Jungler looking for some tips on improving

GedonBroLol·6/16/2016, 6:44:33 PM·2 votes·484 views

Hey all

My name is Roko and im curently Gold III , i started maining jungle in hopes of climbing to Platinum V. My main champion is Udyr and i really enjoy playing him. But that's not very important now... What i ask from you , wonderful people , is some tips on how to improve as a jungler and as a player overall. I could really use some tips on how to improve since my main goal right now is to get to Plat V. If there are any skilled junglers out there i would be very happy if you could help me. If there are any skilled junglers that youtube/stream, please let me know it would really help me. Thanks for reading this thread and i hope you have a wonderful day.

-Roko :) Here's a cookie item 2009

9 Comments

EndlessSorcerer6/16/2016, 7:40:31 PM3 votes

General Tips:

I would suggest watching videos by high-ELO and/or professional junglers (i.e. Nightblue3, Stonewall008, Valkyrin, and foxdropLOL). They will typically provide a lot of useful tips while playing and you can often see or hear their decision process and some optimizations throughout the game.

Off the top of my head, some basic optimizations may be:

  • Use hard-CC when the monster camps are about to attack you to cancel that attack and delay their next.
  • Each of the smite buffs are quite useful in different situations. Be sure to take proper advantage of them.
    • Raptor's buff is great for ganking
    • Gromp buff provides extra damage during clears and fights, especially for champions with a lot of health
    • Krug's buff reduces the damage you take while clearing and lets champions without CC kill Scuttle Crab faster
    • Wolf buff is useful when you are being counter-jungled or invaded (or after your initial towers have fallen).
  • If you have a weak early clear, Krugs -> Raptor's -> Red Buff is probably the route that conserves the most health.
  • Kill the little Raptors and the little Krug first on single-target clearers. They deal a significant amount of damage for their health value, so you will be healthier if they die early.
  • If you think the enemy jungler will invade you early game, it can be safer to start on a buff camp rather than a little camp since you are less likely to be where they are looking.
  • Attack Speed is extremely efficient at clearing on most junglers. I'd recommend using about 15% on champions when you need to speed up their clear even if they don't use the stat much later (with a few exceptions, such as Nidalee and Evelynn).
  • Keep a pink ward out (or in your inventory) whenever possible. This is important for every champion, but I thought I should emphasis it. There isn't really a good reason not to.

As far as ganking is concerned:

  • When possible, conserve your gap-closer while ganking. If you can get to the enemy champion without using your mobility spell(s), then you can save it to catch them after they try to escape (Flash, dash, blink, etc).
  • You should should try to stay between the enemy and their escape route. You should be trying to move backwards (towards their escape) in-between attacks so that you can body-block them and slow their escape. This also leaves you closer to them if they try to dash on blink past you.
  • Use Raptor's smite buff to determine if you have been spotted by wards when ganking to reduce the risk of them escaping or receiving a counter-gank.
  • It can be risky to gank top-lane while Dragon is up since the enemy team can just group and take it 4v3. I'd recommend ganking top-lane early if possible (after your initial clear) and when Dragon is down; that lane can be quite snowbally due to isolation, so you want to get your ally ahead.
  • Learn to recognize the general times when buff camps spawn during games. If you see the enemy gank bottom lane while their top-side buff is up, you can go steal it from them.
  • Watch when top and bottom lane initially go into lane. If that lane has leashed for their jungler (missing health, mana, or showed up to lane a bit late), then you know where the enemy jungler has likely started and where they will end their clear (where is closest for them to gank).
  • If you have killed the enemy laner, you can either allow your laner to freeze or shove the lane into the enemy tower. If you shove the wave under tower and the next minion wave is coming up, it can be helpful to proxy it to ensure that the wave fully resets and the enemy laner misses as much as possible. This is very situational though and you will have to learn when through experience.

