TFT Set 8 Guide: How to Play A.D.M.I.N.

How to Play A.D.M.I.N

TFT Set 8: Monsters Attack! is right around the corner, and A.D.M.I.N or Admin for short is one of the new and unique traits we’re getting.

Admin is different from our usual traits, because you can tailor it to how you want it every game. You won’t be able to repeat the same combination every game, but there are plenty of strong options to choose from.

In this guide, we’ll be taking a deep dive on the Admin trait. We’ll go over how it works, what champions make up the trait, things to keep in mind, and some team comps to try out.

If you haven’t checked out all of the Set 8 information yet, check out out Set 8 Reveal Page!

How A.D.M.I.N Works

The Admin trait most closely resembles something like Mirage or Mutant from previous sets. You won’t always get the same bonus every game, but you have some control over what you get.

The Admin trait consists of 8 “causes” and “effects.” When you activate the trait for the first time, you will get a selection of 3 causes and 3 effects to choose from. This allows you to tailor your Admin trait to whatever comp you want to play.

One big difference from Mutant and Mirage is that you can’t simply see what the bonus is every game. You will need to activate the trait to see if you can get a good combination.

A.D.M.I.N. Trait Bonus

A.D.M.I.N.: A.D.M.I.N. configuration varies for each player each game.

A.D.M.I.N. (2): Configure the cause and the effect for your A.D.M.I.N. program.

A.D.M.I.N. (4): Configure an additional effect for your A.D.M.I.N. program.

A.D.M.I.N. (6): Outputs of the above tiers are increased by 160%.

Possible A.D.M.I.N. Causes and Effects

Here is a list of all of the causes and effects you can choose from in the A.D.M.I.N. trait.

Causes:

• On cast…
• Every three autos…
• On Kill your units gain…
• Upon dropping below 40 percent Health…
• A.D.M.I.N. only at start of combat…
• A.D.M.I.N. only every five seconds…
• Teamwide at start of combat…
• Teamwide every five seconds…

Effects:

• Gain stacking Ability Power
• Gain stacking Attack Damage
• Gain Mana
• Gain a percent max Health shield
• Chance to drop gold
• Gain Attack Speed
• Heal
• Gain permanent max Health

Once again, you will be given a selection of 3 causes and 3 effects each game. Because this will vary each game, you won’t be able to necessarily force the same comp over and over. There may come a time where different Admin variations result in different meta comps, but that will take time to explore.

Some strong combinations have already been found, but more will definitely come.

Best A.D.M.I.N. Combinations

From the early PBE testing, we’ve seen that bonuses that allow you to stack Ability Power is quite strong.

On Cast + Gain Stacking Ability Power is a perfect combination as Soraka can be utilized as a carry with this combination. Every unit scales some way off Ability Power, so each of your Admin units gets a nice little bonus.

Another solid bonus is being able to keep your team alive. In this case, we recommend:

Upon dropping below 40% Health + Gain a percent max Health Shield

This combination is great for keeping your team alive. You can also mix it up by doing something like, Teamwide cause instead of the dropping below 40% Health. This will give your entire team a percent Health Shield, which can stall for Soraka to ramp up with an item like Archangel’s Staff.

These are just two examples of strong combinations. You can definitely try similar variations or even go off the rails with something else to see if it works.

A.D.M.I.N. Synergy

Admin is quite a small trait, with only four units to activate it. This means they don’t take up a lot of board space, but there isn’t a ton of clear synergy between them.

Here’s a list of the traits you can branch into with the A.D.M.I.N. units.

• Brawler
• Renegade
• Hacker
• Spellslinger
• Heart

Brawler is the only frontline trait present in the synergy, so Brawler is the clear frontline trait to branch into. With the other traits, there are a lot of flexible options you can splash in. This makes Admin comps a very wide comp, with a lot of small trait bonuses active usually.

With the new Hero Augments, you can also try to build each champion as a carry, making a lot of different possibilities.

A.D.M.I.N. Champions

Let’s briefly go over each Champion in the A.D.M.I.N. trait and what you can do with them. We’ll also show each Champion’s Hero Augments so you can know what to look out for.

Blitzcrank – A.D.M.I.N. + Brawler

Blitzcrank is the only dedicated frontline unit of the Admin trait, and he’s only a 1-cost. Even still, his ability is reminiscent of Leona from past sets, making him an extremely effective tank. Brawler will be an easy frontline to splash in, especially with the strong 4-cost Brawler, Sejuani.

Blitzcrank Hero Augments

Dynamic Defenses: Gain a Gargoyle Stoneplate and a Blitzcrank. When he casts his Ability, its duration increases by 1 second per enemy targeting him.

Rocket Grab: Gain a Blitzcrank. Combat Start: He pulls the farthest enemy and stuns them for 1.5 seconds.

