5 Beginner Jungler Tips

Rilea -

The Jungler is one of the most potent and influentail roles in League. With the ability to roam around the map, affect every single lane and secure the most powerful objectives on the Rift , you have the power to dictate the outcome of a game.

A Flexible Role

Jungle is one of the most diverse roles in League, and it's often your responsibility to fill gaps in your team comp. You can run tanks like Sejuani or Amumu, skirmishers like Trundle or Jarvan IV, or assassins like Diana or Kha'Zix.

Although you can specialise into one subset of junglers, it's really important to be flexible and recognise what your comp needs during champ select.

Tracking The Enemy Jungler

Keeping track of the enemy jungler's location is essential in the early game. This informs your laners whether it's safe to play aggressively and indicates which lanes you can gank without the threat of being counter-ganked. It can also let you invade and take away some of their camps.

Placing a ward by the enemy raptor camp at around 1:10 is a great way to figure out which side the enemy jungler is starting on, and will give you time to start your first camp on time. Even if you don't spot them on the ward, it means they are likely starting on the other side of the map.

Top Side vs Bot Side

League is a game of trading and exchanging pressure. Your plays in the early game will either be proactively ganking or reacting to what the enemy jungler is doing. If they are ganking one side of the map, it means the other side is significantly more vulnerable to your ganks as the enemy jungler won't be there to respond.

This extends to the Rift Herald and first drake, two powerful objectives in the early game. If the enemy has taken one of them, it not only means you know where the enemy jungler is but also frees up the other objective for the taking.

Which Lanes To Gank?

Ganking your lanes is one of the most important jobs for junglers. Pulling off successful ganks can get your laners ahead and snowball advantages. Deciding which lane to gank is generally dependant upon 3 things:

  • the position of the enemy jungler (as previously discussed)
  • your laner/s
  • the enemy laner/s

If the enemy has a pushing lane (such as a Caitlyn and Lux bot lane), it means they will be permanently pushing and over-extending. This makes them very vulnerable to ganks, as you can come in from behind and kill them before they can escape under their tower. If you have the pushing lanes, you can force the enemy underneath their tower and dive them.

Scryer's Bloom

When you're roaming through the jungle, it can be really tempting to destroy the Scryer's Bloom to scout for vision. The Scryer's Bloom is an incredibly useful tool, but can be detrimental if you're planning an imminent gank.

Popping it in the direction of the lane can reveal your location to the enemy, as they will its revealing mist and know somebody is nearby. They can then play defensively and retreat back to the safety of their tower, ruining your chance of pulling off a gank.