League of Legends

There are a ton of different build paths for junglers in League of Legends and these are all dependent on the type of jungler you’re playing. For example, if you’re playing an AD bruiser jungler, it’s likely that you’ll build some type of offensive item early but start building defensive mid to late game to remain relevant. Whereas, if you’re playing someone like a carry jungler, you’re probably going to be going for as much damage as possible. In this article, we’ll be looking at what items to build on who. Not every champion's item build will be covered and, remember, these item builds are not stagnant. These are just general builds that to try out but they’re all open for change.

Ad Bruiser

Examples include Lee Sin, Pantheon, Wukong, Jarvan, and Vi.

So how this build basically works is, you build initial damage (in the form of the Warrior enchantment + some type of damage item) and then build tank afterwards. So here, we go Warrior + Hexdrinker (sit on the Hexdrinker and upgrade to Maw later), and then build into full tank. The second damage item can change. For example, on Pantheon you may prefer to build armor penetration (e.g. Last Whisper) and on Wukong, you may want Black Cleaver. On Vi, Trinity Force or Black Clever may be preferable. Hexdrinker is mainly if you’re against an AP heavy team. Similarly, the defensive items in this build are designed for a more AD heavy team. You can swap up on the itemization depending on the team comp you’re against.

Full AD

Examples include Rengar and Kha’Zix but many of the AD Bruiser junglers can build full AD as well.

This build can sharply vary depending on the champion you’re playing. The basic concept is the same, though. In general, you’ll want to build full damage (damage items change depending on the champion that you’re playing) but want to have one defensive item so you don’t get popped in the late game. Rengar, for example, may prefer less defensive items and more damage (e.g. Infinity Edge instead of Maw and Phantom Dancer instead of Guardian Angel).

Cinderhulk

Examples include Skarner, Gragas, Rek’Sai, Sejuani, and Ekko.

For the most part, these builds are fairly straightforward. In general, you just want to build as tanky as possible to be the frontline that your team needs. In some cases, you may want to itemize differently (e.g. Rek’Sai doesn’t want to build Frozen Heart because it provides mana or Skarner may prefer building a Black Cleaver for the movement speed). If you’re ahead, you can itemize for a bit more damage but, for the most part, you just want to be as tanky as possible.

AP Bruiser

Examples include Amumu, Ekko, Elise, and Evelynn.

In this build, you get some basic AP (in the form of Runeglaive + Abyssal), some penetration (Sorcerer Boots), and then build full tank for survivability in mid/late game teamfights. Some of the champions here are interchangeable with the Cinderhulk list as well as the full AP list. Like the other builds, these items can change on a game per game basis. You may want more MR if you’re against a full AP team or you may not build Locket because your support wanted to build it instead.

Full AP

Examples include Ekko, Elise, Evelynn, Nidalee.

Before we go into this one, the build listed above is mainly for Nidalee and Ekko. Rod of Ages is an item that gives pseudo tankiness and is a common item to build on Nidalee. It is also nice on Ekko as well. However, you can forego it for another item instead (e.g. Nidalee may sometimes opt for Tear and Ekko may opt for a Luden’s Echo for more damage). For Elise and Evelynn, they prefer a bit more of penetration. On Elise, a common buildpath is something such as Runeglaive > Sorcerer Boots > Liandry’s Torment > Rylais > Zhonyas > Abyssal. On Evelynn, you may want to go something like Runeglaive > Sorcerer Boots > Luden’s Echo > Rylais > Abyssal > Zhonyas. Overall though, you can summarize this build as going as much AP damage as possible with your main defensive items being Abyssal/Zhonyas.

Devourer

Examples include Shyvana, Udyr, Xin Zhao.

The idea behind this build is fairly simple. You want to stay alive as long as possible while being able to auto attack the enemy team. The build, similar to other builds, may change depending on the champion that you are playing or the team that you’re against, but the concept is the same. You get Devourer + one on-hit damage item, and then build tanky afterwards. Udyr may prefer Trinity Force instead of Blade.

Other champions that use Devourer include Master Yi and Kayle. They itemize slightly differently. For Yi, you build full damage (e.g. Devourer > Berserker Greaves > Blade > Ghostblade > Last Whisper > Infinity Edge). For Kayle, you build Devourer > Nashor's, into full AP.

Thanks for reading! Hopefully this article helped you understand basic jungle itemization!

Tem Barak