How do I become a more effective ganker ?

Pizza God·12/31/2014, 6:59:26 AM·1 votes·905 views

I've been jungling from the start of preseason 5. I've tried many junglers, but the one I like the most is Jarvan IV. I'm good at farming my jungle, but when it comes to trying to gank a lane, I'M HELPLESS. Most of the time my lanes are pushed up. I'm over here near bot lane when I see this perfectly good opportunity to gank top lane. I SHOULD BE THERE, by the time I get there the opportunity is gone, then it switches to bot lane etc etc. I'm just too slow! I'm not helpless all of the time, there are games when I'm flawless at my ganks, but when it comes to the games where I can do anything to help out my lanes, I feel like crap, I feel useless and my team is going to rage at me for not ganking a lane. That's why when laning phase is over, it's my time to shine lol. I want to play a huge role in early game so my lanes can have a better time, but I can't do that.

Any tips? Thanks !

8 Comments

Terraeclipse12/31/2014, 12:28:31 PM4 votes

I think that your best bet would be to not force ganks. If you're soloq, and no lanes are in a good spot to gank, or you can't get to the one that is in time, don't stress it.

Scenario 1 : Bot lane forced their opponents out of lane, or the opposing bot lane backed to buy, etc. You see the enemy jungler gank top while you've just finished red. Well, you're not making it top in time (unless you're reksai), so head bot, push that lane up, and take the tower. Or take dragon, if it's up. Always remember to make the opponent PAY for the decisions they make. Never give up something for nothing.

Scenario 2: You've just finished ganking top, and the opponent jungle is ganking bottom, and gets a kill (kinda reverse to what S 1 was). You see them pushing the tower. Proper call here would be to trade top tower for bot tower. Especially if your gank got a kill or forced the enemy to flee. You might lose dragon, but chances are, you wouldn't get there in time to be useful anyway.

The other thing you could do would be to sneak into their jungle with a bit of gold and ward early. That could help you track their jungler, enabling more effective counter ganks. It's a good idea to ward their jungle anyway when able, just to protect your lanes anyways, so this might be your starting tactic.

Hope this helps! -T

Leti the Yeti12/31/2014, 8:43:16 AM4 votes

simple trick that applies to just about everyone when entering the lane, dont go toward your enemy champ... thats silly cuz 98% of the time... they are moving toward their turret instead, you intercept them by heading to where they will be EZ

ChexMex12/31/2014, 7:33:41 AM2 votes

Gank dependent on the champions. You don't gank a champion who cant follow up or initiate a gank (Nidalee) You gank champions who are vulnerable and need to be ganked early to be shut down (Nasus, Yasuo, Riven) You make sure that you are in the commanding position as the jungler, not being shut down by enemy jungle

hedgehogius1/1/2015, 5:41:23 AM1 votes

Well, before you gank you're going to want a plan on how to farm your jungle. My favorite path is Gwomp -> blue -> wolves -> back -> red -> wraiths, Then I gank a lane. I like to remind my team in champ select to not over extend, (Ex not using abilities on minions) And if you're playing jarvan, you should know that your ganks are best at level 6 with catycalism, hope this helps, good luck and have fun.

CharQueen12/31/2014, 7:14:13 AM1 votes

You have to plan ganks ahead of time with your team.

Most recent example of this was when I was playing a Zyra / Caitlyn Bot Lane. We both decided to purposely allow the lane to drive back almost to our own tower so that the enemy champions would take a longer time to retreat. As Jungler continues to close in, Enemy Bot is now focusing either the tower or attempting to harass Bot. Once Jungler is at a safe enough distance to capture straglers, Bot goes all-out in an effort to damage the enemy enough for them to Flash away. Hopefully, Jungler will then be able to kill one of them and stun the remainer. As Bot closes in, they continue to stun and damage the enemy.

A gank should not be a random occurance or the result of someone being absolutely terrible at their own lane. It should be the product of proper planning that rips the enemy a new one.

Oh, and get the ward reveal trinket. The river is full of them and can give you some mediocre gold income.

hedgehogius1/1/2015, 5:42:21 AM1 votes

Social Justice 112/31/2014, 7:30:49 AM1 votes

For somebody like JarvanIV , you should consider the level 2 gank.

New jungle means all camps give the same experience, so you can clear Krugg or Murkwolf camp, then try for an early kill or get summoner's off of a nearby lane.

Zac can also pull it off, if you start Q and take E level 2, but it slows down his jungling a bit

B7dEADtEPy12/31/2014, 11:40:12 AM1 votes

There's a few things you can do. You can counterjungle, just farm in your lane, or play champs that can dive, like Elise. Even better, you can countgergank and try to get two kills. Anyhow, if you don't do well with J4 in the early game, you can build tanky and be utility for your team.