Hello everyone, Dopamine here. I'm a rengar OTP since season 3, and challenger since season 8. At the time I'm writing this, I'm sitting at 904 LP in EUW challenger.
This guide is destined to people already somewhat familiar with rengar, not complete beginners. I won't explain what the spells do, but I will give you tips & tricks.
I guess this is where I flex my soloQ accomplishments so there you go :Current elo


[/list]51/1 D4 in S10

61/5 master in S9

I also stream and make youtube videos! Here are the links :
https://www.twitch.tv/dopamine_influx
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbcuOT-c94Caf52fcPREkMA
My discord server : https://discord.gg/FX9bnph
Twitter : https://twitter.com/DOPAMINE_INFLUX

This guide will provide you with advanced tips on how to play rengar aswell as material to get better mechanically, but it will also do what other guides don't : it will give you an insight on how I approach the game on a macro level, as a challenger rengar OTP.

The average rengar will powerfarm and have no impact on his games. with my playstyle you will get both yourself and your laners ahead.
The playstyle basically boils down to this : NEVER WASTE TIME.

Rengar is one of the most snowbally champions in the game, if he gets a lead, he will be able to punish even the slightest mispositioning. This is why you need to play for YOURSELF, and get as many ressources as you can.
In order to do so, you never go for "coinflip" ganks or plays, always look to do something, never wait around. In a perfect world, you always have a backup plan and a main plan : gank bot if they're overextended, but if you see the gank won't work, fall back to krugs instead, for instance.

I videos on rengar combos and builds, aswell as tips, you should watch them for advanced mechanics and insight on builds/runes :
I always go conqueror, and the video explains why. (tldr : conqueror is always up, you don't need electrocute to one shot squishies, and conqueror does way more in skirmishes)

Play Video Play Video
One thing that separates good/average rengar players from great rengar players is your ability to keep 4 stacks while moving. Hit plants and camps on your way to keep 4 stacks up. Try to end your camps at 4 stacks if you're about to gank.

The TRIPLE Q :

This is the most important mechanic on rengar IMO, and adds a lot of potential to the champion. I cover it in my video, but here it is :
If you have 4 stacks and are in a bush/ult, press Q before jumping, then auto E Q tiamat W, then Q again. You have casted three Q spells.

You have 2 kinds of fights :

_ You need to oneshot someone : throw everything as quick as you can

_ You need to duel someone : only use W after they damage you, auto reset with every Q you throw, squeeze in as much damage as you can.

Auto resets on my one shot combo is something I do a lot, and this is why I use conqueror in an effective way. If they have no escape and you triple Q, instead of going Q Q Q, you go Q auto Q tiamat Q auto...

Another complaint I see often in my twitch chat is "I play rengar, but I can't seem to ever gank pre 6!"

First, I only go for free ganks, where they are overextended, near a bush, or flashless and I either arrive from behind or flash E them.

Second, I always gank with 4 stacks up, I end my jungle camp at 4 stacks and try to kite it as much towards the gank. If you ever gank with 0 stacks, the gank won't work most likely, because you need to get an empowered ability ASAP.

Another really effective way of ganking is to lane gank. The perfect lane gank is when the enemy's wave is slowpushing towards you.

Don't feel pressured to always empowered E during a gank, you can walk up behind them and Q for speed to catch up to them.

0. ALWAYS spam ping your team every call you make, don't be afraid to ping. You need to make sure you communicate your intentions, don't expect them to know. People don't really tilt off that anymore.

1. Unless the lane is going to freeze, ALWAYS push the wave in WITH your laner. If he pings you back, mute his pings. (this is one of the things I see done wrong the most during my coaching sessions)

2. Adapt your pathing, try to meet the enemy jungle as much as possible early game. Here are the two full clears I use : Play Video Play Video Play Video The last video is a bunch of pathing variations you can use.

ALWAYS TRY TO GET A WARD ON THE ENNEMY'S RAPTORS, AS THIS GIVES YOU INFO OVER HIS WHOLE PATHING.

