Riot Wants To Turn These 5 Champions Into Junglers In 10.3, And It May Not Be A Bad Thing

With the controversy surrounding the latest round of Akali nerfs (and hotfix buffs less than 24 hours later), Aphelios’ strength and nebulous skill animations, and the oppressiveness of top lane Soraka, Riot has had their hands full lately with balance issues. 

On February 7, lead gameplay designer Mark “Scruffy” Yetter entered a new Quick Gameplay Thoughts blogpost to the official League of Legends forums. He made sure to address the elephants, and bananas, in the room, but also revealed some unorthodox changes coming to the jungle role. 

In an effort to remedy low elo players’ inherent aversion to the jungle position, Riot plans to give buffs to five different champions that will make them better suited for the role. While some of these champs are no stranger to the jungle, the majority of the list will come as a surprise for most. 

• Diana.
• Darius.
• Garen.
• Zed.
• Talon.

These champions are traditionally solo laners, but Riot will be adding power to their kit that will specifically help them clear jungle camps more effectively. The goal is that whatever adjustments are made won’t have a significant effect on the champions’ laning phase. 

Since Diana’s mini-rework on patch 9.24, she’s seen a decent amount of presence within the jungle already. Her newfound mobility with her E, Lunar Rush, has turned her into an effortless roamer. Talon’s E, Assassin’s Path, and Zed’s W, Living Shadow, are both excellent tools for getting across the map quickly and discreetly. It may be odd to see the assassins included in this list, but they could benefit greatly from the change of pace depending on the numbers. 

Garen and Darius don’t have as much mobility built into their kits, but with the help of runes like Predator and Fleet Footwork, they’ll be able to quickly bounce from lane to lane. Once these juggernauts are able to get on top of an enemy, they’re nearly impossible to shake off alone. 

As of now, the changes are set to hit live server in 10.4, but according to Scruffy, it’s possible that not every champion on the list will make the cut. Keep your eyes peeled PBE updates if you’re itching to give the changes a shot. 

Image via Riot Games