LoL Jungle Pathing Guide: Clears, Ganks & Objectives

Full Clear Route

The full clear is the standard opening path for most junglers. You kill all 6 camps before looking for a gank or objective. This gives you level 4, maximum gold, and healthy HP for your first play.

Standard 6-Camp Full Clear

1. 1.Start at the buff closest to your bot lane (usually Red Buff on blue side, Blue Buff on red side). Bot lane can give a stronger leash with two players.
2. 2.Kill the small camp adjacent to your starting buff (Krugs after Red, Gromp after Blue).
3. 3.Move to the next small camp (Raptors or Wolves).
4. 4.Take the opposite small camp (Wolves or Raptors, completing the set).
5. 5.Take the second buff (Blue or Red, whichever you did not start).
6. 6.Finish with the remaining small camp (Gromp or Krugs). You are now level 4 with both buffs.

Optimal Clear Times

• •Fast clearers (Lillia, Karthus, Udyr) — 3:05 to 3:15. These champions should full clear almost every game.
• •Medium clearers (Vi, Jarvan IV, Lee Sin) — 3:20 to 3:30. Full clear is viable but 3-camp ganking is often better.
• •Slow clearers (Elise, Rek'Sai) — 3:30+. These champions should rarely full clear and focus on early ganks instead.

3-Camp Gank Route

The 3-camp gank route sacrifices farming efficiency for early map pressure. You clear three camps to hit level 3, then immediately gank the nearest lane. This is the preferred path for early-game junglers with strong ganking tools.

Standard 3-Camp Path

1. 1.Start at the buff on the side of the map where you want to gank. If you want to gank top, start bot-side buff.
2. 2.Take the adjacent small camp.
3. 3.Take the second buff. You are now level 3 with both buffs and all basic abilities available.
4. 4.Immediately look for a gank in the nearest lane. You arrive at approximately 2:50-3:00, which is before the enemy jungler finishes their full clear.

When to 3-Camp Gank

• •Your champion has strong early ganks (Lee Sin, Elise, Rek'Sai, Jarvan IV).
• •An enemy lane is pushed up with no Flash (check in loading screen).
• •Your laner has CC that sets up your gank (Leona, Nautilus, Renekton stun).
• •The enemy jungler is a slow full-clearer who will not contest your gank.

Objective Priority

Objectives win games, not kills. Knowing when to take Dragon, Rift Herald, or Baron — and which to prioritize — is what separates good junglers from great ones.

Priority Order

1. 1.Baron Nashor (spawns at 20:00) — The single most game-changing objective. Baron buff empowers minions and enables sieging. Always prioritize Baron over Dragon after 20 minutes unless Dragon Soul is at stake.
2. 2.Dragon Soul (4th Dragon) — Dragon Soul provides a permanent team-wide buff that scales with the type. Getting Soul is often worth trading Baron for. Prioritize Soul point Dragons heavily.
3. 3.Rift Herald (spawns at 14:00) — Drops Eye of the Herald, which summons a pushing monster. Use it on the tower with the most plates remaining. Two herald charges (first at 14:00, second at 19:45) can take 2-3 towers.
4. 4.Early Dragons (1st and 2nd) — Important for Dragon Soul stacking but not worth dying for. Take them when you have bot-side priority. Do not force a Dragon when your bot lane is losing.
5. 5.Elder Dragon (spawns after Soul) — Execute threshold on all enemies. Game-ending objective. Treat like Baron in terms of setup.

The 60-second rule: start setting up for any major objective 60 seconds before it spawns. This means warding the area, pushing lanes, and positioning your team. A Dragon taken for free is always better than a Dragon fight.

Counter-Jungling

Counter-jungling means invading the enemy jungle to steal their camps, deny their XP and gold, and potentially kill them. Done correctly, it creates a massive jungle gap. Done poorly, it gets you killed and puts you further behind.

When to Counter-Jungle

• •When you see the enemy jungler on the opposite side of the map — if they are ganking top, their bot-side camps are free. Take them.
• •When you have lane priority on the side you are invading — your mid and side lane should be pushing so they can collapse if the enemy contests.
• •After killing the enemy jungler — immediately take their nearby camps. This doubles the punishment for their death.
• •When you are on a champion that wins 1v1 (Warwick, Udyr, Trundle early game) — you can invade aggressively because winning the 1v1 is likely.

Counter-Jungle Rules

1. 1.Always drop a ward in the enemy jungle when you invade. Vision of their camp timers lets you plan future invades.
2. 2.Take the large monster from a camp and leave the small ones. This delays the camp respawn and is called "griefing" the camp. However, in the current patch it is often better to full-clear the camp since the respawn timer starts when all monsters die.
3. 3.Have an escape route planned. Know where you will run if you get collapsed on — through river, through a lane, or over a wall with a mobility ability.
4. 4.Track the enemy jungler's cooldowns and items. If they just used their ultimate or are down a component item, an invade fight favors you.