Jungle Rotation Guide

Your first clear sets the tempo for the entire early game. Start at the buff closest to your gold laner so they can leash (basic-attack the camp to help you clear faster).

The standard Level 4 route is: first buff, small camp, second buff, Lithowanderer (the river crab), then gank or keep farming. Which buff you take first depends on your hero. Mana-hungry assassins like Lancelot and Ling want blue buff's mana regen. Auto-attack junglers like Roger and Alucard prefer red buff's slow effect.

Speed is everything. The faster you hit Level 4, the sooner you can impact lanes with ganks. Kite jungle camps between abilities to minimize damage taken. Move away after using a skill, then walk back in to auto while waiting for cooldowns. This keeps your HP high and avoids wasted recalls.

Advanced junglers also track the enemy jungler's pathing. If you see them ganking top side, their bottom-side camps are free to steal. Communicate your starting buff so your team knows which lane to leash and where jungle pressure will be first.

Knowing when to gank is what separates a good jungler from a great one. The best gank windows open when an enemy laner is pushed past the river with no escape skills available, when you've just hit a power spike, or when your laner has CC ready to set up the kill.

Always approach from fog of war. Path through unwarded bushes and never walk through lane where enemy minions might reveal you. If the enemy sees you coming, they just retreat to tower and the gank fails.

Ping your target before ganking so your laner is ready to follow up. Also assess whether the gank will actually result in a kill or at least burn summoner spells. Don't waste 20 seconds walking to a lane where the enemy has full HP and Flicker up. That time is better spent farming.

After a successful gank, immediately evaluate your next move. Can you take the tower? Is Turtle about to spawn? Should you invade? Always convert kills into objective advantages instead of just walking back to camps. Failed ganks are expensive because you lose farm time, so be decisive.

Objectives are the jungler's primary responsibility. Turtle spawns at 2:00 and respawns every 2 minutes after it dies. The first Turtle gives a team-wide gold and XP bonus that can snowball an early lead. Lord spawns at 9:00 and pushes a lane with a powerful minion wave, often leading to inhibitors or ending the game.

Secure objectives after winning a fight or when key enemies are on the opposite side of the map. Always use Retribution as the last hit. Practice the timing so you know exactly when to use it.

If the enemy jungler is alive and nearby, they can contest with their own Retribution. Either kill them first or zone them out of the pit.

Before starting any objective, make sure you have vision control. Ward the pit entrances and clear enemy vision. Starting an objective blind invites steals.

Track the enemy jungler's Retribution cooldown. If they used it recently on a camp, you have a 35-second window where they can't contest. This is often the difference between winning and losing critical Lord fights.

Counter-jungling means entering the enemy jungle to steal camps, deny resources, and disrupt their farming pattern. It's one of the most aggressive and rewarding strategies when done right.

The best time to invade: when you have vision of the enemy jungler on the opposite side, when your lanes have priority and can collapse to help, or when you're significantly ahead in levels and items.

Steal the highest-value camp first. Buff camps give the most gold and XP, and denying a buff is a massive setback. After stealing, leave immediately unless you're sure the enemy jungler is far away. Getting caught in the enemy jungle without backup is a death sentence.

If you successfully counter-jungle three or four times in the first eight minutes, the enemy jungler will be two or more levels behind. They won't have enough damage to gank effectively and will struggle to contest objectives. Your team gains enormous map control.

Keep track of camp respawn timers. Buffs respawn every 2 minutes. If you steal the enemy blue at 3:00, you know it's back at 5:00 and can plan to steal it again.