The 10.7 patch released by Riot Games not long ago not only adjusted the strength of champions, compositions, and traits, but also introduced new mechanics in item merging rules to help players avoid wasting small items. However, many players have shown a lack of understanding on this issue, and the situation of incorrectly merging items or getting stuck with an inappropriate item still frequently occurs.
Therefore, in his latest video, Riot Mortdog – the design lead of Teamfight Tactics – has guided players on how to remove a bad item from a champion. This method is entirely based on game knowledge and does not involve any luck at all.
As shown in the video above, Riot Mortdog starts with a Jhin holding a Tear of the Goddess, an extremely bad item because this champion does not have mana. The way Riot Mortdog removes the Tear from Jhin includes the following steps:
Step 1: Merge normal items for Jhin, of course, do not merge any item with the Tear of the Goddess.
Step 2: Gather enough items for Jhin with 2 items on the board and 1 suitable item in the item pool.
Step 3: Find 3 Jhin to upgrade to 2 stars.
Step 4: Give the suitable item from the item pool to 1 Jhin in the waiting area, then replace it with the current Jhin on the board.
Step 5: Buy the 3rd Jhin as usual; at that point, the 2-star Jhin will have 3 suitable items and the Tear of the Goddess will automatically drop off.
Explaining this method, we need to understand a bit about the item priority rules newly added in patch 10.7. The order of priority for items “in or out” when upgrading champions is: Thief’s Gloves on the board > Completed items on the board > Loose items on the board > Thief’s Gloves in the waiting area > Completed items in the waiting area > Loose items in the waiting area.
In the above case, we place Jhin with a suitable item in place of the original Jhin in the waiting area; when upgrading to 2-star Jhin, the order of item priority will be: the item of Jhin currently on the board > 2 completed items of Jhin in the waiting area below > loose items of Jhin in the waiting area below. With this order, the Tear of the Goddess, the item the player wants to remove, will be at the very last priority, and upgrading to 2 stars will cause it to be ejected.
The most challenging part of this technique is understanding the item priority rules and maintaining a certain level of calm. When you see the 3rd Jhin, you need to process accurately according to the steps above, rather than hastily upgrading to 2 stars and continuing to waste items. Hopefully, with this useful guide from Riot Mortdog, Teamfight Tactics players will minimize the situations of using items incorrectly during this season.