League of Legends Playing Macro as Jungler Guide

by Thresho_Ni

Many people who are playing high ELO ranked games probably didn’t even think about most of the aspects on this list so here I am. I will make a list of things you probably didn’t know or never did before and what it will do is improve your self-consciousness about LoL and your overall performance.

Don’t expect this post to be “5 quick tips on how to rank up fast” because I want to focus on how to be a better player, and hitting a rank is an only transitional process.

Those are things that most of the challenger players and pro’s focus on.

JUNGLER ROLE:

JUNGLE TRACKING

JUNGLE TRACKING FROM LVL 1 Before the game, you should think about the route of the enemy jungler and inform the team about possible wards on LVL 1 that allow you to track him, e.g. I know that he will want a crab so you can yellow trinket on two crabs, ward directly on the buff if we do not know from which begins, ward on raptors After the times of the arrival of opposing laners on the line, try to determine if they helped at a specific camp During each route you should think about how to make the vision to increase the chance of finding enemy jungler without losing your route effectiveness In practice, the ward on the opponent’s camps before he does them almost always gives information, so it is worth communicating about the vision on his raptors / blue / gromp on lvl 1 and the next resets The difficulty is knowing each jungle route in the context of the prio you and your opponent have – it’s an art to predict exactly what the enemy jungler will do.

• RESET = PLAN

AT EVERY RESET

I need a plan for the next route and where I want to visualize at the route. Things to consider

Which line will I want to do actions on? Does he want top2bot or bot2top

Does he want to enter the opponent’s jungle to solo him or make a vision? Do my lines have a prio to do this

Which my camps are up or available – I can’t be behind the farm for no reason

Where can I put a vision

At which line I can easily make a gank (because there are no summoners or we have a lot of CC + DMG)

A huge difficulty because it is a whole jungler game – interpretation and plan despite many variables

• WHERE AM I

PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT WHICH LINES IM NEAR TO If it’s on the lower river I say mid / bot can play over aggro when it’s on the upper river I say mid / top can play over aggro This way I force favorable trade for my laners in one sentence

• MAP CUT

WHAT ABOUT THE VERTICAL JUNGLE

Do we or our opponents want a vertical jungle? Do we have a site that we VERY want to play?

Do we have a good lvl1 team comp to enforce?

• WHAT ABOUT WAVE AFTER THE GANK

ASK AFTER EACH GANK WHAT TO DO WITH WAVE

Every time you visit a given line, ask laner what to do with the line – push, leave or freeze

• PLAN FOR THE FIRST ROUTE

MAKE MY PLAN FOR THE FIRST ROUTE What do my character and the character of the enemy do? A random set of plans for the first route: 1. I have stronger lines (prio) and I want to invade the opponent’s second buff or play two crabs – I need to have a vision for lvl 1 or be sure of his route 2. I have a stronger lvl 1 and want to invade on the first buff and potentially go into triple buff 3. I or my opponent want to VERY play under top or mid so I can force vertical jungle all my route to be on this side 4. I want “power farming” so I have a defensive vision and go from top to bottom 5. I have a super lvl 2 gank on some line so I can do singlebuff-> gank 6. I have great ganks on a particular line so I set a route (top2bot, bot2top) to that line 7. I want to remain “ignorant “and” unpredictable “in the forest although the opponent has a good vision of lvl1 so I can start then NOT with a buff but with a normal camp 8. If I know that the opponent has a strong side and will want to invade me after the first buff, it is worth starting the jungle from that side so that he cannot find any camps there during his invade Choosing the right option and doing it according to plan is the whole art in the forest

• INFO ABOUT THE FIRST ROUTE

WHEN I GO TO ANY CAMP IN EARLY GAME I CAN SPING ON MY WAY

“I’m going gromp and then lower crab, can you take prio mid” If we learn to automatically ping our next camp, we’ll learn to inform the team about it

By the way, it helps our team play with us

• WHICH CAMP BEFORE PLAY

IN MID GAME WHEN MY TEAM HAS SET FOR NEXT OBJECTIVE, TELL YOUR ROUTE

When in mid-game, as a team, we plan objective on the map (e.g. we want to play swap duo on top and take t1 top), then I should synchronize with the team

If I have camps bot side to do, I inform the team that I have to do them and I will be topside only in 40 sec OR enemy camps are up in the topside so I have to go there with support and take them OR I can go right away because I do not have camps to do and I have free time

• USE OF HERALD

WHEN I HAVE A HERALD AND I WANT TO PLAY IT ON THE TOWER

We should first break as many plates as possible (preferably 2+ plats destroyed) BEFORE I play the herald

The turret has more and more resists with fewer plates and the herald has true damage so it is more effective than

