As Riot describes it, TFT is a round-based strategy game that pits you against seven opponents in a free-for-all race to build a powerful team that fights on your behalf. Your ultimate goal is to be the last person standing. While this does describe the game in a nutshell, we all know there are many additional layers to the strategic chaos that is TFT.

Amongst these layers, we have the in-game items. Items are gained from random drops in PvE rounds or on units picked up in each carrousel rounds. These drops are based on RNG but players decide how to upgrade and what unites to place these items on. Knowing what items synergize best with the build your working towards can make the difference between a win or a loss.

That said, today we’re going to focus on one base item and its upgrade combinations. That item is the Giant’s Belt.

Titanic Hydra: Attacks deal 10% of the wearer's max HP as splash

Hydra is an interesting item because it can be a blessing early game but a curse in late. When placed on a tank with a large HP pool, it can dwindle your enemies' HP in the early stages and secure wins which translates to winning streaks and incremental income. The negative side of this item is that in later stages when enemies have higher rank units with much larger HP pools, the goal is more about getting early picks to reduce the amount of ultimates enemy units cast. Hydra does not offer enough damage to secure kills in these stages, while also fueling the mana pool of all units hit giving them earlier (and even multiple) ult-casts during the round.

Redemption: At 25% health heal all nearby allies for 1000 HP

Redemption is a circumstantial item that can be useful when used on the right compositions. Its real value comes in comps where your team has strong survivability. This can increase the probability of getting the heal on more units. Redemption is an item you want to place on your main front liner who draws in most of the enemies' attacks and will activate earlier. This item goes well with Nobles, Knights, and Brawlers.

Warmog's Armor: Wearer regenerates 6% of missing health per second

Warmog's is an item that does not need too much explaining. It is a great option for a heavy frontliner with a large HP pool. Consider this item for units that provide value due to their base damage or skills like Cho’Gath or Gnar.

Zephyr: At the start of combat, banish an enemy for 5 seconds

Zephyr targets the unit that mirrors the wielder's placement on the other side of the board. While this might be useful when you neutralize a crucial enemy unit, both Negatron Cloak and Giant’s Belt are better used to build items that offer more consistent benefits to your team.

Zeke's Herald: On the start of combat, the unit and allies on the 2 spaces to its left and right gain a 15% Attack Speed boost

Zeke’s Herald is a great item that can give an instant damage boost to your team. The main advantage of this type of item is that since it affects units placed to its sides, you can make formation changes based on how the game progresses. Zeke’s can work well on your back or frontline to increase their attack damage and mana gain speed.

Morellonomicon: Spells deal 20% max HP damage over 10 seconds and reduce healing on the target.

The percentage damage this item does makes it a great tank killer. It works best with units who have spells that target multiple enemies or units that can cast their spells multiple times per round. Units like Kennen, Ahri, and Aurelion Sol can do devastating damage when equipped with a Morello's.

Red Buff: Attacks burn for 20% of max HP over 10s and reduce healing on the target.

Red Buff is one of my favorite items because of its utility and the fact one of my favorite comps is Gunners. Red Buff is a really strong item when facing Tanky comps with large HP pools like Knights and Brawlers. Each attack will cause the enemy unit to suffer a percentage of its max HP over time, and that's why I feel it pairs perfectly with the Gunslinger class, because their chance to land shots on multiple enemies means you can have large portions of an enemy team suffering chunks of health loss over time while also eliminating their ability to heal. When choosing what unit to place your Red Buff on, it really comes down to who can attack the fastest. Units like Tristana, Fiora, and Lucian (due to his survivability) can provide significant damage and utility when equipped with this item.

Frozen Mallet: Wearer is also a Glacial

Spatula items don’t need much explanation. Their use is very circumstantial and the unit who you choose to place it on also depends on the comp you're building and who will benefit the most from this origin's buff. Similar to the Red Buff, I would always suggest placing the mallet on units with high attack speed, because more attacks increase your probability of freezing the target enemy unit.

With that, we can finish the dissection of the Giant's Belt and all of its offspring. Keep in mind that items do suffer buffs and nerfs in patches and what might be OP at a time can become rather useless in another. The important thing is to have a general understanding of how each item works and what you can build with what you are given. A roulette phase can provide more value when completing an important item than picking up a specific unit (unless it will level your hypercarry or something similar)

Hope this proves useful. Till the next time, happy gaming!

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