League of Legends stealth guide: Camouflage and Invisibility

Playing against champions you can’t see is far more difficult than playing against ones you can. There are plenty of champions who can go stealth in one way or another and they are all famously difficult to play against. So let’s take a quick look

The difference between Camouflage and Invisibility

Before we can talk about how to get away from these champions, we need to go over the differences between Camouflage and Invisibility.

Invisibility

Akali, Kha’Zix, Shaco, Talon, Teemo, Vayne, Wukong

These are the kind of abilities that turn a champion completely invisible for a short period of time. When Shaco goes invisible, you can’t see him no matter how close he gets to you. However, he will become visible again after a short time. Teemo, on the other hand, can stay invisible forever as long as he doesn’t move outside of a brush.

The only thing that can reveal Invisible champions is true sight, i.e. Control Wards, towers or Scanners. Invisibility is strong but it is usually a rather small part of the enemy’s kit. Kha’Zix can go invisible, but it isn’t who he is. It’s not the first thing you think of when the enemy locks him in.

Since Invisibility is temporary or movement based, the best way to counter it is decent vision around the area you’re fighting in. A Kha’Zix or Shaco can surprise you by going invisible in the mid lane brush and then jumping on you. But, if you have vision in and around that brush, you will spot them before they ever even try their move.

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Camouflage on the other hand is much harder to deal with.

Camouflage

Evelynn, Twitch, Rengar

Camouflage abilities are a little more intricate. These abilities are core to who the champion is and should come into play far more frequently. This is where you Twitch Q, your Rengar R and your Evelynn passive lives.

On a base level, Camouflage should be easier to play against. When a camouflaged champion gets within 700 units of you, they become visible. If 700 units sounds like a lot, it really isn’t. If you are measuring in Teemos (yes, one unit of Teemo is indeed just the size of the champion Teemo), 700 units is only seven Teemos.

What makes Camouflage powerful is the duration. For Evelynn, it lasts forever as soon as she hits level 6, for Rengar it lasts up to 20 seconds and for Twitch is lasts up to 14 seconds. Compare that with Shaco’s 4.5 second maximum and you start to gain some perspective.

Because these champions can stay stealth for so much longer than their invisible counterparts, catching them in the act is a little more difficult. As a result, this guide is going to focus on these three Camouflage champions.

Watching for the un-watchable

Playing against stealth champions causes you to play differently and focus extremely hard. If you don’t see a stealth champion on the map, you have to assume that they’re nearby and ready to pounce. The threat of a stealth champion popping up next to you is their greatest strength. But if you respect that strength, they’ll go hungry.

The easiest way to ruin a camouflaged champion’s day is to put down a control ward. No matter what lane you’re in, you should be buying one of these on your first back. Be sure to put it somewhere that you can protect while also being sure that it can see into the most common gank lanes.

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While vision is your most powerful tool, it isn’t always reasonable. Maybe you already used one and haven’t backed, or you simply don’t have the room in your inventory for a ward. In this case, paranoia is your best bet. Play like that Evelynn is always on her way to get you because she probably is.

Twitch, Evelynn and Rengar all rely on getting strong off of picks, assassinating you when you aren’t prepared. If you stay vigilant and safe, they’ll never get the chance. This may hurt you for now, as you’ll probably struggle to farm, but it’ll save your entire team from the destructive power of a fed Rengar.

Stay away from bushes and unknown locations. While camouflage may reveal their location when they get close to you, it’s usually only enough time to dash or flash in the other direction. If they catch you, you’re toast. But if you play a boring match of League of Legends, they can never hurt you.

To summarize: buy wards, play safe and never wander out into unknown territory.

If you play by those rules and never forget that danger lurks around every corner, you will do just fine against the next stealth champion you see.