Camille – A.D.M.I.N. + Renegade

Camille is a bit of a pseudo frontline unit for Admin comps. While she does have higher armor and base stats, her Renegade trait doesn’t lend her to becoming a stronger tank.

Even still, Camille is an important asset to have not only to complete the synergy, but for some extra frontline. With her flexibility, you can build her with extra tank items to further bulk her up, or even some damage items to help in that department.

Camille Hero Augments

Adaptive Defensives: Gain a Camille. She gains 20% Attack Damage. When she casts her Ability, she gains a shield equal to 30% of her Attack Damage for 3 seconds.

Hextech Retribution: Gain a Camille. When you field her, your team deals 15% bonus damage, increasing by an additional 5% whenever an ally dies.

Leblanc – A.D.M.I.N. + Hacker + Spellslinger

Leblanc is the only Admin unit with 3 traits. While this usually makes for broken units, it does get a bit costly with Leblanc. You will want 4 Admin, 2 Hackers at least, 2 Spellslingers for Leblanc, and a Brawler for more frontline. That already consists of 7 units out of the usual 8.

Even still, Leblancs 3 units make her a very impactful supportive unit. She allows Admin comps to easily flex into different traits, making her very powerful in the mid to late game.

Leblanc Hero Augments

Mirror Image: Gain a LeBlanc. Combat Start: Your strongest LeBlanc creates a 70% Health, itemless clone of her nearest ally.

Aim Assist: Gain a LeBlanc. For every 3 sigils fired by her Ability, she fires an additional sigil at the lowest Health enemy.

Soraka – A.D.M.I.N. + Heart

Soraka is the last and only 4-cost unit of the Admin trait. Her Heart trait allows her to build up Ability Power the more she casts, which also synergizes with the potential stacking Admin trait bonus.

Most Admin comps will likely run Soraka as the AP backline carry. Further down, we will explore other options for Admin comps with AD carries like Zed.

Hero Augments

Infuse: Gain a Soraka. Every 5 seconds, Soraka grants your team 20 Mana.

Upgrade: Berserk: Gain a Soraka. After 15 seconds of combat, all of her Ability casts are empowered.

Best A.D.M.I.N. Augments

There are a lot of A.D.M.I.N. Augments to choose from with the new Hero Augments system. Since the Set is still in development, feel free to try them all. Build around Blitzcrank, Camille, Leblanc, Soraka, whoever you want.

The Best Hero Augments will change over time as the meta evolves and patches change things. Other than the Hero Augments, here are some general augments to keep in mind.

Stand United I/II/III

Your units gain 1/2/3 Attack Damage and Ability Power per Trait active across your team.

Stand United is a great general augment to have as Admin comps naturally branch into many traits. This gives your entire team a nice boost of both AD and AP. While the extra AP may become excessive, more is always nice.

A.D.M.I.N. Heart / Crest / Crown

If you are able to get up to 6 Admin with the A.D.M.I.N. Heart or Emblems, you can get a very powerful trait bonus. Increasing the bonus 160% at 6 A.D.M.I.N. gives your team a very powerful buff. This will be hard as you need two extra Admins, but it will be worth it.

Furthermore, with an Admin Emblem, you will be able to itemize another carry based on your Admin bonus. This can be another AP unit like Syndra, or maybe an AD unit like Zed.

A.D.M.I.N. Team Comp

It’s still early in PBE, so things are bound to change, but here’s a team comp to try out. As the patches come and the meta evolves, we may see changes to this team comp, but for now, here’s a quick look.

Soraka A.D.M.I.N. Comp

Here’s a comp starring Soraka as the main carry. The comp uses the simple 4 Admin, an extra Brawler with Sejuani, and some other utility units to round out the comp. Annie is the main tank in this version, but isn’t necessary to do well.

This formation is a general frame to work from. For a full in-depth guide, you can check it out on our website here.

Zed A.D.M.I.N. Comp

This version of Admin runs Zed and Soraka as carries, with Sejuani as the main tank. Since Leblanc is a Hacker, Zed is easily slotted in to become an additional carry for the team. Zed is a good option to have if your Admin bonus is more AD or AS bonuses rather than AP.

Soraka is still in the comp as a usual AP carry, so this comp has two strong 4-cost unit carries to build around.

Conclusion

A.D.M.I.N. is a very unique trait that’s unlike anything we’ve seen before. There are plenty of combinations to try out, and some may be sleeper OP in the right team comp.

We’ve picked out some of the early performing combinations and easy to build around ones, but there’s definitely more to explore with the trait.

Admin will definitely be a lot of fun to play, but hopefully the causes and effects are balanced enough so that people don’t complain about Admin diff.

We hope you enjoyed this guide, and hopefully it helps you climb some ranks. Good luck and have fun!

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.