The new jungle is too punishing for junglers.

I'll be honest, I was excited for the new jungle changes in the preseason. I thought the new item changes and such might be really great for game balance and such. I was excited to learn that the jungle items would actually be strong with good build paths, and that the camps would give unique new buffs with smite.

Then I played it.

It's brutal. The new camps do an unreal amount of damage. Without some sort of sustain early on, it's impossible to survive and be able to be effective. Jungling always feels like you have to come from behind, that no matter what you do, you're always playing catch-up with the laners. The amount of experience that you can collect seems to be much less than before, and the amount of gold seems to be the same. Before, it seemed like I could almost always pull off a gank or 2 pre-6 and try and win the early game, but when you're so drained from the camps themselves, it's hard to get out there and be effective.

Additionally, I find that it's much harder to come back when you're losing than it ever was before. Part of the reason I feel this is the case is because of the longer spawn time on camps. If I get pushed back into my base and the enemy team clears my jungle, I used to be able to get some camps once the pressure had relieved. Because it takes camps twice as long to spawn, I can't get out there, clear them, then go back to try and turtle some more. They just aren't up usually by the time you need them.

I actually think that the increased difficulty of jungling is actually going to give another hike to the extensive toxicity offered to junglers, as well. The problem is that jungling just got more difficult while laning didn't, and it shoulders more responsibility on the jungler. This means that it's only going to be harder to succeed, and when you don't, more toxicity awaits you from your team.

I'm honestly about to stop jungling. It's no longer enjoyable for me because of how punishing the role has become. I don't feel like I can make a difference in the game because of how inflexible the role is now. Farming is less effective, ganking is harder because of being behind.

Can we go back? Please?