As a jungler, maintaining a decent income of gold and XP through farming is crucial to becoming an active threat to the enemy team. Clearing the jungle in an orderly, effective manner can heavily shape the course of the match. This guide will detail jungle camp information and explain several of the best initial clearing routes.

Jungle Camp Basics

Before covering jungle routes, there are a few key principles that a player must be wary of to maximize their clear efficiency. Keeping aware of this information will allow you to make well-informed decisions when deciding on which camps to clear.

Firstly, all jungle camps take 100 seconds (1m40s) to respawn once they are slain. Furthermore, this respawn timer only begins once the entire camp has been cleared. Keeping approximate mental timers of respawns will allow you to plan out your jungle clears ahead of time. Although this may sound like a demanding consideration, it pays off. If it’s too much to handle at first, you can begin by practicing with typed-out timers in the in-game chat (preferably in a custom game; players may not appreciate the spam).

Secondly, jungle camps only level up between respawns. Unlike Dragon and Baron which passively level up whilst alive, a jungle camps’ stats will remain unchanged until they’ve been slain. This also means that a camps’ gold and experience rewards will stay the same. Therefore, a player will want to clear all camps frequently to ensure optimal levelling and gold flow.

Lastly, monsters in the red buff side of the jungle deal more damage than the blue buff side. Knowing this is crucial when playing champions with poor early clears. Clearing with this in mind can assist in maintaining HP when farming, and hopefully prevent any awkward jungle executions.

Jungle Routes

The following routes are a range of initial farming paths one may take in the jungle. These routes apply for both teams, and are suitable in a range of contexts.

The Classic Route

(Click images to enlarge)

The most common first clear for a Jungler goes as follows:

Gromp (Smite) > Blue Buff > Red Buff (Smite) > Gank
OR
Krugs (Smite) > Red Buff > Blue Buff (Smite) > Gank

This is a strong route to procure both buffs and reach level 3 fast and effectively. Double-buff will allow you to give a powerful gank to apply early pressure to your chosen lane. The Gromp-start variation of this route is typically the better option, as you end up restoring health through smiting red buff. Furthermore, Gromps’ ‘Gift of the Toadstool’ offers better combat potential if your route is intercepted. Although this is a solid first route, it’s as predictable as it is common. Be wary of strong early-game champions such as Lee Sin and Nidalee, who may attempt to contest your third camp.

Power-Farming

Gromp (Smite) > Blue Buff > Wolves > Raptors > Red Buff (Smite) > Krugs > Recall
OR
Krugs (Smite) > Red Buff > Raptors > Wolves > Blue Buff (Smite) > Gromp > Recall

This route is intended for farm-centric junglers. Upon completion, this path grants enough gold for a Machete upgrade and a Vision Ward, further amplifying your clear potential and offering a ward for safer farming. This route typically demands a decent leash since it’s combat intensive. It’s possible to repeat this path back-to-back since the first camp would have respawned by the time you’re ready to farm it again.

Level 2 Gank

Krugs/Gromp > Gank
OR
Krugs/Gromp > Red/Blue Buff > Gank

This method is an unconventional, unexpected way to pressure enemy laners as fast as possible. Not many junglers can pull this off effectively, but champions such as Xin Zhao, Lee Sin and Jarvan IV have high gank potential with only two abilities. Clearing just a single camp will allow you to gank before laners have reached level 2. If you would rather wait for your laners to reach level 2, clear your red/blue buff as well. Note that this early gank route will disclose your location to the enemy jungler, and can therefore result in being counter-jungled. Hence, it’s wise to ask an ally to trinket-ward one of your buffs so that you can react accordingly.

Early Vision Control

Gromp (Smite) > Blue Buff > Wolves > Raptors (Smite) > Recall > Ward

A rather unorthodox but useful path, particularly in a solo queue context. This route will allow you to reach level 3 swiftly and secure the Raptors’ ‘Razor Sharp’ true sight buff, allowing you to place a sneaky early-game ward. After clearing Raptors with smite, you’ll want to purchase an item component and a vision ward. You may then proceed into the enemy jungle and place your vision ward in an obscure position like so:

Deep wards in positions such as this can go unnoticed for a very long time. They allow you to keep track of the opposing jungler's movements and actions, helping you anticipate ganks and counter-jungle. As you move into the enemy jungle, Razor Sharp will alert you to whether or not a ward has caught sight of you. If so, you may opt to retreat and ward later or elsewhere. The premise of this strategy is useful throughout the early/mid game. Just ensure that you smite Raptors for the vision buff to push into the enemy jungle for covert ward placements.

Early Buff Steal

Buff > Enemy Buff
or
Gromp > Enemy Buff

This strategy will allow you to steal the enemy junglers’ first buff and potentially secure first blood. This method should only be used when your champion is significantly stronger than your opponents’ early on. Champions like Lee Sin and Shaco can easily pull this off against vulnerable junglers such as Amumu and Master Yi.

To do this, begin your clear by clearing either red buff, blue buff or Gromp with smite. Proceed across to the opposing buff and attempt to kill the enemy jungler while they’re clearing. When you fight them, be sure to position yourself so that the jungle monsters are attacking the opposing jungler and not you. Additionally, ensure you don’t end up chasing or battling for too long, otherwise the opposing teams’ laners will have time to respond. With this tactic, every second counts. If the jungler manages to flash away or escape, simply finish off the buff and retreat to your own jungle.

Before attempting this, be sure to take note of how long the opponents’ top/bottom laners take to move to their lanes. This will reveal whether or not they gave a leash, thus allowing you to read where the enemy jungler began their clear.

Preventing early buff steals

When facing stronger junglers that may attempt to kill you during your first clear, your best option is beginning your route with the buff. By doing so, you secure the buff and potentially waste the enemy junglers’ time. Although your allies may take longer to move to lane after leashing, it’s worth it.

Clearing throughout the match

Beyond these opening routes, you should continue to farm the jungle thoughtfully. Since each match is influenced by a broad range of variables, games will vastly differ, and hence your clear methodology and structure will vary. To better assist your decision making, be sure to consider factors such as:

- Smite’s cooldown
- The enemy jungler’s location
- The opposing jungler’s overall strength
- Monster respawn timers
- Monsters’ smite bonuses
- Required gold for item purchases
- Start & end points of a route

Details such as these are crucial to maximizing efficiency. For optimal productivity, you should be aiming to minimize downtime between farming and ganking by actively planning ahead. Your pathing and actions should be made according to the conditions and direction of the game. For example, you may clear camps closer to your vulnerable lanes to prepare for a countergank, or smite wolves when anticipating a blue buff steal. With experience, you'll learn to interpret and exploit the variables of a match, and achieve better results through reading the situation.

Keep aware of these points, and you’ll find yourself farming fast and effectively. May your clears be swift and your smites stay true, and good luck on the Rift!

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