Riot Games, renowned for creating some of the most popular video games worldwide, including Teamfight Tactics, has carved a niche in competitive auto-chess gaming with TFT and its intricate ranking system.
TFT is a competitive auto-chess game based on the League of Legends universe. The game uses the same familiar champions and TFT ranks are identical to League of Legends.
Even though TFT is much more forgiving towards newer and veteran players, achieving a high TFT rank still requires some effort and knowledge of the game. If you are just starting out in TFT, you’ll need to understand the ranking mechanics of the game. In this guide, we’ll shed some light on the TFT ranking system, explain how it works, and how to get ranked in TFT.
TFT Ranked Tiers
Before going any further, it’s important to mention the different TFT ranks there are in the game’s TFT ranking system.
Just like League of Legends, TFT has nine rank tiers in total:
- Iron
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond
- Master
- Grandmaster
- Challenger
These nine tiers are also further divided into ranks, creating a much better competition according to the skill level of the players. Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond tiers include four different ranks. Starting from the fourth rank, players need to reach 100 LP in each rank to get to higher tiers. After reaching Master, the LP system will decide the ladder. Master and Grandmaster players need to reach the highest LPs in both leagues to reach the top tier in the game, Challenger.
TFT Ranked Seasons
One of the biggest differences between TFT and League of Legends is that TFT has a much shorter ranked season, and there are no requirements to start playing ranked in TFT.
TFT is not only a bit more casual when it comes to the game’s playstyle, but it also caters to a slightly different audience. On top of that, TFT is very dynamic and introduces new sets of champions every new season. This is why TFT ranking seasons tend to be shorter, lasting for a couple of months only.
But this is a huge positive for Riot Games as they can have three or even four TFT ranked seasons each year, giving the player base an opportunity to experience multiple sets of champions and thus keeping the game fresh and exciting for longer periods.
TFT Rank Promotions and Placements
Since every new TFT-ranked season introduces a new set of champions, players are forced to start over again and learn the new set. This, of course, is nothing new as it’s common practice in League of Legends to play five placement matches at the start of every new season to determine your starting rank.
TFT does the same, and every new season players will have to play the same five placement matches after which they’ll be placed into the league.
Keep in mind that, in the TFT ranking system, you don’t lose any LP during these five placement matches, but instead, you gain increased LP from winning. Winning these five matches is a good way of gaining an early head start in the TFT-ranked season.
To climb the ranks in TFT, you’ll have to earn LP points. Every 100 LP points earned will bump you up into the next division and you’ll retain all the leftover LP when you get promoted. Keeping your LP high will ensure continuous progress in TFT ranks, but at the same time, losing LP can get you demoted.
Demotion and Decay
Getting demoted in TFT is no pleasant experience, and naturally, everyone wishes to avoid it if possible. Here are a few key pieces of information you should know about TFT demotions. First of all, you can only get demoted if your LP is at 0. This means that as long as you’re above that, you’re safe. There’s also a second condition tied to this. You will demote in TFT ranks if your LP is 0 and your MMR is too low for the current rank you’re in.
Aside from demotions, there’s also this thing called decay in TFT. Starting from the Masters rank and above, players will bank up to ten games. Then, one banked game will be removed each day. If there are no banked games to be removed, the player will lose 250 LP instead.
Since the 11.22 patch, players from Iron to Master will no longer be demoted. This now only applies to Grandmaster and Challenger tiers.
If players continue playing each day and make sure they have banked games, focus on maintaining their MMR, and continue winning more than losing, then there is no fear of demotion and reaching Challenger becomes a realistic possibility.
Climbing TFT Ranks Fast
With the TFT ranking system explained, we now turn our focus toward progressing TFT ranks. Unlike in League of Legends, playing with friends can’t positively impact your TFT ranks in high elos and it’s a bad way of improving your odds of winning.
TFT does have a few restrictions when it comes to queueing ranked with friends. You can queue in parties of five when you’re Gold rank or below. If you’re Platinum or above, you can only queue in parties of three.
Queuing in a party already provides a significant advantage. By having these restrictions, Riot is ensuring that ranked stays fair and competitive for everyone.
When starting out in TFT, it can be overwhelming to figure out which champion combinations work well together. However, there are a few best TFT comps for beginners that are both easy to understand and effective. As players progress, they can experiment with more complex comps.
Reasons to Play TFT Ranked
Teamfight Tactics is an incredible game which can be played on both desktop PCs and mobile devices. In fact, by July 2021, TFT has largely contributed to Riot earning over $100 million from their mobile titles, which just shows how popular the game is.
But that’s not all. TFT also has an active growing esports scene and Riot is organising more and more great TFT esports events with pretty lucrative rewards. Just like the other Riot Games products, TFT is one of those to have a big community competing in tournaments all around the globe.
Especially in the last few years, Riot has increased its time and investment in the TFT esports scene. In 2022, the Dragonlands Championship with a prize pool of $456,000 was followed by the TFT Open Championship 4: Regional Finals and the Gizmos & Gadgets Championship with prize pools of more than $250,000. These rewards were increased in esports events of 2023.
In 2023, Monsters Attack! Championship with $456,000. It was followed by TFT Open Championship 5: Regional Finals with $285,000 and TFT Open Championship 6: Regional Finals with $278,000.
And finally, the game is super fun. This might be the biggest reason to give TFT a shot and test your skill in TFT ranks. It’s a perfect mix of casual and competitive, and you can play it from anywhere. It’s very easy to get started and you can immediately jump into ranked matches.
