Description
Stacking In Combat means a unit ramps its power within a single round.
Read moreShow less about Stacking In Combat
Two examples show the shape.
- Titan's Resolve gains Attack Damage (AD) and Ability Power (AP) per attack or hit taken.
- The Rapidfire trait builds stacking Attack Speed on every attack, up to a cap.
Note: All in-combat stacks reset when the round ends. Permanent takedown stacks are different. They carry across rounds.
Listed in: Buffs, Team buffs
Items that scale with in-combat stacks (14)
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- +30% AP
- +1 Mana Regen
Combat start: Gain 20% Ability Power every 5 seconds in combat.
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- +10% AS
- +10% AP
Gain 7% stacking Attack Speed every second.
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- +20 MR
- +10% AD
- +10% AS
Attacks grant 3.5% stacking Attack Damage, up to 15 attacks. After 15 attacks, gain 15% Attack Speed.
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- +20 MR
- +15% AS
- +20% Crit
Combat Start: Unstoppable for 18 seconds. Gain 3% stacking Attack Speed every second.
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- +150 HP
- +10% AS
- +10% Damage Amp
- +20% Crit
Critical Strikes grant 5% Damage Amp for 5 seconds, stacking up to 4 times.
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- +20 Armor
- +10% AS
Gain 2% Attack Damage and Ability Power when attacking or taking damage, stacking up to 25 times. At full stacks, gain 10% Damage Amp and become Unstoppable.
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- +60% AP
- +2 Mana Regen
Combat start: Gain 40% Ability Power every 5 seconds in combat.
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- +25% AS
- +20% AP
Gain 16% stacking Attack Speed every second.
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- +40 MR
- +20% AD
- +20% AS
Attacks grant 7% stacking Attack Damage, up to 15 attacks. After 15 attacks, gain 30% Attack Speed.
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- +40 MR
- +40% AS
- +40% Crit
Combat Start: Unstoppable for 45 seconds. Gain 6% stacking Attack Speed every second.
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- +300 HP
- +20% AS
- +20% Damage Amp
- +40% Crit
Critical Strikes grant 10% Damage Amp for 5 seconds, stacking up to 4 times.
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- +40 Armor
- +20% AS
Gain 4% Attack Damage and 4% Ability Power when attacking or taking damage, stacking up to 25 times. At full stacks, gain 20% Damage Amp and Unstoppable.
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- +20% AS
- +10% AP
Attacks grant 4% stacking Attack Speed. Every 3 attacks also grant 2% Attack Damage and 2% Ability Power.
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- +300 HP
Grants 1 Armor, 1 Magic Resist, and 5 Health when taking damage, stacking up to 35 times. At full stacks, grant 1 gold and continue gaining 1 gold every 11 seconds. Unique - only 1 per champion
Champions that grant or scale with in-combat stacks (6)
6 champions · paste in the game's Team Planner
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Azure Laser Begin consuming 35% max Mana per second and channeling a laser on the target. Each second while casting, deal 160 / 240 / 360 magic damage to them and reduce their Magic Resist by 3. Teal Buff: Gain 2 Mana Regen for every 4 seconds channeled. -
Belchy Bubble Adaptor : Belch a noxious bubble at the current target that explodes on the first enemy hit, dealing 225 / 340 / 535 magic damage. Enemies within a 1 hex radius of the explosion take 180 / 270 / 435 magic damage over 3 seconds. Adaptor : Heavily slows the target. Purple Buff: Every 5 seconds, Gromp gains 30% Ability Power.
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Jaws of The Beast Bite the current target, dealing 230 / 345 / 535 physical damage and healing for 25% of the damage dealt. Gain 20% Attack Speed for the rest of combat.
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Wuju Style Passive: Every third attack is a Double Strike. On takedown, gain a burst of movement speed. Adaptor : Double Strikes grant 15% stacking Attack Speed. Adaptor : Double Strikes deal bonus damage and heal. -
Triggerseed Passive: Shields from this Ability can critically strike with Precision. Active: Grant 2 / 2 / 10 allies 185 / 350 / 3000 Shield and 10 / 15 / 100% Damage Amp for 6 seconds. Then deal 155 / 235 / 2000 magic damage to enemies adjacent to them. After casting 6 times, also grant 100% stacking Attack Speed to targets.
