How Long Does An Average TFT Game Take?

Today I will write one of many of League’s exciting topics, and I will focus on a relatively new aspect of the world’s most loved and hated game, and that’s, of course, Teamfight Tactics (Or just TFT, whatever you like). Today we’ll be addressing the average game duration in Teamfight Tactics!

The short answer is around 35 minutes, but it’s not that simple.

To answer that question, we need to address a couple of things before.

First, What is TFT?

-TFT is an online multiplayer game that takes part in the League of Legends universe and can be accessed through League’s client or the official mobile app. I would personally describe it as some form of chess for people who aren’t that great in chess (I’m kidding, I’m just bad at it) and want to play something more diverse and less monotonic.

Now, after we know the basics, we can cover more in-depth stuff.

Also read: Do Items Stack in Teamfight Tactics?

How is TFT Played?

The game revolves around the League of Legends universe and its champions. In TFT, we find the champions we use in our Summoners Rift or Aram games, with a couple of tweaks. They only have one ability (sometimes it’s their ult, but most of the time, it’s some of the basic spells). 

All champions have traits, usually two, but some have three. Those traits differ from set to set. Basically, when League releases a new set, the old one is scrubbed, and all-new champions and traits are added.

You use your gold to purchase champions, whose prices differ from 1 gold to 5, and their availability differs from a level that you have in-game.

All of the champions have 1,2, and 3 stars(*), and it is your job to upgrade them. And how can I do that, one may ask?

It’s simple, really, and it goes like this:

Buy three times the same 1* champion, and you get 2*.

Get 2* champion three times, and voila, you have your 3* champion.

Also read: Is Teamfight Tactics Cross-Platform?

What is The Goal of The Game?

Have fun! Just kidding, it’s League; for christ’s sake, it’s to get angry and report someone….. No, all jokes aside, unlike classic Summoners rift and ARAM, you play for yourself, so it’s eight players, every player for himself. That means no flaming. You brew some coffee, light a cigarette and enjoy your game.

Now to get back to the question, your goal is to build an army with most of the champions of the same trait(example: 8 Academics or Syndicates on the current set) and try to make them work with some other traits, basically creating a synergy of the army (example: 6 snipers, 5 mercenaries, 2 enforcers, 2 bruisers), and of course to have all of your champions have as high star level as you can build.

Are There Any Different Modes in TFT?

– Yes, there are:

1. Normal game – You can play this mode when you want to try some new strategies or synergies or just can’t be bothered to overthink and lose your LP.
2. Ranked – On this mode, you apply the knowledge you learned on normal games, and you are in the mood to kick some ass.
3. Double-Up – This is the mode you play with your buddy, if you have one, unlike me *cries*. In this mode, you play as a team, so four groups consisting of two players, but each has his own army. (Zolpidem)
4. Hyperroll – This is the mode where you don’t have to overthink your money and leveling strategies because all players receive the same amount of gold and everyone has the same level. So you can reroll your shop and level up your champions!

Now, it’s time for our question of the day!

Also read: Best Chemtechs Comp in Teamfight Tactics

How Long Does a Game of Teamfight Tactics Take?

Alright, let’s start from the top!

1. Normal, Ranked, and Double-Up

These three modes are very similar, and they consist of the following:

• Carousel
• Minion stage
• Fighting stages
• Gromp stage
• Wolf stage
• Chicken stage 
• Herald stage
• Dragon stage

But, after the initial carousel, after every other stage, there are five fights against other players. So if we want to determine how long a game actually takes, we can do that by using simple maths.

• How good are you? This means that if your strategy is excellent, you won’t get to stages 8-1 (which is the longest I have ever got to). You may as well end it after stage 5.
• How many carousels are there? For every stage, there is a carousel which takes a tiny 5 seconds of your time.
• For the purpose of this text, we will say that the average game will last about 6 stages, so let’s calculate.
• 6 carousels times 5 seconds = 30 seconds
• 6 stages, which all have 6 fights per stage, lasting around 30 seconds is 6x6x30= 1080 seconds or 18 whole minutes! Wow! Time really flies when you are having fun.
• Also, 30 seconds that game gives you before each fight to purchase some new champions and upgrade your army. So that’s basically the exact maths 6x6x30= 18 minutes.
• When we add all together and include approximately 3 minutes of the loading screen, we get to this: 3 minutes+0.30 minutes+18 minutes+18 minutes= a whooping 39 minutes and 30 seconds. Damn! It takes the same as Summoner’s Rift ranked game, but it’s just stress-free and more nail-biting.

2. Hyperroll

• One carousel
• Five stages consist of two fights, some of them against Gromps, Wolves, Chickens, and others against other players.
• Three stages consist of 3 fights again, some of them are against Herald or Drake, and others are against other players in your game.
• One last stage consists of 10 fights, but the game will definitely end after the third or fourth.

Let’s do the maths!

1. A single carousel = 30 seconds
2. Five stages times two fights of 30 seconds, 5x2x30=300 seconds, or 5 minutes!
3. Three stages times three fights of 30 seconds, 3x3x30=270 seconds, or 4 and the half minutes!
4. One stage times three fights of 30 seconds, 1x3x30=90 seconds, or a minute and a half!
5. And of course, we must not forget ”free time” you get to purchase champions and upgrade your army before each fight, and that is also 30 seconds before every fight, so let’s calculate. (5x2x30) + (3x3x270) + (1x3x30) = 300+270+90=660 seconds, or 11 minutes.
6. Let’s do the final calculations. 30 seconds + 11 minutes of fighting + 11 minutes of assembly time, and we get 22 and a half minutes!

Also read: Best Strategies For TFT Set 6.5

Final Thoughts

1. TFT is a game in League of Legend’s universe, with totally different mechanics, styles of play, and goals (apart from winning, of course, that is always relevant)
2. TFT has many different modes suitable for different players and their preferred gaming style.
3. TFT modes have different game duration.
4. Normal mode is excellent for training.
5. Ranked mode is excellent for those who don’t mind the length, want to improve their economy skills (which is very important in this mode), and want to boost their rank!
6. Double-Up is excellent when you have a buddy but don’t want to play a regular Summoner’s Rift or ARAM, you want to be victorious as a team, and you want to help your buddy by sending them champions or items you have purchased for them( yes you can do that! ).
7. Hyperrol is excellent for times you just don’t have 40 minutes of spare time to play League, or you just can’t be bothered with leveling strategies or saving gold.

So that’s all, folks.

I hope this article helped you learn the basic mechanics of Teamfight Tactics, but most importantly, I hope it was fun to read! Expect much more content about Teamfight Tactics in the upcoming days and many of the hot topics covered in our blog!