Description
A status the unit applies to enemies, then later spends or counts to trigger a payoff. Examples: Tristana attaches an explosive charge to her target that detonates a few seconds later, and the blast counts every attack she landed while it was ticking; Soraka's star leaves a lasting mark, so a second cast on the same enemy calls down three extra stars.
Traits (1)
Frequently asked questions
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What does "Mark" actually mean in TFT?
Mark is an umbrella term for any custom status the game stamps onto a unit (almost always an enemy) so a later effect can read or consume it. Unlike crowd control or burn, Mark has no single shared rule set — each marker defines what its mark does. Common shapes are: a counter that builds toward a threshold, a debuff that increases damage taken, a flag that triggers a payoff when the target is first damaged, and a tag that earmarks a high-Health target for prioritised payoffs. Because every mark is bespoke, always read the source ability's tooltip rather than assuming behaviour from a sibling marker.
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Are there different kinds of mark in TFT, and how do I tell them apart?
Yes — three patterns recur. Stack-and-consume marks are per-target counters: each application is a stack, and the marker fires a payoff when stacks hit a threshold (one current ranged-AD ability, for example, triggers at 3 stacks). Damage-taken marks are flat debuffs that amplify incoming damage while the mark is on the target, often paired with an execute threshold. Combat-start consume marks are stamped on every enemy before the round starts and are spent the first time each enemy is damaged, returning a one-shot payoff. The tooltip's verbs ("reach N marks", "increasing damage taken", "first time damaged") tell you which shape applies.
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Do multiple marks from different sources stack on the same target?
Each marking source tracks its own state on the target; marks from one ability are not added to another ability's counter, and the payoffs are independent. So a target can simultaneously carry a counter-style mark from one source, a damage-taken amp mark from another, and a combat-start consume mark from a trait — each will resolve on its own terms. Within a single source, repeat applications follow that source's tooltip; same-type debuff effects in TFT also don't stack (the strongest of the same kind applies for its duration), so for debuff- or amp-style marks a second copy of the same kind generally refreshes rather than doubles up (counter-style marks are the exception — those are per-source counters that keep accumulating toward their threshold).
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How long does a mark last on a target?
Duration is set by the marking source, not by a shared system. Combat-start consume marks tend to live until the target is first damaged (the consume condition is the duration). Damage-taken amp marks tend to persist for the rest of combat or until their execute condition fires. Counter-style marks tend to live until the threshold is reached. Some sources spell out an explicit timer in their tooltip — those should be read literally. Marks are part of in-combat state, so they don't carry over between rounds the way permanent stat-stacking does.
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Can a unit cleanse a mark, or break out of it?
Generally no. The current TFT cleanse-style item grants 18 seconds of crowd-control immunity at combat start — it pre-emptively blocks new CC, it does not actively strip existing statuses. Marks aren't crowd control either: they don't prevent the target from acting, they just flag it for a future payoff. As a result, neither pre-emptive immunity nor reactive cleansing applies to marks in current sets. The reliable counterplay is to neutralise the marker (kill it, stall its mana so it can't consume) or, for combat-start consume marks, to absorb the trigger damage on a shield where possible.
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Does a mark persist if the marker dies, or get cleared if the target dies?
Marks are target-side state, so when the target dies the mark goes with it. The marker-side question is fuzzier and not officially documented one rule for all sources: combat-start marks whose consume condition just reads "first time damaged" will still pay out to the player, since the trait/team is what owns the consume — the marker champion doesn't have to be alive. Stack-and-consume marks need the consumer ability to be alive and casting to fire the payoff; if the consuming unit is dead, accumulated marks effectively go unspent. As always, the source's tooltip is the final word for any specific marker.
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Does a mark change which target the AI prefers to attack?
No. TFT's targeting AI prioritises closeness — units attack the closest enemy in range and break ties by current target — and a mark on its own does not put a unit higher on that priority list. A mark's payoff (extra damage, execute, stat steal) only triggers when the marked unit is hit by the relevant source; players still have to position so the marker can reach the marked target. Some traits that mark high-HP enemies pair the mark with an Attack Speed or healing buff for allies, but that is the trait's own buff, not a re-routing of basic targeting.
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How do mark-based execute thresholds interact with shields and damage reduction?
Damage-taken-amp marks multiply the post-mitigation damage their target receives, so the amp is layered on top of resistances. An execute that fires "the first time the marked target drops below X% Health" reads the target's current Health pool — shields sit on top of Health and absorb damage before Health is touched, so a large shield can keep the target above the threshold for longer and delay the execute. Once the shield is gone the threshold becomes reachable again. Marks are not themselves damage, so they don't ignore Armor or Magic Resist on their own; only the damage instances they amplify or trigger do, and only if those instances are inherently true damage.