Reign of Gaming

The video will be added later. It had issues when uploading therefore needs some fixing. It contains a talk about Evelyn, Skarner, Hecarim, Kha Zix, Zed, Xin Zhao, Rammus and more.

NOTICE - I just realized I made (minor) mistakes on some scores (like Vi and Udyr). When I post the video - they should be fixed up.

This is the first tier list for Season 3. The previous ones were mostly loose predictions for which junglers may be placed and whatnot. Keep in mind one very important thing - this tier list is made to reflect which junglers (in my opinion) are the best at jungling. This is list is NOT made to dictate picks nor does it heavily reflect the competitive scene.

I believe there are too many factors to consider when it comes to who is the best jungle pick. There are too many little variables to consider that could help or break a person's argument for who the best jungle pick is. Not only that, all those little things can become big things depending on how much the individual values a certain aspect. Even a jungler who is listed in this tier list as being on a lower end of it can be a much better pick for a certain team comp (or against one) than someone that's much higher. All that stuff is situational and can be interpreted differently and so on.

However, I do feel there are some things that cannot really be debated. You can't deny things like "Shen is super slow" or "Warwick jungles at basically full health" or "Amumu is mana reliant." Things like that are clear as day and you can measure them and give them values. Sure there are some things that are ultimately overlooked but that can't be helped. So in short, this tier list is a way to organize junglers according to how well they function in the jungle role (though not completely removing team pick out of the equation) and how they stack up to one another. It is also imperative that one understand what being in each tier means.

Feel free to discuss anything in the comments below. Please be civil as well. If you find any mistakes in the aspects on the table compared to the breakdowns - please let me know. I tend to overlook somethings when I'm working on a lot of things.

Tier 1 - These junglers are basically perfect and their greatest strength(s) make their few weaknesses (if any) negligible. They can have some weakness but they tend to immensely excel at their role in the game. They have few characters that can be compared to them and they are miles above those.

Tier 2 - These junglers are just shy of perfection but have more weaknesses than those above them. They are very good junglers and can often do their jobs very well. They are simply outdone by those above. They offer plenty to their team and contribute plenty to the jungle role.

Tier 3 - Some of these junglers can be very powerful but aren't the most well rounded. They either greatly excel at something but have issues in another aspect. Some of these junglers can be faster than the ones above them or gank better but they are weak in some crucial areas that make them situational picks in most cases. There is a certain risk when using these junglers either to themselves or to their team.

Tier 4 - Take the previous tier's issues and amplify them a bit and you have the junglers here. Basically put these junglers may or may not excel at something but end up not being able to override their current flaws. Even if there is some stuff they can excel in - other junglers are likely able to do the same with less effort or with balance in other aspects. The junglers in this tier border the line between situational and niche. They can be used but often times you could have done better even if a step above them wouldn't have been the highest step.

Tier 5 (not yet added) - Pretty much gimmicky through and through. Some of them can work but they're definitely nowhere near the best choices or even a decent choice. They're functional picks that offer some things that could be fun to mess around with.

The first tier list of Season 3

Tier 1 - Lee Sin, Olaf, Cho Gath, Dr. Mundo, Amumu, Skarner, Maokai, Nocturne, Shaco
Tier 2 - Trundle, Elise, Jarvan, Hecarim, Malphite, Xin Zhao, Diana, Shen, Riven
Tier 3 - Vi, Nunu, Zed, Rengar, Darius, Nautilus, Kayle, Fiddlesticks, Kha Zix, Udyr
Tier 4 - Shyvana, Master Yi, Gangplank, Jax, Rammus, Warwick, Tryndamere, Sejuani, Pantheon, Leona, Volibear

Not yet ranked - Thresh, Karthus, Alistar, Evelyn, Singed, Wukong, Nasus, Poppy, Blitzcrank, Yorick, Fizz

Gangplank

Speed C+ - Gangplank hasn't been fast in a long time but at least the jungle changes made him slightly faster. He does get much faster later but that's after quite some time has passed.

Resilience C - Gangplank's score is largely sunk by the fact that he really needs gold. He's not very fast or very sustained and the jungle will scale to a point where it starts hurting him if he was put behind. Suffice to say his gold lust is amplified by these struggles.

Build B+ - Admittedly, Gangplanks has a crapload of potential builds he can work towards including support builds. The problem is that a support build tends to be lack luster on him and his "optimal" builds cost way too much. That's pretty much it - expensive builds.

Sustain C+ - No health sustain (his W doesn't count) and he can burn though his mana really quickly in the first clears. His health issues can be solved with items but we all know that detracts from his score. Building a wriggles is also seen as a gold dump on him as well and he requires a lot of gold. His pacing gets better but again that's with items.

