League of Legends has many forms of CC. Crowd control is a complicated web of champion interactions that’s very difficult to keep track of. Some effects completely immobilize your champion while others can easily be Cleansed.
And unless you study every type of CC closely, you can’t know what each of them does.
But what about Fear in League of Legends?
What is Fear in LoL?
Fear, or Flee, is a type of crowd control effect in League of Legends that comes from the “Forced Action” category of CC. But unlike Charm, champions affected with Fear run away from their source/enemy, not towards it.
Feared champions cannot control their movements or cast abilities, but they can Cleanse the Fear.
In League of Legends, there are two terms associated with this type of crowd control – “Fear” and “Flee”. And Riot Games uses both words to explain the interactions.
“Flee” is the official term that you can spot in-game, but “Fear” is also used in some abilities’ tooltips to describe the same effect.
In any case, both words mean the same thing.
Now, every type of CC in the “Forced Action” category, including Fear, obeys the same rules. So, no matter if you’re Charmed, Feared, or Taunted, you’re champion will act nearly the same.
How does Fear work in LoL?
Fear makes it so you can’t control your champion’s movement or use auto-attacks for its duration. It also disables all of your abilities, with a few exceptions (Gankplank’s W).
You can’t even use Flash during Fear, but you can remove the Flee effect with Cleanse or Quicksilver Sash.
Besides Cleanse and QSS, the abilities that cause Fear in LoL can sometimes be dodged too. For example, Fizz can easily dodge Vex’s Fear by using his E – Playful / Trickster.
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All League of Legends Champions With Fear – A List
When it comes to specific abilities that cause the Flee effect in League of Legends, some are more similar than others.
For example, Vex Fears her enemies while dealing damage. But Urgot’s Fear doesn’t deal any damage and often lasts longer. So, how does this work? Let me explain.
Who has Fear in League of Legends?
1. Hecarim
Hecarim can only Fear enemies with his ultimate – Onslaught of Shadows. When Hecarim launches forward with his R, he Fears all enemies in his landing destination.
Keep in mind that Hecarim won’t Fear you if he passes through you, but only if he lands near you.
Hecarim’s Fear duration is anywhere between 0.75 and 2 seconds, depending on the distance he travels with his ultimate.
In other words, if Heca Fears you with the max range of his ultimate, he’ll send you fleeing for 2 seconds. But if he uses his R to close a short distance between him and you, his Fear will only last 0.75 seconds.
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2. Fiddlesticks
Fiddlesticks’ Q – Terrify is a simple point-click damaging spell that also applies Fear.
But Terrify also has a passive effect that allows Fiddlesticks to Fear any enemy, or multiple enemies at once, when he damages them with an ability after being unseen for 2.5 seconds.
In other words, if Fiddlesticks stands or charges his ultimate while in a brush or the Fog of War, he will always cast Fear with his next ability.
Fiddlesticks’ Flee duration is 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75 / 2 seconds, based on his Q’s rank.
Keep in mind that Fiddlesticks can’t Fear the same enemy twice in a row with his Q’s passive and active effects. Instead, he needs to wait for a short time before casting Fear again.
3. Nocturne
When people talk of Fear in League of Legends, they usually think of Nocturne. His Flee mechanic is unique and unrepeated, so here’s how it works.
Nocturne’s E – Unspeakable Horror allows him to connect to an enemy champion for 2 seconds.
After this time, Nocturne sends that champion fleeing, while also lowering the target’s movement speed and simultaneously increasing his movement speed towards the Feared champion.
Nocturne’s Fear duration is 1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75 / 2 / 2.25 seconds, based on his E’s rank.
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4. Warwick
Warwick’s Fear works similarly to Nocturne’s, though not the same. Instead of focusing on a single champion, Warwick’s E – Primal Howl allows him to shield himself and reduce all damage taken up to 55% for 2.5 seconds.
When this shield expires, Warwick sends nearby enemies fleeing while also reducing their movement speed by 90%.
However, opponents have to be in a 375 range radius in order for Warwick to Fear them. Any enemy that’s away from Warwick won’t get Feared.
Warwick’s Flee duration is 1 second on all ranks.
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5. Vex
Even though Vex fears enemies in League of Legends with her active abilities, her Fear mechanic comes from her passive – Doom ‘n Gloom.
Doom ‘n Gloom allows Vex’s next basic ability (Q, W, or E) to Fear her target every 25 / 22 / 19 / 16 seconds, based on her level.
However, this cooldown can be greatly reduced by collecting Gloom marks from enemy champions and minions. Vex can create Gloom marks when she damages opponents with her E – Looming Darkness.
And Gloom marks are also automatically generated whenever enemy champions use Dash or Jump abilities near Vex.
Vex needs to damage the marked targets either with a basic attack or an ability to lower her Fear’s cooldown.
Vex’s Fear duration is 0.75 / 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 seconds, based on her level.
6. Shaco
Shaco’s Fear works unlike any other champion on this list. He can only Fear enemies with his W – Jack in the Box which is a trap he sets on the ground.
These traps are invisible to Shaco’s opponents and can’t be destroyed by AoE abilities if the boxes are stealthed.
When enemy champions come in contact with one of Shaco’s boxes, they get instantly Feared. Their movement speed is also reduced, while the boxes keep attacking and dealing magic damage.
Shaco’s Fear duration is 0.5 / 0.75 / 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 seconds, based on his W’s rank.
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7. Urgot
We don’t usually think of Urgot as a “Fear-casting” champion in LoL, but experienced Urgot mains know how to take advantage of this mechanic.
When Urgot uses his R – Fear Beyond Death on an enemy champion with low HP, he pulls them towards him and executes them.
However, if there are other champions or minions near Urgot’s position, he also Fears them.
Urgot’s Fear lasts for 1.5 seconds on all ranks of his ultimate.
You can outplay your opponents by Flashing into multiple enemies with Urgot while pulling your opponent for execution towards you. This will surprise the enemy players and possibly win you the team fight.
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8. Aatrox (non-champions only)
Aatrox is one of the two League of Legends champions that can cast Fear to minions and pets, but not champions. How does this work?
When Aatrox activates his R – World Ender, he sends all nearby minions fleeing for 3 seconds on all ranks.
He can also move through units during this time because he’s technically flying above the minions.
Aatrox can never fear enemy champions.
9. Darius (non-champions only)
Darius’ Fear is also tied with his ultimate – Noxian Guillotine.
When Darius slays an enemy champion with his R near minions or monsters, he also Fears them for 3 seconds.
Keep in mind that Darius has to be near the minions in order to send them fleeing. And if a minion is out of the range of Darius’ Fear, if Darius moves towards it, the minion will get Feared afterward.
How to Counter Fear in League of Legends?
Tenacity is an effective way to reduce the duration of Fear / Flee effects in LoL. It allows your champion to get out of the Fear quicker so you can react to the play at hand.
There are many items and runes that grant Tenacity, such as Mercury’s Treads or Legend: Tenacity.
Why is Tenacity important?
If you’ve noticed, Fear is one of the most stressful types of CC to play against in League of Legends. And unless you have tools such as Cleanse or QSS to get out of it, you might end up being useless.
So, purchasing Tenacity is the first step to counter any CC in the game, especially Fear.
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Conclusion
Fear has always been a “special” type of crowd control effect in video games, not just League of Legends.
There’s a reason why there are only 9 champions in the entire game that can cast Fear, 2 of which can only do it to minions and monsters.
Vex is still regarded as “unfair-to-play-against” by many LoL players, even though there are many more broken picks in the game.
In any case, I hope I helped you figure out how Fear / Flee works in LoL and what to expect from each champion with Fear.
