When you’re still learning the game and leveling up through the ranks, the jungle in League of Legends can be a pretty scary place, and you might not have someone on your team playing a jungle champion consistently until you start playing ranked matches.
If you’re a beginner, jumping into the jungle headfirst can be scary, especially if you want to do well in ranked, but it doesn’t have to be. Some champions are very tricky to jungle well, but there are a few that have fast and safe clears, solid ganking potential, and are strong picks overall — the perfect champions to choose if you’re still learning the jungle role.
Even after you become more skilled and confident in the jungle, all of these champions have potential in high-level play and carry you well into Diamond.
Warwick
While not as overpoweringly strong as he was last season, Warwick is still a very strong pick and a solid choice for beginner junglers — he’s also one of the very best champions to learn how to play the role with. Because his passive grants innate lifesteal, he can succeed in the jungle even without the appropriate runes! Warwick is one of the few champions that can easily clear the entire jungle with full health and still go on to gank or countergank.
His ganking ability before level six is a little limited, but if the enemy top or bottom lane is overextended and low health, he can almost guarantee a kill. After level 6 his ganks are some of the best in the game, and will put both solo lanes on the defensive. He’s also very strong at 2v2’s, showing up to counter the enemy jungle.
Skill Priority Order: One point in W (Hunter’s Call) at level one, then R (Infinite Duress) > Q (Hungering Strike) > W > E (Blood Scent). Pick up Blood Scent at level 4 if you want to gank early.
Sample Build: Hunter’s Machete + 2 Health Potions > Stalker’s Blade (Warrior/Devourer Enchant) > Mercury’s Treads > Randuin’s Omen/Spirit Visage > Blade of the Ruined King > Wit’s End/Frozen Mallet
Nunu
Nunu is another very strong pick for learning to jungle — his Q skill, Consume, allows him to do large amounts of damage to neutral creeps and heal for a significant amount. This makes his jungle safe, fast, and effective for beginners — it also lets Nunu easily invade the enemy jungle and helps him secure Dragon and Baron.
Nunu doesn’t do a lot of damage without building for it, but he brings a hefty slow and a big speed boost that can help ganks succeed and keep your teammates alive. His ultimate can decide an entire teamfight, keeping Nunu useful to the very end of the game.
Skill Priority Order: R (Absolute Zero) > Q (Consume) > E (Ice Blast) > W (Blood Boil)
Sample Build: Hunter’s Machete > Ranger’s Trailblazer/Poacher’s Knife (Juggernaut Enchant) > Boots of Mobility > Spirit Visage/Randuin’s Omen > Locket of the Iron Solari > Frozen Heart/Banshee’s Veil
Udyr
Udyr doesn’t have quite as much innate lifesteal as Warwick or Nunu, but his kit includes a shield, heavy AoE, and a big movespeed boost. If you “stance dance” correctly, Udyr is a great starter jungler since he has one of the fastest and safest jungle clears, and a very strong level three or four gank.
Unlike Nunu and Warwick, he can be a little mana hungry, so it’s important to take the first one or two Golem Buffs, but the trade off is a very fast and strong jungle. Udyr is also one of the best duelists early game, making him pretty safe from counterjungles and more than capable of invading the enemy jungle and getting away with it.
Skill Priority Order: R (Phoenix Stance) > W (Turtle Stance) > E (Bear Stance) > Q (Tiger Stance). Leveling Tiger Stance over Phoenix Stance is a viable choice if you prefer better ganks and more single target damage.
Sample Build: Hunter’s Machete + 2 pots > Stalker’s Blade (Juggernaut/Devourer Enchant) > Ninja Tabis/Boots of Swiftness > Trinity Force > Spirit Visage/Frozen Heart > Blade of the Ruined King/Zephyr
Fiddlesticks
Fiddlesticks is probably the trickiest of these champions because he is so vulnerable to counterjungling. As long as you buy wards and keep your eyes on the minimap, Fiddlesticks can clear the jungle with full health and go on to deliver a pretty powerful gank.
His drain will keep him topped off and deal lots of damage, allowing a lot of flexibility in his build path — you can focus on dealing damage, supporting, or controlling objectives. He’s also one of the best teamfighters and is useful throughout the entire game, so that’s why we recommend him as one of the best jungle champions for beginners.
Skill Priority Order: R (Crowstorm) > W (Drain) > E (Dark Wind) > Q (Terror). You can pick up a second point of Terror at level two for stronger early ganks if you want to.
Sample Build: Doran’s Ring + Ward/2 Health Potions > Sorceror’s Shoes/Boots of Mobility > Poacher’s Knife > Zhonya’s Hourglass > Rabadon’s Deathcap/Void Staff > Abyssal Scepter/Rylai’s Crystal Scepter
Published: Mar 19, 2015 09:40 am