Teamfight Tactics has its own client now: patch 18.6 moved TFT out of the League client

Teamfight Tactics now has its own standalone client: patch 18.6 launched it on 4 November 2026, and Riot puts the move in its own words — “We’re saying farewell to our previous home in the League client and stepping out on our own.” TFT is no longer played inside the League of Legends client; the patch notes call the switch “our move to a TFT standalone client”.

What is the TFT standalone client?

It is TFT running in a client of its own instead of inside League of Legends. Riot announced it under the heading “NEW STANDALONE CLIENT” in the 18.6 patch notes, published on 3 November 2026, with the first line: “Our standalone TFT client launches with this Patch!”

A dev post published on 2 November 2026 gives the reason in one sentence: “we need some room to build dedicated tools and experiences tailored for TFT players”. It names what that room is for — “More robust in-client events, improved lobby visuals, in-client previews of Tacticians and Arenas before you add them to your loadout, and more.”

The two games are not sealed off from each other. Riot says: “You’ll still be able to swap between the Rift (or ARAM) and the Convergence with the click of a button, even with TFT in its own client.”

What changed for the player on day one?

Riot describes the first release as a foundation rather than a finished surface. Its dev post says “our immediate priorities for the standalone client launch are focused around functionality and stability”, and that it will be “following up in future patches, as quickly as Patch 18.7, to continue adding features and building based on your feedback and suggestions”. Beyond that, the notes name two practical effects of the switch — a bigger download and a slower deploy.

The download is larger than a normal TFT patch. Riot’s own summary of 18.6 is “Small buffs & a standalone client that we’ll be iterating on in future patches. 18.6 is a big download!” The notes themselves say: “Large, like this patch's download size. Don't worry, future patches will return to normal size.” No figure — no megabytes, no gigabytes — appears in either post.

The notes also place the client in a longer transition: “We know the transition to Unreal has had its bumps, and we appreciate your patience and support.” That engine change is older than this patch — the 18.1 notes, which opened Set 18, describe “our transition from Hextech to Unreal”.

What is coming in 18.7 and after?

Riot’s dev post lists the next steps in its own order. “Patch 18.7 will reintroduce Leaderboards, make it easier to add friends to lobbies, and switch between solo and party lobbies across different queues.” End-of-game screens are “a major opportunity space in our new client, with new ways to share the comps and team codes that took you to 1st.”

UI scaling on PC is acknowledged as unfinished, with no patch attached: “We don’t have a specific patch nailed down for this, but we’re looking at revamping the UX scaling on PC to improve the overall look, feel, and ease of navigating through the client.” And from 19.1: “Starting with Patch 19.1, we’re introducing a new in-client experience that evolves as you play.”

What happens to cosmetics?

Riot says new cosmetics will no longer be shared across the two games. Its words: “New cosmetics that have historically been usable across both TFT & LoL—namely Little Legends & Emotes—will not be shared cross-game as a result of being developed in different engines moving forward.” The split happens in two steps, and Riot says anything released before each step stays usable across both games.

“Starting in Patch 19.1 with Set 19's release, you won't be able to use newly-released Little Legends as followers in ARAM. If you're currently using a Little Legend, you can still take them with you to the Howling Abyss, along with the rest of the Little Legend catalogue released before 19.1.” Then, “Starting in Patch 19.2, TFT emotes will also be split from ones acquired in League of Legends. As with Little Legends, anything released prior to that patch will still be usable across both games.”

The patch also carries a conversion batch, and Riot counts it: “73 Cosmetics will be readded this patch in addition to a couple of Arenas (not listed).”

How do I get the TFT standalone client?

Neither Riot post we read links a download page or a store listing, so this page does not give you one — a URL we invented would be worse than no URL. The page to watch is Riot’s patch 18.6 notes, the page where Riot announced the client and says it will “follow up with a more specific release time as the patch goes live across regions”.

What Riot does say is that the client arrives with the patch rather than beside it: “Patch 18.6 will include TFT’s new standalone client, so PC players should expect a larger download than usual.” Beyond that sentence, the mechanics of the switch are not described in either post.

TFT patch schedule: the dates Riot has published

The schedule page adds two rules of its own: “Patches release on a Wednesday (PT) unless otherwise indicated”, and “There are generally eight patches per set.” Set 18 opened with 18.1 on 26 August 2026 in the same table, and Riot’s 18.1 notes are headed “Welcome to the Enchanted Wilds!”

What comes next

Patch 18.7 is scheduled for 11 November 2026. Set 19 arrives with patch 19.1 on 1 December 2026 — the notes tie the two together in the line “Starting in Patch 19.1 with Set 19's release”, and the schedule dates 19.1 to 1 December. The schedule’s last dated row is 19.2 on 15 December 2026. That is the whole of what Riot has dated; this page adds nothing to it.

What Riot has not said yet

Does TFT have its own client?

Yes. Riot’s 18.6 patch notes say “Our standalone TFT client launches with this Patch!”, and its dev post says “Patch 18.6 will include TFT’s new standalone client”. The client is TFT’s, not League’s: Riot describes leaving “our previous home in the League client”.

When did the TFT standalone client launch?

With patch 18.6 on 4 November 2026, the date Riot’s patch schedule gives for 18.6. The patch notes announcing it were published the day before, on 3 November 2026. Riot did not publish an hour: the notes say it will “follow up with a more specific release time as the patch goes live across regions”.

Is TFT still in the League client?

Riot’s words are that it is “saying farewell to our previous home in the League client and stepping out on our own”, so the standalone client is where TFT now lives. Riot has not said in either post whether the League client still opens TFT, or for how long — so treat any answer to that half of the question as unpublished until Riot prints it.

Is the TFT client a separate download?

Riot describes it as part of the patch’s download — “Patch 18.6 will include TFT’s new standalone client, so PC players should expect a larger download than usual” — and says 18.6 is “a big download”. It does not say whether that is a separate installer, and it prints no size, so the honest answer is: a bigger download, yes; a separately sized one, Riot has not said.

When is TFT Set 19 out?

Set 19 ships with patch 19.1 on 1 December 2026. The link between the two is Riot’s own: the 18.6 notes say “Starting in Patch 19.1 with Set 19's release”, and the schedule dates 19.1 to 1 December 2026. Riot’s dev post takes “a small sneak peek” at Set 19 but gives it no separate date.