TFT Guide: How to Pivot Your Comp and Transition

How to Pivot and Transition

TFT games often don’t go how you might initially plan. While you can do very well forcing the same comps over and over, it can be very rewarding to pull of a successful pivot or transition.

For the most part, pivoting refers to when you change the comp you are going to a different one based on circumstances like items or the champions you find. Transitioning usually refers to changing your board over the course of the game, which can happen even when you are playing the same comp.

The purpose of this guide is to help you identify things like:

• Why should you pivot comps
• When should you pivot comps
• How to pivot successfully
• Late Game Pivoting

Why Pivoting is Important

Playing flexibly in TFT is one of the best ways to improve and climb. Pivoting is an important skill to have as you can recognize that if you continue on your current game plan, you likely will not reach top 4.

This can be very difficult to discern. Sometimes, if you’re playing a reroll comp, you may think that you won’t hit and it will be better to level up instead.

However, either decision you make can be correct. If you level up and maybe hit 6th place instead of 8th, you can consider that a good choice. On the other hand, if you decide to commit and hit your 3 star unit and reach top 3, that can also be see as the correct decision.

Lots of TFT decisions fall under this circumstance. Pivoting can be a great option to mitigate bad luck you run into, but you can also play well without pivoting. It’s simply an option to add to your arsenal.

When Should You Pivot?

As I just mentioned, pivoting may not always be the correct decision. It will be hard determining when to pivot, and even reviewing games can lead to survivorship bias. Even still, there are plenty of flags you can look for to help you determine the best time to pivot.

What units do you have?

If you plan to play a comp that runs an Attack Damage carry, do you have the right units to easily transition? The early and mid game can often be a jumble of whatever units you find, so that won’t matter too much. However, as you approach the later stages of the mid game, you should assess what units are on your board.

If I plan to play Bruiser Urgot, but my frontline consists of Bodyguards, maybe I should decide to play with a carry that synergizes well with the units I have. This way, I can spend less gold trying to replace more units on my board.

Do you have the right items?

Items are a key aspect to the strength of your carry. Going for the same comp every game can lead to success, but some games, the right items just won’t drop. In these situations, you should try to see what carries can make the most out of your items.

Conversely, you may want to play a specific carry, like Jhin, and have 3 perfect items for him. However, while rolling down, you only find Urgot. You can decide to pivot to Urgot, but your items are better for Jhin. Depending on the speed of your lobby, you can afford to be more greedy with your items in order to build the best items possible in every scenario.

As you climb higher and higher, the speed and strength of the lobby will increase. You might not be able to afford to hold onto item components. Building strong generic items that are strong on many carries or comps is one great way to keep yourself open to pivoting or transitioning.

How much gold do you need?

Gold is your best friend. If you have a strong economy, you can make the hardest pivots or transitions possible. You can replace your entire board at 5-1 if you have enough gold. You won’t be in this situation most games.

You need to assess your items and units to see what units you want to find as you pivot. Once you figure this out, you can get a general idea of how much gold you need to find these units.

If I play the early game with Challengers like Camille, Samira, Warwick, and Quinn, I can decide to go for a Challenger comp. However, as I roll, I may find an upgraded Jhin. I need to ask myself, what units will I be replacing and with what? I can keep Camille for Clockwork, but I will want to have a new frontline like Bodyguards, another Sniper like Caitlyn or Miss Fortune, and some utility units like Janna or Orianna.

Pulling this off requires me to save up enough gold. I may decide to lose a few rounds to save up more gold so I can have a better chance at hitting the units I need.

How to Pivot Successfully

Pivoting successfully is the culmination of identifying all of the signs that you should pivot. Once you decide to pivot, identify what items you have, what units you can keep or need, and how much gold you need.

Going through this game plan throughout the game will help you be prepared for any situation. Furthermore, here are some additional tips for pivoting.

You Don’t Have to Pivot All at Once

Pivoting can be a slower process than drastically flipping your board. Even if your units don’t have syenrgy as you pivot, having upgraded units with less synergy can often be better than a bunch of 1 star units that make up your ideal comp.

Pivoting slower is also easier on your economy. Rolling down to 30 or 20 will give you just a little bit more to find the extra units you need rather than rolling down to 0 for a hard pivot.

You Can Always Pivot Back

Another benefit to pivoting slower is that you are able to change your mind. If you can’t find your Urgot 2 and decide to run Jhin 2, you can always keep Bruisers in your frontline for a bit. You may run into Urgot 2 in the next couple of rounds and be able to play the original comp you intended to play.

Understanding How Strong You Need to be

Pivoting often happens when luck doesn’t go your way and you need to adjust on the fly. Because of this, you may be losing a lot of HP while saving up gold. If you’re low on health, you may decide that going all in for a large power spike is the best way to stabilize.

As you play more and more, you’ll be able to understand how strong your board is compared to the rest of the lobby. Going for a large power spike faster than other players and before they roll for carries can be a good way to secure your units.

Late Game Pivoting

All of the things I’ve covered so far explain the basics of pivoting from one team comp or carry to another. However, there is also a late game pivot or transition that can be used to “cap your board.”

If you find yourself win streaking very hard, you might be able to reach level 9 with a lot of gold. If this is the case, you should look for ways to pivot into late game comps that use lots of 5 cost units. This can be the difference between placing 1st and placing 2nd.

If you’re able to complete your team comp, great. You can hit level 9 and add in a Yuumi or something to get a bit stronger.

However, the best players will find ways to continue pivoting and transitioning well into the late game. Maybe the right decision is to replace half your board for strong units like Galio, Jayce, Kai’Sa, Viktor, etc.

This type of pivot is very difficult to pull off and requires a lot of gold. Even with this skill, it won’t make the biggest difference in your games. But TFT is a game of inches. Finding every small advantage you can is what will make you a strong TFT player.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to check out our meta team comps page, or head to our Team Builder to try and come up with your own comps.