Camille guide: How to play League’s newest champion

When Riot designed Camille, Lead Game Designer Greg Street told The Rift Herald the design team set out to differentiate her from other recent releases by giving her a lower skill floor, getting back to the design philosophy of “easy to learn, hard to master.” In a year where champions like Ivern, Kled, and Aurelion Sol have been released, Camille certainly feels a little more ... regular. While getting back to a “simpler” design may seem like a step back, it actually feels like a breath of fresh air to end this wild year of champion releases.

When I say that Camille is simpler compared to the other 2016 champs, I mean that she feels familiar to play. Jumping into your first Camille game, you will probably feel a sense of confidence you maybe wouldn't on most new champions, especially if you have experience on more finesse top laners like Fiora. She feels flexible and useful almost instantly, something that can’t really be said for someone like Kled. She is more complicated than a champion like Garen, but she has far more potential. Ultimately, Camille has a low skill floor and a high skill ceiling; she is going to be the easy-to-learn, hard-to-master champion of 2016.

Also, she has swords for legs. Sweet.

You can check out her champion spotlight here: For more on her ability kit and a recommended item build, scroll down!

The Kit

Passive - Adaptive Defenses

Riot’s Tooltip:

Surrender@20

How it works:

Every 20 seconds, when Camille basic attacks an enemy, the game does some really quick math to determine what type of damage that enemy does. Camille will then get the shield, physical or magic, that will protect her the most. This is actually a build-specific calculation, not champion-specific, which is interesting. So if Camille goes against an AP Kog’Maw (a traditionally AD Champion), the passive will be smart enough to give Camille a magic shield instead of a physical damage shield. Science! This ability basically just turns Camille into an extremely flexible pick, allowing her to survive aggression against any enemy Champion, regardless of what they decide to build.

Q - Precision Protocol

Riot’s Tooltip:

Surrender@20

How it works:

Precision Protocol is a very powerful ability that gives Camille the opportunity for two basic empowered attack resets in short succession. Activating Camille’s Q will reset her basic attack and deal additional damage along with increasing her movement speed. After using Precision Protocol to actually hit something, Camille will be given the chance to cast the ability again within three seconds. This allows Camille to hit three basic attacks in the span of about one or two seconds (basic attack->Precision Protocol->Precision Protocol re-cast).

However, Camille’s kit awards the patient player. If Camille waits at least 1.5 seconds after using Precision Protocol the first time, her hips will begin to glow, signaling the ability is now empowered for its second use. This second strike is very powerful and deals a lot of damage to all targets, with more than half of the damage converted to true damage. That being said, the window to make this strike successful is very narrow, as you essentially give up half of the three second activation time waiting for it to get empowered. Use it in tandem with Adaptive Defenses and Camille will win almost every trade in lane.

This ability offers choice and a unique playstyle. In a world where so many champions have basic attack resets, this ability feels fresh.

Tip when playing against it: Watch for the tell-tale signs of the empowered Precision Protocol. If you have trouble remembering what to watch for, try to keep in mind that, much like Shakira, Camille’s hips don’t lie.

W - Tactical Sweep

Riot’s Tooltip:

Surrender@20

How it works:

Tactical Sweep behaves very similarly to Taric’s new E, Dazzle. Camille will aim her W in a targeted direction and then strike a moment later. Camille can move while winding up this ability. Similar to Darius’ Q, Decimate, the ability does more damage if you hit people with the edge of the ability rather than the inner section. So try and cut stuff with her leg-sword rather than her...robo-thigh...I guess?

Anyway, if possible, you want to try and land the outer half of this ability onto the enemy to get the massive amount of extra effects it will afford you. How about a crazy big slow, some percent of health damage, and, what the hell, why not a heal based on the damage you do? The outer edge of this ability has a lot of utility that you don’t want to waste. All of this becomes doubly true when you consider how terrible this spell is if you don’t hit the out edge. It does a pretty small amount of damage, especially considering how long the cool down is. Be accurate. Cut stuff up. Be like Raiden.

E - Hookshot

Riot’s Tooltip:

Surrender@20

How it works:

Hookshot is Camille’s mobility ability and it makes her very unpredictable to play against. When you use E, giant grappling hooks will shoot out of Camille’s hips and travel a long distance. These hooks can only attach to terrain. If they catch terrain at any point during their travel time, they will anchor themselves and Camille will reel herself in, like Nautilus’s Q.

