As a special mechanic of Season 4, Traits have significantly changed how players build their teams in Teamfight Tactics. With their overwhelming power, building around 1-2 Gold Champions was nearly the best strategy in the first half of Season 4. Moreover, each game presents different Traits, requiring players to adapt to what they have.
However, with the mid-season 4 update, this playstyle is no longer optimal. In fact, players can achieve a top 1 without even activating the Trait system, something that was nearly impossible in the first half of Season 4. So what happened in Season 4.5 that diminished the importance of 1-2 Gold Champion Traits?
The biggest reason lies in the fact that Riot has introduced many powerful, expensive units into Teamfight Tactics Season 4.5. Champions like Kayle, Olaf, Xayah, Aurelion Sol, Samira, and Ornn provide players with immense power. This shift has transformed the meta into one focused on saving gold, leveling up, and rolling at levels 8-9 to increase the chances of obtaining these units.
Meanwhile, 1-2 Gold Champions need to be upgraded to 3 stars to effectively carry the team. This strategy proves to be riskier compared to operating around these expensive champions, as they only need to reach 2 stars to be quite strong. Therefore, players no longer have to “all-in” on a single carry too early as before; instead, they opt for a less risky approach by leveling up and focusing on the powerful 4-5 Gold units.
Additionally, the strong units mentioned above have a common trait: they heavily rely on certain specific items. Therefore, players tend to assemble special items for their carries, placing them on certain units to hold items while waiting to obtain the key units. The strategy of early itemizing strong items for 1-2 Gold Champions has thus fallen out of favor. This further diminishes the importance of these units.
Of course, not all 1-2 Gold units have become “useless” or play a secondary role in the team. Yasuo, Diana, and Zed are inexpensive yet powerful carries, but that alone is not enough for players to fully trust the 1-2 Gold Champions. As a result, these types of champions are no longer the pieces that determine players’ team-building strategies.
The advice for players is to abandon the playstyle that relies entirely on 1-2 Gold Champions. You can buy these units early on but there’s no need to hold onto them until the end of the game. At the right moment (usually at level 8), players should sell those cheap Trait units to search for other stronger carries and ultimately secure the victory.
