How to Play as Twitch: A Rat’s Guide to Victory

So, you want to master Twitch, the Plague Rat? Excellent choice! This isn’t your average, run-of-the-mill ADC guide. We’re diving deep into the sewers, embracing the filth, and learning to dominate Summoner’s Rift with a champion who thrives on calculated aggression and opportunistic ambushes. To play Twitch effectively, you need to become a master of positioning, timing, and burst damage. It’s about playing smarter, not harder, and exploiting every weakness your opponent shows.

Core Gameplay: The Essence of Filth

At his core, Twitch is a hyper-carry ADC who scales monstrously into the late game. His strength lies in his ability to melt entire teams with his **ultimate, *Spray and Pray, while utilizing his **stealth, *Ambush, to get into advantageous positions. However, he is also incredibly vulnerable early game and requires careful farming and smart decision-making to reach his full potential. Success with Twitch hinges on understanding these key elements:

• Farming & Scaling: Early game, focus on safe and efficient farming. Minimize risks and prioritize CS (Creep Score). Twitch scales harder than most ADCs, so every last hit counts.
• Positioning is Paramount: As Twitch, you are a glass cannon. Proper positioning is absolutely crucial for survival. Stay behind your frontline, utilize terrain, and anticipate enemy movements.
• Ambush Tactics: Ambush is your bread and butter. Use it to flank enemies, surprise engage, or escape sticky situations. Master its timing and range to maximize its effectiveness.
• Teamfighting Prowess: During teamfights, wait for the opportune moment to unleash Spray and Pray. Target priority should be squishy carries or anyone caught out of position. Your goal is to deal maximum damage while staying alive.
• Objective Control: Twitch excels at taking objectives like towers and dragons due to his consistent damage output. Use your stealth to scout ahead and ensure safe objective control.

Abilities: Rat Poison 101

Understanding Twitch’s abilities is crucial to mastering his gameplay. Here’s a breakdown:

• Passive: Deadly Venom: Twitch’s auto attacks apply a stacking poison that deals true damage over time. This passive significantly enhances his damage output and makes him a formidable duelist.
• Q: Ambush: Twitch becomes invisible, gaining bonus movement speed. Attacking or casting spells breaks the stealth. After exiting stealth, Twitch gains bonus attack speed for a short duration. This is your primary tool for initiation, repositioning, and escape.
• W: Venom Cask: Twitch throws a cask that explodes, creating a cloud of poison that slows enemies and applies stacks of Deadly Venom. This is your crowd control tool and helps set up kills.
• E: Contaminate: Twitch detonates all stacks of Deadly Venom on nearby enemies, dealing damage. This is your main burst damage ability and should be used to finish off enemies with low health.
• R: Spray and Pray: Twitch gains bonus attack range and attack damage. His auto attacks pierce through enemies, dealing reduced damage to subsequent targets. This is your teamfighting ultimate and allows you to shred entire teams.

Itemization: Building the Perfect Plague

Twitch’s item build is fairly standard for an ADC but with some nuances depending on the game state. Here’s a general guide:

• Starting Items: Doran’s Blade + Health Potion. A standard ADC start provides early game sustain and damage.
• Core Build:
  • Kraken Slayer: Provides true damage and bonus attack speed, synergizing well with Twitch’s passive and ultimate.
  • Phantom Dancer: Grants bonus attack speed, movement speed, and a shield, improving Twitch’s mobility and survivability.
  • Infinity Edge: Significantly increases your critical strike damage, amplifying your late-game power.
• Situational Items:
  • Guardian Angel: Provides a second life, increasing your survivability in teamfights.
  • Lord Dominik’s Regards: Increases your armor penetration, allowing you to deal more damage to tanky targets.
  • Mercurial Scimitar: Removes crowd control effects, essential against teams with heavy CC.
  • Bloodthirster: Provides sustain and a shield, useful for extended fights and objective control.

Runes: Embrace the Lethality

The most common rune setup for Twitch is Precision as the primary tree and Domination as the secondary.

• Primary (Precision):
  • Lethal Tempo: Significantly increases your attack speed after damaging an enemy, maximizing your DPS during Spray and Pray.
  • Presence of Mind: Restores mana and increases your maximum mana pool, helping you sustain your mana in lane and teamfights.
  • Legend: Bloodline: Provides life steal, increasing your survivability.
  • Coup de Grace: Deals more damage to low-health enemies, helping you secure kills.
• Secondary (Domination):
  • Taste of Blood: Provides sustain in lane through healing on champion damage.
  • Treasure Hunter: Grants bonus gold upon killing enemy champions, accelerating your item acquisition.

Tips and Tricks: Master the Rat

• Abuse Fog of War: Use Ambush to enter the fog of war and reposition yourself or flank enemies.
• Ward Strategically: Vision control is crucial for Twitch. Ward key chokepoints and enemy jungle entrances to avoid ganks and set up ambushes.
• Communicate with your Team: Coordinate your attacks and objective control with your team.
• Practice your Positioning: Use practice tool to refine your positioning and learn how to kite effectively.
• Don’t be Afraid to Experiment: Try different item builds and rune setups to find what works best for your playstyle.
• Understand Matchups: Some matchups are easier than others. Learn which champions you can bully and which you need to play cautiously against.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Is Twitch a good champion for beginners?

No, Twitch is not recommended for absolute beginners. His reliance on positioning, stealth mechanics, and scaling makes him more suitable for players with some experience in the ADC role.

2. What is Twitch’s biggest weakness?

Twitch’s biggest weakness is his vulnerability to early game ganks and his reliance on scaling. He is also easily countered by hard crowd control.

3. How do I deal with assassins as Twitch?

Playing against assassins requires careful positioning and teamwork. Stay behind your frontline, build defensive items like Guardian Angel, and rely on your team to peel for you.

4. What supports synergize well with Twitch?

Supports with strong engage and peel, such as Lulu, Braum, and Thresh, are excellent choices for Twitch. They can protect him in lane and set up kills.

5. How do I use Ambush effectively?

Use Ambush to flank enemies, surprise engage, or escape ganks. Practice its timing and range to maximize its effectiveness. Be mindful of control wards and enemy vision.

6. When should I use Spray and Pray?

Use Spray and Pray during teamfights when you are in a safe position and can deal maximum damage to multiple targets. Aim to pierce through as many enemies as possible.

7. How do I farm safely as Twitch?

Focus on last hitting minions and avoid unnecessary risks. Utilize your range to farm from a safe distance and ask your support to ward for you.

8. What is the best way to build stacks of Deadly Venom?

Auto-attack enemies consistently to build stacks of Deadly Venom. Use Venom Cask to apply multiple stacks quickly.

9. How do I counter Twitch?

Pick champions with strong early game pressure and crowd control. Ward aggressively to deny his ganks and punish him for overextending.

10. Is Twitch better in the bot lane or jungle?

Twitch is primarily played in the bot lane as an ADC. While he can be played in the jungle, it is not his optimal role due to his vulnerability to early invades.

11. How important is attack speed on Twitch?

Attack speed is incredibly important on Twitch. It allows him to apply stacks of Deadly Venom more quickly and maximize his DPS during Spray and Pray.

12. What is Twitch’s late game potential?

Twitch has exceptional late-game potential due to his ability to shred entire teams with Spray and Pray. He is considered a hyper-carry and can single-handedly win games if he reaches his full potential.

So there you have it: your comprehensive guide to becoming a master Plague Rat. Now, go forth, embrace the filth, and spread chaos on Summoner’s Rift! Remember, success with Twitch requires patience, practice, and a healthy dose of rat cunning. Good luck!