Interest: the 50-gold rule
At the end of each round you earn 1 gold of interest for every 10 gold you have banked, up to a maximum of 5 gold at 50 banked. Reaching that 50-gold breakpoint is the single most important economic habit in the game: it's effectively a 10% risk-free return every round. Whenever possible, avoid dropping below 50 gold unless you have a concrete reason — stabilizing a losing board, or hitting a key upgrade.
Streaks: get paid to win or lose
TFT rewards commitment to a health trajectory. Consecutive wins or consecutive losses build a streak that pays bonus gold, peaking at the longest streaks. The trap is the middle: alternating win-loss-win earns you nothing. Decide early whether you're pushing a win streak (spend to stay strong) or a loss streak (save aggressively and take the free damage), and stick to it rather than flip-flopping.
When to level vs. when to roll
Every gold you spend leveling is gold you can't spend rolling, and vice versa. Broadly: level on curve when you have a healthy economy and want to hit higher-cost units, and only roll down when you have a clear goal — stabilizing a bleeding board or three-starring a carry. "Rolling to zero" with no plan is how games are lost. The comp you're playing dictates the pattern: reroll comps roll at a fixed level to hit three-stars, while fast-eight comps bank gold and push levels toward a high-cost power spike.
Common breakpoints
A useful default: hit level 6 around stage 3-2, level 7 around 4-1, and level 8 around 4-5, adjusting for your econ and streak. Keep 50 gold whenever you can, and let your comp's plan — which you can check on any comp page — tell you when to break tempo and roll.
Put it into practice
Economy wins games quietly. Nail interest and streaks first, then layer in disciplined leveling, and you'll consistently reach your comp's spike a round ahead of the lobby. Pair this with our positioning guide to convert that tempo into placements.