How to Play Every Galaxy in TFT
For many players, galaxies are a fun game mechanic that changes how you play slightly, but you may not have a game plan in mind when you see what galaxy you are in. Some galaxies may only change how you play slightly, while others may change it drastically.
In this guide, I’ll be going over how you can approach each of these galaxies differently to give you an advantage. You might not try the same strategy each time, but knowing what each galaxy entails ahead of time will help you make decisions in-game.
Basic Mechanics
This section will be short and sweet. For those of you that are new to the game, or don’t know, galaxies are special mechanics that alter how the game is played. This can be something simple like starting with less health, or something more drastic like every neutral creep drops a loot box.
To know if you are in a galaxy, the start of the game will have a text of banner in the initial carousel. Each galaxy also has a unique image that will be in the center of the carousel to indicate this as well. Throughout the game, you will see this unique image at the top of your screen to the left of the round indicator.
Galaxies will occur in 80% of your games, with each galaxy having an equal chance of occurring. So expect most of your games to have interesting mechanics to maneuver around. Without wasting any more time, let’s get right into each galaxy.
Binary Star
Binary Star Mechanic – Champions can only hold 2 items
Binary Star is one of the few galaxies that limits players. Most galaxies give bonuses to players, but this one does the opposite. There aren’t too many basic intricacies to this galaxy. You just have to keep in mind the limitation you have and plan around it.
Binary Star Tips
Learn Priority Items
Since champions only have 2 item slots, you want to figure out what items are essential on your carries. Let’s look at two examples to explain this.
Looking at a unit like Vayne, we have three offensive items recommended. This is because Vayne have innate survivability through her ability and her range. Vayne with Last Whisper is priority, with second items like Giant Slayer, Infinity Edge, or Deathblade all being good 2nd items. Learning which item is priority comes with experience, or by learning from other players.
With a comp like this, you have a much tougher choice. Rapid Firecannon and Guinsoo’s Rageblade are both amazing items on Master Yi. However, Master Yi is more susceptible to CC as he is lower range than other carries like Jinx or Vayne. Because of this, Quicksilver is also a very essential item. You can decide to itemize with RFC and Quicksilver, but the loss of a third item definitely hurts Yi more than other units.
Superdense
Super Dense Mechanic – Grants every player Force of Nature after Stage 3 carousel
The Superdense galaxy definitely is very powerful, but usually does not affect the decisions you make too much. Most comps in the game are optimized around level 8, but there are a few comps that fare slightly better than others with 9 units.
Super Dense Tips
Level 9 Advantage
In this galaxy, it is very likely that you will be able to hit 9 units as you will usually be able to hit level 8. As such, make sure that you know what unit you plan on adding in beforehand as having that extra slot early may not be at the top of your mind.
Unfortunately, you may find yourself not being able to hit many of the units you need. If you find yourself in this situation, it can be a good idea to try and stop the bleeding by rolling more at level 7. This will ensure that you hit a strong 8 unit team that may land you a higher placement than if you play greedily for level 8.
Hyper/Slow Roll Comps
For comps that Hyper or Slow Roll, having an extra Force of Nature will allow you to complete your 8 unit team if you spent too much money rolling in the early game. However, unless you are playing a very powerful comp, this advantage is usually weaker than a regular comp that can add in an additional unit late game.
Trade Sector
Trade Sector Mechanic – Every player gets 1 free reroll a round
In Trade Sector, having the extra free reroll is a huge help to every player. This usually will allow players to not have to reroll except during key rounds like after leveling up to 7 or 8. As usual, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Trade Sector Tips
Play Slow
Throughout the game, you can make the most out of this galaxy by not rolling after you level up. If you are strong enough to not lose too much HP, you can afford to level up and let the natural rolls and free rolls to build your team. When hitting late levels like 8 or 9, you can spend more to hit a large power spike.
If you are playing a Slow Roll comp, this galaxy will help you even more. Depending on the meta, you may opt to play a slow roll comp to try and hit 3 star units.
Win Streaking
Win Streaking in Trade Sector during the early game is more difficult than usual. With the rerolls, almost every player will be decently strong in the early game. Leveling up early to secure a win streak will be harder than usual, so keep that in mind if you plan on doing so.
More Units Now, Less Gold Later
Even though the rerolls you are using are free, the gold you spend buying the units early will mean you will build up less economy throughout the game. While this is offset by the slow advantage you gain every round, keep in mind that you might have less gold than usual after hitting level 7 or 8.
Treasure Trove
Treasure Trove Mechanic – Every neutral creep drops a loot box
If you don’t understand what this entails, just know that you will get lots of extra items and gold from creeps. Like most other galaxies, every player will be much stronger than they would in a normal game. So what can you do to make yourself even stronger?
