The Jungle role is arguably the most unique in League of Legends with players engaging in PvE combat with Jungle monsters, instead of heading to lanes to farm minions. With how different the role is and how scary the Jungle can appear, it is no wonder newer players find the prospect of Jungling too daunting.
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Season 13 of League of Legends has seen drastic changes to the jungle, impacting the meta and introducing some new faces to the roster.
As with any experience in League of Legends though, the learning process can be streamlined with the help of useful tips, which, once taken on board, will help players realize just how fun Jungling can be.
Updated December 6, 2024 by Joe Grantham: League of Legends is a game with incredible depth, meaning new players taking their first steps in the Jungle have a myriad of things to learn about the role. Players who are gaining confidence in the Jungle also have plenty to learn and may have missed some vital tips and tricks in their introduction.
As with everything else in League of Legends, the Jungle is also constantly evolving, and the 2024 season has brought about changes to the objectives in the Baron Pit, which naturally affects junglers most. Junglers will also have to find new gank paths as there are significant changes to the map, especially around the entrances to lanes. Either way, those wondering how to play Jungle in LoL have come to the right place.
1 Use The Practice Tool
Practice Killing Jungle Monsters In A Safe Environment & Perfect Clears
- Respawn Jungle monsters on command for constant practice.
- Turn cooldowns and mana off to practice using abilities.
The Practice Tool available in League is exactly that, a tool that should be utilized. It provides players with a safe and controllable environment in which to practice a whole range of skills, which for Junglers includes clearing camps safely and efficiently.
While elite junglers spend plenty of time in the Practice Tool fully optimizing their clears, beginner Junglers should focus on getting used to fighting each unique camp of monsters and navigating to the next one. After clearing the entire jungle once, the player can then reset the game using the Practice Tool UI to go again immediately. As each champion clears differently, this tip can also be used when trying out new Junglers. Even pro Junglers use the Practice Tool to fully optimize their clears on each champion.
2 Focus On The Big Monsters
Killing The Big Monsters In A Camp Heals The Jungler & Eliminates The Biggest Threat
- Krugs, Wolves, and Raptors all have one monster that is bigger and deals more damage than the rest.
- Smite can only be used on these larger monsters and can come in clutch.
Certain jungle camps, namely Krugs, Raptors, and Murk Wolves contain multiple monsters that can all be killed for more gold and experience. However, the large monsters within each camp are the most important and should be focused for two main reasons.
First of all, when large monsters are killed, players receive a heal, which if low, can come in extremely useful. Secondly, if a player doesn't have time to kill an entire camp before they are needed elsewhere, as long as the large monster is killed, the smaller ones will naturally die after a short amount of time. Although the player won't get the extra gold, the camp will now level up and respawn in a few minutes, ensuring the player has a better farm in the future.
3 Trust Your Jungle Companion
Jungle Pets Will Finish Off Low Health Monsters
- Start walking away when a monster is one hit from death. The Jungle Companion will finish it off.
- This saves time so that players can move onto their next camp or gank.
Jungle Companions have one purpose and that is to help players farm the jungle. Anytime a champion attacks or is attacked by a jungle monster, their pet will strike back, healing the player for a portion of the damage dealt. With this consistent source of extra damage and healing, there is less to worry about when low on health.
Other than the main benefit of keeping Junglers' health bars topped up, knowing exactly how companions work can be extremely useful. For example, the fact that a pet will attack two times after a player stops hitting a monster means that junglers can start walking to their next camp, trusting their pet to finish off low prey, which is more efficient.
4 Play Tanks And Other Easy Champions At First
Limiting The Variables Is The Easiest Way To Learn A New Role
- Tanks are less likely to get low or die while clearing the Jungle.
- Easy-to-use abilities or a familiar champion make learning the nuances of the Jungle easier.
Learning how to play Jungle is not easy in League of Legends, and like learning anything in the game, it is easier when fewer variables are changed. For this reason, it can be a good idea to play easy champions at first while learning how the jungle works.
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Tanks with point-and-click-Crowd Control for example can be particularly easy, first of all because they are unlikely to die in the jungle even when invaded, and second of all because ganking becomes a lot more simple. Plenty of other easy junglers exist, and players might opt to play a champion they are familiar with from other roles, as long as they are viable in the jungle.
5 Learn Spawn Timers
Knowing Where To Be & When Is Key For Junglers
The jungle and the map as a whole are dictated by timers, and being aware of when camps or objectives are due to spawn will help in all games. First of all to be learned are the initial spawn timers, followed by how long they take to respawn after being killed, all of which are shown in the table below.
