TFT Terminology Explained: Essential Terms & Slang for Set 14

Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned TFT player, understanding the game's unique terminology is crucial. From "Donkey Rolling" to "High Roll" and "Spot," these terms define key strategies, mechanics, and playstyles that can make or break your climb in ranked.

This glossary covers the most essential TFT slang and definitions, helping you navigate the game like a pro. No more confusion—just clear explanations of the terms you see in guides, streams, and patch notes.

A

• AD (Attack Damage) – The stat that increases auto-attack damage.

• Adapt – Flexing multiple compositions, requiring high skill.

• All-In – Spending all resources (gold, items, etc.) in one go.

• Angle – Looking toward a specific composition or playstyle.

• AP (Ability Power) – The stat that increases magic damage.

• Augment – A bonus effect that enhances gameplay, chosen at various stages.

B

• BB (Blue Buff) – An item that provides mana regeneration.

• Bench – The area where champions are placed before going into battle.

• BIS (Best in Slot) – The ideal set of items for a champion.

• Board – The battlefield where champions are placed.

• Bow – Short for Recurve Bow, a basic item component.

• Bug – A game exploit or unintended behavior.

• Build – A combination of units and items to form a strategy.

• Buff – A boost to a champion or trait, either through game balance changes or in-game effects.

• BT (Bloodthirster) – An item that grants lifesteal and a shield.

C

• Capped – Maximizing the strength of a board.

• Carousel – The shared draft round where players pick champions and items.

• Carry – The main damage dealer in a team.

• Chosen – A term from Set 4 referring to a two-star champion with a bonus effect (similar to Set 10’s Headliners).

• Climb – The act of gaining LP to rank up.

• Cloak – Short for Negatron Cloak, a basic item.

• Comp (Composition) – The set of units on a player’s board.

• Contested – When multiple players are going for the same champions, making them harder to find.

• Cook – Experimenting with a unique strategy, often from the phrase "Let him cook."

D

• Donkey Rolling – Rolling down to 0 gold every turn.

• Duelist – A trait that increases attack speed per auto-attack.

E

• Econ (Economy) – Managing gold for optimal scaling.

• EoN (Edge of Night) – An item that grants a self-peeling effect upon taking fatal damage.

F

• Fast 8 – Rushing level 8 quickly, often sacrificing early-game strength.

• Flex – Playing multiple compositions rather than forcing one.

• FoN (Force of Nature) – The previous name for Tactician’s Crown, an item that grants an extra unit slot.

• Force – Committing to a single composition regardless of game circumstances.

G

• GB (Guardbreaker) – An item that deals extra damage after breaking shields.

• Ghost – Facing a simulated opponent rather than a live player.

• Giga – An exaggerated prefix (e.g., “giga-highroll” means an extreme high roll).

• Greed – Delaying spending gold or HP for a bigger payoff later.

• Going Eighth (Goin Eif) – A meme term for finishing last.

• Grief – Purposely making suboptimal plays to hurt another player’s game.

• GS (Giant Slayer) – An item that deals bonus damage to high-HP units.

H

• High Roll – Getting lucky with units, items, or augments.

• HoJ (Hand of Justice) – An item that grants lifesteal and bonus damage.

• Holding Bench – Keeping units on the bench instead of fielding them.

• Holding Hands – Two or more players running the same comp, contesting units.

I

• IE (Infinity Edge) – An item that enhances critical strike damage.

• Inting – Purposely losing rounds (from League of Legends terminology).

• It’s a First (Issa Forst) – A meme term for knowing you’re going to win first place.

• Item Holder – A temporary unit holding items until the final carry is found.

J

• JG (Jeweled Gauntlet) – An item that enables ability crits.

L

• Lives – The number of rounds a player can lose before elimination.

• Low Roll – Unlucky odds when rolling for champions or items.

• LW (Last Whisper) – An item that reduces armor on crits.

M

• Matchmaking – The system that pairs players based on skill level.

• Meta – The most optimal playstyle at a given time.

• Mortdogged – A term used when feeling unlucky (named after TFT’s lead designer, Mortdog).

N

• Natural – Finding a champion in the shop without rolling.

• Neeko – Old name for A Lesser Champion Duplicator or Gold Neeko for Champion Duplicator

• Next In – The next unit to be added when leveling up.

O

• Open Fort – Selling units early to maximize economy.

P

• PBE (Public Beta Environment) – The test server for new patches.

• Pivot – Switching compositions mid-game.

• Pocket – The hex in the third row on the left side of the board.

• Portal / Galaxy – The encounter that starts the game. Previously, it provided three options to choose from, but in Set 13, it was changed to a random encounter.

• Prelevel – Buying XP early to level up at the start of the next round.

• PvE (Player vs. Environment) – Rounds against non-player enemies.

• PvP (Player vs. Player) – Rounds against other players.

Q

• QSS (Quicksilver Sash) – An item that grants crowd control immunity.

R

• Rats – Players who take specific champions or items to sabotage another player’s comp.

• RB (Red Buff) – An old item that applied healing reduction.

• Reroll – Rolling the shop to find specific units.

S

• Sack – Intentionally losing rounds to gain a future advantage.

• Scout – Checking other players’ boards.

• Send It – Spending all gold in one turn.

• Stable / Stabilized – Having a strong enough board to stop losing fights.

• Slam – Building an item immediately instead of waiting.

• Slow Roll – Rolling while maintaining 50 gold for maximum interest.

• Spike – Hitting a power spike, such as getting a key upgrade.

• Splash – Including a unit just for its synergy bonus.

• Spot – The specific situation or position a player is in (e.g., "He’s playing from a strong spot").

• Stimmy – A Set 10 mechanic that gives extra resources at certain HP thresholds.

• Strongest Board – The best available board at a given time.

• Swap – Moving units at the last second for positional advantage.

T

• Tech – A hidden or underutilized strategy.

• Tempo – Playing at the pace of the lobby.

• TG (Thief’s Gloves) – An item that grants two random items each round.

• Trait – The synergies provided by unit types.

V

• Vertical Comp – Stacking a single trait as much as possible.

• Vest – Short for Chain Vest.

W

• WIS (Worst in Slot) – The worst possible itemization for a champion.

X

• XP (Experience Points) – Used to level up.

Z

• Zephyr Cheese – Holding Zephyr until the last second to disrupt an opponent’s key unit.

0-9

• 1st or 8th – A playstyle that involves high risk and high reward, often leading to either a first-place or eighth-place finish.

• 20/20 – Forcing a single composition for 20 games in a row to demonstrate commitment.

This guide is part of our comprehensive TFT Knowledge Compendium. Stay tuned for more in-depth breakdowns of Set 14 mechanics!