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@riot, Are you trying to develop jungle champs right now, or is there too much going on?

iPreferPvE··3 votes·1,073 views

This is a weird question, because the role of jungler is sort of a tumultuous thing. Over the past year we've seen the jungle go through all sorts of changes, especially in terms of meta flips and item changes. All the jungle items have gone through weird patches, and many jungle kits have been changed as well. While I know Riot has been working on reworks more than new champs lately, I still have to ask, where are the new Junglers?

The last time we saw jungle champs was before worlds last year, with the introduction of champs like aatrox and zac. Sadly, even they have fallen from the meta, making the gap from last created "useful" junglers to now very high. (The same may also be said of ADCs, but they at least got a very solid creation in Lucian)

Considering all this, I want to know: Is riot working on any junglers? I know characters like Xin are looking at reworks, and the upcoming summoner's rift changes will bring some flavor to the jungle, but still. It's been so long since I've seen a fresh face in there. How long am I going to have to wait?

8 Comments

Worgslarg5 votes

Riot has repeatedly said that the jungle has deeper problems than lack of new champions, so I assume they are holding off on new champ development until they have fixed the jungle.

iPreferPvE1 votes

That's what I assumed, it's just a tad frustrating. I've mained jungle for years now, and while I'm really glad that the jungle is getting so much attention as far as ironing things out, I'd still like to at least see a hint of a jungle champ in development. Once again, its been over a year dangit, I just want a whiff of something new :p

TehNACHO1 votes

This.

(Don't quote me on this) I believe Morello or Ghostcrawler once mentioned that the Jungle needs to be a place where Hunter's Machete, Smite, and a good leash at level 1 isn't all you need for most champions to get through their first clear (and thus otherwise have a presence as a junglier) and that they really need to define the Jungle and how a champion can tackle it.

The Red Warden1 votes

Before they can make a new jungle champion they have to figure out how they want the jungle to be. Should it be so open that even adc's like twitch can clear it or do they want it in a state where only champs designed for the jungle can exist(fiddles/WW)

iPreferPvE1 votes

I almost think that they're starting to overthink things though. The jungle can be weird at times, and accessibility for different champions has always been an issue. Twitch jungle was a thing for a while, sure, but it was still mostly an odd out pick, not something that blew minds and changed metas. They instituted feral flare, got scared of carry jungles, and switched it back to a second rate item again, too quick for players to respond. I agree that things need changing at times, and that Riot needs to figure out what exactly it wants, but still... Right now theyre changing things so fast no one can react to the changes. Who knows, maybe had they left feral flare as it was, the gamestyle would have evolved, and dedicated counterjungling may have come back as a style as well?

Riot needs to relax, try some changes, but then actually give them time to breath. As far as a new champ with this? If anything, they can use it as a jumping off point for deciding what they want the jungle to be. Envision this character as their standard of a good balanced jungler, then balance it around that idea. Maybe it would give them insight from a perspective they hadnt yet experienced.

Logicknot1 votes

Is there not a bunch of champions that are designed to be used in jungle but just never are. When was the last time you saw jungle Sej. When i watched her champion spotlight.

I don't see the point in investing in another assassin/bruiser champion when there are tons of tanks that can jungle and are not used.

The biggest problem that I am seeing is that items that make tanks viable to jungle do not help in lane or team fights.

They need to make items that scale on certain stacks. Like a Armor or MR jungle item that causes you do do extra damage to monsters based on your armor or magic resists. that way you can get a useful stat for tanking and still be able to take down jungle camps fast enough to be able to gank and keep up in level.

AliceInMadness1 votes

I feel jungle needs to become more complex and pushing decision making. Currently the jungle is 6 spots of HP bars with no difference but their stats and have such small clear times that you can gank and farm and not loose much in gold, especially with the jungle items. It should be redesigned so camps have individual patterns, and that if you gank a lot you loose a lot of gold and exp than if you farm much more. And it would be nice to extend the jungle so supports have some pocket gold instead of relying on items that surgically attach them to their adc's for the sake of items enforcing the meta even more.

And due to the nature of junglers, I doubt they will ever introduce dedicated junglers due to their business model and current jungle issues. You can see it in the role descriptions : support, mage, assassin, marksman, fighter, tank. Jungler is not a listed role.

67chrome1 votes

While I know Riot has been working on reworks more than new champs lately, I still have to ask, where are the new Junglers?

New champions aren't getting released that often - Aatrox and Zac may have been released a while ago, but it's not like there's a vast selection of champions after them. It's what - 7 champions? 6?

Also - I don't think champions can really be definitively created as a jungler. Becoming a jungler sort of happens. Sometimes people listed to Phreak and take the new champion in the jungle, sometimes they don't.

There are a lot of subtle things that place a champion in the jungle over another position, and a lot of minor changes within the jungle itself that can favor or disfavor a specific kit set up.

I mean - in seasons 1 and 2 the jungle was mostly about a CC tank. The income was so low, putting a champion like Braum in there is exactly what you'd want to do - he's solid with minimal items, and he has amazing ganks what with that massive CC lockdown. Maokai was pretty much the kind of the jungle in season 2 and very widely picked due to the level of CC and engage he brought.

Now it's mostly assassins in the jungle, as the income avalible is so much you're loosing out on a significant amount of gold by picking a CC heavy damage light tank for the roll, shifting tanks to be the melee champions that need to pull off more successful ganks to really compete.

Elise wasn't really designed as a jungler either, I think she was intended more to be a Midalee or Topalee kind of champion.

Anyways - I'm pretty sure being a jungler just happens. Some melee champions wind up with the right mix of stuff, some don't.

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