@Riot - Can We Get Some Insight Into The Jungle Changes
Like a lot of players, I'm noticing that the jungle is extremely difficult for all but a select few champions. I noticed that you didn't talk about the nerfs you made in your patch rundown and I'm curious if you have anything coming down the pipes to actually allow junglers who aren't lee/reksai/vi to perform.
Currently, jungling feels like playing with a huge handicap. Since I main amumu and nocturne, I'm finding it extremely hard to have a positive lasting impact for my team. The difference between backing after 3 camps and backing after 4 (to upgrade jungle item with pots needed to have a chance to gank) is getting a leash, otherwise both champs either die to the 4th camp or risk being a free kill to whoever decides to walk in and find me.
I was find with the chilling smite nerf. If I could land a bandage in season 4, I can do it now. I find that it's more ridiculous that on champs that lack proper sustain early, I have to go trailblazer, which isn't terribly useful late game. Nocturne needs chilling smite to gank, but can't farm with any sort of health sustain without trailblazer or additional gold spent on lifesteal and armor. Amumu fairs better, but the jungle makes his early game significantly hard to the point where it's extremely difficult to not be a liability for the first 10 minutes.
Honestly, it's frustrating. It's frustrating that I can't play the champs that I want to play. It's frustrating that I feel like I can't carry a game from jungle. But the most frustrating thing is that you, Riot, refuse to comment. You are silent, and you are slow. Every change this season has been detrimental to your 'jungle diversity', aside from the nerfs to warwick/devourer (which also blanket nerfed anyone else who might use it.), and the nerfs to jarvan. Right now, tank junglers and carry junglers don't really have a place in the jungle because they can't get adequate sustain to gank or farm, or their clear speed is so slow they just fall behind by virtue of not being able to kill the jungle fast enough.
How can we fix it? I've seen several threads that attempt to offer solutions to the problems.
Want to buff tank junglers? Look at juggernaut. The old ancient golem had that nice %max health bonus. It also had a % true damage dot to monsters who attacked its holder. The current juggernaut does nothing to help tanks clear. It could return damage to attacking monsters. It could give a bit of armor to help take less damage to at least augment its own sustain. It really doesn't even need the armor. Some extra regen would be great (yes, mana too). A bit of extra damage to monsters would be awesome. There's also this thread It gets rid of a useless mastery (honestly, how did that shield even make it past the drawing board. The least it could do is give the 50 hp on back. That might make it useful), and gives tank junglers something to help them clear. Most of the current bruiser junglers will have to give up their offense trees to have it, and it won't be worth it in tersm of damage.
How about carry and assassin junglers? You know, the ones who need to both farm and get kills to stay relevant. You know, your rengar, kha zix, nocturne, and yi, to name a few. These champions are dependent on stalker's for ganking, but need trailblazer to sustain. All of them have a minor amount of innate sustain, but none of it is good enough in this jungle anymore. I don't have the experience to comment on most of these, but I can tell you a few areas where nocturne struggles both in the jungle and in late game. Remember when you nerfed his passive's healing?
V1.0.0.140b:
Umbra Blades Heal per target hit adjusted to 10/18/26 from 15/20/25.
That could stand a buff. It'd leave him with better opportunities to gank and farm, and at 47% winrate, he's got some room to improve, and I think early in the jungle is a damn good place to start. Rengar and kha zix are both low on the winrate side too, as are several junglers. Many jungle champs aren't even lane viable either.
Just talk to us. A massive portion of the community frustration stems from you not keeping us informed and you not explaining your thought process. You completely neglected to talk about the jungle nerfs in the patch rundown, and I know I'm not the only one who noticed. There's a ton of suggestions to fix it on both reddit and on the boards, and a lot of them seem fairly solid, but you need to talk to us about it. Bounce some considerations back our way. Let us help solve the problem so we can have the jungle champion pool hold water before summer hits.
