Welcome To The Jungle, Season 5

With the new Conquest map and the new season changing up some of the roles, there is a lot to focus on for different roles. Everyone is getting an idea of what the meta is like now each role has seen different changes. One role with a lot of changes this season is the Jungle role. With item changes, camp scaling and new timings, the jungler has a lot to focus on. The Warrior junglers aren't as popular this season and with the map being bigger, junglers that can traverse the map quickly have found themselves at home in Season 5. But what do you need to keep an eye on as a jungle main and what is there that you may be doing from Season 4 that might not work as well?

Speed Buff is a huge part of a Junglers pathing as you want to try keep it on you as much as possible

Choosing The Right Path

Timing is everything for a jungler. You need to know when your camps are spawning and when to take the chance to gank or set up to get the next camp. If you can work out your pathings early, you can find yourself in a good spot early game - with buffs spawning every 120 seconds (the same amount of time as the buff stays on the gods), they're a good area to check first. Back XP camps spawn every 60 seconds and mids spawn every 90 seconds, so there is a camp you can clear most of the time on the map so you can plan your pathing using the camps (I know it's obvious but if you find a pathing that allows you to cover all three lanes if they need help, you're always around to defend a 4-man gank in mid). If you get Assassin's Blessing (I mean it's a good idea as it's basically Bumba's, so the healing is very beneficial), making sure your pathing covers the most amount of camps will help you stack the item and evolve it quicker, allowing you to be more influential when you come in to gank lanes.

Ganking can be rewarding when pulled off correctly and working well with team mates can make ganking easy 

Typical jungle pathing from the start of the game is start Speed, XP camp, and then go Blue. Alternatively, if your solo laner needs the help and is getting pressured, get Blue then the XP camp. Then head to mid to help secure Harpy control - Harpies on the Speed side are good to take first and this is where you'll probably run into the enemy jungler as well, which will help you see where your clear is at in comparison for them. You'll then move on to help mid gain control so you can secure the other Harpies before linking with them to get red. If the Hunter has Red you could look at Purple. If Purple is taken, go... Back Harpies? (Can you tell I'm running out of camps yet?!) This is where personal choice comes in, I've seen some go to Purple and put pressure on duo side which is handy if you've hit level 3 as you rotate, as you might get a kill in the lane. Make sure your duo knows you're ganking so they can set it up. If your duo is behind, you can help by relieving pressure.

The other option is head to get Back Harpies then go to your Speed buff (since it has most likely spawned again). Now I know this sounds like a farm heavy idea and you will want to gank, but be smart about it. Ganking is situational, as if you have good pathing which allows you to get the best jump on the enemy it will work more effectively. With the Season 5 jungle having tighter "corridors" and less room to move, there are a lot more spots for junglers to gank into lanes, especially as the new jungle allows you to maneuver around certain key ward placements.

Itemization

Like I said before, the jungle meta has gone back to being more Assassin heavy due to Warriors' clear being less effective and their slower movement speed. But before you rush to build your classic Assassin build, items that were prominent in the jungle last season may not be as much of a reliable pick up for the role anymore. Pen builds are still great for Assassins this season, but some of the items that you'd see on the pen builds last season may not be as valuable to pick up anymore.

Jotunn's Wrath has been seen less due to the added cooldown reduction on Transcendence. Yes, it's a stacking item and may take some time to stack, but you'll find the added power and cooldowns beneficial. Stone Cutting Sword has become a great item this season with the movement speed helping you traverse the map quicker and getting you to lanes and camps easier. The passive is great for junglers as well, with you able to decrease the enemy's protections with your basic attacks and with junglers that can just stick to enemy gods it allows you to shred them quickly. It may only take 10 away from them per basic and only stacks 3 times, but it has become a good item for junglers with it giving you 10 protections as well.

Titan's Bane is more of a situational item as it depends on how many protections the enemy gods have. It may not be a part of your core build any more, but it can still be beneficial depending on the situation. You can pick it up late game to help you deal with the enemy front line if they're causing problems. It does depend what god you pick for the jungle, as each benefit from different items and can change the games in different ways, but from what I've seen Transcendence is taking over the Jotunn's spot and Stone Cutting has been picked up a lot more, so it's worth readjusting your build in Season 5.

Heartseeker has had nerfs recently (from 100% of your Physical damage on your next ability at max stacks to 80%). It is still a great pick up in builds as the added damage you get can swing fights. It also provides movement speed which makes it easily to traverse the map. The added pen on it can help as well in dealing with tanky targets. It's only 10 but who can say no to more pen right?

                    
It's a bit of an expensive build but these items can change the course of a game

Recommended Picks

This Season, gods like Serqet, Da Ji, and Mercury have been highly regarded in the jungle with Nemesis also coming in thanks to her ability to deal with tanky teams. These gods can also be a "Hypercarry" if played well. Serqet has been seen in the support role, chosen for her disruption and the fact you can do the two junglers meta - the fact she can cover the map quickly doesn't hurt but the disruption she can provide in teamfights has seen her become highly regarded in both the jungle and support roles. The fact she can get in and out of fights easily has put her in a great position, as her kit allows her to gank lanes with relative ease.

Da Ji has found a great spot for Season 5 as her kit allows her to get around the map and stick to enemy gods with ease. Her escape isn't the best in the game and can be risky but it is a great initiate if you know you don't need it to get out later in the fight. She doesn't cause as much disruption as Serqet does, but her ult is a great way to get pop some enemy relics and can swing teamfights if used well. The pattern so far is gods that can get around the map will thrive in Season 5, so it's no shock that Mercury is a huge pick. He can cover so much distance in the map over a short space of the time and can be a great set up for his team when he ganks. His team fight disruption might not be the best in terms of his kit but if you can get him to the back line he can be as annoying to deal with as Serqet or Da Ji and with crit being highly regarded in the meta, he can be a massive pain for enemy teams and fill that hypercarry role.

         
These are just a few gods that are working well in the Meta so far but each can be countered in their own way

Two jungle picks I've seen a lot recently are Thanatos and Ne Zha (ok wait hear me out). Thanatos is very early game focused and the pressure you can give early can help steamroll through a team. He can also get around the map quickly so the quick rotations early game can get your team some quick kills and start to really take hold of the game. Wards do stop him as if you know where he is, so your jungler can work around him; whether it's preventing him from getting a successful gank off or capitalising off him not being there.

So far the games I've seen a good Thana in he has been able to just take control of a game, put his team miles ahead before 15 minutes, and really get the game going for his team. Ne Zha on the other hand has so much set up and can work well with lots of different team comps. If your team can link up with you on Ne Zha, you can get a good combo going and play aggressive with him. He also works in the support role in the two jungler meta, as he can put a lot of pressure on the duo lane if he is able to roam around... especially if he goes mid to gank while the main jungler comes and follows him up, most times you'll walk away from it with a kill or two. His success does depend on the team's comp but he can be a massive nuisance if he is played in a team that can work with his kit.

Hopefully this will help you get a better understanding on the Season 5 jungle and work in the Jungle role a lot more successfully.

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