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Jungle Tax- An Explanation/Discussion

FedAsFuk·2/28/2015, 11:32:57 PM·5 votes·7,420 views

Okay so this is an issue I see alot in low/mid elo. Jungle tax. Let's start by defining jungle tax, it is the act of taking 1-3 minions for a successful gank.

Do's:

-Tax for successful ganks. Blowing a major summoner (flash ideally, TP, basically anything that isn't a 2 minute CD)

-Take 1-3 minions for your time investment if you do NOT get the kill.

-Ask if your laner dies if they want you to shove or freeze (if lane is freezeable)

-If laner asks you to freeze ONLY last hit the minions.

-Generally you are safe to push the wave into tower, however if your laner pings you to stop, just last hit until they are back into lane (no point in wasting xp and gold).

Don'ts:

-Tax the cannon minion, that is 50 gold, essentially the same gold you would get from taxing 1-3 minions. This actually hurts your laner.

-Tax without a successful gank, this only hurts your lane especially if they are even/a little ahead, you were most likely already getting xp setting them back on experience and depending on timing that could really hurt the lane (usually pre 6 taking xp is potentially a death sentence).

-Tax when you take the kill. You just earned 200 gold and xp for a kill, do not deny your laner gold unless they need help pushing the wave to tower. Then you are not taxing but pushing (a difference ignored far too much).

-Push the lane when your laner asks (or pings danger when you try to push). Usually this means they need/want to freeze. Keep in mind a frozen lane also forces the enemy to extend more, giving you a return gank opportunity.

-Tax more than 3 minions, this is something I see very often at lower elo, JGs taxing a full wave. When you do that not only did you share xp (helping you out and hurting the lane slightly) you have taken 21x3+3x19+40(+0.5 gold per 90 seconds of game timer, according to LoLWikia). Meaning you just took 63+ 57+40= 160 gold. That is nearly the total of a kill, so if you tax a full wave and gave your lane a kill you essentially wiped the advantage you gave.

-Do NOT tax a losing lane, even if you successfully gank. The lane is behind and hurting, do not take more xp than absolutely necessary and definitely do not take gold that they so desperately need.

These are my general concepts for taxing as a jungler. I know alot of things were restated, primarily to try to emphasize the point. Comment below anything you think I missed or didn't explain properly.

44 Comments

Renaille3/1/2015, 1:06:52 AM4 votes

Don'ts as a jungler: don't tax ever. All it does is put your laner behind, punishing them for you ganking.

Do's as a jungler: Push the lane after a successful gank in order to press the advantage you gained by denying your own creeps to the enemy tower and by potentially taking the tower.

Seriously, bad junglers tax because they see higher elo junglers killing creeps but they don't realize it is to push and not to "tax"

Faith Breaker2/28/2015, 11:53:51 PM4 votes

I've had junglers come out of the bush/river and just starting "taxing" cs. And I've even had people say it was for their "presence" I didn't even think explaining that presence means the enemy knows which lane to gank now or even which part of your jungle to invade was worth it.

DestructoDave3/1/2015, 10:57:55 AM2 votes

Ive covered my fair share of lanes as a jungler. While i might not be able to get up there and get the CS because of death possibility, I can def. soak up all the XP at the turret.

It sounds like you are more worried about the gold income than XP. Again, I think you are blowing this whole weak jungler thing out of proportion. My last game I was playing jungle. Jungle Shyv. My mid Ahri roamed quite a bit. I would just run into the lane and shove it in everytime she left, or take all the CS at the turret and move on. I didnt tax any lanes. I also did more than fine. Because, there is always farm to get at any point, without having to ruin your laner's lane while they are in it.

I just think you are over-exagerrating how far behind junglers fall; esp. in solo Q.

Only Play Darius3/1/2015, 6:09:27 AM2 votes

I only tax when my laner is "that" laner.

You know who i'm talking about, that guy who is shoving his lane at all times yet is getting at most 2 minions per wave. No point in letting cs go to waste because someone has no idea how to time his last hits. I do the same when i'm a support in that situation.

I get teammates like this all the time in bronze5.

agbudar3/1/2015, 1:28:04 AM1 votes

i don't mind junglers taxing my lanes i just don't want them to shove it unless that means my enemy loses a wave. jungle is fukin hard for most junglers even the popular ones.

Daedalus8713/1/2015, 5:08:01 AM1 votes

I think lane taxing a lane is mostly common sense. If you are there and there is cs that your laner isn't going to get, you can take it. If you are pushing tower, then you don't worry have to worry about overtaxing.

DestructoDave3/1/2015, 5:18:45 AM1 votes

You shouldnt be taxing anyone. Push the wave to the turret so your laner can back or force the enemy to miss CS, but you shouldn't just be taking CS because you showed up to a lane and did your job. I dont understand why junglers think that its a gift that they showed up and did something besides afk their jungle camps. Your job is to help lanes. Its not a gift from god that you ganked for someone; you are supposed to be doing that.

