Description
Flat Damage Reduction takes a fixed amount off each instance of incoming damage.
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In the one documented case, the flat amount comes off after Armor and Magic Resist. That is the LoL Wiki's only explicit ordering statement. So the cut is compared to the already-resisted number, not the raw hit. Whether every source follows this exact order is not stated as a single general rule.
The cut is flat, not a percentage. So an attack whose post-resist damage is below the threshold deals zero.
Note: This is different from Durability, which always lets some damage through.
What scales with Flat Damage Reduction (1)
Wisps that scale with Flat Damage Reduction (1)
- Resistant Combat
Tanks reduce instances of incoming damage by 10.
What counters Flat Damage Reduction
See also
Frequently asked questions
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What is flat damage reduction in TFT, and how is it different from Durability?
Flat damage reduction subtracts a fixed amount from each incoming hit. Durability is different. It is a percent multiplier on incoming damage.
The clearest current example is a Wisp. It makes your Tanks knock a fixed number off every single instance of incoming damage they take. It does not remove a percentage of it.
The two scale in different ways:
- Durability scales with hit size. A percent source saves the same fraction of a small or a large hit.
- Flat reduction saves the same absolute number, no matter how big the hit is.
- That makes flat reduction disproportionately strong against many small hits and weaker against a few large ones.
Note: Multiple Durability sources stack multiplicatively.
Sources
- op.gg — Enchanted Wilds set guide (Resistant Wisp: "Tanks reduce instances of incoming damage by 10" — a flat subtraction, not a percentage) (opens in new tab)
- tactics.tools — set update info (same Wisp, independent listing) (opens in new tab)
- Durability tooltip — League of Legends Wiki (TFT) (opens in new tab)
- Understanding Durability Mechanics in TFT — zleague (multiplicative stacking) (opens in new tab)
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Can flat damage reduction actually reduce an attack to zero damage?
Yes. A hit can be fully zeroed out.
The TFT wiki's Resistances page documents "Blocking Damage" as a mechanic. It says the mechanic "reduces damage by a flat amount which can result in the damage taken being Blocked, causing no damage".
It works best alongside high Armor or Magic Resist:
- Resistances shrink each hit through their percentage mitigation.
- The flat subtraction then erases what little remains of a small post-mitigation hit.
- A large hit is only shaved.
Note: No general minimum-1-damage floor on unit-vs-unit combat damage is documented in TFT.
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Does flat damage reduction apply before or after Armor and Magic Resist?
The exact order is not documented. TFT doesn't publish a single generalized ordering rule for flat damage reduction. Treat the exact internal step as undocumented.
What is clear:
- Armor and Magic Resist each apply a percentage mitigation to the raw hit.
- Armor covers physical damage and Magic Resist covers magic damage.
- A flat block from an item or ability effect removes a fixed amount on top of that.
In practice the two layers compound. High resistances plus a flat block make a unit disproportionately tanky against many small hits. The same unit is nearly unaffected by a single very large hit. This holds regardless of the precise calculation order.
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Does flat damage reduction reduce true damage or percent-max-Health Burn ticks?
No. Neither is reduced.
The TFT wiki states bluntly that "True damage ignores resistances (armor and magic resistance), damage reduction, and damage amplification". The "damage reduction" clause covers both percent-multiplier and flat-block effects.
Burn in TFT is defined on the wiki as true damage. It is based on a percentage of the target's maximum Health per second. So flat reduction doesn't shave anything off a Burn tick either.
Note: That makes true-damage and percent-max-Health Burn sources the standard answer to a stacked flat damage reduction (flat-DR) or high-resistance frontline.
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Do multiple sources of flat damage reduction stack additively?
In principle, yes. Flat reductions sum. Two "−5" sources behave as "−10" on each incoming hit.
This contrasts with percent-based Durability, which stacks multiplicatively. Two 50% layers cap near 75% total, not 100%.
Note: In practice, the question is mostly hypothetical. Stacking two distinct flat-reduction sources on the same unit is rare in current TFT. Trait-, ability-, and item-based flat layers usually don't co-occur on one carrier. Treat additive stacking as the mental model, not as a routinely realized state.
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Does a unit still generate Mana on an attack that flat damage reduction fully blocks?
Yes, on the attacker's side. The defending tank is different.
The TFT Mana page notes that basic attacks "generate mana on-attack, even if the triggering attack misses or is parried". So the attacker still banks its role-based mana whether or not the hit is blocked:
- 10 for Assassins, Marksmen and Fighters.
- 7 for Casters.
- 5 for Tanks.
Note: Tank mana from damage taken is percentage-based. It is 1% of pre-mitigation and 3% of post-mitigation damage taken. So a hit that flat reduction fully blocks to 0 contributes almost nothing from the damage-taken channel.
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Is flat damage reduction stronger against many small hits or against single big hits?
Many small hits, by the math. A fixed subtraction is a larger fraction of a small hit than of a large one.
Example: A −5 layer is half of a 10-damage auto but a sliver of a 500-damage burst.
This isn't a Riot-stated rule. It is just a property of subtractive versus percent-multiplier defenses:
- Flat reduction shines against fast multi-hit or chip-style damage.
- Percent-based Durability holds up better against single burst spikes.
Note: Pair both layers if you want a unit durable across damage profiles.
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Does flat damage reduction affect spell and ability damage, or only auto-attacks?
It depends on the tooltip's exact wording. The difference is worth knowing even though only one shape is on the board at the moment.
The flat-reduction source currently in the game is worded to cover "instances of incoming damage". That takes in autos, abilities, and item ticks alike. It is the broad reading.
The narrower wording to watch for is "reduce the damage of incoming attacks". TFT tooltip convention reserves "attack" for basic attacks (auto-attacks). Ability hits get called spell or ability damage. So a source written that way only blunts auto chip.
Note: Both forms have shipped before and either can return in a patch. Read the tooltip rather than assuming. The scope difference is what separates a broad mitigator from one that does nothing about ability burst.
Sources
- op.gg — Enchanted Wilds set guide (Resistant Wisp reduces "instances of incoming damage" — the broad wording, all damage sources) (opens in new tab)
- Resistances (TFT) — League of Legends Wiki (Blocking Damage: a flat amount removed from a hit, independent of damage type) (opens in new tab)
- How Armor and Magic Resistance works in TFT — LeDuck (Tacter, physical/attack vs magic/ability) (opens in new tab)