TFT Terms, Definitions, Acronyms, and Slang
Welcome to our glossary of TFT terms. Some terms have been used since the start of the game, while other terms have slowly been defined over time.
If there’s a term that you feel is missing, make sure to comment down below so we can add it to our glossary.
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If we missed anything, feel free to leave a comment and we’ll add your request!
TFT Terminology
Ability / Spell
- Each champion or unit will have an ability. This ability will either be a passive effect, or will be something that the unit will cast after they reach full mana.
AP
- Short for Ability Power, this stat empowers champions abilities, giving them more scaling. Also referred to as Spell Power.
Bench
- The area below a player’s board where they can put extra units. This is where you will hold units to eventually put in or hold to try and upgrade your units. The bench can hold a max of 9 units.
Board
- The main area of the screen in which players place their units to fight other players.
Buff
- A buff often refers to a patch or change in the game in which a champion, item, or trait receives a change that benefits them.
- Can also refer to the bonus you receive from a set of traits in game. (Ex: Bruiser 6 Buff)
Build
- Often refers to a specific set of items to use on a specific champion.
- Can also refer to a specific combination of champions.
Carousel
- Refers to the part of the game where players pick up a unit and item in a shared pool.
Carry
- A champion capable of winning the game when invested into with things like items and supporting traits.
Chosen
- A set mechanic added in Set 4. This mechanic allows players to purchase a Champion with bonus stats and has one of the unit’s traits counted twice.
Comp (Team Comp)
- Refers to a specific combination of champions and items.
Economy
- Refers to the general concept of building up gold in the early stages of the game.
Elemental Hex
- A set mechanic used in Set 2. Players can place units on an Elemental Hex for bonus effects at the cost of one item slot.
Experience (XP)
- The game mechanic that determines when a player will level up. Can be purchased with gold or gained passively each round.
Fast 8
- Refers to a strategy in which a player levels up to 8 early in order to find high cost units faster. Often occurs when a player hits level 8 in Stage 4. For more information, see our Leveling Strategies Guide.
Ghost
- Refers to playing against an enemy without dealing damage to them after winning. This will occur when the lobby has an odd number of players. You will still take damage when losing to a Ghost.
Hextech Augment
- A new Set Mechanic added in Set 6. Players will choose an upgrade from a shop that affects their game in a variety of ways. This happens 3 times throughout the game.
Hyper Carry
- A hyperbole of a regular carry. Signifies that a champion has even more potential to carry than other units.
Hyper Rolling
- A strategy that involves rolling early game in order to try and 3-star a 1-cost unit early on in the game. For more information, see our Leveling Strategies Guide.
High Roll
- Refers to being lucky.
Little Legend
- Refers to the small sprite that players control and move around with.
Low Roll
- Refers to being unlucky.
LP (League Points)
- Refers to the ranked points that a player wins or loses in their ranked games.
Mana
- Refers to the bar that allows champions to cast their abilities. Mana will be gained by basic attacks, taking damage, items, or other in game effects. (In this image, Zigg’s Mana bar is 60, denoted right below his Health Bar).
Meta
- Meta can be thought of as the acronym, “Most Effective Tactic Available.” This refers to the optimization of strategies players find, resulting in optimal comps or builds to play.
Nerf
- Opposite of a buff. Occurs when a change made to a unit, synergy, or item negatively affects their performance in game.
OP
- Short for Overpowered. Describes when something about the game is much stronger than its competition.
Overtime
- Occurs when the time limit in a round runs out. The fight will then go into overtime, a 15 second period in which champions are affected with these modifiers.
- 300% increased attack speed.
- 100% increased ability power.
- 66% reduced crowd control duration.
- 66% healing and shielding reduction.
PBE (Public Beta Enviroment)
- An official testing server that where Riot allows players to play the game with previewed changes to the game. The PBE also often has the new set of TFT two weeks before releasee.
Positioning
- Refers to how players place their units on the board.
Pivot (Transition)
- Refers to when a player changes their comp plans mid game to adjust for in game variables like items or luck.
PvP (Player vs. Player)
- Refers to a round where a player fights another player.
PvE (Player vs. Environment)
- Refers to a round where a player will fight in game enemies for loot drops.
Roll Down
- The act of rolling down consists of spending all of a player’s gold in order to search for units.
Scouting
- Refers to looking at enemy boards in order to gain an advantage.
Set
- Refers to the period of time in which the game has a specific set of champions and items.
Slow Rolling
- Refers to a strategy where a player slowly rolls in order to hit 3-star units. This involves saving up 50 gold and then rolling only the gold above 50. For more information, see our Leveling Strategies Guide.
Splashable
- Refers to a champion(s) that is able to be added in a large amount of team comps. Units like this often provide utility to the team and require low investment.
Stage
- A group of Rounds that determine the current state of the game.
- Stage 1 consists of 3 PvE rounds.
- Stages 2+ consist of PvP rounds, a carousel round, and a PvE round.
Streaking
- Refers to the bonus gold gained when a player either wins or loses multiple rounds in a row.
Strongest Board
- The strongest team a player can make with the units they have available.
- This term often refers to the ability to build a strong team early on without having to invest gold into rolling.
Trait (Synergy)
- Refers to the class or origin of a champion. These will provide your team bonus effects upon reaching a certain interval.
- Example: Akali has two traits (Assassin and Syndicate)
20/20
- This refers to when a player forces the same team comp every game, effectively playing the comp 20 games out of 20 games.
That sums up our TFT Terminology Glossary. This will hopefully give you a better idea of what players are talking about online or in streams. As previously mentioned, if you are unclear about a term or think we are missing something, be sure to comment and let us know.
Thanks for reading, let us know if we missed any terms and we will add them! This list of terms will continue to grow and improve over time.
To learn about the new TFT Set, head to our all-in-one Teamfight Tactics Set 6 reveal page that covers all champions, synergies, and more!
