Guide to jungle pathing in League of Legends Season 13

The ever-evolving jungle role in League of Legends has once again received several significant changes as of pre-season 2023. Riot Games has changed the scuttle crab and monster health and has introduced jungle pets, all of which have contributed towards altering the way the jungle role is played.

These changes have made a significant impact on jungle pathing as well. Hence, this article provides a brief guide regarding the most optimal jungle pathing for pre-season 2023 and, thereby, season 13 as well.

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One of the most significant improvements that the jungle role has received as of season 13 is that it is much more accessible to many players. It is much easier to understand the role than before. Apart from that, it is less punishing as jungle invasions have been significantly nerfed for the season.

Full details regarding jungle pathing for League of Legends season 13

One of the critical facets that differentiate the jungle role in League of Legends season 13 from the others is the associated champion pool. As of pre-season 2023, almost every champion can become a jungler.

However, League of Legends players should still be wary that just because a champion can be played as a jungler does not mean they are the most optimal option for the task. In other words, clearing speed is extraordinarily vital, and certain champions can be pretty slow.

A champion who can clear the jungle quickly will always have an advantage regarding setting up for objectives, ganking lanes, and obtaining the scuttle crab. In any case, this aspect of clearing speed will be referred to quite a few times in the upcoming sections.

Full clear

One of the most optimal routes that League of Legends players generally take when it comes to the jungle is going for a full clear. League of Legends players would often start with the raptors, proceed over the red buff, krugs, and then go all the way to wolves, blue buff, and then the gromp.

Once that is done, they would ideally try to gank a lane or try to secure the scuttle crab and go for a base. This is something that used to work very well in season 12. This will also work in season 13, but players must try to adapt to the map in the same process.

This is because the apparent speed of certain champions might become a hindrance while trying to achieve a full clear. For instance, Dr. Mundo can clear the jungle much faster when compared to a Kha'Zix. Camille can also do a full clear now, but she is not as fast as someone like Zed.

This precise speed time can lead to serious problems in League of Legends season 13. This is because the scuttle crab timer has been switched from 3:15 to 3:30. In previous patches, players would kill the scuttle crub on their way to a full clear or after.

Now that the timer for the scuttle crab has changed, this gives a lot of time to those who can clear the jungle quicker. To make it simple to understand, if Dr. Mundo is clearing the jungle by the 3:00 minute mark, then he will have around 30 seconds in hand to set up ganks or invade the enemy jungle before the scuttle crab spawns.

In the meantime, Kha'Zix, who managed to get a full clear by around 3:15 or 3:20, will not only lose the scuttle crabs but will probably lose out in a skirmish even if he takes one simply because of health and resource differences. This will lead to a significant loss for Kha'Zix.

Therefore, understanding the clearing speed of the champion is essential before an approach is made toward a full clear.

Partial clear

A good 4 camp clear option (shown on the red side) (Image via Virkayu/YouTube)

League of Legends junglers should only opt for partial clearing if they cannot get all six camps by the 3:00 minute mark. The most optimal jungle route to go for in season 13 with regards to partial clear is the 4-camp variant.

Ideally, in previous seasons, League of Legends players would go for a red buff, wolves, gromp, and blue buff. However, this might not work well this time because jungle camps are much easier to kill as of season 13.

If players decide to leave their krugs and raptors, then junglers like Dr. Mundo, who have excellent clearing speed, will invade the jungle, take the resources and then set up for the scuttle crab and then gank lanes.

Hence, when it comes to 4-camp-clear, players can try to go for a red buff, krugs, gromp, blue buff, and gank. This will mean more experience, more gold, and hence more power. Once players gank the lanes and secure the scuttle crab, they can come back and collect the raptors and wolves.

By this time, the krugs and gromp would have spawned again, which means even more experience and gold. In fact, while the 4-camp-clear sounds good, players can go for the 5-camp-clear as well.

They can start with the red buff, go for krugs, wolves, gromp, and blue buff. This will leave the raptor camp, but players can collect it later once they have set up a gank or collected the scuttle crab.

Final thoughts

Thus, after going through both methods, League of Legends players will wonder which route to follow. The simple answer here is that it will depend on the champion under consideration.

As discussed in the previous section, all champions can clear the jungle, and season 13 is the most expansive in terms of options. Players must see whether their champion can fully clear the jungle by the 3:00 minute mark.

If yes, a full clear will be the most optimal route to follow. However, if their precise speed is around 3:20 or more, then going for a partial clear will be the most beneficial in terms of effectiveness.

This is because getting ahead is excessively vital as of League of Legends season 13, and no player should be wasting time around the river with nothing else to do while waiting for the scuttle to spawn. Being active and innovative is vital as a jungle, and adapting to changes around the map while picking up on opportunities will be vital for success.

Edited by Srijan Sen