• HELP FOR THE DRAGON / HERALD

ALMOST ALWAYS BETTER FEW PERSONS TO MAKE THE DRAGON / HERALD THAN YOURSELF

I shouldn’t waste a lot of time doing a dragon/herald by myself when I want to make a dragon/herald then I call my teammates if they need help pushing the / prio line then better help them

It is always more effective and safer, and we do not lose pressure on it, if we have an advantage in vision, help us push the lines, the opponent theoretically does not know whether we are going to the dragon or just another line / we are entering the jungle

The only problem is that it is easier for the opponent to make a cross-map because he may not know if we are doing a dragon or something else, but he knows what part of the map we are in, then the most important thing is to inform the other side of the map that there is a weak side

• LVL 1 CHEESE

COOL CHEESE LVL1 WHEN WE ARE BLUE SIDE

When we have stronger 2v2 @ top + jungle duo, we can make two invades on enemy red, go through top tri bush and hide next to red (put a trinket on the roadstead)

When the opponent starts the red, then we run at him

• GANK SETUP

COMMUNICATE HOW MY GANK WILL LOOK LIKE

First I will give a stun and then you will extend it so that he cannot use flash

When I know that I will go to the gank, before it happens I have to communicate with my laner how it will look like

The worst thing I can do is walk up without saying anything and then be surprised that the gank didn’t come out

Gank without information is like changing lanes on the street without a signpost

• ASK FOR PRIO

ASK FOR PRIO IN ADVANCE

In a minute I want to go to his red, can you have top and mid prio then?

When I plan my steps in the jungle, I have to say what I need from my laners

If they cannot get the prio needed for my plans, I can always come to them and get the prio together

If, however, it is impossible to take the prio then I can avoid the wrong invade / camp

The difficulty lies in the situational nature of the game state and lane matchups

• HOW TO PLAY PRESSURE WITH JUNGLE (FOG OR VISION)

ON THIS MAP, WHAT IS BETTER? KNOW WHERE IS YOUR OPPONENT OR BE HIDDEN

I play Nocturnem so the most important thing is that I farm as much as I can and that the opponent never saw me in my jungle, thanks to which I have ulti pressure on each line

It is worth considering what is better on a given map: should I aggressively enter the opponent’s jungle and look for him because I am strong 1v1 and his character loses a lot if we see her?

Is it worth it that I am “undetectable” for the enemy, I rarely enter the river and put pinks at the entrance to my jungle

• PINK IN BARON/HERALD PIT

WHEN I WANT TO DO A SNEAKY DRAKE, I MUST HAVE A PINK

I throw a pin to the pita because they can have a trinket there through the wall put up. When I want to do a sneaky drake, it is worth placing the pin directly in the pit

• SETUP MID GANK (DASH)

MID GANKS BEFORE DASH TO UPPER / BOTTOM BUSH

I’ll do a lee sin dash to the ward in the bush where we have pink. Sometimes when we have a character that has a frequent dash eg lee / Gragas this is one of the easiest ganks that requires a very small vision setup

It is enough for the midlaner to put one pink through the wall into this bush and for the enemy not to have a ward near our tower

• PULLING CRAB

WHEN I MAKE A CRABA IN EARLY GAME, I MAKE HIM TO GO WHERE I HAVE A PRIO

I am pushing the crab towards the top be ready to come down to me. When we make the crab in the early game it is worth getting it to the path towards the line where we have the prio if we expect that there will be a fight for it

• VISION PLANT (AS JUNGLER)

USE VISION PLANT BEFORE I GO TO THE LINE AND I EXPECT A VISION

I go lower-mid so I show their wards. When I go to a line and I expect that the opponent has a vision there, it is better to use a flower first and then put a pin

It’s just a second longer pathing and the profit is disproportionate

• WHICH LANE IS EARLY

PLAY AROUND THE LINE WITH GOOD GANK POTENTIAL AND THOSE WHICH BURN SUMMONER SPELLS

Any of the lines burned a flash? Someone is playing an immobile character? On a given line, the characters in your party can easily prepare a gank? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, chances are you want to look for a gank on that line and play around that line.

• PLAYING AROUND SLOW PUSH

USE SLOW PUSH. PLAY AROUND SLOW PUSH

Large, stacked waves are usually a problem for the opponent. When playing Jungle, you should look for dives on them, collect plates, go down to the opponent’s jungle, take dragons, etc. Dive on a high wave is always safer for you, and if it ends with killing the enemy, he will lose all minions that will crash into a turret. If you want to take a dragon during a slow push, the opponent will always be forced to make a decision – he picks up a dragon or I catch a wave crashing against my turret

• JUNGLER COMMUNICATION

CONSTANTLY AND CONSCIOUSLY PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE TEAM Communicate with the lines and stay informed about your position, plan, and what is happening on the map. Communicate your position, what you need to do for your plan to succeed, and what your opponents may be doing. Tell me when you are on the river, inform the lines if they are strongside or weak side. Providing the plan when leaving the base is not enough, make sure that you are all on the same side and think the same at the moment in the game.

