What is Ghosting in League of Legends?

Ghosting has been a part of League of Legends ever since the game became popular. The term is often associated with streamers and streaming LoL for an audience, and there’s a reason why. Ghosting can be extremely harmful to the overall quality of League of Legends, and no one really likes it. But what is ghosting in LoL, actually? What does it mean to ghost someone playing League of Legends?

Ghosting in LoL is the process of someone watching/spectating his opponent’s screen while playing against him. In other words, ghosting happens when a streamer’s opponent watches the stream as the game goes on. This way, the player can spot where the streamer’s champion is, as well as all of his teammates.

Streaming has become one of the most popular and profitable professions in our modern-day world. And streaming League of Legends is what most LoL content creators choose to reach an audience. Streaming can be extremely fun for both the streamer and his viewers, but ghosting can compromise all of that.

Because streaming (either on Twitch, YouTube, or elsewhere) is public, everyone has a right to watch the stream. This also includes the opponents of the streamer in a game such as LoL, and that’s where all the problems occur. 

How Does Ghosting Happen?

Well, let’s say that Doublelift turns on his stream and queues up for a LoL game. His account name is Doublelift, so everyone knows who he is. As soon as the match starts, all 5 of his opponents know that if they go to Doublelift’s Twitch stream, they can watch where he and his teammates are. Then they can know for sure when the jungler is taking his buff, when Doublelift is recalling, etc…

Obviously, ghosting in LoL gives too many unfair advantages. 

Also read: How To Use Jhin’s Ultimate?

Why is Ghosting So Bad?

If you still aren’t sure why ghosting is so bad for League of Legends, consider this.

LoL is designed to be a 5v5 battle arena where two teams clash against each other. The map is covered with Fog of War, which hides your opponents when they aren’t near you or your turret/ward. This is purposefully done, and everyone has nearly the same chance of surprising his opponent.

Now, if you can lift the Fog of War in LoL and see your enemies’ movement at any time, then you’ll never make an error. Moreover, you’ll always know where to go, how to position, and which lane to gank. And if you’re the only player that can do that, you’ll likely win most of your games.

This is how ghosting works in LoL. While 9 players are simply playing the game the normal way, the “ghost” is being completely unfair. He can see where his opponents are and not make any mistakes. And instead of farming his jungle, for example, he can wait in a brush and catch the enemy jungler as he passes by, unaware of the danger.

Is Ghosting Reportable?

Even though ghosting is often associated with cheating in LoL, it’s not technically reportable. And there are two arguments for this.

First of all, the cheats for League of Legends usually come in the form of scripts. These are programs that a player manually installs and loads together with LoL. There are many different scripts, some of which control the player’s champion with inhuman precision, and others simply give him more mana or more Flashes. But ghosting isn’t a downloadable program, so it isn’t technically a cheat for LoL.

And second, watching someone else’s stream on the internet can’t get you banned in a game. As I mentioned above, 99.9% of Twitch’s streams are public, so anyone has the right to tune in and watch. This also includes all League of Legends streams, no matter who’s the streamer. So, watching a stream on Twitch or YouTube isn’t reportable in LoL either.

These arguments are sound and logical. And for most people, they’re correct. However, the fact is that ghosting is still immoral and unfair. 

Also read: Max AP Build for AP Scaling Champions

How to Prevent Ghosting in LoL?

Unfortunately, there isn’t an ideal way to prevent ghosting from happening. If you’re a popular streamer, there’s really nothing you can do to stop your opponents from watching your stream. However, here’s what most streamers do to combat ghosting in LoL.

1. Hide your minimap

If you’ve recently watched a famous LoL streamer on Twitch or YouTube, chances are that you’ve noticed their minimaps are hidden. This isn’t a mistake, but something that the streamer has purposefully done. LoL streamers often hide their entire minimap or the jungle area only. This makes it difficult for “ghosts” to spot all of the streamer’s teammates at all times.

Obviously, hiding your minimap won’t really solve ghosting. The “ghost” can still see the steamer’s screen and everything that’s going on there. So, it’s not a complete solution.

2. Change your Summoner name

You can also notice that most popular League of Legends streamers don’t play on their main accounts. Instead, they have other nicknames that aren’t at all similar to their official nicknames. This lowers the chances that an opponent might recognize the streamer, so it reduces the chance of ghosting too. However, if the “ghost” is a viewer that follows the streamer, he’ll know all his nicknames and accounts, so this isn’t the final solution either. If you don’t know how to change your Summoner name, here’s a quick guide from us.

Conclusion

Ghosting can be harmful to everyone involved. First of all, it hurts the streamer’s performance, but it also makes it less interesting for all the viewers watching him. The ghost might have fun while ghosting, but the LP is gained in an unfair way. In the end, ghosting sends out a negative message to new players about League of Legends, and no one really wants that.

It goes without mentioning, but I’d advise you to never ghost a streamer, even if you have the opportunity. It’s better to make a mistake and improve yourself because of that in the long run than to get some quick LP. GL&HF!