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Here's what you need to know about the new Teemo changes
A new update to Teemo is in the works for his 10th birthday. Join us as we run down his new changes, and how they could affect him going forward on the Rift.
Love him or hate him, it looks like Teemo is in store for some interesting changes. The cute little, dart wielding, Yordle is getting a much-needed makeover in League of Legends.
Teemo is a champion that's forever been a popular pick in the top lane, but he's fallen short in the top ranks of competitive play. He's known for being an itch that just can’t seem to be scratched in the laning phase, but he soon falls off in mid to late game. Even if you've racked up 10 kills and you've completed stomped your opponent into the ground, with the help of your mushrooms, there's still a good chance that you'll be useless when team fighting comes into play.
As of February 22, Teemo turned 10-years-old. He, alongside 16 other champions, have been playable for a decade, believe it or not. As LoL has matured, and the competitive environment has become more prevalent, Teemo, as well as any other champions, have fallen behind. To combat this, Riot Games are implementing a series of updates for Teemo, including a change to his invisibility mechanic.
This didn't sit well with the community, particularly with the Teemo fanatics. His invisibility mechanic is one of his defining characteristics, and downgrading it to camouflage seemed like an unfair nerf. A middle ground has since been negotiated however, and the new changes seem to look pretty solid, all things considered. He now looks like a much more balanced champion, and one that has the means to stay relevant in the later stages of the game.
It's too early to say if the changes will be enough to launch Teemo up the rankings, and he could be just another thorn in lower ELO players' sides. Only time will tell. Ahead of his possible release, we dived into the Public Beta Environment (PBE) to test him out for ourselves. We'll run through his changes and their implications going forward.
Stealth while moving
Teemo's Beemo skin
© Riot Games
Teemo's invisibility was previously obtained through his passive, Guerilla Warfare. If you stood still for 1.5 seconds, without interacting, you would disappear. It wasn't extremely useful, though. It could be used to cheese opponents, but that's about it. All you had to do was hide in a brush, and jump out on your opponent when they least expected it. The element of surprise would come into play, you'd catch them off guard, and take them out for the quick and easy solo kill. It was fun to abuse, but it rarely came into play in a team fight scenario.
The new Guerilla Warfare is much more dynamic. Instead of being passive, it's now Teemo's E ability. It can be activated while moving, and Teemo can now move out of a brush while in stealth for a limited period of time. The specifics of the new ability haven't been released yet, and they're subject to change, but they look like a step in the right direction.
The ability can also be activated while standing still, or in a brush, similar to the old iteration of the champion.
Teemo's new stealth mechanic will make him a champion with the means to outplay his opponent. He'll be able to use the ability to reposition himself in and out of team fight, allowing him to kite his opponents and inflict as much damage as possible. In the past Teemo has been a particularly weak team fight oriented champion, and was often seen as a gimmick. He didn't offer much, or in fact anything, to team composition, apart from his mushrooms.
The new version of Guerilla Warfare is a substantial buff to Teemo, so Riot Games have attempted to find some level of balance. Teemo can be knocked out of stealth when receiving damage, allowing for him to be countered by area of effect abilities. However, a Teemo player will be able to dodge this and avoid being damaged.
This means that in order to fully get the most out of the new Teemo, you'll have to respect your opponents and be aware when their abilities are on cooldown, in order to navigate your way around in stealth and reposition without being caught out.
Furthermore, the new Teemo will also have tiny footsteps to indicate his whereabouts. This means when he's in stealth, he'll be able to be tracked if the opponent is paying full attention. The footsteps, however, won't totally spoil the stealthy ambush, according to Riot games.
More mushrooms
Teemo's Panda skin
© Riot Games
The new changes to Teemo's Noxious Trap make him a much more interesting and engaging champion. Mushrooms are one of his defining characteristics, and they should rightly be an integral part of his identity.
Instead of just three mushrooms, Teemo will now have five. Once more, the mushrooms will be able to bounce indefinitely.
Previously, if Teemo threw a mushroom on top of another mushroom, it would bounce for a limited time period, gaining additional range. It wouldn't bounce for long however, meaning that Teemo could only use the mechanic to his favour in close range and niche situations.
Now that mushrooms can bounce for a longer distance, Teemo has the means to take over a team fight. If he uses his mushrooms to his advantage, he can catch out squishies, quickly bursting them down.
The previous iteration of Teemo was extremely predictable. It would be easy to dodge an incoming mushroom, and dance around him in a team fight. He'd often barely be able to make the most out of his kit and get taken out with ease. Now, combined with his new stealth capabilities, players will have to step carefully around him.
Teemo has the potential to take the game into his own hands. He's now an x-factor champion, which will only benefit him from a competitive standpoint. He's much less predictable, and with his new mushrooms at the forefront of his kit, he's dangerous.
Poison synergy
Teemo's Omega Squad skin
© Riot Games
Another change to Teemo is his poison synergies. Teemo's Toxic Shot is now his passive ability. It scales with level and will deal more damage whenever there are other poison effects on the target.
To go alongside this change, Teemo's Blinding Dart ability is now a poison effect, in addition to his mushrooms. This means he'll be able to dish out a lot more damage. He'll be almost like a glass cannon. He'll still be a squishy target when it comes to a skirmish, but if he gets the room to deal damage, he'll have the potential to sway a team fight.
If Teemo has strong front line protection, he'll be able to weave in an out of a fight. He won't need to be constantly pressuring his damage. He'll just have to get off the free important shots, as well as take advantage of his mushrooms. If he can stay alive, his damage will be extremely difficult to avoid.
To add further to Teemo's new changes, he now synergies with other poison-based champions. His Toxic Shot passive will scale with any poison effect, meaning that a friendly champion's poison abilities will bolster his damage.
This has implications for team compositions and team fight scenarios, but it also allows him to be more flexible when choosing a position. Previously, Teemo only really fit well in the top lane, falling short in mid and bot, but now, with the possibility of his new synergies, he could work well as a damage orientated support champion.
The bot lane is becoming a lane with that doesn't necessarily have to sport an AD-based champion anymore. Previously, ADCs reigned king, but now, mid lane mages like Cassiopeia have the potential to work wonders. G2's Luka 'Perkz' Perković has proved this in the League of Legends European Championship. This means Teemo could support a bot lane Cassiopeia, synergising with her poisons, or he could support a Twitch.
