While the jungle has been hit with some nerfs this season, it remains a highly impactful role in casual and professional play. If you're excited by the idea of ganking and controlling the map for your team, then you've come to the right place. In this guide, we'll teach you the basics of what it means to be a jungler in League of Legends and how to start successfully winning those games.

Champion Select

While it’s always recommended you try and keep your champion pool updated with the most meta (Most Effective Tactic Available) champions, picking for comfort and familiarity is almost always the right choice. When starting out, there’s a lot to learn and get used to in the jungle. So by picking a handful of champions you like, ideally varying in roles and damage types (tanks vs assassins and AP vs AD), you’ll be able to improve your jungle basics faster. This way you won’t be constantly learning new kits and playstyles while also trying to learn what to do to make you the better jungler than your counterpart. However, it is still recommended to pay attention to the buffs, nerfs and changes that come with new patches. The META champions will most likely be doing at least one thing better than your current picks, or else they wouldn’t be considered the best picks.

Early Game

The usual start to a game of jungle these days usually looks a little something like this:

(Redside) Blue - Gromp - Red - Scuttle (top) - Gank Top/Mid - Golems - Wolves - Scuttle (bot) - Gank Mid/Bot

(Blueside) Red - Blue - Gromp- Gank Top/Mid - Scuttle (top) - Wolves - Scuttle (bot) - Gank Bot - Golems

This is by far the most basic jungle path which allows you to take both your buffs, reach level 3 and look to gank efficiently. Remember that you want to secure at least one of the Scuttle Crabs for vision/river control and to stay even in XP with your opposing jungler. Items will depend on the champion you’re playing, however you should look to upgrade your core jungle item and buy boots quickly. This will allow you to use Smite offensively and move around the map quicker. You'll notice that we skip the Raptor camp, it usually does too much damage to most junglers pre-level 4. You'll want to incorporate it into your pathing after your first recall/buy.

Ganking at level 3 is still pretty common and you’ll most likely be on the same side of the map as your opposing jungler. Think about whether it’d be best for you to make the first move or if you should wait and try to counter gank them. Work on balancing farming and assisting your team!

Mid Game

A common misconception is that a jungler should stop focusing on farming during the mid game. Throughout the early to mid stages of the game, you want to keep farming to earn gold and level advantages over the enemy jungler. A change you’ll make to your pathing should be clearing from one side to the other. Either you’ll start on the bottom side and clear camps while working your way to the top side or vice versa. This will allow for efficient clearing/respawning of camps and provide opportunities to gank all three lanes without sacrificing time. Farming and ganking efficiently will increase your objective control, as your damage or champion level will be greater than theirs. The main changes to your playstyle come in two ways -

The first centers around your buffs; after the first Blue Buff spawns, you should look to give the rest to your mid laner (assuming they use mana). You will eventually give you AD Carry (Bot Laner) Red Buffs, but this is generally later (once players are moving around the map and teamfighting more).

The second playstyle change focuses on the Rift Herald and Dragon. You’ll want to start setting up vision around these areas and ganking on that side of the map to solidify control. Ganking is still important until laning phase is over, but you want to make sure you focus on the side of the map with a Neutral Objective. If you are successful in forcing an enemy to recall or even score a kill, you can transition into taking one of these Neutral Objectives with your teammates. If you notice the enemy jungler is busy on the other side of the map, look to take the Neutral Objective on your side (Be sure to look at your lanes to make sure you’re safe to do so first). Remember to try and keep one charge of Smite up at all times.

Late Game

At this point in the game, laning phase should be over and teamfights should be a common occurrence. While this transition will happen in the mid game, your focus won’t drastically shift until now. While playstyle will depend on your champion; generally you won’t be ganking lanes anymore and farming will be harder as you’ll want to stay grouped with your team to either push, do Neutral Objectives or fight. You’ll want to make sure you’re either in the mid lane or on the side of the map that has either the Dragon (Bot side) or Baron (Top side). If you’re too far away the enemy team will attempt to take them. As the jungler, you are the key to preventing these Neutral Objective losses. Worrying about a 50/50 Smite fight over a Neutral Objective is a great deterrent that’s lost the moment you’re seen on the wrong side of the map.

Make sure your team is pushing waves out and then moving into the river to secure vision over the Neutral Objective areas. As before, if you can win a fight or manage to kill even just one member of the enemy team, taking the Neutral Objectives will be much easier (especially if you can kill the enemy jungler).

Baron and Elder Dragon (should you reach that stage) will make it very easy for your team to win fights and simply end the game. Remember to try and keep one charge of Smite up at all times.

Ganking

Ganking is the first half of your job as a jungler. Besides being the point person for the Neutral Objectives, it’s your job to help your laners win their positions. Ganking is a hard thing to do well and will ultimately depend on your knowledge of your champion, your teammate’s champion and the enemy champion. Which of course means you’re also relying on your teammate(s) to know what to do. A lot of factors are out of your control, so let’s briefly talk about what you can do. Getting closer to the enemy champion will make you more likely to land your crowd control (abilities that stun, root, snare, slow), which in turns increases your odds of making the enemy use their summoner spells or dying.

Trying to take a path that puts you behind the enemy champion is your best bet. However, this increases the risk you’ll run into the enemy jungler or a roaming teammate, as you’ll be crossing into their side of the map. Therefore, making sure you have vision control is also an important part of ganking. This way you’ll know whether you’ll have the numbers advantage and that the lane you’re ganking won’t see you coming. Keep in mind that forcing an enemy to recall and making them use summoner spells can be just as important as getting a kill, especially when Dragon, Rift Herald or Baron are available.