3. Try to have a plan early game. This plan can be : full clear into scuttle, reverse full clear into scuttle, red blue red, red blue gromp red etc... You have plenty of variations. Never make "coinflip" invades. For instance, if you don't know where the enemy jungler started, it's better to clear than to coinflip an invade on a side that might be cleared.

4. The perfect timings for invades are the timings where you know how the jungler is pathing. This works at any stage of the game.
Imagine this : you're against hecarim, he started blue, and you have a ward on his raptors. I would go red, blue, and if he didn't show on raptors by the time i'm done with blue, I would go to his red, because then I know he went for a fullclear on botside. By the time he's done with raptors, i'm done with his red, I have 4 stacks, and I can one shot him.

5. You need to understand the concept of tempo. Tempo basically boils down to being somewhere first, having "control" of the zone (they have to facecheck you to get there.) Rengar is very tempo based, as you can secure a lot of stuff before they even get there, or trap in a bush while they panic and facecheck.

6. And this is WHY you shoud NEVER EVER EVER EVER jump in and trade 1 for 1. The 30 seconds respawn timer takes away so much gold and xp you could've had by farming, or splitting. Don't be afraid to WASTE ult, but never jump in 1v5.

For me, early game lasts till plates fall. In this chapter, I will cover how to snowball pre 14.
There are two playstyles on rengar : one that powerfarms to 6, and then looks to use ult for powerful ganks, and one that seeks to track the enemy jungler and contest everything he's doing. I never use the former, as this leaves your team very prone to inting.

You have 3 objectives as rengar early game :

1. Don't let the enemy jungler make plays around the map uncontested
2. Get tiamat ASAP
3. Get herald and use it for first turret.

If you accomplish these missions, you will be fed most of the time.

For mission 1, you need basic jungle tracking skills and vision. (see next chapter)
Basically, it all boils down to knowing where the jungler starts, and trying to end up on the same side as him. Then, with conqueror and bloodline, you can have skirmishes, that you win quite often, and snowball from there.
Mission 2 should be easy if you accomplish mission 1 early.
For mission 3, the perfect scenario is : gank top - chunk T1 to 3 plates - take herald - reset - dive top/gank top - get turret. Always make sure herald charges on the LAST plates, never the first plates (don't throw it instantly if the turret is full HP)
Pre 14 herald is the most effective way to snowball, as 5 plates + minions taxed + kill toplane + gold from herald will give you around 1.5k gold.

Keep in mind rengar pushes turrets very fast, and has really effective dives.

You always want to get an empowered ability on dives, so if you dive without ult, make sure you have at least one stack (Q a minion before).

If you have ult, make sure to arrive with 4 stacks for a very easy dive (Q before jumping, E tiamat Q, tank a few shots then W W out.)

What about drakes early game??

I tend to ignore drakes and focus on gold and xp, because drakes are basically useless before soul. Always trade drake for herald if necessary. If they commit bot, take herald and dive top, they get 25 gold from drake, and you get 1.5k gold for yourself from your own play. You can also fight drakes if you win fights.

In this chapter, I will try to teach you how to jungle track efficiently. Rengar benefits HEAVILY from good jungle tracking, because of insane counterganks, invades and 2V2 potential.

To jungle track, keep in mind the following concepts :

_Knowing where the enemy is not allows you to know where he is.

We split the map in 4 quarters. Your job, either through vision or through deduction, is to guess the quarters where the jungler isn't. That will allow you to know the quarters where he is, or could be.

_Your ability to guess the quarters where he isn't, without vision, depends on your experience. Keep in mind junglers tend to go in the quarters where their camps are up, so knowing which camps are up will help you track better. Junglers also tend to go near their buffs and scuttles more. If your team is overextended, keep in mind the jungler will most likely try to gank them. Early game, junglers path from one side to another, so it's very good to mirror them.

_It's always better to have vision, as playing the game without vision is like playing chess without knowing what your opponent's moves are. If you have vision though, it's very easy to guess : if he isn't bot, he is top.

