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I've been playing video games pretty much nonstop ever since I got my first Xbox 360.
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
Just like with every set, Set 17 has a ton of augment options to choose from. This set has been a lot of fun so far, but it’s even better once you figure out which augments are worth getting and which are worth skipping. In this article, I’ll go through my own tier list ranking all the gold augments in Set 17! Let’s get started with the full tier list before looking at the best and worst of it.
Tier List
S-Tier – Best Gold Augments
Cosmic Restart – Call upon the Gods to sell all units on your board and bench. Gain 2 random Emblems and 8 free Shop rerolls.
- I’ve always been a fan of the “sell your board” augments, even when they aren’t very consistent. Cosmic Restart is in
S-tier despite its randomness because of the 2 random Emblems it gives. Emblems are extremely valuable, as they allow access to some really interesting and unusual team comps. I wouldn’t recommend taking this if you already have a good board as it can screw you over, but if your current comp is questionable it’s an absolute life saver.
Frontline Foundation – Gain a 2-star 1-cost Tank champion and an Emblem which matches their last-listed trait.
- Frontline Foundation is another augment that I like because of the Emblem it gives. Getting a 2-star 1-cost is pretty strong, but the Emblem pushes it over the top. I like Frontline Foundation most earlier in the game when the 2-star 1-cost is more powerful, but it’s even strong as the last augment with a bit of luck. Emblems are just too good to pass up most of the time.
Infinity Protection – Gain 3 gold now. On Stage 3-7, gain an Infinity Force. Infinity Force gives allies in the same row a 12% Health shield.
- I absolutely love Infinity Protection, and I’d say it’s the best augment in terms of consistency. Waiting until Stage 3-7 isn’t “too long” to wait for the augment to be useful, and the Infinity Force item is one of the best in the game. The 12% Health shield for your entire frontline (assuming you put it on a front-liner) is extremely helpful, especially if you have it on an Attack Fighter who can get the most use out of it.
Invader Zed – Gain a Spear of Shojin. On Stage 4-2, gain a Zed. After receiving Zed, he can appear in your shops. Zed is a 5-cost Attack Fighter that creates clones of himself.
- Honestly, I think that Invader
ZimZed is the best augment in Set 17 overall. Every time I play against Zed I end up losing in horrible fashion, as his clones quickly cover the battlefield and make fighting back nearly impossible. Plus it also gives Spear of Shojin, which is a fantastic item. Having an entire field of Zeds is a pretty effective strategy, as it would turn out.
Patient Study – After player combat, gain 2 XP if you won or 3 XP if you lost.
- Patient Study is one of the augments we see almost every Set, and it’s almost always in S-tier. XP is always important in TFT, so as long as you aren’t playing a low roll comp, Patient Study is fantastic. It’s better if you’re in the middle of a loss streak when you get it, but even if you only win games with it, 2 XP is still pretty great. It’s hard to hate Patient Study.
Spreading Roots – Gain 2 random Emblems and 1 gold.
- Spreading Roots can become the best augment in the game if you have really good luck. Getting 2 random Emblems is certainly a risk, but if even one of them pays off then it’s worth it. If you manage to get 2 useful Emblems, then you’re basically guaranteed a top 4 finish. Spreading Roots is even better if you have a Reforger to ensure you get some useful Emblems.
D-Tier – Worst Gold Augments
Advanced Loan – Gain 20 gold. Your next augment is one tier lower.
- I do not like any augment that lowers another one’s tier. If you take this and then everyone else gets a Prismatic augment next, then you’re screwed. I just don’t ever want to put myself in a spot where everyone else has a Prismatic augment while I have another Gold one. 20 gold is very strong, so I can understand why it might be tempting, but I don’t think there’s ever a time when I would take Advanced Loan, even at the “Advanced Loan+” level where you get more gold. It’s just not worth the risk.
Arcane Viktor-y – After 8 seconds of combat, stun the enemy team for 1.5 seconds. Repeat this after 18 seconds of combat.
- This augment is just horrible. Stunning the enemy team for 1.5 seconds after 8 seconds of combat is not a remarkable effect. It’s not bad, sure. Stunning their team will give you a brief advantage, but for only 1.5 seconds it’s not worth an entire augment. The “repeat” part needs to happen much sooner than after 18 seconds for this augment to be useful. If you take this augment you probably won’t even make it the 26 seconds needed for both stuns. It’s like a worse version of Ascension.
Crash Test Dummies – Gain 2 Training Dummies. Combat start: Your Training Dummies launch themselves toward a group of enemies and stun them for 1 second.
- I hate Crash Test Dummies, and I’d have to say it’s the worst Gold augment in Set 17. If you only have the 2 Dummies, then you get to stun maybe a few enemies for a second at the start of combat. Is that really worth an entire augment slot? A 1 second stun? No thanks. If you have more Training Dummies from other augments then it could become more worth it, but even then, it’s just a 1 second stun. I’d rather have Arcane Viktor-y and it’s stun 8 seconds into the fight honestly.
Heavy is the Crown – Gain a Crown of Demacia, which provides significant bonuses to the wearer. If the holder dies, lose the round.
- Heavy is the Crown is the best of the “bad” augments. The reason I think it’s in D-tier is because of how volatile it is. Having a team comp where if a single unit dies then you lose the whole round is just far too risky, especially late game. If you get down to the last few people, they might be able to figure out a way to target your Crown-holder at the start of the round for a free win. It is a highly skill-based augment, as how you use the Crown and its holder 100% determines how this works out. I think it’s far too risky, but I wouldn’t say you’re crazy for trying to make it work.
Timestream – Timebreakers gain 7 Health and 0.25% Attack Speed every time you reroll (including free rerolls). Gain an Ezreal and a Pantheon.
- Timestream would be a lot of fun to use if its bonuses added up quicker. 7 Health and .25% Attack Speed is not enough to make a huge difference. Timebreakers a ton of fun to play (one of my favorite comps honestly, even if not all that great) so I want to like this augment, but it just doesn’t do much. If you get it early and hyper roll then it can be impactful, but it’s way too “late game” to be strong, and the late game effect it has isn’t stronger than many other Gold augments anyway.
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