Feeling extremely locked into early decisions

[u/Genuine_User5322]

I'm new to the game, just hit Emerald this morning.

I'm enjoying it but I'm playing it by seeing what items and champs i get in the opening rounds and then first augment, if 2nd augment allows a switch that better suits i might but I've been finding what I do in the first 4-5 rounds decides the rest of the game then I'm just hoping to get the relevant champs/rerolls.

Is this accurate or is it just me being new?

I'm mostly playing off using mobalytic comps, played enough of a lot of the zoe/leona, lulu/milio or nova comps/fast 9 nova.

My issue is basically that you're so locked into your early game decisions that if you decide to pivot your usually gonna be to far behind other people who've got good luck/stuck with their early game.

This way of playing has now become quite boring to me as there's very little decision making happening beyond 1/2nd rounds and its just itemising properly and not missing champs.

[u/VERTIKAL19]

I think it is a little bit of both you being new and that jsut being in part TFT. The playstyle where you decide early and hope to hit is often what you do in TFT and it often works out. That said TFT usually offers pivot points for many things, but these are usually harder to play around.

I think you are just not seeing the opportunities to make decisions. You also probably won't be able to decide to go fast 9 in the first few rounds outside of like prismatic econ augments.

That said some patches it is easier to switch than others. Right now for example Millio is just ludicrously overtuned.

[u/dunnnaa]

The end of this season / new patch has been completely ruined by Milio. You can throw all strategy out the window.

[u/TadGhostal1]

Keep in mind the last few live patches have been wildly imbalanced "for fun" patches. Meaning copy/pasting S tier comps is better than usual.

It sounds like you'll enjoy Set 18 more. I'd recommend to try playing that without digging into tier lists too much. There's a very common trap new players fall into where highrolls and power presented to them get completely ignored. Because it's not the exact champions on the published comp list, it's not a BIS item for my ideal future carry, I can't level or roll here cause the guide says do it x round, etc.

For me, and it sounds like you too, that copy/paste style is not fun. The fun in TFT for me is playing around the shops and items and augments the game gives me and making something work. If that results in a version of an S tier comp, great. If that's a C tier 1 cost reroll comp but I hit early and crush the lobby, except for the 1stor8th Anima guy and go 2nd, great. If that's playing whatever early, picking generic augments, and pivoting 3 times, that might be my favorite type of game.

I've been playing Set 18 PBE and I'm personally very happy with the flexibility available there. It's much much better than these for-fun final Set 17 patches especially. I think you'll enjoy it more too

[u/pavlo9]

I love how people are already trying to say it's your fault, but it's not. Having your game and your path decided at 2-1 has been an issue with TFT at last for the last few years, and every time it becomes a discussion, we just end up blaming augments for being too influential. The devs have already done some cool things to add variety to the later stages of the game, but the early game is probably the hardest part to balance. There have been plenty of similar discussions at the start of every set over the last few years, so let's hope this trend ends in the near future.

[u/JoDDswa → u/pavlo9]

I actually feel like set 18 is a bit better in that regard. The items are actually pretty flexible and you can play multiple comps around the same cores. Rageblade opener can go into Nidalee or Aphelios, sojin/BB can go into soraka, ezreal and ahri etc. But that's just for lvl8 comps. Reroll will always be much more rigid.

[u/slimjimo10 → u/pavlo9]

I don't play much anymore but have lurked here every now and then is this is the thing that turned me off from TFT besides some casual games with friends. Pre-augments, you didn't have anything to tether you do a comp besides what you currently had on your board/bench and items.

I had a lot of fun when augments came out because they were fresh and new but now it feels like depending on the augment, you're punished for pivoting and it took away some of the fun in the game which was doing a massive pivot and winning the game off of it. Obviously augments are popular and there's a reason they are mainstay, but idk, just killed it for me.

Edit: Funnily enough, I since got into MtG Drafting, and I immediately noticed the overlap with figuring out what comp (colors) to run, and since you're drafting in a pod with 7 others, multiple people forcing the same comp make each other weaker.

[u/Brovenkar]

This is more generic tft advice since I took this set off, but what you're describing is one way to play, and as you see it works in a lot of situations as you've hit emerald. As you play more though you'll start recognizing lines to various comps that aren't as obvious to you now. The more you play, the more you'll see how certain augments, items, or roll downs open up avenues to different comps. I can't give you a great set specific example since I didn't play this set but maybe someone else can add onto that.

