The jungle is the position that decides the pace of the game. The jungler chooses where he goes, when he shows up and what objective he takes: the other four players adapt their game to these choices. This guide covers the farming path and objectives; The jungler position guide details heroes and builds.
Timings to know by heart
All the timings below come from the wiki pages that objective timer cites and dates. They can change with a patch: in case of doubt, the timer takes precedence.
- Orange Buff: Appears at 0:20, returns 90 seconds after death.
- Purple buff: appears at 0:25, also returns 90 seconds after death.
- Effect of buffs: 75 seconds on the hero who wears them.
- Turtle: first appearance at 2:00 sharp, near the exp lane. It returns two minutes after its death, but a Turtle killed after 6:00 no longer returns.
- Lord: he appears two minutes after the last Turtle. A Turtle still alive at 8:00 becomes Lord on the spot.
The map guide places each camp and recalls what it brings.
The first route
The starting path has one goal: to reach level 4, and therefore the ultimate, as quickly as possible, with the two buffs, before the Turtle appears. The most common path starts with the buff that corresponds to the hero (orange for heroes who hit with basic attack, purple for those who live off their skills), chain together small nearby camps, then take the other buff.
A few rules apply whatever the path:
- finish each camp: a small camp left halfway means lost experience and a delayed return time;
- secure the little Crab when he is on your way: his gold buff remains profitable at the start of the game;
- do not start on the side where your lane is weakest if the opponent has an invading roamer: you risk losing your first buff.
The most important moment of the game comes right after: at 2:00, the Turtle appears, and the jungler who finished his way at 1:55 near the river almost always takes it.
The Turtle: the early game objective
The Turtle brings gold and experience to the whole team, plus a shield. Three Turtles in a row for a single team makes a gold gap difficult to make up for at the start of the game, without a single kill having taken place.
Before you start, ask yourself three questions:
- Where is the opposing jungler? If he has just appeared on the other side of the map, the Turtle is yours.
- Has my nearby lane pushed? The exp lane and roamer should be able to join within seconds.
- Do I have my Retribution? Without it, any opposing jungler can steal the objective at the last moment.
If the answer to the first question is "I don't know", take the Turtle with the team around you, or wait. One stolen Turtle is worth two lost Turtles.
The Lord: the objective that ends games
The Lord pushes the opponent's weaker lane with your team and strengthens your next wave. It is the objective that breaks down the inhibitors.
- Never start it without knowing where at least three opponents are. A Lord is taken slowly, and a team that arrives right in the middle almost always wins the fight.
- The best moment is just after a won fight: two or three opponents dead, and the Lord is safe.
- A Lord does not replace a wave: send him to the lane where your minions are already pushed, so that he arrives with them.
Retribution, and the duel of objectives
Retribution deals large fixed damage to a monster. The jungler who casts it first, at the right time, takes the objective. The right time is when the HP of the Turtle or the Lord fall under the damage of the spell, and not a second before.
Two reflexes to work on:
- count your team's damage: a monster that descends quickly can pass below the threshold between two attacks;
- don't cast Retribution on a camp right before an objective: it recharges in a little over half a minute, and that's exactly how long the opponent can attempt the steal.
Retribution timing training works precisely on this reflex, on the real HP of each objective.
After the objectives: buff control
Once the Turtle is taken, the jungler returns to his buffs, then to those of the opponent if the map allows it. Stealing an opposing buff not only rewards the effect: it delays their jungler by 90 seconds. Note the time at which you see an opposing buff die, or use the objective timer: you will know when it returns.
The most common mistakes
- Farm your jungle while the teamfights for the Turtle: the jungler is the only one with Retribution.
- Starting an objective without vision, hoping to go quickly: this is the favorite scenario of the opposing jungler.
- Waste Retribution to finish off a hero or small camp when an objective arrives.
- Take the Lord when the allied wave is under your own turret: he will push alone, and the opponent will defend him without difficulty.