This article explains how to play as a jungler in League of Legends. To play this role, you must mainly stay in the sections of the map between the lanes, called "jungle", in order to help your companions by eliminating neutral monsters, earning gold and XP (experience points) for both you and your team and tending ambush opponents in nearby lanes.
Steps
Step 1. Decide your style of play
A jungler can fulfill different functions during a game and each of these requires a different style of play.
- Ganking: gankare is a term that indicates the ambushes that players tend to opponents to weaken them, deprive them of gold, experience and slow their progression. Junglers of this type are particularly effective against those who spend their time defeating neutral monsters (or farmare).
- Farming: farmare, from English to farm which literally means to cultivate, is the term used by players to indicate the style of play focused on eliminating as many fields of monsters as possible, in order to reach maximum power in the late stages of the game. This style is most effective when you are up against a player who tries to control you.
- Controlling: Junglers of this type hunt down and try to kill the opposing team's jungler, denying him resources and "controlling" the jungle for his team. They are most effective when the opponent uses a strong jungler in ambushes.
Step 2. Select the right sample
While you can use many different champions for each of the playstyles described above, some features are better suited to certain roles than others.
- Ganking: Jarvan IV, Nautilus or other specimens with similar characteristics.
- Farming: Udyr, Master Yi or other champions with similar characteristics.
- Controlling: Amumu, Trundle or other samples with similar characteristics.
Step 3. Choose runes suitable for the jungle
The "Swift Foot", "Predator", "Orb of Cancellation" and "Guardian" runes improve attack and defense against jungle monsters, as well as make your character more suitable for off-lane play.
Step 4. Purchase items that enhance your champion's strengths and give you an edge in your chosen playstyle
From the shop, you can purchase items that boost damage, mana regeneration, and so on. Some of these offensive items are made specifically for junglers.
- Machete of the hunter: increases damage against monsters.
- Hunter's talisman: Increases mana regeneration when you are in the jungle.
- Soldier's saber: increases damage against monsters; greatly increases mana regeneration when you are in the jungle.
- Hunter's blade: increases damage against monsters; greatly increases mana regeneration when you are in the jungle.
- Hound's knife: increases damage against monsters; greatly increases mana regeneration when you are in the jungle.
Step 5. Buy and use wards
The wards allow you to clear the fog of war from the area where you place them and consequently to be able to anticipate enemy ambushes before they can see you. Using wards when playing in the jungle is helpful for the whole team, allowing you to spot enemies, avoid ambushes and plan counter-offensives.
- You can purchase wards from the shop.
- Wards are only available on the Summoner's Rift map.
Step 6. Learn which monsters to kill
Start with the blue monster or the red monster, because doing so will give you a boost and gain enough experience to level up. When you have to face the higher level monsters (and eventually the bosses, like the dragon), you can ask for help from one of the players who occupy the lanes.
The monsters in the "fields" (the parts of the jungle that contain the monsters) appear again after a fixed interval from the last time you defeated them
Step 7. Attack the members of the opposing team by surprise
One of the tasks of the jungler is to ambush enemies (gankare) to weaken them (and even kill them), by attacking them from the side or from behind. Often to make a successful gank you will need to coordinate the action with one of the players in the lanes.
Killing an opponent earns you experience points, as well as gold for you and the player who helped you. The player who delivers the final blow receives a higher gold reward
Step 8. Communicate with your team
As with all competitive online games, make sure you talk to your teammates and understand what they need. You may start the game by maintaining a purely supportive role (for example with a controlling style) but then find that the opposing team is playing aggressively and that you need to help your team with more ambushes.
Step 9. Kill the bosses
These monsters, like the dragon and Baron Nashor, offer upgrades to the whole team when you kill them. Since both appear on the map relatively late in the game, you should be able to take them out without needing a lot of help.
Step 10. Manage your time
As a jungler, you need to make sure you always attack something, whether it's a monster, a minion, or an enemy champion. Since you have to kill as many monsters as possible to gain experience points, it's important to never stop.
- Look at the map and be sure to ambush enemies out of position, attack neutral monsters when you can, and finally assist your team by placing wards when you have no targets to attack.
- If you find yourself standing still and waiting for something to happen, it's probably time to change your position.
Advice
- Players who die multiple times in a row are worth less gold than those who have several consecutive kills. It can be advantageous to focus your attention on the lanes that are winning, as opposed to the ones already defeated. When playing as Jungler, you will often find yourself having to make decisions like this.
- To perfect your skill as a jungler, you can play against computer-controlled opponents (AI - Artificial Intelligence) and figure out which are the best paths to follow, without the pressure of having to face real opponents.
- Don't worry too much if your team criticizes you during your first few games as a jungler; with practice you will improve.
