a leveling augment. However, players are only recommended to go level 10 if they are super ahead of the rest of the lobby, and have a ton of gold to spend.
Unsure about when to level with your comp? Check out MetaTFT’s comp guides that details specific intervals for specific comps.
Standard Levelling Table
How to Play Reroll
The reroll playstyle is different from the standard playstyle in that reroll players try to 3-star either 1, 2, or 3 cost units. The leveling patterns vary based on what cost of unit you are playing around.
1-Cost Reroll
To reroll 1 cost units, players should avoid putting any gold into XP at the start of the game, and roll down to 30 gold at round 3-1. If players are unable to 3-star their desired 1-cost(s) unit at 3-1, they should slowroll at level 5. Slow rolling is when players roll down to 50 gold at the start of a round.
2-Cost Reroll
To reroll 2 cost units, players should begin slow rolling at level 6, around stage 3-2.
3-Cost Reroll
To reroll 3 cost units, players should slowroll at level 7, usually at the start of stage 4. Preferably, players were able to natural (see a desired unit in shop without rolling) their desired 3-cost headliner in store at level 6.
Headliners
Headliners are an addition to set 10 that adds another layer of economy management in TFT. Headliners are powerful units that can be purchased at their 2-star version immediately, and have power abilities and uses.
Headliner management is a key part to keeping tempo and economy in TFT. Ideally, upon reaching levels 6, 7, and 8 players will want to sell their current headline and slightly roll for a new one. The new headliner should be higher cost than the previous, but perform the same function on the team.
For example, If your previous headliner was a frontline unit, replacing it with a backline unit might make your board weaker due to the new lack of tankiness up front.
Players should decide what type of headliner is best for their board by looking at their items, and what aspects of their board need to be upgraded. You might also decide that if you have a strong headliner which synergises well with your board already, then its better to keep it until the next level.
Rolling
There are multiple times when it is beneficial for players to roll, even if they might not be at perfect intervals. This is usually due to maintaining a streak, needing a unit to complete a comp, having a few pairs, or running low on HP.
For example, if a player is win-streaking but notices the rest of the lobby spiking (suddenly getting stronger), it could be a good idea to roll in order give their board that little boost they need to continue win-streaking.
Sometimes during a pivot, players might be missing a specific unit they need to tie their board together. This is another instance where players are encouraged to roll off intervals, in order to bring their board together.
There is also a chance that a player naturally hits a lot of pairs. When this happens, it is a good idea for a player to roll in order to turn those pairs into upgraded units.
Unfortunately, there might also be games where a player finds themselves running low on HP, but nowhere near a good levelling interval. In this scenario players should roll their remaining gold to try and place as high as possible. Good players are able to turn 8ths into 6ths and avoid losing LP
Conclusion
Ultimately, effective economy management in TFT is one of the easiest ways to improve a player’s skill and climb LP fast. If a player is able to effectively control their economy, by the later stages of the game the rest of the lobby will be too far behind them to catch up.
Players should utilize the aforementioned tips and information in order to effectively improve the strength of their board and earn higher placements in their TFT games.
Useful Information
Knowing when you have the best odds to hit a unit, and how many are in the unit pool (AKA bag sizes) is also important in knowing whether to roll or not. You can find up to date information on these on our tables pages, datamined directly from the game files.
Bag Size (Set 10)
1 Cost: 22
2 Cost: 20
3 Cost: 17
4 Cost: 10
5 Cost: 9
Odds Per Level:
Other gold sources
Besides the main 3 sources of income, there are other ways players earn gold in Teamfight Tactics.
Winning
Every time a player wins a PvP combat, they will be awarded one gold immediately.
Orbs
Orbs are sources of loot that are awarded usually from defeating neutral monsters (PvE rounds). These orbs have a chance to contain gold.
Augments
There are a number of augments that either drop gold directly, or change the way a player earns gold during a game of Teamfight Tactics.
Big Grab Bag: Will drop, among other things, 2g.
Heroic Grab Bag: Will drop, among other things, 2g.
