TFT: Fates brought a whole different way to play the game. Some players may be having trouble picking up the basics when it comes to spending and saving gold. If one struggles with this, then this guide is for them. Here is a detailed look at when to level and when to econ in TFT: Fates.
Early Game- Stage 2
In stage two it’s important that the player win streaks or lose streaks as much as possible to earn the most amount of gold. Breaking a streak right before Krugs feels really bad. Typically it’s much easier to lose streak than it is to win streak but with the Chosen mechanic being the main focus of Set 4, it’s almost always better to level aggressively in this meta game.
The common round to level to four in the early game is on Stage 2-2. Players also commonly level on stage 2-1 as well. This is to try and push a win streak. Typically stage 2-2 is when this is done as players can evaluate what happened on Stage 2-1. If the player thinks after Stage 2-1 that they can push the win streak, then without a doubt level on stage 2-2. If a player lost stage 2-1 but thinks they can rebound, then level on 2-2 especially because better Chosen odds happen at level four.
The other most important thing to note in stage 2 is income. Players want to try their hardest to have at least 10 gold by the stage 2 carousel. However, due to low gold openers, this may not be possible. In an event that a player cannot reach 10 gold by carousel, they should “pre-level” on stage 2-3 instead. What this allows for is a player to hit level five going into stage 2-5 which gives a player a level five shop. This allows for the protentional of powerful tier four units as well as tier three Chosen units. If a player does have 10 gold going into carousel, those players commonly will level to five at 2-5.
As for the rest of stage two, players should try to be at 20 gold entering Krugs and probably more importantly either have a lose streak or win streak heading into it. Streaking into krugs has major econ implications as the extra gold will compound. The term “infinite econ” is thrown out a lot by top-level players and they are justified in saying that. When a player is streaking into Krugs, they are generating an extra one to two gold than they would be if they weren’t. That gold commonly allows them to hit the next econ threshold which then lets them generate an extra gold which allows them to hit the next econ threshold the next round which is an extra gold, one can see where this is going. Although it’s not the end of the world if a player doesn’t streak into Krugs, it helps out a lot.
Mid Game- Stage 3
After Krug’s players should be level five and have around 30-40 gold. At this point level six is on the horizon. Due to stage 3-1 not being an even interval for leveling, most players elect to level to six on stage 3-2. This is where players will have the first opportunity to spend some of their gold on something that isn’t the gain XP button. The general rule of thumb here is that players want to be around 25-30 gold after they level to six. If players find themselves in a weak position but have more than 30 gold after leveling on 3-2, they may elect to roll some gold for a couple of upgrades but, should not go under 30 gold. After stage 3-2, the goal is to try to win streak or keep up HP while trying to econ up to 50 gold.
Ideally, players want to be at around 40 gold on the stage 3 carousel. After the carousel, if players are in a rich position, they may elect to level to seven on stage 3-5 to maintain a win streak but typically won’t do a big rolldown until after Wolves. For the rest of the lobby, the goal is to be above 50 gold heading into Wolves as players will want all the gold possible for the big roll down in stage 4.
Late Game – Stage 4
In the current meta game, there really is no such thing as going “fast 8”. Fast 8’ing is the idea of not spending any gold on rerolling until they hit level 8. In past meta games, players did this instead of rolling down on seven, this meta is not like previous meta games. In this meta, players will typically level to seven on stage 4-1 and then proceed to roll down until they hit their upgrades. This is why having 50+ gold heading into Wolves is ideal because having more gold than the rest of the lobby increases one’s chances at finding the right upgrades on the 4-1 rolldown.
This point of the game is the make or breakpoint. Most players try to stop their rolling when they hit 20 or 10 gold but don’t be afraid to roll all the way down to stabilize the board. After stage 4-1, the hope is that the player is healthy and strong enough to econ back up to hit level 8 on 5-1. Hitting level 8 before stage 5 sometimes happens when a player has very high econ and did not need to roll much on level 7 to hit their upgrades. Those players and also players who need a specific tier five-unit may elect to sacrifice HP to try and “fast 8” on 4-5.
End Game – Stage 5/6/7
Since the majority of players roll down on 4-1, there are not many chances to hit level 8 before stage 5. However, it’s important to hit stage 5 as quickly but also as efficiently as possible. Many players have targeted stage 5-1 as that breakpoint. If a player was able to hit what they needed on the stage 4-1 rolldown, they should have enough gold to level to 8 at this point while also having some gold to roll as well. In the current meta game, this is the last time a majority of players will hit their D key as most comps are completed at level 8 and most games dont last long enough for level nine.
This is intentional as Riot changed the amount of XP needed to hit level nine from level eight which is a huge disincentive for players to chase. However, if a player is having a good game or they don’t feel the need to upgrade their board, players can maintain econ and try to level 9 on stage 6-1 if they survive long enough. This doesn’t apply to every player every game but will definitely come up at some point.
At this point one has reached the end game, the only other things to consider is when to econ and when to “donkey roll”. Donkey rolling is the process of rolling down to zero gold every round in hopes of hitting chase upgrades. In the end game, players elect to do this to preserve HP on the chance they find exactly what they are looking for.
The other idea is to manage around 10-20 gold and wait for good intervals to “all-in”. Typically this is done after stage 5 carousel, stage 5 Neutrals, Stage 6 Carousel, and rarely stage 6 Neutrals.
Conclusion and thoughts
Now that one has reached the end of the guide, it’s important to note that things like reroll comps and other playstyles will have different timings. Those will have separate guides at a later time. Stay tuned for more tips and guides for TFT.
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