A lot of this information, especially for objectives and more important camps, can also be seen on the minimap or the scoreboard by pressing TAB. This is just one of the reasons why players should press TAB more in League.
|
Camp or Objective |
Initial Spawn Time |
Respawn Time |
|
Wolves and Raptors |
1:30 |
2:15 |
|
Krugs and Gromp |
1:42 |
2:15 |
|
Red and Blue Buff |
1:30 |
5:00 |
|
Scuttle Crab |
3:30 |
2:30 (after both are killed) |
|
Voidgrubs |
6:00 |
4:00 (once if killed before 9:45) |
|
Dragon |
5:00 |
5:00 |
|
Rift Herald |
14:00 |
N/A |
|
Baron |
20:00 |
6:00 |
|
Elder Dragon |
6:00 after a team claims four Dragons |
6:00 |
6 Identify Lanes To Gank
Enemies With No Mobility Or Summoner Spells Are Easiest To Gank
- Squishy champions with no dash abilities and their Flash on cooldown are easy pickings.
- Look for allies who have CC or a dash to set up or follow up on a gank.
Ganks are one of the best ways to snowball and get ahead, but identifying suitable targets can be tricky. The first thing to do is look for enemies that are either immobile, squishy, lacking Summoner Spells, or pushed up too far. Some champions also have annoying mechanics, such as Vladimir's pool, which make them particularly hard to gank.
After finding an enemy who is susceptible to death, the next thing to consider is whether you and your teammate have the necessary catch potential, Crowd Control, and damage, to result in a successful gank. In the case of allies who have excellent gank setup, ideally lots of CC, even slippery opponents can be caught.
7 Don't Gank Losing Lanes
Ganking Strong Enemies Often Backfires, Instead Play For Winning Lanes
- Don't give a fed enemy an even bigger lead.
- The best case scenario is that the ally becomes less behind or even. This is not a win condition.
Part of the jungler's job is to help their team and this help will often come in the form of ganks. The aim of most ganks is to either get kills or at least force enemies to use key summoner spells like Flash. Unless the enemy jungler or a roaming laner turns up for a counter-gank, a numbers advantage is made which usually results in success.
However, if a lane is already losing heavily, an attempted gank may turn south and potentially end in a double kill for the opponent. Instead, it is better to focus on winning or neutral lanes, which can provide win conditions for the team. Alternatively, if no lanes present welcoming opportunities or if the Jungler's champion has good scaling, they can prioritize farming and securing objectives like Dragons.
8 Use A Sweeper When Ganking
Check Whether You Are On Vision Before Wasting A Gank
- Use the sweeper at the jungle entrances and in places that are often warded, such as the bushes.
- Clear the ward and back off if spotted. The enemy has been warned of the gank.
To get themselves or their teammates ahead, Junglers will want to attack and kill enemy laners but ganks generally only work if the target doesn't know what is about to hit them.
Other than avoiding natural pockets of vision like lanes, Junglers can switch out their own ward in the shop for an Oracle Lens, which can then be used to sweep bushes for enemy wards. This can be done for free and junglers will often start off the game with an Oracle Lens. Control Wards can also be bought and used for the same purpose, but note that only one can be placed on the map at any given time.
9 Surprise The Enemy With Lane Ganks
Ganks Don't Always Have To Start In The Jungle, Players Can Instead Approach From The Lane
- Walk into the lane when the enemy and their minions aren't present.
- Hide in the lane bushes or alcoves and wait for them to overstep.
When players imagine a gank, they picture the Jungler approaching from the river or an entrance to the jungle. However, this does not have to be the case, as Junglers can walk into the lane when it is pushed into the enemy tower, meaning there are no opposing minions to give vision. From here they could wait in the lane bushes or alcoves. When the enemy proceeds to push the wave back, lower elo players in particular will not expect the Jungler to jump on them from such a position.
Some Junglers with either lots of dashes or high movement speed, such as Hecarim, can even just run down the lane to begin with and catch up to immobile targets. Lane ganks can also be used defensively. For example, if an ally lane looks like it's in danger, perhaps because they are low on health or without a Flash, players can hover around their tower just out of vision to see if the enemy Jungler appears. They could also wait in the lane bushes of Top and Bot Lane for the same effect.
10 Save Your Smite For Dragon & Other Objectives
Smite Is Used To Secure The Kill On These Objectives
One of the Jungler's many responsibilities in League is to take neutral objectives such as the Dragon, Rift Herald, and Baron. They do so not only because they don't have lanes to farm and turrets to protect, but also because they are the ones with the Smite Summoner Spell. Smite is capable of dealing a large burst of true damage, meaning that if a dragon is at 590 HP and the Smite currently deals 600 damage, the Jungler will secure the objective for their team.
Timing Smites isn't as easy at that, however, especially when the enemy Jungler is contesting. Nevertheless, all beginners need to know is to save their Smite if they know they will be doing an objective soon. Simultaneously, this doesn't mean they should never Smite Jungle monsters, as it has two charges and there are times when no objective is up.