Fiddlesticks jungle?

DonutGuy4·Apr 2, 2014·2 votes·779 views

What's the deal with Fiddle? Is he still a viable jungler? Or has he been sucked down the drain alongside the rest of the obsolete champions in League?

To my understanding, Fiddle possesses amazing sustain in the jungle, and with his Crowstorm ult, his ganks can be devastating and extremely effective. His Drain ability also makes him fairly able when it comes to turning the tides of 1v1's, and with his stuns in Terrify and Dark Wind, it's not very difficult for him to either escape or kill an enemy champion.

However, I also am aware that he is painfully mana-dependant, and if he fails to snatch blue in the beginning of the match due to a steal or raid by the opposing team, he will suffer dire consequences. Fiddlesticks is also squishy, and even with the heath-sapping capability that comes with Drain, I fear that taking down a tanky enemy jungler, such as Amumu or Hecarim, would prove a struggle.

What do you think? And, if Fiddle is any good, what runes should I purchase? If not, who do you believe would be a suitable replacement?

Please, do not be hesitant to share your opinion below, and thank you for your assistance!

7 Comments

JsKingBooApr 2, 20142 votes

I feel that Fiddlesticks is still good but a bit harder to snowball with every since his Q nerfs and fear mechanic changes.

He's extremely blue-dependent as you've stated, and a slow clearer at early levels. (Don't be surprised if you constantly get your red stolen if it isn't warded) However, Fiddlesticks can outduel pretty much anyone without an interrupt at levels 1/2. If your position and timing is perfect you can 1v1 a Lee Sin or a Wukong at his red buff and possibly get first blood.

Pre-6 he's a terrible ganker (rather slow base speed along with short Q and weak E) He's also kind of a slow clearer due to the high early cooldowns and the lack of AP. However, post-6 he can burst someone down before that Q can even wear off. He's an absolute monster in teamfights. He's deceptively "tanky" when he's channeling his W. His waveclear is terrible (pls don't ult the minion wave)

I personally believe flat AP runes for everything is more effective as Fiddlestick's W basically converts AP into health. I'd rather just build Void Staff for MPen. I'm too poor to buy the AP runes though, so that judgement may be wrong.

RhytoApr 2, 20141 votes

Yeah if his W is stacked well he can endure some serious damage while the attacker just loses even if they tried but in the late game...he's not that viable against heavy tanks and such, maybe just the ADCs but that's probably it...

RhytoApr 2, 20141 votes

From the Fiddles Jungle players I've seen, he does well and I think Magic Penetration would help especially since his drain is based off AP? In which could help take down your foes but you would probably need some heavy cc in your team comp probably Aatrox, Yasuo, Vayne, and Morgana would be a suitable composition so that while the team is being cc'd you'll have to act as an Assassin and come in for the clean up if your not building tanky items.

DonutGuy4Apr 2, 20141 votes

Yeah, I've heard that magic penetration is a crucial addition to Fiddle's runes if he's expected to excel both in the jungle and while ganking.

And as for your suggestion to acquire a champion composition with heavy CC, I suppose that would be useful if you were trying to swoop in for a multi-kill towards the conclusion of a team fight, but really, all he needs to do is blink in with Crowstorm and then stun using Terrify if he's targeting a sole, low-to-moderate-health champion.

And, as for other runes, do you have any personal suggestions from past experience? I've heard that flat armor seals are a must-have for any jungling champion, regardless of whom they may be, but I'm fairly new to the concept, and still have a lot of learning to do concerning my tactics of play, and not just with jungling alone.

Anyways, I genuinely do appreciate your help in my decisions, and if anyone else feels that they could contribute to this topic, please, as I said, do not be hesitant to reply!

RhytoApr 2, 20141 votes

Since Fiddles is suppose to be a high damage guarantee jungler in which you can compare to Vi's Ultimate start you'll need all the damage you can get (pretty much another glass cannon and if you watched Metoes on the LCS he was focused hard because of his battle potential) You will definitely need a hard leash on blue and immediately run to red with your smite ready to life steal with the smite and if possibly go in for a gank it really depends on how fast your jungle clears are, try practicing in customs with friends who will act as the leashs and such and of course since we have trinkets ask the bot lane support or ADC to lend you their 1 min. ward at 2 Min. so that you'll know if your red is being taken so that you can plan a 3 man gank or even 4 man if mid has the opportunity, it's just a matter of the situation sadly. Not much I can offer but a little experience.

Blunts4BrekfastApr 2, 20141 votes

if you wanna play a carry jungle i would suggest yi, fid is very slow and yi is very fast

DonutGuy4Apr 2, 20141 votes

For everyone's who has commented thus far, as I have stated before, I greatly appreciate your contributions, as I am far from knowledgeable in regards to the very concept of jungling; I still have quite a bit of research to do.

I do not plan on maining jungle in the future, so I'm not necessarily searching for a champion renowned for jungling, but someone who has a fair reputation as not just a jungler, but as an overall champion, along with being exceedingly fun to play. For me, Fiddlesticks aligns perfectly with both of those definitions, especially the latter.

I am not stating that Fiddlesticks is the best jungler that Riot has ever produced, but for me, he's beyond satisfactory.

Thank you for your patience and assistance.