Season 1 and 2 junglers rejoice! No more are we slaves to the mid lane! No more will the other lanes joke about how we’re the mid’s support! We’ve got our jungle back!

Now, those of you who didn’t jungle in the earliest stages of Season 2 or throughout the entirety of Season 1, you may wonder what that means. You may experience games where people are just screaming at you for starting “incorrectly” or “off-meta” - well, now I think it’s been long enough since the change to the jungle for the meta to be developed.

So - what to do? Well, there are a few different starts for the junglers and solo-laners.

Start 1:

High clear jungle-solos should consider this start!

For the most part, this will be your standard rotation and what other players will expect out of you as a jungler. Players might call it a “three-camp,” “tri-camp,” or a “solo lane” start, but no matter what people call it, this is an option. Of course, this type of start won’t actually be useful for every solo-jungle combination as it takes a lot of time to work through all three camps. It is best used for solo-jungle combos that have very good level 1 camp clear.

With this start, you and your solo-laner will take the back camp, speed buff, mana buff, and then off to solo lane for a single wave or a kill if it is a possibility. Then you, the jungler, should rotate on over to the fire creeps to try and pick them up as your mid-laner rotates to the fire creeps with you. From there, it’s the right mid-camp and then the mid-lane. Of course, this start assumes that you are ahead already, maybe with a kill in the solo lane, and is the most optimal start to control the jungle.

But what happens if you fall behind? Perhaps clearing the camps went poorly or the enemy jungler rotated immediately toward the fire creeps. Don’t fret, this sort of thing happens all the time. Very rarely will you end up having total control. For example, if the enemy jungler rotates to the fire creeps first, move on. Fighting over the little imps isn’t the best thing to do if you end up dying or losing experience elsewhere. You can rotate immediately over to the mid-camps and take those as the enemy jungler focuses on the imps.

Who should try this?

Examples of jungle-solos with very high clear.

This start is likely considered meta for most players and may be expected by your solo laner no matter their clear ability. Aside from that, it should be reserved for jungle-solos who have very good level 1 clear such as a Ne Zha - Odin combo. It will permit them to get ahead in experience and gold while keeping up with the enemy team. You can also try this start if the enemy jungle-solo combo has equal levels of clear as your combo.

Start 2:

This is for moderate to low clear jungle-solos

What happens if you end up with a high clear junglers, but a low clear solo? Or vice versa? Well, you don’t want to lose time and permit the enemy jungler to wind up a camp or half a camp ahead of you, forgo the back camp and start at the speed buff. You may lose out on some experience, but you want to make sure that your position isn’t behind. Or maybe you’re the jungler who doesn’t have a lot of clear. It is important to adjust your start based on your ability to clear. This may be referred to as a “double-camp” or a “speed” start. Much like the standard start, you begin at speed buff, move over to blue buff, solo lane for a wave, then fire creeps, mid camp, and mid lane.

Who should try this?

Examples of a moderate to low clear jungle-solos.

This is also a good start for characters who have moderate clear or if you have no idea what your clear level is or your jungle-solo combo has poor clear like a Nemesis-Amaterasu without doing anything wacky. Moderate clear can be any two characters that have okay clear, like Serqet and Hercules, or a large disparity in clear abilities like Kali and Odin.

Start 3:

A good start if you want to get your mid-laner ahead early.

With Season 3, it has felt as though many junglers were married to the mid lane, and with meta changes there may still be misconceptions about where the jungler should go. This sort of start will permit you to ignore the solo lane completely and focus, again, on the mid lane. I like to call this start the “what are you doing in my solo lane” as, often times, you will encounter allies who may demand you leave their lane. It’s okay, there are other ways to do starts that avoid the solo lane entirely. This start can also be utilized by junglers who may want to try and get their mid-laner ahead with a kill, or simply get the enemy mid behind. By putting bonus pressure on the mid-lane, the jungler may feel compelled to rotate to mid lane and lose out on valuable experience.

Who should try this?

Example of a strong late game mid against a strong early game mid where you can try to get ahead early.

This sort of start is one that needs to be effectively communicated to your team so they understand your plans for the beginning of the game and one that can be difficult to understand when you should do it. Consider a few things, assuming the enemy jungler does start 1 or 2, this means that your solo laner is going to spend time alone in their lane and may be killed. With an allied solo laner that has either poor lane clear or poor escape potential, it may not be a good idea as they could easily be killed. It also helps to understand your solo laner’s confidence on holding the lane by themselves. A mid-jungle combination can also make or break this strat, so mid-laners with poor early-game kill potential may lead you to avoid this start. However, if you’re on the same page, try it out.

Start 4:

The “oh no, I’m definitely going to get invaded” start.

Now and again, you will face an enemy jungle-solo that you will expect to invade at level 1. If you have a jungle-solo that has very little expectation to survive a level 1 invade, this may be the best start for you. By starting at the blue buff, you may be able to see the enemy jungle-solo invade your speed buff, but you’ll likely be safe and not die. The whole goal behind this sort of start is to not die. Begin at the blue buff and look out for where your solo-lane minions are. If they are back behind your tower and your speed buff hasn’t been stolen, rotate to the speed buff and take it, then go for the lane, then fire creeps and mid lane. If you notice your speed buff being stolen, skip it and move over to the solo lane until level two. It is also likely that the enemy stole the fire creeps, so peek your head in and grab the timer, then rotate over to the mid camp and mid lane.

Who should do this?

Example of a highly aggressive enemy team with Thanatos-Osiris that have a lot of level 1 kill potential.

You have to understand the power discrepancy between your jungle-solo and the enemy’s. You have to know which gods are likely to invade and they are certainly ones who have a lot of level 1 kill potential. Thanatos comes to mind especially as he is a god who requires a lead early to remain relevant late-game as a damage dealer. A Thanatos and Osiris are especially potent as Thanatos will do a lot of damage and Osiris has slows, possibly a stun depending on what he leveled, and can easily wind up with a kill.

You can also keep in mind how weak your jungle-solo combo is. Kali has an extremely weak level 1 and it may be a possibility that she is invaded in order to put her extremely behind and delay her late-game potential as early as possible. Keep it in mind and, an easy way to evaluate invade potential, is to think of level one kill potential. Not necessarily clear ability, but kill. Have a four level scale from pitiful level 1 to poor, moderate, and great and if your kill ability is pitiful and the enemy jungler is great, expect an invade.

I hope this guide may help you with your jungle starts! Experiment, try things out, maybe do something new, and communicate with your team.

Happy jungling!

Word of advice: Don't steal your jungler's speed buff!

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