How do Bard’s Doots work in Teamfight Tactics (TFT) Set 7?

In Set 7, Teamfight Tactics’ (TFT’s) expensive, game-changing units have become even more important and powerful. Despite the impressive collection of Dragons that Set 7 offers, there are still interesting and impactful 5-cost units altering late-game tactics. Among these 5-costs is Bard, a musical champion who freezes enemies in place. However, his Doots can get a little confusing and deceptive, so let’s break them down.

Stats and mechanics of Bard’s Doots passive ability

Once you put Bard on the board, this immediately activates his passive ability: Doots. In TFT, you collect his Doots from combat. Your collection is based on how many of your teammates survived the previous combat. For the exact stats, each champion on your board that survived the round has a 2% chance to earn a Doot. Then, for each of those Doots, your chances of getting a 5-cost unit in your shop increase by 1%.

Considering how low those percentages are, they seem like an inconsequential bonus, right? Well, they actually can be a lot more powerful than you think.

Doots damage and late-game potential

While the percentages seem low and you might pass up Bard for that reason, let’s take an experimental game into account. In one hyper-roll game, Bard was acquired near the end of the mid-game and immediately placed on the board. In a dozen or so rounds, not only did the team acquire 16 Doots, but the percentage chance for 5-cost units and Dragons increased from 6% to a staggering 22%.

While the initial stats seem very low, the game does state that any time Bard dances, the Doots are triggered on all survivors. So, even though you only have a 2% chance on each unit, if just one of them triggers that Doot, Bard dances. Then you acquire a Doot from all of the surviving units. Hitting that 2% chance, instead of one Doot, actually gives you, say, four (or whatever amount of your champions survived that round). That’s how in a few rounds this skill can collect more Doots than you expect, despite its initial deceptively low odds.

Now, Bard won’t save you if you’re doing poorly. His power does rely entirely on champion units still being alive at the end of a round. You need to have quite a few survivors to get positive odds. But, if you have a strong foundation for your team, Bard and his Doots could help snowball your way to victory.