One, Two, Five!: Will drop, among other things, 1g.
Balanced Budget: Will award players 7g at the start of each of the next 4 rounds.
Rich Get Richer: Awards players 10g immediately, and raises their maximum interest to 7.
Rich Get Richer+: Awards players 18g immediately, and raises their maximum interest to 7.
Hedge Fund: Awards players 20g immediately, and raises their maximum interest to 10.
Hedge Fund+: Awards players 30g immediately, and raises their maximum interest to 10.
Hedge Fund++: Awards players 40g immediately, and raises their maximum interest to 10g.
Trade Sector: Grants players, among other things, 2g.
Young and Wild and Free: Will drop, among other things, 2g.
On a Roll: Grants players, among other things, 2g.
Blank Slate: Instantly sell every unit on a player’s board and bench for 200% of their value (also gives 8 free shop rerolls).
Lategame Specialist: Grants players 30g when they reach level 9.
Scapegoat: Grants players 2g immediately, and a training dummy. If the dummy is the first to die each player combat it will drop 1g.
Escort Quest: Grants players a training dummy. If the dummy is alive at the end of player combat it will drop 3 g.
Good For Something I: Units without any items have a 30% chance to drop 1g on death.
Good For Something II: Units without any items have a 50% chance to drop 1g on death.
A Cut Above: Grants players a deathblade. Deathblade holders have a 20% chance to drop 1g on kill.
Stars Are Born: Grants players, among other bonuses, 1g.
What Doesn’t Kill You: Grants players 2g after losing a player combat. Additional rewards for multiple losses.
AFK: Players cannot adjust their boards for 3 turns. After 3 turns grant 18g.
Risky Moves: Take 20 health from the player, but grant 30g after 7 player combats.
Tiniest Titan: Grant 1g after every player combat, also grants other bonuses.
Tiniest Titan+: Grant 1g after every player combat, also grants other bonuses. Also Grants 8 g immediately.
Consistency: Doubles the amount of g a player earns from streaking.
Wellness Trust: Grants players 3g, and heals them if they have at least 40 g.
Final Reserves: The first time the player would be eliminated, instead keep them alive at 1 hp, grant 70XP, and set their gold to 50.
Shopping Spree: Grants 1g per round, and other bonuses each time the player levels.
Infernal Contract: Immediately grants players 75g, but caps their level at 7.
Low Interest Rates: Caps the player a 2 interest, but also grants them 2 g at the start of every player combat.
Blood Money: Players gain 3 gold for every 10 health they lose.
Going Long: Players no longer gain gold from interest, but gain bonus XP.
Insert Coin: Gives 8-Bit units the ability to execute enemies. Executions have a chance to drop gold.
Switching Gears: Grants players 2g whenever they break their win/loss streak.
Traits
Gold is included as a possible cashout reward for heartsteel players.
Items
There are a number of items that can generate gold for players.
Diamond Hands: Diamond Hands will drop 1 gold when the item holder reaches 50% health, once per combat.
Mogul’s Mail: Once the holder of Mogul’s Mail takes damage 40 times in a combat round, Mogul’s Mail will drop 2 gold.
Needlessly Big Gem: If the holder of the Needlessly Big Gem is still alive after 15 seconds of combat, the item will drop 1 gold per 2 allies alive.
Goldmancer’s Staff: Goldmancer’s Staff has a 40% chance to drop 2 gold each time its holder gets a kill.
Gambler’s Blade: Gambler’s Blade has a 4% chance to drop 1 gold each time its holder attacks.
Gold Collector: Gold collector has a 40% chance to drop 1 gold each time its holder executes an enemy.
Portals
A number of portals influence how players earn gold in Teamfight Tactics
Gold Per Augment: Grants players 3 gold every time they select an augment.
Gold Per Item: Grants players 2 gold every time they build a complete item.
Max Interest: Increases players maximum interest to 7.
Pot Of Gold: At stage 6-1 all living players split a pot of 120 gold.
Scuttle Puddle: Replaces all PvE rounds with scuttles that drop extra loot, including more gold.