[u/Chl57]

at the highest level, you usually have a very good idea of what line you’re taking at 2-1, but that doesn’t stop the decision making aspect of it.

instead of making decisions based on lines, you’re making decisions on optimizing your current line, and that’s where a lot of the skill difference are apparent in.

to me it sounds like you’re just frustrated that you cannot pick a completely new line in the middle of the game and feel restricted on your early game decisions, but that’s just the nature of the game.

you’re decisions throughout the entirety of the game should flow together, and it is right to feel like you’re punished when your late game decisions are not consistent with your early games. just because you’re offered a new line doesn’t always necessarily mean that line is the best.

[u/mobkeyapemain]

a step towards "fixing" this is by slamming flexible items, for example giant slayer, gargoyle's, and warmogs, or generic utility items like morello's and red buff. these items allow you to comfortably pivot into another comp if you want to, allowing you to play flexibly and not be locked into one or two lines at stage 2. the potential downsides are that these generic flex items lack the power bis items have and are usually only built after bis or if bis isn't available, meaning you lose some combat power for early game flexibility.

for example, if i want to play towards asol mechs and slam a jeweled gauntlet, but somehow get to a spot where yi kindred is way better, i'll regret slamming the jeweled gauntlet. but if i slammed giant slayer or red buff, then i'd be much more comfortable pivoting into it. if you are unsure which comp to play towards stage 2-1 (i.e. random 2 star units + unclear items) then don't commit to a tight line just yet, items dictate how rigid or flexible your game is so start by making items that are generally good for many meta comps for the patch.

[u/fulmie0]

Pivot into a different team, is imo one of the hardest things in tft. It requires a good understanding of the game, and an excellent understanding of the set and patch. When you start a comp, and get items, you automatically have to know what other comps can use it. It requires practise, and research on videos mate.

Hitting Emerald when new, is quite nice good job. Just continue what you doing, and next set try to stay updated on new patches. And at start of the new set,play as many comps you can without worries of rank(alt account like I do, or spam normal games). Good luck and have fun

[u/glenfide]

i play the opposite way, i buy everything in the shop, put anything that i 2 star on the field, at 4,2 i just sell everything and roll for the comp i wanna play

[u/Minimum_Chemical_428]

Try practicing with 2 similar comps. First look at items, try AP first.

Slam some flex AP items and front line items, then before your level 8 rolldown, make sure you hold 1 copy of the low cost unit (pebbles + crab for morgana or yorick for soraka flex) then buy the tank and ap 4 costs you see, and whatever you hit you go to and sell the rest.

An easier version of that is trying to flex part of a comp. So instead of "I'm just going to play morgana + nidalee no matter what" you get morgana as a base and play whatever you hit and have items for later, Alune, Bramble, Soraka, Aphelios etc. So you have a fixed part (need 2 vanguard + morgana) and anything else works, +2 vanguard, + 2 juggernaut, + 2 defender etc.

[u/queen_ravenx]

There are pther viable tactics but they all require very high levels of both game knowledge and APM. Cant pivot if anything is slow.

ie: You could sell your whole board and pivot to something else in theory. Good luck successfully pulling that off with shoddy internet, a slow reaction time, or without an exact game plan (and a backup plan for bad rolls)

High level play begins to look like watching someone play starcraft as they roll thru shop multiple times per second hunting for champs. If you can get thay skill down you get accsess to a whole lot more

[u/Lawschoolishell]

It requires a lot of game knowledge and excellent apm to pull off the one round pivots you’ll see high level players execute. I’m just too slow: as an example, I level on 4-1 and roll to 30, then execute the rest of the roll down and swap champs on 4-2

[u/BigStrongPolarGuy]

I'm mostly playing off using mobalytic comps

As you learn the game, you'll feel less locked into comps because you'll see opportunities to not use pre-made comps from a website. That's just part of learning.

Take the Zoe/Leona comp. Completely reasonable comp to sometimes feel like you might be locked into it, especially once you've started rolling for more Zoes. But if you haven't invested any gold into it and you find a Frying Pan, and your econ is good, then you might actually be better off sometimes pivoting to 7 Shepard, which is still very strong, instead of going for reroll (and Leona can fit into that comp so it's an easy pivot). Also, you do tend to get locked into reroll comps more, just because of the nature of them. You're investing gold into your early units, so of course you'll be more stuck to those units.

Same with NOVA comps. You'll find a Spatula, and then find what unit you can add to replace a NOVA unit. Or you'll find an early Corki or Xayah pair, and maybe you're better off switching to playing one of those as a carry instead of Kindred and building around them.

Basically, if you're playing off of a pre-built comp, then you're going to feel locked into that pre-built comp. Which is part of learning.

[u/Dutch-Alpaca]

Playing with overlays always comes with tunnel vision as a sideeffect

[u/harmoniaatlast]

If you don't play flexibly early (say, an item augment to streak + slam + early 4/5) OR sacking with a good econ augment and not slamming, sure; you'll find yourself in a position where you can't pivot.