Objectives and Controlling Them

Your second job as a jungler is to control the area around Neutral Objectives and take them for your team. Depending on your champion, you may even be able to take them down alone (but it is always much safer and a generally better idea to have a few teammates with you). So, how do you go about controlling them? Vision is key, you’ll want to place wards and/or red wards in the area so you can safely enter and monitor the Neutral Objective area. Ganking is also important, as it will give you XP and gold (making you stronger than the opposing jungler) but will also put your team in the advantageous position of at least a 5 versus 4 if a fight breaks out for these Neutral Objectives. Knowing when and how to transition from a gank into doing a Dragon or Rift Herald in the early to mid game is important. It will take some time to master, but generally you can follow a simple checklist. After you ganked consider:

1. Do I have enough health and damage to take this objective?

2. Is the enemy jungler alive

2a. Are they a higher level than me OR healthier (will they win a fight)?

3. Did we kill an enemy (or enemies)?

3a. Did we get summoner spells, ultimate abilities or force a recall(s)?

4. Will we win a fight, if the enemy team contests?

If you are healthy enough and have the numbers advantage going for a Neutral Objective is a smart play. If the enemy jungler is alive, you’ll want your team to keep them away from the area (especially if they’re a higher level than you, their smite will do more damage as the damage scales off champion level). If your team is also hurting, it’s probably a better idea to recall and try again. While there are scenarios where dying for Neutral Objectives is okay, it’s generally not a good idea to trade kills for a Dragon or Rift Herald (I.E getting killed for taking the dragon), especially early on.

Summoner Spell: Smite

So, what is Smite? Smite is the summoner spell unique to jungle players and absolutely essential to the role. You must take Smite to jungle, because without it you will not be able to purchase jungle items and you’ll lose out on bonus jungle camp gold and experience.

At first, Smite may seem very linear, but in fact it’s a complex spell. You can upgrade it in two ways that will allow you to use the spell not only camps and objectives, but also champions.

Chilling Smite [Blue] - adds the ability to deal your Smite damage as true damage and slow the target by 20% for 2 seconds, while also speeding you up by 20% for 2 seconds

Challenging Smite [Red] - adds the ability to mark enemy champions for 4 seconds, reducing their damage against you by 20%, and making your auto attacks deal your Smite's damage as true damage over 2.5 seconds

It is important to upgrade your Smite early, so you can take full advantage of an impactful, short cooldown, combat spell. As for picking between the two, getting to know your champion, playstyle and game state will allow you to choose the best option for each game. Both upgrades offer unique advantages to fights and pair well with a variety of rune combinations and champion builds/playstyles. Neither upgrade will change how Smite works on camps and Neutral Objectives, it will still always do X amount of damage (based on level) to a camp instantly.

*Importantly: you can hold up to two charges of Smite at a time and reserving one charge will become increasingly important as the game goes on (assuming a Dragon, Rift Herald or Baron is up/spawning soon)

Timers

Buff and camp timers are now built into the game, as long as you, a teammate or ward saw them die, you’ll have the timer by pressing TAB.

[Blue Buff / Red Buff / Baron (Rift Herald [under]) / Dragon / Red Buff / Blue Buff]

Jungle Camps

Buffs

Red and Blue buffs both spawn at 1:30 and respawn 5 minutes after they are taken.

Neutral Camps

Raptors and Wolves spawn at 1:30
Krugs and Gromp spawn at 1:42
All of the camps will respawn after 2 minutes after being taken.

Neutral Objectives

Rift Scuttle (or Scuttle Crabs)

The first two Scuttle Crabs will both spawn at 3:15 and then one will respawn every 2 minutes and 30 seconds after being taken.

Dragons

The first Dragon will spawn at 5:00 and will respawn 5 minutes after being taken. The Elder Dragon will spawn after one team takes four dragons for themselves. Each kind of Dragon will grant your team a stat buff, which can be found either on the TAB screen or above your champion bar. There are a lot of nuances to Dragons, but for now just concern yourself with getting as many as possible and preventing the enemy from securing four as that will grant them an elemental soul, greatly increasing the stat buffs of that element.

Rift Herald

The Rift Herald will spawn at 8:00 and will respawn 6 minutes (only if it’s killed before 13:45) after being taken. Rift Herald will be replaced by Baron at 20:00. Successfully defeating the Rift Herald will grant you a pick up item known as Eye of the Herald. This will replace your Trinket slot until it is used or expires. For up to 240 seconds you may hold the Eye and gain an Empowered Recall (allowing you to recall faster). Upon use (after a 1 second channel) you will summon an allied Rift Herald that will attack enemy minions and charge at towers, doing massive damage.

Baron Nashor

Baron Nashor will spawn at 20:00 and will respawn 6 minutes after being taken (for the remainder of the game). Defeating Baron will grant your team a powerful buff, Empowering your recall, granting 12-48 (based on minutes) bonus attack damage and 20-80 (based on minutes) bonus ability power and nearby allied minions are greatly Empowered as well.

Final Advice

Jungling has been and always will be a very challenging and demanding role. You’re responsible for controlling the Neutral Objectives and for ganking. If you fail at any part of your role, the blame will be solely on you. Solo-laners can blame the enemy jungler and you for their shortcomings and Duo-laners can blame their lane partner, enemy jungler and you. Being able to shrug off criticism and accepting that you cannot be everywhere, win every lane and secure every Neutral Objective is a huge step in performing well.

Knowing how to communicate with your team to inform them where you think the enemy jungler is/has pressure, how/where to get vision, and how to go about taking or trading Neutral Objectives is both important and difficult. You will have hardships starting out and further down the line that may come from the types of teammates you get and the style of jungler you are. If you truly enjoy the role, keep at it. You can easily win over teammates by outplaying the enemy jungler in a counter-gank or at a Neutral Objective.

I hope this guide helps and I hope to see you in the jungle soon!