Ganking C+/S - His pre 6 ganking is very much comparable to that of Nunu except with a weaker slow (till he stabs the target a few times) and with higher damage. It's a very average ganking method. Then he gains his global and can enact global pressure. Yeah it's random as hell but at least it gives him some form of presence. Having a global ganking tool bolsters his score plenty.

Dueling B+ - He really hurts. He has one chance to undue some form of crowd control (which some duelists need to win duels) and deals a crapton of damage thanks to the boost from his E and his passive. He's a fragile duelist and can be outmaneuvered but he's one of those duelists that you need to know if you can beat him beforehand or else you'll let him stack his passive and perhaps destroy you.

Invasion C+ - He's rather slow and unsustained though he can outduel a good amount of junglers. Nothing much to say here.

M. Transition C+ - Unless he got fed (and sometimes even) Gangplank will not have the gold to do much except provide some weak support. He could become the aura carrier for his team but that would be much less effective than other junglers. Simply put - he likely doesn't have the gold at this point to compare to the other characters in the game.

L. Transition A - Hopefully at this point he does have gold. He can work as a semi carry at this point with some light damage items and a some utility. That's not that bad and if the game continues to drag on (or he gets filthy rich) he can become a killing machine.

Shaco

Speed B+ - He's on the faster side but not by much. You aren't really going to be focusing on farming the jungle with Shaco though.

Resilience D+ - It's pretty much agreed on that a Shaco that gets shut down early gets shut down hard. He's a gamble as a pick but skilled players will pull plenty of tricks to avoid this happening.

Build D - I don't give credit to Shaco for having many builds. I think he only has one build route (damage) and very few and strict options towards going for it. It isn't necessarily a problem given the character though. He is rather gold reliant and needs that murder gold.

Sustain A - As much as it's hard to accept, Shaco's terrible sustain was rectified by the new aggro system in the jungle. Shaco's box will take all the beating while Shaco kills the only threatening monster in the camp effectively reducing tons of damage. Shaco doesn't need to burn a lot of mana to clear either. That's the gist of it but it's a big deal. He'll have plenty of potions to heal himself if he ever actually does get hurt.

Ganking S+ - Stealth is a broken mechanic. Throw a blink on top of that and now you're just stepping on the broken shards. Give the character with that ability a slow and you're just setting the glass dust shards on fire. Give that character high damage as well and you just threw a drum of gasoline onto the flames. Then give that character an AoE fear stealthed trap and now you're just being an ass. Shaco just has so many tools, many of which allow him to punish players who aren't really doing anythign wrong, its downright stupid. He has access to all sorts of ganks and even haphazard ganks work for him. Stealth is just so toxic. That said, Shaco is one of the runners for best ganker in the game.

Dueling A - He can beat anyone in a duel...if he jumps them. He's one of those types of duelists that prefers to fight dirty. However, it is not to say he can't simply outmaneuver plenty of the jungle cast without much effort. He's all about outmaneuvering his opponents in duels. The reason he loses out on an S is because he's equally as easy to murder. He's an escape artist but one wrong move (or if he's just ambushed) means he dies a quick and grizzly death. The S duelists can slaughter him if he's not careful - everyone else just gets trolled.

Invasion S+ - Those god damn boxes. He can steal anything because of how sneaky he is and how he can easily transition from a camp steal into an ambush by laying the proper boxes. Basically put, especially early, a lot of junglers get annoyed to no end and can't track Shaco. He is able to outmaneuver basically the entire cast. He'll steal your camp, run if you're coming or stab at you and then run. He'll set up an ambush somewhere else and continue the harassment yet you still can't get him. He's a headache to deal with.

Transition C - I just gave him the average score. I mean we all know he sinks or swims if he gets blood. At the very most he can split push so he stayed at a C rank there. He's all about dominating early otherwise he has a crappy transition. Nothing much to say here. If he gets super fed he dominates.

Table of Contents

Part 1 - Aspect Breakdown, Jarvan, Amumu

Part 2 - Lee Sin, Zed, Hecarim, Tryndamere, Nautilus

Part 3 - Xin Zhao, Rammus, Master Yi, Vi, Kha`Zix

Part 4 - Riven, Jax, Darius, Leona, Pantheon

Part 5 - Kayle, Olaf, Fiddlesticks, Nocturne, Diana

Part 6 - Trundle, Udyr, Nunu, Dr. Mundo, Volibear

Part 7 - Elise, Malphite, Skarner, Maokai, Shen

Part 8 - Cho`Gath, Shyvana, Rengar, Warwick, Sejuani

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