Question 1

What does 'on-hit' mean in TFT, and what triggers it?

Accepted Answer

On-hit effects are bonus effects that fire when a unit's basic attack lands on a target. The trigger is the auto-attack hit specifically — abilities, item effects, and most secondary projectiles do not count by default. If the attack misses, is dodged, or the attacker is disarmed, the on-hit fails to trigger. Items that apply Burn/Wound on attack, that grant mana per attack, or that add bonus magic damage on attack all hang off this single trigger, which is why on-hit carries care so much about how often they auto-attack.

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Question 2

Do abilities trigger on-hit effects in TFT?

Accepted Answer

By default, no — most abilities don't trigger on-hit. There are two important exceptions. First, a handful of abilities are explicitly tagged to apply on-hit, often at reduced effectiveness (the tooltip and patch notes call out the percent). Second, some items broaden the trigger themselves: a few anti-heal/burn items apply their debuffs on 'Attacks and Abilities,' so the debuff hooks in even from spell damage. Read each tooltip — if it says 'Attacks and Abilities,' abilities count for that specific item; otherwise assume on-hit means autos only.

Question 3

Do multiple on-hit effects all trigger on the same attack, or do they conflict?

Accepted Answer

Different on-hit effects all trigger together on the same hit — they don't compete. A single auto can simultaneously apply a Burn-and-Wound debuff, generate bonus mana, and add bonus magic damage, with each effect rolling independently. The 'do not stack' rule in TFT applies to a debuff keyword on the same target (two Shred sources don't add to 60%), not to different on-hit items on the same attacker. Stacking different on-hit items on one carry is the standard way to amplify auto-attack output.

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Question 4

If a basic attack deals reduced damage (ricochets, bolts, secondary targets), are its on-hit effects also reduced?

Accepted Answer

Yes, as of patch 17.1. Riot added an explicit rule that "champions that have reduced attack effectiveness also have their on-hit effects reduced by the same amount." The patch notes call out Xayah's ricochets as the canonical example: those secondary-target hits already deal reduced damage, and now the on-hit effects they apply (Burn ticks, Shred application, mana-on-attack, bonus magic damage) are scaled down by the same multiplier rather than landing at full strength. Before 17.1 the on-hit payload was binary — either the secondary hit triggered on-hits at full value or didn't at all — which was a known source of confusion. The new rule makes "reduced effectiveness" mean the same thing across damage and on-hit utility.

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Question 5

Does on-hit damage scale with Ability Power or Attack Damage?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the damage type the on-hit is tagged as. Magic on-hit damage is amplified by the holder's AP — TFT's universal rule is 1 AP = 1% more magic damage, true damage, shielding, and healing. Physical on-hit damage scales with AD-style multipliers when the tooltip ties it to AD. Flat 'utility' on-hits like mana gain or Shred/Sunder application don't scale at all. Always read the tooltip's damage tag (magic / physical / true) — that tag picks both the scaling stat and the resistance that mitigates the damage.

Question 6

Can on-hit damage critically strike?

Accepted Answer

Generally yes for physical on-hit damage tied directly to a basic attack — if the auto crits, the damage instance carries the crit multiplier through to those bolts and on-hit additions that are explicitly flagged 'can critically strike.' Magic on-hit damage usually cannot crit unless the unit has an item that lets abilities crit, since magic damage on auto-attacks is treated more like a spell payload. Each item's wiki entry says explicitly whether its on-hit can crit — patch history shows Riot has flipped that flag on individual items more than once.

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Question 7

How does Attack Speed scale on-hit output?

Accepted Answer

Linearly — every basic attack rolls every on-hit effect once, so doubling Attack Speed roughly doubles on-hit DPS and on-hit utility output (mana, Shred refreshes, debuff uptime). TFT caps Attack Speed at 5.00 attacks per second, after which raw AS stops adding throughput; a few set-specific traits can briefly exceed the cap. This linear scaling is why on-hit carries stack AS items aggressively and why an AS buff is usually worth more on an on-hit-heavy build than a flat AD buff of equivalent gold value.

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Question 8

Are on-hit damage instances reduced by the target's resistances?

Accepted Answer

Yes — on-hit damage follows the same mitigation rules as any other damage. Physical on-hit hits Armor, magic on-hit hits Magic Resist, and true on-hit (e.g., Burn ticks applied via on-hit) ignores both. The on-hit trigger doesn't grant any bypass; only the damage tag in the tooltip decides which resistance applies. A Shred or Sunder applied via on-hit is the lever for amplifying subsequent damage of the matching type, since percent reduction debuffs don't stack with themselves but do stack across keywords (one Shred + one Sunder = both active).

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Question 9

Are on-hit and 'spell-hit' the same trigger?

Accepted Answer

No — they're distinct. On-hit fires when a basic attack connects; spell-hit (or 'on-cast' / 'on-ability') fires when an ability lands. Items, traits, and augments are written against one or the other, and effects worded 'Attacks and Abilities' are the bridge that fires on both. The practical implication: a caster carry whose damage is mostly from their spell does not benefit from items hanging off the on-hit trigger — those want a basic-attack-driven holder. Read the keyword in the tooltip ('Attacks,' 'Abilities,' or 'Attacks and Abilities') to know which trigger you're equipping.

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On Hit

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Items (7)