Hercules As a Jungler in Smite

Ever since Hercules was first released he has been a very strong god. With the more recent introduction of the jungling meta, the general consensus being that Thor, Fenrir, and Hun Batz are the top tier, first pick and first ban worthy gods. Let's start by first taking a look at what makes all of these other junglers preferred picks.

Thor

Warrior's Madness gives Thor extra physical power when around enemy gods. This makes for insane damage in early teamfights where Thor is in the middle of everything. Mjolnir's Attunement is great for two reasons, first it can be used as a teleport which allows Thor to move around the jungle faster and inevitably clear camps faster, secondly if you can hit an enemy god twice you will do a ton of damage to them. Tectonic Rift allows you to stun enemy gods, which can be used to set up other abilities, be it you or a teammates abilites, and can also help secure kills.

Berserker Barrage is a great source of damage and works well with Warrior's Madness since you have to be up close for it to be effective. With the recent change to this ability you are no longer immune to slows during the duration, but I imagine it won't affect him much. Anvil of Dawn is one of  the best (semi) global abilities in the game. Not only do you do damage if you land upon an enemy god, but you also stun them. You can use it to jump into a teamfight, stun everybody, and follow up with Berserker Barrage for massive damage. Or you can use it and then follow up with Tectonic Rift so your teammates can land their skillshots.

Fenrir

Unbound Runes gives Fenrir additional benefits to other abilities when he has 5 runes built up. This is one of the best passives in the game due to the extreme amount of utility gained with the other abilites. Unchained can be used for movement among the jungle and damage. At full runes this ability gains a stun which is incredibly useful for setting up other abilites and combinations. Seething Howl gives Fenrir bonus physical power and lifesteal which is great for clearing camps and healing up before a gank attempt. If you activate this ability at full runes the power and lifesteal is increased by 50% which synergizes well with Fenrir's next ability; Brutalize can be used as a short movement ability but is primarily used for it's insane damage. During this ability if Fenrir uses it on an enemy he will strike 4 times while being immune to knock ups.

Brutalize is great for clearing camps since at full runes all nearby enemies recieve 75% damage. Or if you want to focus a god you can use Seething Howl at full runes for an absolutely crazy amount of physical power and then use Brutalize to melt enemy gods. When using Ragnarok, Fenrir gains 50% movement speed and is immune to CC, and if at full runes Fenrir's protections double. During this ability Fenrir can bite enemy gods and can carry them for 2 seconds.

While this is one of the most easily counterable abilities in the game, it can also be one of the most deadly. You can do so many things with this ultimate you pretty much have to buy beads if you are against a Fenrir. You can get dragged into towers, phoenixes, into the minotaur, and if you are unfortunate enough, you can get dragged into the enemy well. Some of the smarter Fenrir players will grab a god and if their teammates are around, they will stand still so they can do damage while the person in Fenrir's mouth can't do anything against it.

Hun Batz

Infused Strikes gives Hun Batz extra basic attack damage within 5 seconds of using an ability. This can be helpful for clearing camps although it's not the greatest passive. Somersault can be used for movement in the jungle and is mostly used for an escape when you are in trouble, but can also be used to initiate over walls. Overhand Smash does tremendous damage and is great for clearing camps and harassing enemies. Sacred Monkey can also be used to clear camps, but if used correctly you can teleport to an enemy god and surprise them with a ton of follow up damage. This can also be used to close distance on gods who are narrowly escaping their death.

Fear No Evil fears enemies and makes them move directly away from the center of the totem. Enemies caught in this ability also take damage every .25 seconds which can amount to a lot at higher ranks. With careful placement this ability can be used to guide enemies in the direction you choose, whether it be to help a teammate secure a kill or land an ability. This ability wreaks havoc in team fights. Hun Batz can completely turn the tide of a fight with a well timed, and well placed ultimate.

Hercules

Last but certainly not least is the man in question, Hercules. Strength From Pain gives Hercules physical power based on a percentage of his missing health. This works really well with an item called Eye of Retalliation, which essentially does the same thing as his passive. Driving Strike pushes enemies back and does a ton of damage as well as has high scaling. The recent change to this ability is now you are guaranteed a stun as long as you hit the ability of course. This ability makes for fast camp clearing when you start to get level 4 and 5 with it. Earthbreaker does decent damage which aids in clearing camps, but what makes this ability special is that if enemy gods are caught at the end of it they will be pulled towards Hercules. Couple Earthbreaker with Driving Strike and these two abilities can put enemies out of position in a matter of seconds.

Mitigate Wounds gives Hercules health for the next 4 seconds while the damage recieved during that time is also regenerated over the next 10 seconds. This allows Hercules to walk right into the middle of teamfights pop Mitigate Wounds and use his damage abilities then walk away relatively unscathed. This also helps you stay high on health when clearing jungle camps. Excavate allows Hercules to throw a huge boulder from the ground doing utterly massive damage to any enemy that is hit. Enemies can also be hit multiple times if the boulder were to bounce off of a wall or player made wall for 50% less damage on each hit. A well placed Hercules ultimate can drop enemies from nearly full health to nothing if you get a ton of bounces like in this video (4:20).

I hope that you found everything I had to say helpful and informative. I definitely expect to see Hercules in the tournaments this weekend owning face!