Once on the wall, the player has a few options that make this ability quite different from Nautilus’s Q. First, you can roll off the wall to one side or another. The range isn't very big, but is usually enough to at least push you over most walls, making for a quick escape or a weird entrance to a fight. However, the second option is far more interesting. If you target a Champion when you recast E, Camille will leap towards them, stunning them and dealing a little bit of damage. This makes Camille a powerful duelist and a really odd disruptor in team fights. Camille can disengage one part of the fight by hooking a wall and then jump to aid an ally or assassinate a separated target.

Hookshot is powerful, unpredictable, and makes Camille very quick in fights. Always be on the lookout for good angles, and don’t be too afraid to dive onto an enemy carry if you get the chance. Especially if you see an opportunity to use...

R - Hextech Ultimatum

Riot’s Tooltip:

Surrender@20

How it works:

Remember when I said that Camille was a powerful duelist? Well on the off-chance that you thought that I was lying to you: I wasn’t. Camille essentially creates a much better Jarvan IV ultimate.

The key to using Hextech Ultimatum is Camille’s build. You have to be able to do enough damage to kill your target while also surviving a duel to the death, although the barrier will not drop when Camille dies.

Keep in mind that if Camille leaves the Ultimatum, it ends and her target is freed. This makes using Hookshot complicated unless you really planned ahead with your Hextech Ultimatum (or have a talented Anivia on your team). This ability is best used to contain a threat from diving onto one of your less survivable allies. Do you have a lot of ranged champions on your team and fear for their safety against a enemy Malphite? Well, deliver unto him a (Hextech) ultimatum, and spare your team from getting one shot. Maybe that enemy Rengar is looking a little sidewise at your Caitlyn; give him the Hextech Ultimatum.

The best-case scenario is to drop this ability on a Nasus that has gotten out of control. As long as you can survive in the ring with the big dog himself, your teammates can safely deliver the pain from outside of the arena. Choosing your target is important, and while this is a dueling ability, do not forget that allies and enemies can enter the arena to fight as well. The only one who can’t leave is Camille’s target (and Camille, if you intend to keep them there). Use this ability wisely and you will find yourself in a lot of very positive 5v4s.

The Build

When building Camille you want to look at two distinct decisions:

Do I build damage right now?

Do I build tank right now?

Damage is going to be your go to-up front. Similar to most juggernaut tops, you want to look into building one powerful item early that you can use to snowball yourself into the mid and late game. Well, there are three options for damage, and all of them good.

Trinity Force provides some equal opportunity attack speed, sheen procs, chase/survival and is a great (albeit expensive) starting item for Camille.

If you feel like being a traditionalist and want a no-nonsense Camille build, go for the Black Cleaver, which will provide you with some really nice stats that will last you all game long.

Both of those are nice, but my personal favorite build on Camille starts with Blade of the Ruined King. Building Blade gives Camille a ton of lifesteal, attack speed, chase, and most importantly, amazing on hit percent of health damage. This makes Camille scary and fast right out of the gate. It also give her the opportunity to be extremely versatile in her target selection, allowing her to single out tanks and carries alike. She can get a lot of basic attacks into a small window, so take advantage of that and build blade.

If you find that you are really kicking ass, maybe build another damage item? Tri-Force and Blade of the Ruined King go nicely together.

That being said, it is important that we apply some logic to our purchases and start thinking about building a little tankier, so we can survive the Hextech Ultimatum. So when you can, build the tank regulars depending on your situation:

Dead Man’s Plate, if you’re by yourself a lot

Randuin’s Omen, against crit-heavy teams

Spirit’s Visage, against magic damage

Thornmail, against auto-attack heavy teams

That last one can be really helpful if you feel the need to take down a fed AD Carry in a full-on duel.

The only other suggestion that can and should be made is the Sterak’s Gage. Since you will be involved in a lot of duels throughout the game, picking up Sterak’s 3rd or 4th could help you stay alive during a crazy fight. It probably isn’t worth building every single game, but it is at the very least worth a mention here.

You know what’s cooler than legs or swords? Sword-legs.

Camille manages to balance herself really nicely on the tightrope of being a “normal” champion without falling to the same fate of being boring like the Garens of the world. Playing Camille feels like an elegant dance, very similar to playing Fiora. But Camille brings a fresh look and a rude-British personality to League, where Fiora is kind of just a three-musketeer lady. Sorry Fiora, get another sword and strap them to your legs; then we’ll talk.

Camille looks awesome, she sounds great, and she plays familiarly. She brings a unique silhouette to league without having to redesign the wheel. I miss champions like Camille, it is nice to see her being added into League after we have been so spoiled by weirdo (in a good way) champion design all year. 2016 has been a hell of a year for champions, and what better way to end it than with a lady who has swords instead of legs.