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pointers on machete upgrades for s5 from a jungle main

Commando Yi··2 votes·2,406 views

http://www.surrenderat20.net/2014/10/109-pbe-update.html

Everyone is going to buy hunter's machete because you want the smite upgrades, that being said, a look at the upgrades.

Your value to your team as a jungler is above all else through your ganking capabilities. If you don't have CC you'll want Stalker's Blade to make it easy to Gank. If you have CC, you'll still want Stalker's Blade to make your ganks oppressively difficult to escape.

Stalker's Blade After killing 3 monsters, you can smite enemy champions, dealing a small amount of true damage and reducing their movement speed by 50% for 2 seconds.

Poacher's Knife ~~Upgrade Smite to Quick Smite. Quick Smite has reduced cooldown - has further reduced cooldown when you kill large monsters and grants bonus gold if you use it on the monsters in the enemy jungle. ~~ Not worth it unless you spend most of your time in your own jungle which you shouldn't

Skirmisher's Saber Upgrades Smite to Challenging Smite. Challenging Smite can be cast on an enemy champion - doing no true damage but revealing them for a long time and causing your attacks to deal bonus true damage each time you hit him. Elder Lizard true damage over time substitue that doesn't provide the dps output you can put out with a 50% slow over 2 seconds

Ranger's Trailblazer ~~Upgrades Smite to Desolating Smite - which causes Smite to deal 50% splash damage to other nearby monsters as well as stun them for 1.5 seconds. ~~ This is for afk farming which you shouldn't be doing.

Sustaining in the jungle There doesn't seem to be any form of %damage back as hp, it's all been replaced with hp regen per sec which means armor itemization will help you survive the jungle and keep your hp up - not very well mind you but it's there. All Junglers that have built in shields may be able to sustain reasonably well provided their shield strength/armor is enough. If you have sustain to go with it, even better.

Also if you are a mage jungler - take each and every blue buff as the mana regen you get in the jungle will not be enough to keep you going.

Upgrades Juggernaut - obvious tank item Magus - obvious mage item Warrior - if and only if you are an AD/Cdr type, e.g. lee sin, pantheon, khazix etc. Slayer - if and only if you have any kind of on hit synergies - yi, warwick, shyvana etc.

7 Comments

Variks the Loyal3 votes

The new smites aren't worth a laner taking both smite and sinking gold into a Hunter's Machete.

Unless you start with a Machete, you're gonna be waiting a long time to get your smite upgrade item. Moreover, you won't have the utility other summoners offer. No Teleport to get back to lane quick or make a quick gank. No Ignite for Grevious Wounds and early game kill pressure. No Exhaust to stop assassins and other burst champions. No Heal for the heal and speed boost. You're playing without a Summoner Spell for a long time.

The other smite upgrades are indeed worth it, although the Invading one (Skirmisher's Saber) does need some work, as Smite of Conquest is pretty much better. The others, however, are very worth it. Desolating Smite for junglers who need to power farm to 6 as soon as possible, like Warwick. Quick Smite for counterjungling, since you only get the bonuses in the enemy's jungle.

You also have to think about the new smite monster bonuses. You're not just taking a camp from them, but a buff. And in some cases, it's really powerful, particularly the Wolf buff. If you counterjungle an enemy's wolves, and smite it, you get the Ghost Wolf to patrol their jungle. Not only will you be able to tell where they are, but anyone else who goes through. Mid gonna gank bot? Not if they go through the jungle they won't. And depending on the buff you steal, you could really cripple some junglers. Stealing the Gromp will hurt tank junglers who need the poison for a fast clear; Stealing the little golems will make ganking junglers suffer, since they won't have the execute power.

The smites are all good, just the Invading one needs work. It should be more burst focused. When you invade, you go with the intention of killing the enemy jungler, and you need to do it as fast as possible. They aren't going to duel you right there, they're going to run while their laners come to back them up. Whatever they do for the invading smite should probably help them burst them down, then give them a movement speed bonus when the smite'd champion is dead, to help you escape with your kill without retaliation.

AnomalousChimera1 votes

It feels like the Skirmisher's Saber will used for a more delayed strategic invasion, which is why opposing champions are revealed for a long time. You wait for the jungler to gank or recall (or see when a laner recalls) and then invade their jungle and ambush them as they come back. Giving users more burst could be overpowered in my opinion. Vision is very, very important after all.

Raptamei1 votes

It'll end up just like trinkets.

Here's 3 completely different trinkets to support a variety of playstyles!

Reality: everyone uses yellow trinket except supports with SS and junglers, who use red trinket. Blue trinket is worthless. No balance changes are made and bonetooth necklace gets a built-in yellow trinket because Riot knows that yellow trinket is the best.

Same here. Obviously everyone will only use the best item and obviously any jungler that doesn't benefit the most from the best item will be useless. Don't act surprised.

Commando Yi1 votes

It'll end up just like trinkets.

Here's 3 completely different trinkets to support a variety of playstyles!

Reality: everyone uses yellow trinket except supports with SS and junglers, who use red trinket. Blue trinket is worthless. No balance changes are made and bonetooth necklace gets a built-in yellow trinket because Riot knows that yellow trinket is the best.

Same here. Obviously everyone will only use the best item and obviously any jungler that doesn't benefit the most from the best item will be useless. Don't act surprised.

on fiddle sticks i open yellow trinket, use it to protect my jungle, recall and buy red trinket to start jungling ^_^

Narasimha1 votes

I use blue trinket when I jungle shaco, lets me keep track of their jungle.

EnvyDragon2 votes

It'll end up just like trinkets.

Here's 3 completely different trinkets to support a variety of playstyles!

Reality: everyone uses yellow trinket except supports with SS and junglers, who use red trinket. Blue trinket is worthless. No balance changes are made and bonetooth necklace gets a built-in yellow trinket because Riot knows that yellow trinket is the best.

Same here. Obviously everyone will only use the best item and obviously any jungler that doesn't benefit the most from the best item will be useless. Don't act surprised.

You do know that there are 3 kinds of BTN, one for each trinket, right?

I mean I agree that blue trinket has needed work for literally a year now but don't just spread false information like that.

ProfDrDeath1 votes

Poacher's Knife will be THE counterjungler item. Especially with the bonus gold on enemy camps and the fact that you will be able to use the Quick Smite on potentially every second camp, giving you all those sweet smited-camp benefits (especially important when counterjungling: the Razorbeak one and the Wolf one - informing you about wards and the position of the enemy jungler).

Trailblazer seems to be a bit underwhelming, true.

Saber will be more helpful than you think in the jungler corridors, especially if your jungler has abilities that depend on line of sight. For example, Xin can easily use Audacious Charge to follow a flashing target over a wall if he keeps sight of them. Same is actually true for Master Yi with Alpha Strike.

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