TFT Set 16 Guide: How to Play Darkin

How to Play Darkin — TFT Set 16: Lore & Legends

Darkin is a new trait in Set 16 that is unlike anything we have seen before! First, the Darkin are either unlocked by augments or by fielding a unit with 40% omnivamp at level 8!

This is very different from the usual level to 8 and I hope to find legendary units. It also features Zaahen - a 7 gold unit which Xin Zhao’s hero augment transforms into after 5 combats of 3 star Xin Zhao! 

It is exciting to see a unique trait like this introduced to TFT as players may not be able to force 3 Darkin each game, but the games that you can get to it will feel fun and rewarding as well as adding more variance to players' games. This makes Set 16 more replayable and fun! Let’s take a look at the Darkin Trait bonus.

This guide was written by Silverfuse.

Explore all of the new Set 16 traits here!

Darkin Trait Bonus

• (1) Darkin gains 15% Omnivamp.
• (2) AND you heal for 25% of the player damage you deal.
• (3) AND whenever Darkin restore 100 Health, they deal 100 magic damage to the 2 closest enemies.

Darkin Champions and Synergy

Darkin have only have Slayer as a potential synergy as the traits heavily rely off Darkin themselves for their power:

• Aatrox (5G) - World Ender & Slayer
• Zaahen (7G) - Immortal

The Darkin Trait

Darkin is an interesting trait because it is locked behind unlockable champions as well as augments. For example, a new augment called Unsealed From Steel is a gold augment that can appear at any time. It reads:

Choose 1 of 4 Darkin Weapons. Darkin Weapons are Artifacts that grant the Darkin Trait. This makes it so it is easier to get access to Aatrox by having the first trait active of Darkin gain 15% omnivamp and adding additional omnivamp to unlock the potential of getting Aatrox in shop which requires you to be level 8 and have a champion at at least 40% omnivamp which will likely be your Darkin Weapon holder.

At 2 Darkin, you heal for 25% of the player damage you deal - making that omnivamp go to the player as well. This may not appear to be a ton of healing, but with late game damage, it can add up quickly and definitely save your life multiple times in late game stages.

The final Darkin, Darkin 3, Darkins also restore 100 Health and deal magic damage to the 2 closest enemies. This is important because the magic damage will mix well with primarily physical damage.

This is another type of damage which opponents will need to have mixed resistances rather than just stacking armor against you. This also makes it so it is valuable to build both Sunder and Shred once you have 3 Darkin

Aatrox (5G) - World Ender & Slayer

[Link to Champion Page]

Aatrox can be found once you field a unit with 40% Omnivamp in Combat and are at least level 8. 

Aatrox has a loaded ability - The Darkin Blade. On cast, he cycles through one of the following abilities: Slash in a line, dealing (AD & AP) physical damage to enemies hit and 20% sundering them for 4 seconds. He then swipes in a cone dealing (AD & AP) physical damage to enemies hit and knocking them up for 1 second.

Finally, he slams the target dealing (AD & AP) physical damage in a 1 hex circle. Targets below a max health threshold are executed.

On top of this, World Ender Aatrox has a passive where he gains attack damage equal to his Omnivamp, so the Darkin trait along with building omnivamp on him doesn’t feel bad at all due to his AD buffs he gets.

Another World Ender perk is on his first death, he comes briefly untargetable and heals back to full health over 2 seconds. Afterwards, he reduces his maximum mana by 20 and gains 25% durability and continues to fight with a second life - making Aatrox a huge drain tank that is hard to deal with!

Zaahen (7G) - Immortal

[Link to Champion Page]

Zaahen can only be unlocked if you have the Xin Zhao Champion Augment and fielded a 3-star Xin Zhao for 5 rounds. You can only unlock Zaahen when you have the Xin Zhao champion augment! 

Zaahen’s ability is Dash around a target and slash in a circle, dealing (AD & AP) physical damage to target and (AD & AP) physical damage to all other adjacent enemies hit. If the target doesn’t die, immediately cast again. 

If this ability is cast 25 times in a row, instead slam on a target, instantly killing them and dealing (AD & AP) physical damage to all enemies within 3 hexes.

Darkin is definitely a different trait than I expected, but I love the trait, and I think it is good that you cannot hard force 3 Darkin each game. However, it does seem like most games you have the option of getting to Aatrox by stacking omnivamp onto a unit and then rolling down.

However, this is not an easy feat. It will be interesting to see how strong Aatrox 1-star is vs Aatrox 2 star. At 2-star I expect him to be a monster, but we will have to see if 1-star Aatrox will be stable or not as that will likely determine how viable it is to play for Aatrox each game.

Thanks for reading! If you want to try and come up with your own team comps for Set 16, check out our Team Builder. For a full overview on the new set, check out our TFT Set 16 Reveal Page.