Whats a good time to try jungling?

TeenageWitchery·Apr 16, 2015·4 votes·1,098 views

So I'm still super new to league, and for the most part I've been playing support. With this weeks rotation though I was considering branching out to a different role just to get a feel for it, and the champion that appealed to me most was Rek'sai because the burrowing and stuff seems like a really interesting dynamic. I was looking at some stuff on mobafire and everything I've seen says jungling is like, the hardest thing to do, and if you don't have all of the runes you're gonna be totally screwed, and it was a little discouraging. I'm really quite keen on her though, and the only other champ that seemed to jump out at me this week was Vel'Koz . Except it seems like hes a support, and I was wanting to see what a different role would be like.

Thoughts? When is a good time to jungle? If it'd be better for me to wait until I level a little, how well does the Rekster fare in top lane? Any advice is much appreciated, league is my first moba game, and the first game I've really played online. I like it a lot, but its been a bit of a struggle to figure out how to play. Its kind of intimidating, especially looking things up and finding more questions then answers lol.

19 Comments

Hex the FenFenApr 16, 20154 votes

Vel'Koz is not a support. Ok, let me clarify. He was never intended to be a support. He IS a mid lane, poke/burst mage. The only reason he was tossed into the support role is because, as it is for essentially EVERY non-mobile mage, he could not keep up and withstand the mobility of the ever-so-popular assassains of the mid lane. He does make a decent support since he has amazing poke and high damage. But do not be afraid to play him in his intended role, he is a great mid laner and i feel like you would enjoy him.

I have been playing league for about 3 years now and I have a strange addiction to this game. I just recently started to even slightly bother learning jungle. I started off as a support main because my fiancee needed someone who didnt mind supporting to play with him. Then i moved onto mid and adc. As of right now I am a Support and ADC main. I dabble in the mid lane as Annie or Zyra once in a while. I just want you to understand that you should take your time learning the jungle and not beat yourself up if you aren't perfect at it by the time you are mucking it up with PvP. The jungle is the MOST ever changing aspect of this game. No one is truly pro at it, so feel free to experiment and practice.

TeenageWitcheryApr 16, 20152 votes

Oh my gosh that makes so much more sense, he definitely didn't seem like he was meant to play support. Most of the other support champs I've looked at have abilities that directly support the adc. Lulu, Sona, Lux they all seem like supports but Vel'Koz didn't seem like he quite fit in. I'm still mostly playing AI games so I don't think I would have to worry about assassins a whole lot.

Yeah I'm still trying to figure out all the ropes, its a pretty complex game. I enjoy it though, I've been playing for a couple weeks now. Thanks! :D That helps!

Hex the FenFenApr 16, 20151 votes

Lux was originally a support and can still do well as a support but anyone else will tell you, including me, Lux is so much better as a mid lane poke/burst mage. Nothing is more satisfying as landing your Q and E then blasting them with a laser XD Lux is an amazing mid laner and pretty safe if you know how to abuse her long range poke.

TeenageWitcheryApr 16, 20152 votes

Okay, thats useful too. I just know I'd been playing against her a lot in AI games so I figured she was generally a support and her kit looked like it matched up with that. I might look into trying her out too cause she seems really cool. Its kinda hard to figure some of that stuff out, because a lot of champs play better in places they weren't originally intended and there isn't a whole lot of resource to figure out the meta lol. I think I'll try mid lane next though, I'll just slowly work my way up through the rift XP

Hex the FenFenApr 16, 20152 votes

Like i said, take some time, go through and look at champions that really catch your eye. That's what I did and I main them all today. Mess around with them. Learn builds and try other lanes, some results may shock you.

Sona PingApr 16, 20155 votes

"Lux was originally a support " False. Her kit says burst mage all over it. She was just designed to be better at supporting than other choices (i.e. her skills aren't single target like Morgana); Shurelia said so.

The rest of what you wrote is fine; Luxanna is a fun champion, one of my favorites, I would encourage OP to try her.

Hex the FenFenApr 16, 20152 votes

Thanks for clearing that up for him/her. I only started a few years ago after Lux came out, my fiancee told me she was supposed to be support, and he has played since the beginning. Maybe I misunderstood what he meant XD

aaronautumnApr 16, 20153 votes

try as many as you can in co-op vs ai, so that you get a feel for ganking and clearing. i don't think level matters much, just do whatever you want. :-)

GaleWinUnleashedApr 16, 20152 votes

Out of all the roles, the one that's most dependent on Summoner Level would probably be jungle. Without runes, jungling can be quite painful, but it's still doable. There's certainly nothing wrong with learning it now, though. Optimize what masteries you have, then dive right in!