_ Ask yourself the question : "what would I do if I were him?" This question helps me jungle track a lot.

_ If you make a play on a side of the map and you don't get countered, you can assume most of the time that the jungler is on the opposite side.

You are 12/3/4 as rengar, but your team is very weak. You feel alone, and the enemy keeps grouping mid, but you don't know what to do, so you jump in hoping for the best, but they always seem to win the fights. Does this sound familiar? In this chapter, we will learn how to deal with that.

You have to keep in mind two things :

_ Rengar is one of the worst "group mid" champions in the game

_ You have to give them a reason to not group mid : if everyone in your team stays mid, why would the enemy go sidelane?

But how do I give them a reason to not stay mid, you ask? There are mainly two ways :

_ You can go split on a sidelane, and "apply pressure". Pressure basically boils down to making the opponents need to come to you, because you are a threat to their base.
There is a way to splitpush, and I will shortly release a video on it, that I will link here when it's up.

_ You can force drake and nash. Your goal, when forcing these objectives, is not necessarily to get the objectives, but to turn and have a fight in the jungle. Don't tunnel on the objectives, don't 50/50 them, but rather look to turn as soon as they step foot into the jungle.


Sometimes, when splitting, your team will die 4v5, and there's no way around that. But at laest, you will lose the game knowing that YOU made the right play, and you will climb in the long run.

Rengar is an assassin. Assassins look to one shot carries. You will never one shot carries by walking through the frontline. You always need to flank. Always stay out of vision, on the side, or behind the opponents, never near your team. This will make your teamfighting way better in all elos. Mind your target focus, and don't be afraid to go in and out, never commit to something that will kill you.

You shouldn't be the one engaging, but rather the one cleaning up. You can also one shot someone slightly out of position then run away, and re engage after your cooldowns are up, with your team, in a 4v5.

When you don't have prio early, you try to avoid the opponents on scuttle, by going opposite side scuttle. If you don't have prio, ganks should also be free, just make sure to gank with 4 stacks and mind counter ganks. (play opposite sides of the map)

Don't force invades/losing skirmishes/scuttles, and just snowball off the opponents being overextended. After that, you should be able to get kills wherever you go, play for heralds, invade solo, etc...

Worst case scenario is dying on scuttle because of lack of prio, or going for int gank and getting counterganked, so try to avoid that.

If you have a weak lane, play on the opposite side and don't force fights there, if you think you lose them. The matchup section is pretty general, but you should always adapt your gameplan.

Playing around the strong lane is always good, as you will get fed by winning skirmishes.

NEVER tunnel vision on drake, herald is always better. Don't tunnel vision on herald if you lose fights, just counterjungle his botside/gank bot/ farm instead of suiciding.

If you're ahead but have losing lanes, only punish people for overstaying/being overextended when you KNOW it's safe (no countergank, no TP...). Don't force 5v5 fights, but look to splitpush, try forcing winning 1v1 fights, and get fed like that. Keep splitpushing until your team catches up/you can force a good fight/ they overextend.

Rengar is really useless when behind.

If your team is losing : hope that the opponents will overextend and give you shutdowns, then play like you're ahead but team is behind.

If your team is ahead : play around the winning lane and get fed by winning fights thanks to them. Always countergank/help them dive if they're ahead, and play around them. Worst case scenario is the opponent jungler ganking them, making them lose their lead.

Once you're ahead, and your team isn't losing, the best thing to do is to be present on every objective, and force 5v5 fights in the jungle. Since you're ahead and fighting in the jungle, you always win them. Never go ARAM pushing for a turret, unless your team can carry those ARAM fights.

Denying vision on nash and just trapping is a good way to snowball the game, or just starting nash and turning.

You can also go 1/3/1 and punish mispositionings, but always sidelane when your ult is down.

Don't trade 1 for 1 and give shutdowns, don't be the one engaging ARAM fights, and don't get caught while splitting.

Don't greed and overstay, that's the biggest way to throw the game.