Invade in League of Legends: What It Is and the 2026 Camp Timers
An invade is when a team walks into the enemy jungle in the first minutes to steal or contest camps, deny the enemy jungler their first clear, place vision, or catch someone out of position. It usually involves four or five players at level 1 and is decided by timing: the team that arrives at a camp when it has spawned and the opponents are somewhere else wins the exchange.
Many guides still quote 1:30 as the jungle spawn time. Patch 26.1 (7 January 2026) moved the start of the game earlier, and the numbers below come from its Summoner's Rift notes. Patch 26.21 (notes published 20 October 2026) is the current one, and we found no later camp-timer change in the notes for patches 26.2 to 26.21.
The 2026 timers
Riot's patch 26.1 notes describe the change as trimming "mostly wasted" time at the start of every game:
| Event | Time since 26.1 |
|---|---|
| Minions spawn | 0:30 (was 1:05) |
| Murk Wolf, Blue Sentinel, Red Brambleback, Raptors | 0:55 |
| Krugs, Gromp | 1:07 |
| River Scuttler | 2:55 |
| Remake window | 0:55 to 2:25 (was 1:30 to 3:00) |
| Baron Nashor | 20:00 (was 25:00) |
Riot said that invading remains possible with the faster start because of the Homeguard changes, which push every player out of the base faster. Before 14:00 Homeguard now gives 80% movement speed that ramps down to 40% over four seconds, and after 14:00 it gives 150% ramping down to 65%. Both teams therefore reach the jungle sooner than older guides assume, and the timing windows in those guides no longer line up.
What an invade is trying to do
- Deny a buff. The Blue Sentinel and Red Brambleback camps give the buffs that a jungler wants early. The 26.1 notes also removed the global Red and Blue buffs that used to be available after 25 minutes, so the camp buffs are rarer and the early ones carry more weight.
- Scout. The first clear of the opposing jungler reveals where they begin, which tells your team where to gank.
- Catch someone. A team that arrives at a camp as it spawns can win the first kill. The kill also starts bounty gold: First Blood adds 100 gold (see Shut Down).
Risks
A failed invade is costly because the invaders are away from their own jungle and lanes while the enemy team is nearby, and your own camps can be taken in return.
- If the enemy jungler starts on the other side, your team walks a long route and gains nothing.
- Getting caught in the enemy river with no vision hands the other team a lead before 3 minutes.
Tips
- Decide who invades before the 0:55 mark and agree where the team will turn back.
- Place wards before the enemy arrives; the River Scuttler appears at 2:55, which is later than most level-1 invades.
- Look for the enemy's summoner spells and who is missing in lane, since a team that sees four enemies at one camp knows the fifth is elsewhere.
Common mistakes
- Using the 1:30 timing from older guides. You arrive after the camps have spawned and the other team's clear may have begun.
- Mixing up Classic and standard Summoner's Rift. League Classic is a separate mode with its own tuning, so the 26.1 timers apply to the normal map.
- Invading without a plan to leave. An invade that finds nothing is a loss of tempo, not a neutral result.
Related terms
- Shut Down: what the first kill's bounty is worth.
- Icon border: the frame around your summoner icon.
- Kill streaks, macro and slang glossary: wave terms such as bounce push.
- Rotation in gaming: when a team moves between objectives and what "rotating" means in other games.
FAQ
What time do jungle camps spawn in League of Legends now?
Murk Wolf, Blue Sentinel, Red Brambleback and Raptors spawn at 0:55, and Krugs and Gromp at 1:07. These times come from patch 26.1 (7 January 2026).
Is 1:30 still the invade time?
Not in the current game. Riot moved the start of the game earlier in patch 26.1, and we found no later change to these timers in the notes up to 26.21.
When does the River Scuttler spawn?
At 2:55 on Summoner's Rift.
Is invading a good idea?
It depends on the champions and on where the enemy jungler starts. A failed invade costs tempo, so teams that do it agree on a plan for each outcome before the first minion wave.