Treasure Trove Tips
Build Around Items
Usually in TFT, you pick your comp around the items you find. In Treasure Trove, you are much more likely to be able to build your core items, so you shouldn’t worry too much about items. You can decide to try and play the strongest comps, or build around the units you find. Don’t put too much weight into items, but remember you still need to build the right ones.
Furthermore, if you want to play a comp that requires a Spatula, chances are that you will be likely to find one in Treasure Trove. Comps that hit their peak with a Spatula can usually be consistent in Treasure Trove.
Additional Carries
In most comp builds, there are a few core items on your main carry, followed by an item or two on additional carries. In Treasure Trove, try to figure out what other items you can build as you will have a lot of components. You may find yourself being able to build 3 amazing items on 3 units. Plan accordingly.
Star Cluster
Star Cluster Mechanic – All 1, 2, and 3 cost units will be 2 star on carousels
Star Cluster provides very large power spikes for players after carousels. The carousels allow players to find an entire upgraded unit that can mesh well with their team. Additionally, players will almost triple the gold they get from carousels should they sell the unit they take.
Star Cluster Tips
Item and Champion Balance
In the early stages of the game, you should try and balance whether you want to get a champion you want, or an item you want. Ideally, you would be able to get both, but that doesn’t always happen. Try to discern whether you are lacking item components or strong units. Getting an upgraded champion will help you be strong, but can hurt you later if you don’t find the item components you need.
Slow Roll Comps
In most scenarios, Slow Roll comps are built around 2 or 3 cost units. Being able to get 3 copies of a core unit will drastically improve your chances of 3 starring them. For 2 cost units, the carousel will have 9 units out of a possible 13. Those are pretty good odds of finding the one you want.
Galactic Armory
Galactic Armory Mechanic – Every player starts with the same 2 completed items
Galactic Armory can be very interesting. Every player can start with items like Last Whisper and Giant Slayer, or something like Zephyr and Guardian Angel. There are a wide range of possibilities, and you should plan early as to what you plan on doing with the items.
Galactic Armory Tips
Leading Items
You may find yourself in a game where everyone gets items that point toward certain builds. For example, everyone may start with Blue Buff and Rabadon’s Deathcap, or Last Whisper and Giant Slayer. While these are extreme examples, keep in mind that players will likely be going for the same builds you are.
To combat this, you can either pray to Mortdog that you hit your units before them, or you can choose to roll more at level 7 to ensure you hit the units before everyone else takes them.
Alternatively, you can choose to play a build that doesn’t utilize these items well. In these situations, you are more likely to find both the units you need, and the items you need from carousel. While this can present an advantage, it may not be enough to offset the disadvantage from not being able to utilize your free items well.
Flexible Items
In most games, you’ll find yourself with items that can fit into a multitude of comps, or items that may be used in differing comps. In these cases, you usually will just play the game as you normally would while utilizing the items you found.
Dwarf Planet
Dwarf Planet Mechanic – The first and last row of every board is disabled
This galaxy brings back a bit of nostalgia as Sets 1 and 2 of TFT had boards that were only 6 hexes vertically. While it may be quite difficult to adjust your positioning, for the most part, things remain somewhat the same. However, there are just a few things to remember when playing in this galaxy.
Area of Effect
One of the biggest advantages in this galaxy is that AOE, or Area of Effect, abilities are much stronger in this galaxy. Since units are forced to clump closer to together, abilities like Gangplank’s or Fizz’ are likely to hit more units than on a regular board. Because of this, you can try to play comps that utilize AOE, but the advantage should come naturally, as it isn’t something worth forcing.
Range
One small caveat to this galaxy is that units that have short range do gain a slight gain from the small board. If all the units are closer, short range or even melee units have to move around less, allowing them to deal more damage. Conversely, units like Snipers get a small nerf in this galaxy as their trait bonus deals more damage the further enemies are.
Plunder Planet
Plunder Planet Mechanic – All champions have a chance to drop a coin on death, especially the first few
In this galaxy, every unit basically becomes a Space Pirate. Killing enemy units will occasionally give you more gold. While you may get less than other players in the beginning, Mortdog has said that over the course of the game, the additional gold will average out.
Aggressive Strategies
With the additional gold early game, you have the option of spending more gold either leveling quickly or rolling for stronger units throughout the game. If you decide to spend gold early, try your best to maintain a win streak. If you end up winning and losing every other round, other players may have a much stronger economy to beat you in the late game.
Greedy Strategies
With the additional gold, you can start building up interest much faster and attempt to go for extremely early level 8 or even rush level 9. To do this, you should keep in mind that you have to have a decent team throughout the game as losing every round on purpose can quickly get you an 8th. With a decent start, an aggressive strategy could be more consistent for 4 top 4, but you could play more greedily to go for a 1st or 2nd place.
Thanks for reading! Be sure to download our TFT overlay to get the best team comps and item/champion recommendations for your matches.
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