Assassin junglers still hold a certain position, not to mention the sturdy names that interact well with damage items (Udyr, Graves). However, in the upcoming patch 11.4, Riot Games, with the familiar goal of “creating a balanced game,” will not let this continue.
“Tanks” in the jungle will make a comeback. But specifically, how will that happen?
Jungle monsters will be significantly nerfed
In the upcoming patch 11.4, all jungle monsters will be “touched” by Riot: The Spirit Toad (experience reduced from 135/138.375/145.125/155.25/168.75/182.25 (levels 1/3/4/5/7/9) down to 125/128.125/134.375/143.75/156.25/168.75 (levels 1/3/4/5/7/9)) as well as the Great Stone Golem and the Mutant Bird will share the same fate.
Besides the experience, the gold earned from these camps will also decrease (Spirit Toad from 105 to 85, Great Stone Golem from 42 to 32, Mutant Bird from 45 to 35). This means that assassin junglers will take longer to reach their power spikes compared to before.
Playstyle favors sturdier champions
Knowing that champions like Nidalee or Lillia are still widely used, although these champions, if considered too sturdy, aren’t necessarily so. Nidalee has a relatively mobile skill set to escape, but Lillia, if caught in a combo, has a very low chance of survival. Moreover, if using Lillia, most professional players will build at least one item to help her survive longer in fights, which means taking up an additional item slot.
The playstyle in the VCS specifically and most major regions generally at this time prioritizes reliability across all lanes and objective control. Therefore, the assassin jungler position will have less room to operate as they will encounter either strong tanks or champions that are both mobile and well-protected by sturdy Supports in almost every lane.
Once roaming ganks are ineffective, the jungler’s role will only be useful if they can survive longer in fights and become a source of crowd control or an additional “shield” for the entire team.
Jungle champions no longer need to carry damage
In Season 10 and the Pre-Season 2021 phase, the most favored jungler was Graves. The reason this champion was used so much is simply that Graves can become a second Marksman in the team. The advantage of a Marksman jungler is that if you ensure sufficient vision and effective ganks, you can easily reach your power spike without much hindrance from the opponents.
However, as mentioned above, the nerfs to jungle camps significantly reduce the “gold-to-damage” conversion for these champions. At that point, it will be more useful to have a tanky champion instead of one that needs to wait longer to reach sufficient power, especially when the opponent is inclined to force continuous fights.
According to former LCK commentator, now T1 streamer, Nick “LS” De Cesare, the nerf to jungle camps and the new meta favoring sturdier champions will bring back champions that have “sunk into obscurity” like Sejuani, Zac, and Rammus. And it is clear that, even though patch 11.4 has not yet been applied, sturdy champions like Hecarim and Skarner have already appeared in some professional matches.