If you play Jungle, you’re familiar with the many champions that can excel in this role. Each champion has their own preferred runes and unique strengths. However, there are a few runes that are generally considered strong for most jungle champions.
The best runes for Junglers include Fleet Footwork, Predator, Zombie Ward, Relentless Hunter, Nimbus Cloak, Waterwalking, Cosmic Insight, Celerity, Legend: Alacrity, Future’s Market, Conditioning, Hexflash, Ghost Poro, and Absolute Focus.
These runes offer value regardless of the specific champion you’re playing. They can be used on most champions and provide benefits as long as you’re playing the role effectively. Let’s take a closer look at these runes and why they’re suited for junglers.
Best Keystones for Junglers
Fleet Footwork: This keystone is commonly used by junglers who struggle with their health during jungle clears. Unlike other keystone options, Fleet Footwork provides healing while attacking jungle monsters, helping you maintain your health during clears. It also grants movement speed for better kiting. This keystone works well on champions like Graves.
Predator: Predator has long been the go-to ganking rune. It allows for faster movement speed when activated, making it easier to catch up to opponents for ganks. This rune is especially useful for off-meta junglers like Skarner, Singed, and Morgana.
Best Runes for Junglers
Legend: Alacrity: This rune provides increased attack speed as you stack it, allowing for faster jungle clears. It’s preferred by many jungle champions who take Precision as their primary tree.
Zombie Ward: Junglers often clear wards using Oracle Lens. Zombie Ward allows you to claim enemy wards, gaining vision for yourself and providing bonus adaptive power. This rune pairs well with Umbral Glaive and is popular among junglers who go for the Domination tree.
Ghost Poro: Though not as popular as Zombie Ward, Ghost Poro offers vision in an area even after the ward expires. It’s best utilized by placing wards where enemies are likely to walk over the ghost poro and stack it quickly.
Relentless Hunter: This rune is great for junglers who need to move around the map frequently for ganks. It grants increased movement speed, making it easier to make plays all over the map. It’s commonly chosen by junglers who take the Predator rune.
Nimbus Cloak: While Nimbus Cloak has been nerfed, it’s still a valuable rune for junglers. It provides a burst of movement speed when a summoner spell is used, making it useful for closing the gap during ganks.
Celerity: Another movement speed rune, Celerity synergizes well with other movement speed runes and abilities that provide movement speed. It’s a good choice for junglers who rely on movement speed.
Absolute Focus: This rune provides bonus AD or AP based on your health percentage. In the jungle, where you’re less likely to be poked or engage in extended trades, this rune can help with clearing and ganking.
Waterwalking: Waterwalking is a rune made for junglers, providing movement speed and AD/AP while in the river. It’s especially useful for early skirmishes and contesting scuttle crab.
Conditioning: While laners often take defensive runes, junglers can opt for Conditioning, which provides scaling armor and magic resist. It’s a good choice for tank or bruiser junglers looking to become frontline champions.
Hexflash: Hexflash allows you to cross walls and unexpected obstacles. It’s a great rune for ganking and even stealing objectives, providing a sudden gap closer. Combined with Nimbus Cloak, it can catch enemies off guard.
Future’s Market: Efficiency is crucial in the jungle, and Future’s Market helps you reach item breakpoints earlier. It allows you to borrow gold to purchase items, giving you a small advantage over the enemy jungler.
Cosmic Insight: This rune reduces summoner spell and item cooldowns, which are important for junglers. It helps you finish your jungle item faster and use key items more frequently during ganks.
General Rune Pages
While your rune page choice will depend on your champion and team composition, here are a few general rune pages you can’t go wrong with:
Tank Champion: This rune page is suited for tank champions in the jungle. It emphasizes defensive runes to help you survive during clears and team fights.
Bruiser/Fighter: This rune page is designed for bruiser and fighter junglers. It provides a balance between offensive and defensive runes, allowing you to deal damage while remaining durable.
Stronger Ganking: This rune page is focused on enhancing your ganking potential. It includes runes that provide movement speed, cooldown reduction, and burst damage for successful ganks.
Better Sustain: This rune page prioritizes sustain in the jungle. It includes runes that help you stay healthy during clears and recover health quickly.
Conclusion
The jungle role offers a wide range of rune options that cater to different champions and playstyles. It’s important to choose runes that complement your champion and address the specific challenges you’ll face. The runes mentioned in this article are generally strong choices for junglers. Remember to adjust your rune pages based on the champions you’ll be facing and the needs of your team.