Early Invade: What is the early invade strategy in League of Legends?

In League of Legends, "Early Invade" refers to a strategy employed by one team to invade the opposing team's jungle or territory shortly after the match begins, typically during the early stages of the game. This tactic is primarily aimed at gaining an advantage by disrupting the enemy's jungle routes, stealing their resources, or securing early kills.

Early invades are often coordinated efforts involving multiple members of the invading team, who move as a group to ambush the opposing team's jungle area or to contest key objectives. By catching the enemy off-guard or outnumbering them in a skirmish, the invading team can potentially secure kills, force the enemy to retreat or establish control over important areas of the map.

What are the benefits of early invasion?

Successful early invades can provide several benefits to the invading team, including:

Disruption of Jungle Pathing

By invading the enemy jungle and stealing their camps or buffs, the invading team can disrupt the opponent's jungle pathing, slowing down their progression and limiting their ability to farm efficiently.

Establishing Map Control

By securing early kills or exerting pressure on the enemy team, the invading team can gain control over key areas of the map, such as river objectives or vision around the jungle entrances, giving them an advantage in map control and vision.

Psychological Advantage

Early invades can also have a psychological impact on the enemy team, creating a sense of unease or uncertainty and potentially tilting opponents or disrupting their communication and coordination.

When should you early invade?

League of Legends is an online competitive game, and therefore, every match is different. Therefore, we can’t pinpoint one specific factor that determines whether you should early invade.

However, below are some things that can potentially suggest that it might be a good idea to early invade in the round:

• If your team has champions with powerful level 1 abilities or crowd control, such as Blitzcrank, Morgana, or Braum, it can be advantageous to invade. These champions can help secure kills or force the enemy team to retreat.
• If you have information about the enemy jungler's starting location and route, you can plan an invade to catch them at a disadvantage. For example, if the enemy jungler typically starts at their red buff, you can invade their blue buff to steal it or set up an ambush.
• If your team has strong laners who can push their lanes early, you may have the opportunity to rotate and support your jungler in an invade. This ensures that your team has numerical superiority if a fight breaks out.
• Invading the enemy jungle allows you to deny them experience, gold, and buffs, putting their jungler behind and slowing down their progression. This can give your team a significant advantage in the early game.
• If your team has established vision control in the enemy jungle, you can safely invade and gather information without the risk of being caught by the enemy team.