Other tips:

  • Whenever possible, walk up to the enemy champion during a gank and save your gap-closer for after they use their escape abilities.
  • Watch the enemy laners when they go into lane. Whichever lane shows up later and/or missing mana will likely indicate which side of the jungle the enemy jungler started on (which is useful for predicting gank paths and for counter-jungling).
  • When against aggressive early counter-junglers (i.e. Shaco) it can be a good idea to start on your buff camp and/or to start on a different side than you usually do. If he invades your buff, you've already taken it and/or you aren't there to be killed.
  • Watch the minimap to see when and where the enemy goes to ward, which laners are pushing, which laners are vulnerable
  • Know, roughly, how most laning matchups go so that you can prioritize which lanes are the easiest to gank or require an early gank to decide the matchup.
  • If you have blown an enemy's Flash during a gank but haven't killed them, swing back around immediately after an gank them again. Many people don't expect it
  • If you've killed an enemy during a previous gank in top lane, kill them again immediately after they return to lane. They likely won't have wards up yet and a second back-to-back death can be enough to completely crush any chance that opponent has to recover the lane.
  • Top laners rarely bother warding the lane bushes. As such, lane ganks can be quite surprising and effective.
  • When you kill an enemy laner, shove the minion wave into the tower so they miss gold and experience and so that the minion wave will reset to the middle of the lane. If you can get away with it, clear the upcoming minion wave as well to ensure the reset and maximum missed minions.

You will learn a lot through experience, but these tips should help you at the start.

Very Hard Engage6/16/2016, 6:55:24 PM2 votes

rule 1. watch minimap, look for any situations where the enemy laner is extending or out of position. 2 V 1'S ARE YOUR WET DREAMS

rule 2. know where your enemy jungler is at all times, or when possible. (easily done by warding entrances and exits to the jungle)

rule 3. you back? theres a full jungle for you to clear? dont walk down mid lane. time save by clearing gromp -> wolves -> chickens -> golems. or the reverse.

rule 4. camp a lane, you'll be surprised what you get away with when a brush isn't warded.

rule 5. you are the initiation, make something happen. ping often and make sure its understood what you are doing.

rule 6. ganking is great, but just because you're ganking, doesn't mean you have to commit hard, if you get their flash, you get their flash. just leave it instead of both of you tower diving and both of you dieing.

rule 7. pink wards are your friends too, buy one!


nightblue3 is easily the streamer to watch, maybe trick2g if you are a godyr enthusiast. they will frequently explain what they are doing, and why they are doing it. best explanations for how 2 jungle.

rtbf697746146/16/2016, 7:31:55 PM1 votes

Watch Pants Are Dragon (HIGHLY RECOMMEND PANTS OVER ANYONE, BECAUSE HE'S A CHALLENGER PLAYER AND DOESN'T SMURF FOR A GOOD VID) and Fox-drop lol. They are both high elo players (pants being the best in challenger sq arguably.)

Shrek Luigi6/16/2016, 9:11:18 PM1 votes

Prioritize covering the lanes that are struggling over ganking for the folks doing well, especially if the struggling lanes' opponents have a snowbally champ. The free farm/kill reward/gold lead that results from your laner dying has a lot more impact than a kill or assist on your end, and games can be pretty much decided in outcome before the 20-minute mark if the wrong lane gets out of hand.

Understand the Tank>Sustained Damage>Burst>Tank rock-paper-scissors of League and let it be your guideline as to which junglers you should pick fights with/counterjungle as a jungler yourself, and be wary of the ones who have an advantage over your jungler-of-choice right off the bat.

Start with ward trinket, swap to sweeper on first B.

If you're playing a glass-cannon jungler and you're dying before you can do anything useful, buy a GBelt. It'll give you the HP you need to survive their upfront damage and it builds into Randuins--a universally useful and safe armor item.

Try to keep track of where the other jungler is, and base your in-the-moment decisions on whether that jungler is going to be successful in what they are trying to do. If they might be, head down there and cover your laner's butt. If they probably won't, consider ganking or farming to keep your momentum up and wait for a better opportunity to help them.

Atronthor6/16/2016, 9:16:47 PM1 votes

Watch the map, find a good team and learn cheating. Then propably you will be very successful.