• A VISION FROM A JUNGLER

IN YOUR JUNGLE PATH ALWAYS TAKE TIME TO MAKE A VISION

Depending on the situation, defensive or aggressive. Find a balance between creating visions and doing camps.

• WHAT I NEED

BASED ON MATCHUP AND GAME CONDITION, SPEAK ABOUT YOUR NEEDS IN THE JUNGLE

Find the balance between individual and team play. Communication Quest – As a jungler, you should exchange as much information as possible with your team. For example, if you are planning a herald swap, and you still have two camps in the lower jungle to do, which will allow you to finish lvl 6 and give you much better base purchases, if possible, suggest a swap on the next wave. On the other hand, if you see your team want to swap heraldry and you can see that you can skim camps for better team pace, you should do so. The whole difficulty lies in the compromise between individual and team goals.

• TAKE UP OF THE RIVER FROM MID / SIDE

FROM WHICH LINE TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE RIVER

In most cases, it is optimal to do prio on the river from the MID – but in some cases (eg losing 2v2 on the mid/big slow push on the side / winning heavily sideline) you have to do it from the side.

• SYNCHRONIZE RESET WITH MID / SUP

FIRST / SECOND RESET SYNCHRO WITH MID / SUP

Synchronized Jungler reset with a Midlaner (or support) often makes it easier to take control of the river (besides most of the time) – the first JNG and MID resets are their small power spike, which often coincides with the lvl6 midlaner and allow you to take control of the river.

INDEPENDENT OF ROLE:

• TIMING SUMMONERS
• WAVE MANAGEMENT
• PING OPPONENT’S WARDS
• TIME OPPONENT’S WARDS IN EARLY GAME
• FAKE WARDING (entering fog of war to make enemies think you warded somewhere)
• FAKE ROAM (same as in fake warding)
• CONTROLLING ENEMY CONTROL WARDS (checking if the enemy has bought a control ward and then think where he could put it if he comes back without it)
• MATCHUP LIST (make yourself a list of matchups you have played, how did you do, prons and cons, tips, then it will be easier for you to play those matchups)
• INFO ABOUT MATCHUP AFTER DRAFT (in the loading screen and every free time between games, think what’s your game plan, when the enemy has power spike when you have power spike, what is our win condition, etc)
• CONTROL WARDS > POTS IN MID-GAME (self-explanatory)
• BUY CONTROL WARDS (every recall you should leave the base with at least one control ward unless you don’t have any space in your backpack)
• TRINKET CHANGE (dependent on role change your wards to Oracle or Farsight)
• USING YOUR PRIO (Think if you can step off the line and put pressure on other lines or go gank/dive)
• CONSCIOUS VISION DEPENDING ON THE MAP
• MAKE YOURSELF A TIER LIST (simply make a tier list of your champion pool, your favorite champs, what are their good and bad matchups, etc)
• INFO ABOUT POWER SPIKES (when my champ is significantly stronger than other, which item or level gives is an advantage above others)
• TIMING RESET BEFORE OBJECTIVE (you should avoid situations where your team couldn’t set up an objective because you didn’t time your reset right and couldn’t compete for 4v5 fight)
• MAKE PRIO BEFORE OBJECTIVE (if you want to take baron/drake/herald make sure you have prio on your lane so if enemies decide to compete, no matter if they win or lose the fight, they gonna lose some gold and exp that’s in creeps or jungle camps)
• PLANNING YOUR FIRST WARD (You have to predict the route of the opposite jungler – if you know there may be a level 2 gank then place a trinket but if there is no such basis then put up later. If you are sure about LVL 2 to gank, you can even put a trinket before the ones appear so that it will renew faster then or change it to Oracle)
• VISION PLANT (Learn how to use vision plant to show important places but not to see on the lines that I used it)
• ANALYSE IDOL’S GAME (Humanoid in conversation with Veggie – “I did the biggest improvement on the line as I started watching Faker stream and giving a pause every 5 seconds and I was wondering what he was doing and why. It is worth choosing 2-3 players at a world level who play in the style we would like to play and model on them. My development as a player is 80% playing soloq / scrims and 20% watching others and analyzing outside the game”)
• DON’T BE SCARED OF USING YOUR ULTIMATE (my ult cooldown is a useable resource. I’m throwing Varus ult to burn him a flash. We shouldn’t keep our Ulti, especially if it gives CC)