One of the premier auto battlers, Teamfight Tactics offers players a competitive, strategy-focused game that relies on managing your gold income, synergising your champions and items, and careful positioning to counter your opponents. With various modes on offer, TFT is a great alternative to more mechanically focused games and provides an in-depth strategical experience that is not locked behind a steep learning curve.

RELATED: The Best Competitive Multiplayer Mobile Games

This beginner's guide will break down what exactly Teamfight Tactics is, the different game modes, general concepts and strategy, and how to start improving your gameplay.

How do you win in Teamfight Tactics?

In essence, the goal of TFT is to keep your Player Health above zero. This is achieved by defeating your opponents, thereby reducing their Health instead of yours. To win a round, you must buy champions from your shop using Gold and position them on your board.

• You may only have a certain number (depending on Player Level and Items) of champions on your board at any one time.

Every round lost will reduce your Player Health by two, plus extra depending on how many enemy champions are still alive, and the Tier and Level of those champions.

A player can level up by earning a specific amount of experience, either passively after a round, or by purchasing with Gold. Although, you will earn extra Gold interest for every ten Gold you possess, so be careful not to spend too much on levelling up.

To ensure you win as many rounds as possible, you will want to buy champions that have certain synergies and traits. These will greatly empower your team depending on how many traits are currently active. There are a great many options when it comes to possible traits, and they are best saved for individual breakdowns, however, the key to a strong team is trying to build a composition around one or two strong traits.

When you possess three of a champion, they will automatically combine into a Level Two version, and owning three Level Twos will automatically create a Level Three. These champion levels are extremely important, as they significantly increase a champion's stats, so try to level up key units for whichever build you have decided to play.

Available Game Modes

TFT currently has four available game modes:

What is the Carousel?

Upon entering the game and every six subsequent rounds, all players will enter the Carousel. This is a special round where you will get to choose a champion and accompanying item without fighting your opponents.

Players begin the Carousel locked into their platforms, and will be released in pairs, according to their current Player Health. Players with less Health will be released faster, allowing them a better selection of champions and items.

• In the first Carousel, all players are released at the same time

The Carousel will rotate around, and to claim a champion a player must first run their avatar through it. This can be hard to time especially if the Carousel is moving away from you, and many players will often compete over the same champions, so be prepared to have a back up option!

How do Items work?

Items are an extremely important aspect of TFT and aside from levelling, are the primary to increase the power of your champions. They work by combining two item components into a full item. Once combined, only certain niche methods can disassemble an item, so be sure to build exactly what items you want, rather than randomly combining for power. Items can only be combined by placing them onto a champion, and can only be removed via a Magnetic Remover, a Reforger, or if that champion is sold.

There are many items in TFT, but the vast majority will be built from these components:

• Giant's Belt (+ Health)
• Chain Vest (+ Armour)
• Negatron Cloak (+ Magic Resistance)
• B.F.Sword (+ Attack Damage)
• Needlessly Large Rod (+ Ability Power)
• Recurve Bow (+ Attack Speed)
• Tear of the Goddess (+ Mana)
• Sparring Gloves (+ Crit Chance, + Dodge Chance)
• Spatula (No stats by itself)

The typical strategy is to focus your items on two specific champions, one focused on being your damage carry, and the other your primary tank. Your items will not always be conducive to this, but you should try to focus on this strategy regardless. Each champion can hold a maximum of three items.

Items can be obtained from various sources, including Tahm Kench, the Carousel, and certain Augments, but the primary method is via PvE rounds.

What are PvE Rounds?

PvE rounds occur for the first three rounds of the game, and at the end of the next six-round sections throughout the game. Instead of fighting another player, your units will contest against a variety of monsters.

These monsters will drop loot, in the form of gold, items, and champions, and are the key source for obtaining item components. PvE rounds act as a break between the PvP action and are vital times for deciding on strategy, depending on what items you receive.

The PvE rounds are as follows:

• The Drake onwards will always drop a fully completed item, so be sure to finish off any item combing before these rounds.

What are Augments?

Augments are permanent bonuses that will be offered to players three times a game, on Rounds:

• 1-4
• 3-3
• 4-6

There are a large variety of available Augments, ranging from increasing your units' combat abilities to increasing the size and speed of your own avatar. They can significantly impact your team composition, as a strong early Augment can favour a specific build you may not have been intending to run. For example, being offered So Small (Dodge Change for Yordles) early on can completely transition your build into playing Yordles, purely on the strength of that Augment alone.

Augments come in different rarities, Silver, Gold, and Prismatic. Prismatic Augments are the most powerful, but also the rarest.

When it comes to choosing your second and third Augments, try to synergise them with whichever build you are currently playing. Whether it be to obtain an extra emblem, or to power up your late-game damage carry, Augments are crucial in maximising certain team comps, and games can be won or lost depending on your choices.

NEXT: Legends of Runeterra's Progression System Is Free-To-Play Done Right