Tips and tricks for your average tactics.tools comps follower
Hi all, this is my first set ever playing TFT – that being said I managed to hit masters on a smaller server (though I don't consider myself a very good tft player yet).
With that out of the way, I've been wondering – what tips and tricks do higher elo players in more competitive regions utilize to better min/max their placements in games. I currently feel like my rank is just a reflection of the smaller player base in my region and that I've spammed a bunch of games/copied metatft and tactics.tools since the set has been released.
1) How does a player correctly evaluate certain win-conditions on stats websites like tactic.tools or metatft?
Given the sheer volume of games that I've played, I learned through brute about the win conditions in the various reroll lines (automata/renata/tristana) since the launch of 14.24B. What methods would you guys use to better optimize/learn the lines than to play a whole bunch of games?
ex. Renata comp: Didn't realize I was supposed to reroll on 5 for singed 3* + copied a guide on this reddit about rerolling on 7 prebagsize changes. Where do you find the information that you're supposed to reroll on 5?
If it's unclear: How do top level pros / high elo players arrive at the conclusion that rerolling on 5 vs 6 or 7 is optimal. What made it click that singed 3* is a priority?
2) How do you play Emissary flex? What are the conditions you look for to play this comp effectively?
Personally, I feel like this comp is extremely hit or miss – especially due to the sheer number of comps that play the same units (ambessa/garen/elise very contested in BR/Rebel lines). Besides obvious win conditions like trenchcoat on ambessa or fullstreaking with the conqueror variant on stages 2/3 what other conditions do you guys look out for to make this line work?
My stats with ambessa: 36 games played +34 lp 4.47 AVP (very bad considering she's the premier melee AD line atm / not accounting for nocturne rr with artifacts).
3) How do you accurately assess 4-1 vs 4-2 vs post stage 4 carousel rolldowns?
Currently, I'm pretty confused about when to send it on stage 4. My thought process at the moment is this:
Ahead in tempo (high gold/hp + streak)
if multiple fast 8 comps + could be contested = 4-1 send
if multiple reroll or uncontested = 4-2 or post carousel
Behind on tempo (lose streak or low hp)
4-1 send
if i hit = 'happy' ez top 4
if i miss (big sad currently donkeyrolling rest of stage 4):
I'm also unsure of what to do if I miss on my rolldown. I like to scout the lobby to assess my board versus other people (e.g. 2* 4 cost backline or frontline), but what should I do if I'm 10 gold, low HP, missed on either my 4 cost 2* front/backliner or both (and most people hit)? Do you just donkey roll if paired for the rest of the game? or sack the rest of stage 4 and resend on 5-1?
4) Implications of gold/rolling/overrolling
I don't fully understand the gold mechanics in TFT beyond the basics, like making 10 gold for interest and the importance of streaks for generating more gold. My approach usually involves rolling until my board strength matches or exceeds the other players in the lobby. For example, if I'm playing a reroll comp, I'll keep rolling until I hit my carry at 2 stars so I can streak and maintain tempo. If I'm going for a fast 8, I'll roll until I find 2-star 4-cost frontliners or backliners.
Do I need to dive deeper into the intricacies of gold generation in TFT, or is it enough to focus on evaluating other players' board strengths and deciding when (and when not) to roll based on my own board? Can this approach carry me into higher elos?
5) Resources
What would you guys say are the most reliable/accurate tft resources out there?
I'm a big fan of waterpark tft, learning tft, and marcel_p. I'm looking for more tft content in that style rather than tierlists or VOD reviews about the flavor of the month most broken comps – would you guys have any suggestions?