It is important to be inspired by the best players to progress on TFT. In addition to his stream which is very educational, Saintvicious, the first professional player of the game at Team Liquid, occasionally makes videos to explain certain concepts. Today he talks about the economy and the best timings to level up. We summarize his guide for you.
When to go to level 4 after the first PVE rounds
A mistake that many players make is to always level up right after the first three PVE rounds. According to Saintvicious, this option is only worth considering if you can get a winning streak quickly, by already having level 2 champions, strong synergies and/or OP items at the start of the game (like the Echo of Luden or the Dagger of Statikk).
The rest of the time, it's better use your PO to buy the whole shop and maximize your chances of getting upgrades afterwards. It is also possible to voluntarily try to leave losing streak to build a better economy on the long term. It is sometimes possible to lvl up in the next round (2-2) if you have obtained level 2 champions in the meantime and you have won the first PVP encounter.
The losing streaks
Now that the damage on defeats has been lowered, the losing streak are more likely. Generally, they are to be considered from the first PVP round until the second carousel, which will give approximately 12 to 15 gold altogether, and the priority on the choice of objects.
In the worst case, you will then be around 55 HP, which is disabling but recoverable since you will have a better economy than the others. By managing your team well so that they lose each round with a little margin, it is possible to still have around 70 PV in the second carousel.
The "Pre-leveling"
The ' pre leveling is a strategy generally applicable before the 1st carousel (round 2-4). At this point, you should be at 0 or 4/10 XP, and then it may be worthbuy XP to upgrade to 8/10 XP. Most of the time, players tend to level up when the count is round (6/10 for example to immediately go to 10/10), but the pre leveling allows to lvl up at the beginning of the next round. This allows toget better champions on the first natural roll.
Indeed, since you reach level 5 at the start of the round, you increase your chances of having tier 4 or tier 3 champions among the 5 available to you at the start of the turn. This strategy is applicable for each level, but it is better not to sacrifice a level of interests to force it. It is therefore to be preferred if you cannot reach 10 or 20 gold before the 1st carousel for example.
Read also: Our advanced guide to the economy
When to Level 6
It is possible to pass level 6 directly after the Krugs (Round 2-6), when you'll usually be at 6/18 XP. You will then have to spend 12 gold, but you can already start finding more tier 4 champions or upgrades. This choice should be considered only in case of strong winning streak that you want to continue, or if you have already lost a lot of life without being on a consistent losing streak.
If you still have enough HP but neither are you dominating, or you are in losing streak but with more than 65 PV, it may be more interesting to wait the round before the second carousel (10/18 XP) to level up. You will then have earned a few more gold of interest or an additional losing streak.
When to Level 7
Usually players pass level 7 after Wolves (round 3-6) and spend all their economy on rerolls to find tier 4 (Jinx, Draven, Cho'Gath…) on which to build their endgame comp. This strategy is viable, but if all players in the lobby apply it then everyone fights to find the same champions at the same time, which is counterproductive.
It is possible to work around this problem by going to level 7 a few rounds earlier, usually one or two rounds after the carousel (3-4 or 3-5) in order to get ahead of other players. You will then have fewer rerolls available since you will have had fewer rounds of interest, but you will not be not yet challenged by other level 7 players and then maximize your chances of finding tier 4 or tier 5 units.
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