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I'm a S5 Jungler Living in S4

MarhsallLee67·5/11/2015, 9:42:50 PM·1 votes·578 views

I joined League during Season 3, and I've been jungling from the moment I hit level 20 and could purchase tier 3 runes. I played nothing but Nocturne until level 26, at which point I started playing Shyvana. Fast-forward to the present day, Vi and Skarner are my two go-to junglers.

But I'm living in the past.

Although I start either Krugs or Gromp depending on which side I'm on, I still always get both buffs on my first clear before ganking, mostly because I'm really paranoid about being counterjungled and losing one of my precious buffs. A Skarner without blue is a sad Skarner.

And these days I see a lot of people going camp > blue/red > camp > gank (i.e. leaving either blue or red behind).

I'm a creature of habit, and I'm able to go through my current route with enough health to perform a good gank and at least burn enemy flash, but is a route in which you leave either blue or red until after the first clear better? I mostly play teambuilder, and because of my MMR I'm constantly matched with and against people in plat or even diamond, even though my skill level is mid-high silver at the worst, mid-gold at the best.

Any advice on which jungle routes are best and why?

3 Comments

TehNACHO5/11/2015, 9:56:11 PM1 votes

Start at red buff.

Run straight to enemy blue buff, try to enter through the brush.

Depending on how the opponent starts, you can either steal their buff without contest, or you can get an easy kill and their buff.

Tis how I like to play with strong early game Junglers. Otherwise, I usually go Red->Blue->Wolves or Blue->Red->Raptors to power farm. Most Junglers I play though don't require buffs to jungle consistently though.

Commit Sudoku5/12/2015, 3:17:59 AM1 votes

go blue(smite)>camp>red(smite) then gank

Lich My Ashe5/12/2015, 3:38:53 PM1 votes

A lot of your jungle route is going to depend on what side you start on, who you're playing, and how aggressive you want to be whether through counter jungling a lot or ganking. In most cases it better start start Krugs for Blue side and Gromp for Red side simply because you'll get a better leash giving you a strong start and more health to work with. Typically I'll start ganking at level 3, if I plan on doing this I'll normally start Krugs -> Raptors -> Red. This will get you level three and should still leave you healthy for ganks and a red to help slow. If I plan on farming I will grab all camps first, blue side being Krugs -> Raptors -> Wolves -> Gromp -> Blue -> Baron Scuttle -> Back or gank (If you feel safe now is a nice time to get a deep ward into the enemy jungle while you're in river but only if you feel safe enough as your health will be somewhat low). After that route I'll back and grab my upgraded jungle item and boots along with an extra pot and a pink and green. As soon as I head back out I'll grab my red and begin ganking, this is a late red but normally (if I get cooperation from my bot and mid lanes) I should have entrances to my jungle warded preventing steals. Honestly a lot of it is just figuring out what is most beneficial for how you plan on playing as well as your champs ability to sustain and clear which you just figure out by playing and testing new methods. Best advice would probably be pick three of your favorite jungle champs and stick with only those three for the next 40 or so games trying out different jungle routes and methods. But as far as grabbing double buffs early goes I feel it isn't worth it simply because you're wasting so much health trying to clear them as well as time having to go back and heal that you waste the help it could give later especially in reds case as the slow and extra damage is a game changer for ganks. Also Skarner is awesome Skarner ;D