And, half the time the lanes you ganked for, probably needed help. In what world does taking their farm make sense? Again, there are 3 reasons that you should ever take farm from the laner: to force the enemy to lose CS by pushing into the tower, to take the tower, or to let your laner get a back and have the lane reset.

Or, just to watch a lane while they back, which honestly, tons of low elo junglers just fail to do, and then wonder why they suck or their towers are going down. It never fails that I see a jungler in my elo go do wolves or raptors while the enemy mid is beating on the turret with 2-3 waves of free cs and XP, when instead of doing wolves, he could be sitting there saving the turret, soaking up all that xp and gold. But no, afk jungle creeps and cry when a laner wants a buff.

Taxing is just a stupid mindset, which honestly, is almost always going to do you more harm than good. Eventually, you are going to tax a guy who doesnt like it, and he will rage, and you will fight, and you will lose a game over trying to tax a lane when its not even necessary. If you want to potentially throw multiple games in rage infested low elo by taxing lanes, you go right ahead. But, dont come here crying because people throw because you didnt donate a buff or because you taxed a few minions, when you know what the outcome is going to be when you piss ppl off in low elo.

Registeel12343/1/2015, 12:51:47 AM1 votes

That makes a lot of sense. I don't tax a lot when I play jungle, but god I hate it when my jungler taxs me for a whole lane. I get even more frustrated when i'm behind.

DestructoDave3/1/2015, 10:17:16 AM1 votes

You do know that you are low elo too, right? And here you are trying to justify taxing your teammates for doing your job as a jungler, which honestly, is toxic. Mainly, because you dont know what the hell you are doing, and just tax stupidly because you showed up to their lane like Jesus and deserve it.

If you are that far behind that you need to consistently tax every lane you show up to, then you are playing jungle pretty poorly. I gave you the only 3 reasons you should be taking CS. And, you should be covering a lane and not afking your camps all day, which will make up for any "tax" you feel like you need to take.

Its honestly sad that you think you actually need to tax any lane you show up to. It really is. There is no such thing as jungle tax. If you are taxing a lane simply because you showed up, its because you are just an asshole, bottom line.

Taxing lanes just because you attempted a gank is a low elo move and mentality, so sir, you keep catering to yourself.

And, taxing a lane pushes the lane. People dont always want their lane pushed. If you chunk the enemy enough, they can completely zone them off the wave for quite awhile, but with some jungler like you killing half the wave and pushing it, that cant happen. Again, if the guy wants to push or to back, then help him. But dont take 3-4 minions just becuase you show up, when he might want the wave exactly where its at. But hey, you are the jungling master.

ABlueQuaker3/1/2015, 10:22:23 AM1 votes

That's pretty spot on. I'll generally only ever tax empty lanes anyway, shove and try to bounce the wave off the turret so it resets.

DestructoDave3/1/2015, 10:36:47 AM1 votes

You shouldnt have to tax a lane. Also, lets make sure we are talking about laning phase, and not 20 minutes into the game when towers are down and laning phase is over. Its ok to take minions then. Just push waves. Also, again, at various points in the game, there are going to be open lanes you can go to. Mid roams? cover mid. Top backs? Cover top. Again, one of the biggest issues I see in my elo is junglers do not cover lanes. They will prioritize a wolf camp over 2 waves crashing into mid turret, or an empty mid lane they could push into the turret.

People are against jungler tax because its not needed, and is mostly an asshole move.

DestructoDave3/1/2015, 10:50:37 AM1 votes

Why the hell would you be waiting around in a lane waiting to last hit 3 minions? What a waste of time. So, sitting in a lane for 15+ seconds to last hit 3 minions is a better use of your time than just heading to the next camp or lane? You might as well just shove the lane in that amount of time, if you are going to sit around waiting to last hit minions.

I dont get it anyways. Unless you ran full speed into the lane, you probably leeched some xp sitting in the bush waiting to gank. So, then you sit around for another large chunk of time to last hit 3 minions, too?

Again, before you sit in a lane fighting for CS against someone who is probably goint to try and to last hit those same minions, you might as well just shove the wave into the turret.

Taxing is dumb because its just a waste. You either shove the wave, or leave. I wouldnt even shove the wave unless the people you ganked died, or your laner needs to back.

lol sitting around in a lane waiting to last hit minions, which means you are going to be fighting for the same CS against the laner, which means you might even make each other miss them.

Shiroi Kitsune3/1/2015, 1:17:42 AM1 votes

As a jungler, I don't see the point of "taxing" lanes. The only "tax" you should get is the xp you get from the minions that die around you while you are ganking/pushing the wave. Anything over the top of that is kind of pointless as you have your own area to farm gold and xp from. (There are of course exceptions: about to hit 6, laner tells you you can, etc.)