TFT Economy Guide: Interest, Streaks and When to Spend

Where your gold comes from

Every planning phase pays you from four sources. Base income is 5 gold per round once the opening rounds are over. Interest pays 1 gold for every 10 gold you hold, capped at 5 gold when you have 50 or more. Winning a player combat adds 1 gold. Streaks add a bonus for consecutive wins or consecutive losses: it starts at +1, grows to +2 at five in a row and to +3 at six or more.

Add these up and the gap between a rich and a poor player becomes obvious. A player sitting on 50 gold during a five-win streak collects 5 base, 5 interest, 2 streak and 1 for the win – 13 gold per round. A player with 12 gold and no streak collects 6. Over the eight or nine rounds of a stage that difference is worth a full level or a big roll-down, which is why the first thing to fix in a weak economy is not the shop, it is the bank.

Interest breakpoints: think in tens

Interest is calculated on the gold you hold at the start of the round, in steps of ten. 39 gold pays the same as 30, so the 9 gold above the breakpoint is free to spend without losing anything. Before you end a planning phase, look at your number and ask: can I spend down to the breakpoint below me without dropping a step? If you hold 37, you have 7 gold of free XP, rerolls or units.

The reverse also matters. Sitting at 48 and buying a 2-cost costs you the jump to 50 and therefore 1 interest gold every round you stay short. Champions on your bench are a useful buffer here: a 1-star unit sells back for its full cost, so buying a pair you might need and selling them later does not hurt your economy, while rolling does – rerolls are gone for good.

Early in the game, reaching 10, 20 and 30 matters more than the exact board. One extra gold of interest from 2-1 onward compounds into several gold by stage 4. The only good reason to break a breakpoint in stage 2 is a real strength gain: a 2-star unit, a level that protects a streak, or a combat item that keeps you winning.

Win streaks, loss streaks and the dead zone

The most expensive place to be is in the middle: winning one round, losing the next. You pay HP for the losses and collect no streak gold for either side. Early on, pick a direction based on your opener. If your stage 2 board has two or three 2-star units and a slammed item, invest in it and win streak. If it is clearly weak, consider keeping it weak on purpose, saving gold and taking the loss streak.

A loss streak has hidden benefits beyond gold. Lower HP gives you an earlier pick at shared carousels, so a player who lost all of stage 2 often chooses the exact component they need first. The cost is HP you can never get back, so a loss streak only works if you have a plan to stop it – usually a big level and roll at 3-2 or 4-1 with 50+ gold banked.

Protecting a long win streak is often worth a few gold. If you are on four or five wins and your board is on the edge, buying a level or rolling once to find an upgrade usually pays for itself through the streak bonus and the HP you keep. Breaking a loss streak by accident is the opposite mistake: if you are deliberately losing, do not field your strongest units against a weak opponent, because one random win resets the streak.

When to spend and when to save

Spending is correct in three situations. First, when your HP is about to become the problem: if the next two or three losses would put you in danger of going out, gold in the bank is useless and you need board strength now. Second, at the level timing your comp is built around, because a roll-down at the right level has the best odds for the units you want. Third, when the game is ending and interest no longer has time to pay off.

Saving is correct whenever none of these apply. A useful habit is to ask before every roll: what am I rolling for, and what happens if I don't find it? Rolling at level 6 for a generic upgrade with 32 gold usually leaves you with a slightly stronger board and no economy. The same gold kept for two more rounds becomes a level and a far better roll.

• High HP and a stable board: save, level on schedule and stay at 50.
• Medium HP and losing: roll at the next planned level instead of rolling right now.
• Low HP: stop worrying about interest and spend until the board can win fights.
• Final rounds: interest is worthless in the last stage, so convert everything into strength.

How econ differs for fast 8, fast 9 and reroll

Fast 8 comps want a strong level 8 roll at 4-2. Our Hunter Sivir and Nidalee plan levels to 7 at 4-1, to 8 at 4-2 and then rolls everything for Sivir, Nidalee and Malphite. The economy goal is simple: reach 50 gold during stage 3, level on time and arrive at 4-2 with enough gold for a full roll-down. Rolling at level 6 or 7 to save HP is fine, but every roll there delays your 4-costs.

Fast 9 asks more of your economy. In Elderwood Draven, level 8 at 4-2 is only a stepping stone: you keep gold, accept losing a few rounds if your HP allows it, and go to level 9 around 5-2 to roll for Draven, Maokai and Ivern. In our Alune and Morgana plan you roll only as much as you need at level 8, then build gold again and go to 9 with roughly 70 gold or more. Fast 9 is a plan for healthy, rich games – a win streak or an econ augment – not for a 40 HP player.

Reroll comps spend in a different shape: a little, often. The standard method is the slow roll – keep 50 gold and only spend what is above it, so interest keeps paying while you look for 3-stars. Our Eclipse Kayle plan levels to 6 at 3-2 and then slow rolls, spending only the interest, until Kayle is 3-star. Once the key 3-stars are done, the reroll player stops rolling and starts levelling with the same discipline.

Econ augments and wisps

Econ augments are worth exactly as much as the extra gold they deliver before your power spike. Capital Gains I stores gold equal to your interest and pays it out on 3-3 – great when you are already at 50, weak when you are broke. Late Game Specialist gives 27 gold when you reach level 9, which is why it fits fast 9 plans and does little for reroll. Hedge Fund raises your max interest to 10 and pays 22 gold upfront, which rewards players who can stay rich instead of rolling early.

Some augments pay you for streaks rather than for saving. Calculated Loss gives 2 gold and a free reroll after every lost combat, so it turns an intended loss streak into a strong economy. Kingslayer pays extra when you beat a player with more HP than you. Pick these when they match the direction your game is already taking, not to force a new one.

In Set 18, wisps add small but real income. The Wisp Rebate augment refunds gold every time you buy a wisp, and gold wisps such as Die Roll, Payday or Life Debt can be worth more than a combat wisp when your board is already winning. A good rule: buy econ wisps in stages 2 and 3 when gold compounds, and favour combat wisps once your gold is about to be spent anyway.

Common economy mistakes

• Ending a turn one or two gold below a breakpoint after a purchase you did not need.
• Rolling in stage 2 or early stage 3 without a clear target, just because the board feels weak.
• Alternating wins and losses instead of committing to a streak in either direction.
• Breaking an intended loss streak with your strongest units, losing the streak bonus.
• Staying at 50 gold with 25 HP – interest is not worth a placement.
• Going for a fast 9 plan with low HP and no econ augment.
• Buying combat wisps early when an econ wisp would fund your next level.

A simple routine fixes most of these: before ending each planning phase, check your HP, your streak and the distance to the next breakpoint. If all three look fine, you are almost certainly playing the economy correctly.