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Final Spark Passive: On cast, all allies that share a trait with Lux gain 3 / 3 / 100 mana. Active: Fire a laser towards the most enemies in a line that deals 375 / 565 / 6500 magic damage, reduced by 25 / 25 / 10% for each enemy hit (minimum 40%). Elderwood Bonus: Casts grant all allies 2.5% increased max Health for the rest of combat.
Augments that scale with in-combat stacks (4)
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Baron's Lair Prismatic Gain a random Tank item. After 8 seconds of combat, your team gains 4% bonus Attack Damage and Ability Power every second for the rest of combat. TFT Paris Open, 2025
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Soul Awakening Prismatic Combat start: Your team gains 1.5% Attack Damage and Ability Power per second for 10 seconds. At max stacks, deal 12% bonus true damage.
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Your team gains 10% Attack Speed every 3 seconds in combat.
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Focused Fire Silver Your team gains 10% Attack Damage. Every 5 seconds, they gain 5% more.
Traits that grant in-combat stacks (2)
Wisps that scale with in-combat stacks (3)
What scales with Stacking In Combat (3)
- Marksmen's Gale Combat
Your Marksmen's attacks grant 3% stacking Attack Speed.
- Preppers Combat
Your stacking items start next combat partially stacked.
- Revenge Combat
Whenever an ally dies, your champions gain 4% stacking Damage Amp.
See also
Frequently asked questions
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What does "stacking in combat" actually mean in TFT?
It is the family of effects whose stack count grows during a single round of combat.
Usually the holder gains one stack per trigger event, such as:
- An attack made.
- A hit taken.
- An ability cast.
- A second spent standing in the fight.
The count resets back to zero once that round ends. The carrier ramps up power as the fight drags on. Then it walks into the next round with a fresh counter at 0.
Note: That separates it from permanent-stacking effects, where stacks persist from round to round.
Sources
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When exactly do these stacks reset?
When the round ends.
The stacks are in-combat state. So the game clears them along with mana, shields, and temporary buffs once the post-combat screen resolves. The next round of player or PvE (player versus environment) combat starts with the holder back at 0 stacks, regardless of the result.
Note: "Resets every round" is the canonical wording the wiki has used for in-combat stacking items going back several sets. It still applies to the current generation of these effects.
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Most in-combat stacks have a cap — can I keep building forever?
It depends on the source. The tooltip tells you which kind you have.
Many sources print an explicit maximum. Once you hit it, the bonus stops growing for the rest of the round. A common cap shape is 25 stacks:
- Both the standard item and its upgraded (Radiant) variant top out at 25.
- The at-full-stacks payout unlocks only once you reach the cap.
- The Radiant variant differs by larger per-stack values and a bigger payoff, not a larger cap.
Read that payout carefully. It is a movement guarantee, not a blanket immunity. The item grants Unstoppable at full stacks. That stops the holder being displaced or halted. It is not a shield against every debuff.
Other sources print no cap at all. The two per-second Attack Speed rampers just keep adding. On those, the only ceiling is the length of the fight and the game's own Attack Speed limit.
Note: Where a cap does exist, the design rewards "reach the cap fast" rather than "stack indefinitely". Extra triggers past the cap are wasted until the next round resets the counter.
Sources
- TFT.Tools — current-set items (Titan's Resolve: "stacking up to 25 times. At full stacks, gain 10% Damage Amp and become Unstoppable"; the Radiant version reads 4% per stack and 20% Damage Amp at the same 25 cap) (opens in new tab)
- Items — tactics.tools (Guinsoo's Rageblade and Quicksilver: "Gain … stacking Attack Speed every second", printed with no stack cap) (opens in new tab)
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How is this different from takedown-stacking and the permanent stat-stacking shown on /permanent/?
Different lifecycle.
In-combat stacking lives and dies inside one round. Every trigger counts, but the counter zeroes out at round end.
Takedown-stacking and the broader "permanent" family carry their gains across rounds for the rest of the game. So a stack you bank in stage 2 is still working for you in stage 6.
Note: The Cookpit /permanent/ landing only lists effects in that persistent family. It intentionally leaves out in-combat stacking, because that is the opposite case.
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Does the holder lose all in-combat stacks if they die mid-round?
Effectively, yes. Once the unit drops to 0 HP (health points), its in-combat state ends, and that includes the stack counter.