TeenageWitcheryApr 16, 20152 votes

Yeah thats the general consensus I got from looking stuff up. It definitely seems really tricky, and I don't wanna end up putting myself off the whole idea just because I try it too early and can't do it well for lack of runes/masteries. I might dabble a little in AI games to see how it goes and work from there. Thanks!! :D

5000000000000000Apr 16, 20151 votes

Your first jungler should be able to clear well and have some decent sustain. If you're willing to spend some IP, Master Yi and Warwick should be your first choice. They are both 450 IP, have good clear speed, and good sustain. Rek'Sai does have good sustain and clear, but it's notable that Rek'Sai is pretty difficult to play. I would suggest pushing off jungle until next week's free rotation so you can try some simpler jungler first, but it's ultimately your decision.

FedAsFukApr 17, 20151 votes

Currently I would say Sej is a better choice, tanky decent clear, can gank early, great team fight even though without runes/masteries the first 4/5 levels will be semi difficult.

admiralcourvoisiApr 16, 20151 votes

I am a lv29 jg/ADC main. I started jungling as Yi around patch 4.13, and have always had it as a backup role. I actually mained jungle for a while before switching to ADC, and am starting to switch back. But enough about me.

Jungling is THE most strategically challenging role. Level doesn't matter so much for jungling as strategic skill. Yes, higher levels generally mean higher strategic knowledge, but not necessarily. Just make sure you're level 10+ (DO NOT JUNGLE WITHOUT SMITE!!!!!). Overall, you have to be good at watching the map, being aware of your team's status and positioning as well as advantages, disadvantages, and general capabilities. You have to understand when to gank a lane and when to leave it alone, as well as being able to prioritize which lanes are more important to support. You also have to be able to manage your jungle farming while still maintaining map pressure and possibly counterjungling.

TL;DR: Knowledge and strategic capability > level for junglers. Start whenever you feel like it.

Be warned, you WILL get raged at by a lot of people, especially at lower levels, for not doing what they want you to do.

Also, don't start with Rek'sai. Pick up someone easier (Master Yi, Amumu, and Nunu are all fairly easy 450-IP champions) and learn the role before you start trying to learn the more complex and challenging champs.

B3ERApr 16, 20151 votes

Coming from a jungle main, start as soon as possible. You'll learn the true nature of strategy in this game.

qetzelApr 16, 20151 votes

Wait until you are at least level 20 and then get a decent rune-page. You will need flat armour seals to survive. You will also need your offensive runes sorted - different for each type of jungle champion - or you won't clear fast enough and will take too much damage.

Leeroy JennkinsApr 16, 20151 votes

IF u want start jungling i sugest to you to try some easyer champs like yi trin kha'zix easy mechanics but still do good in junglle, but rly try hecarim i was impresed with him jungling the champion is a freking animal...

FedAsFukApr 17, 20151 votes

work horse*

FedAsFukApr 17, 20151 votes

Jungle whenever you feel like, I have friends who started JG within their first 10 levels last season (smite was unlocked earlier) and remain JG mains, even a few one trick ponys (Shaco/Rengar). Honestly no matter when you branch out the role is going to be hard.

As far as Vel'Koz goes, his kit works better as a support, despite being intended as a mid laner, but keep in mind he works better as a support in competitive (ranked 5s, tournaments, LCS, etc.). He was intended by Riot to be a mid laner, play whatever makes you happy.

There is a Annie top main who is diamond 1/master, I am a Riven one trick pony (I can COMFORTABLY play her in 4 roles with no issues) at the end of the day, this game is NOT your job, you play for fun, so play for fun, enjoy a champ? Play them. People, especially in lower elo get so caught up in winning and everything and blaming, it is a video game, enjoy it.

Spiritflare868Apr 18, 20151 votes

Honestly you can jungle whenever, but its best if you have a good understanding of laning top mid and bot first, so that you know when to gank and such. RekSai is a great jungler and top laner, but she's had some serious nerfs since release and isnt as reliable as she used to be.

VelKoz works as a support but is much better mid, so id reccomend trying him out there. Just remember he is super immobile and has no escape