With Patch 13.3, the Teamfight Tactics developers made huge overhauls for some of the game’s most lackluster elements. For example, the Gadgeteen trait has been reworked so that these units have a stronger group synergy going into the late game. While Gadgeteen is a solid choice for the early rounds of TFT, it’s always struggled to find its place near the end game. So, the devs gave this quirky little tech trait a few more tricks, letting it fight toe to toe with other Set 8 builds.
What’s new about Gadgeteen?
Before, Gadgeteens were all about the items they created themselves. However, alongside these hand-made weapons, they also get bonus buffs. These bonus buffs are based on how many items you’ve equipped on your Gadgeteen units, period.
For each item on a Gadgeteen, they get a percent bonus damage and a percent defensive damage reduction. If you have three Gadgeteens, that percentage is 3%. For five, it’s 12%. So, with five Gadgeteens on your board, a fully itemized unit can get up to 36% bonus damage and damage reduction. That’s perfect for a trait like Gadgeteen where Annie and Nunu are the strongest units. Because both Annie and Nunu are tanky champions that can do a lot of damage, it synergizes well with their skills. Buffing both their damage and defensive stats gives you an even better advantage in the late game, where the Gadgeteen trait used to fall off.
Related: How to transition between builds in Teamfight Tactics (TFT)
What can you build with the Gadgeteen buff?
Gadgeteen may not have been a strong trait on its own, but it was a subsidiary of a handful of other powerful builds. After this Patch 13.3 rework, look out for a variety of Ox Force, Spellslinger, Hacker, Heart, and Mascot combinations to get even more powerful. Nunu in particular might become a deadly, frightening force of damage on the board with these kinds of buffs. Players can now build him a host of AP damage items, like Rabadon’s Deathcap, without having to worry about his health. The Gadgeteen trait will buff that for him.