The wiki's general TFT rule is that slain champions return the next round. But what comes back is the unit's own base stats. An item's per-round stack counter is treated as part of the round's combat state. So it is wiped the moment the holder dies, and the unit re-enters the next round at 0 stacks.
Note: Treat this as a strong default. Patch-specific exceptions are rare but possible.
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What are the common trigger shapes — per attack, per cast, per second, per hit taken?
All four of those exist right now, and you can find each one on the board.
- Per attack and per hit taken is the bruiser shape. One item adds a slice of Attack Damage and Ability Power on every attack made or taken. That is why front-liners reach its cap fastest.
- Pure per attack is the marksman shape. A ranged trait gives its own members a growing Attack Speed bonus on every attack, capped at ten stacks.
- Per second is the simplest of all. Two separate items just add stacking Attack Speed every second the holder is alive, with no trigger to satisfy at all.
- Per cast covers the mages and the beast carries. One 1-cost gains a chunk of Attack Damage on each cast while its buff is active. One 5-cost turns on a stacking Attack Speed grant for its allies after it has cast six times.
There is a fifth shape too. A trait grows every member of its group on a fixed timer, at combat start and then every few seconds. It hands out Attack Damage, Ability Power, Attack Speed, resistances, Health and Mana Regen together.
Note: Whatever the trigger, the lifecycle is the same. Stacks accumulate during a round and reset when the round ends.
Sources
- TFT.Tools — current-set items (the per-attack-or-hit-taken stacker, and the two per-second Attack Speed stackers) (opens in new tab)
- Rapidfire (TFT) — League of Legends Wiki ("Rapidfire champions gain more on every attack, up to 10 stacks") (opens in new tab)
- Riftbeast (TFT) — League of Legends Wiki (timer shape: "On combat start and every 5 seconds Riftbeasts grow", gaining Attack Damage, Ability Power, Attack Speed, Armor, Magic Resist, Health and Mana Regen) (opens in new tab)
- Ivern (TFT) — League of Legends Wiki (per-cast shape: "After casting 6 times, also grant 100% stacking Attack Speed to targets") (opens in new tab)
- Cinderling (TFT) — League of Legends Wiki (per-cast shape on a 1-cost: "Scarlet Buff: Cinderling gains 22% Attack Damage each cast") (opens in new tab)
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Why does this matter for comp choice — when is in-combat stacking good and when is it a trap?
In-combat stacking pays off in proportion to fight length.
Long, attritional matchups, such as front-line versus front-line or sustain versus sustain, suit it:
- They give the holder time to reach the cap and unlock the at-max-stacks payout.
- They give the uncapped per-second rampers time to reach numbers a burst fight never sees.
Short, burst-heavy matchups, such as backline access, one-shot combos and fast wipes, do not. The round ends before the ramp matters, and any stacks you did bank reset on the way out.
The timer-based trait growth is the same bet in trait form. It hands out its first tick at combat start and then compounds, so it is worth most in the fights that go long.
Note: Pair in-combat-stacking carriers with durability so they survive long enough to scale. Avoid them when the games around you are ending fast.
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Do tooltips with "for the rest of combat" count as in-combat stacking?
Same family, slightly different shape.
"For the rest of combat" means the buff or debuff persists until this round ends, and then disappears. So yes, it shares the reset-at-round-end half of the in-combat-stacking lifecycle. But it is usually a single applied effect, not a counter that grows on each trigger.
True in-combat stacking is the subset where multiple triggers compound. Each event adds a stack on top of the last.
Note: Wording to watch. The phrase "stacking up to N times" is the in-combat-stacking flag. So is a bare "stacking" with no count, as on the per-second Attack Speed items. A one-shot "for the rest of combat" buff is a sibling, not a stack.
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Which items have a stack indicator, and can I trust the number on the icon?
A stack counter is the small number the client draws on an item's icon. It is not on every stacking item.
Riot's patch notes only ever announced it for two of them, quoted in the source below. Nothing in the game's own data marks which icons carry one. So for the rest, look at your screen before you count on it.
What this page can give you is the roster:
- Every item listed above ramps inside a single round and starts the next one at zero.
- The one whose stacks survive the round is Permanent Takedown Stacks.
Note: Hunting items with a stack indicator? Start with the list above, then confirm the icon in your own game.