Remember when we thought we knew who the best junglers were? Yeah, about that — the jungle meta laughed, flipped the table, and set the Rift on fire. Champions we trusted fell off, weird picks climbed the ladder, and patch notes felt like rollercoaster rides without seatbelts. So, the Blix team did what had to be done: we scrapped the old list, dug through the madness, and built a new top 10 that actually makes sense in 2025. You’re welcome.
Contents
- 1 Highlights
- 2 Best Junglers 2025 List
- 3 What Changed In Jungle
- 4 How to Choose the Best Jungler for the Fight
- 5 Nocturne – The Eternal Nightmare
- 6 Viego – The Ruined King
- 7 Kha’Zix – The Voidreaver
- 8 Wukong – The Monkey King
- 9 Lee Sin – The Blind Monk
- 10 Skarner – The Crystal Vanguard
- 11 Udyr – The Spirit Walker
- 12 Briar – The Restrained Hunger
- 13 Fiddlesticks – The Ancient Fear
- 14 Elise – The Spider Queen
- 15 Jungle Play: 5 Quick FAQs
Highlights
- List of the ten best lungler-Champions as for 2025
- For every: what makes him top and how to use him best
- Rates, who to combine with, who to avoid and who’ll be east prey
- Explanations on how changes in meta affected junglers
- And what to look at, choosing yourself a jungler
- Additional: 5-point FAQ about jungling
Best Junglers 2025 List
- Nocturne
- Viego
- Kha’Zix
- Wukong
- Lee Sin
- Skarner
- Udyr
- Briar
- Fiddlesticks
- Elise
What Changed In Jungle
In the latest 2025 patches, Riot made jungle gameplay faster and bloodier. Camp gold and experience were reduced after 14 minutes, pressuring junglers to impact lanes early or fall behind. Smite now heals for slightly less and deals a flat 1,200 true damage at max rank, pushing junglers to coordinate better instead of solo-sniping objectives. Jungle pets got scaling nerfs, too, cutting late-game sustain and forcing smarter pathing.
On top of that, key bruiser items like Sundered Sky and Eclipse were reworked to favor short, explosive fights instead of long brawls — assassins and fighters like Kha’Zix, Viego, and Briar are thriving. Meanwhile, traditional tank junglers without strong gank tools (looking at you, Sejuani) are seeing a significant drop in win rates. The jungle in 2025 demands fast clears, faster ganks, and even faster decision-making — hesitation’s not just punished, it’s deleted.
How to Choose the Best Jungler for the Fight
Picking the right jungler isn’t just about locking in a personal favorite — it’s about finding the right tool for the job. Players should first look at early impact potential: champions like Elise and Lee Sin thrive because they hit the map hard by level 3, forcing plays and snowballing lanes before enemies can even blink. If a player’s team needs strong initiation, someone like Wukong or the new, buffed Skarner brings the CC hammer down with no mercy.
Another key factor? Scaling and reset potential. Junglers like Viego and Kha’Zix turn chaotic mid-game fights into free wins if they get even a small lead — making them perfect for teams that love skirmishing. Players must also think about gank setup and synergy: Nocturne pairs with global pressure champs, while Fiddlesticks demands good vision control to terrorize unsuspecting enemies. And, if the comp needs raw, angry frontline brawling, Udyr and Briar can charge into the fray and break enemy formations through sheer brute force.
At the end of the day, the perfect jungler isn’t just strong — they’re the right answer to the draft puzzle sitting in front of the player. Jungle smart, not just hard.
Nocturne – The Eternal Nightmare
- Win Rate: 51.33%
- Pick Rate: 6.1%
- Ban Rate: 7.4%
- Class: Assassin
- Role: Skirmisher
- Release Date: March 15, 2011
- Last Patch Change: 13.14
Nocturne’s global ultimate, Paranoia, allows for unexpected ganks and map pressure. His fast clear speed and dueling potential make him a consistent threat.
Why He’s Top
No significant changes recently, keeping his kit stable and reliable.
- Twisted Fate: Dual global pressure can overwhelm opponents.
- Leona: Her lockdown ensures Nocturne’s target can’t escape.
- Orianna: Ball delivery system for a devastating combo.
- Twisted Fate (denies global ult)
- Jhin (no escapes vs Paranoia)
- Karthus (easy ult dives)
- Poppy (stops dash engages with W)
- Malzahar (point-and-click suppression)
- Lissandra (peels and locks him down)
- Use Paranoia to isolate targets during team fights.
- Coordinate with teammates for synchronized engages.
- Prioritize farming to reach level 6 quickly.
Viego – The Ruined King
- Win Rate: 50.8%
- Pick Rate: 10.2%
- Ban Rate: 12.3%
- Class: Assassin
- Role: Skirmisher
- Release Date: January 21, 2021
- Last Patch Change: 25.S1.2
Viego’s ability to possess enemies after kills allows for extended skirmishes and unexpected plays. His reset potential makes him a formidable force in team fights.
Why He’s Top
Minor adjustments have kept him balanced, maintaining his presence in the meta.
- Nautilus: Reliable crowd control to set up Viego’s damage.
- Ahri: Charm provides pick potential, enabling Virgo’s resets.
- Camille: Her ultimate isolates targets for easy possessions.
- Ahri (punishes mobility cooldowns)
- Kai’Sa (reset city after one kill)
- Rengar (outduels if not bursted)
- Lulu (polymorph ruins resets)
- Trundle (steals his stats and soul)
- Renekton (destroys him early)
- Focus on skirmishes where you can secure resets.
- Time your possessions wisely to maximize impact.
- Build items that enhance survivability and damage.
Kha’Zix – The Voidreaver
- Win Rate: 51.14%
- Pick Rate: 11.2%
- Ban Rate: 11.2%
- Class: Assassin
- Role: Skirmisher
- Release Date: September 27, 2012
- Last Patch Change: 13.19
Kha’Zix excels at isolating and eliminating targets. His stealth and burst damage make him a constant threat in the jungle and during ganks.
Why He’s Top
Stable performance with no major changes, keeping his assassination potential intact.
- Thresh: Hooks and lanterns provide both engage and escape options.
- Zed: High burst duo that can quickly eliminate squishes.
- Jhin: Long-range follow-up to Kha’Zix’s engages.
- Yuumi (isolated = instant snack)
- Ezreal (low mobility early)
- Nidalee (isolated poke champs fold fast)
- Malphite (tanky and unkillable)
- Rammus (armor + taunt = “where’d your health go?”)
- Leona (CC lockdown ruins his day)
- Utilize vision control to find isolated targets.
- Evolve abilities based on game state and needs.
- Avoid extended team fights; pick off targets instead.
Wukong – The Monkey King
- Win Rate: 51.3%
- Pick Rate: 5.8%
- Ban Rate: 6.7%
- Class: Fighter
- Role: Skirmisher
- Release Date: July 26, 2011
- Last Patch Change: 13.7
Wukong’s AoE damage and crowd control make him a team fight menace. His clone provides deception, allowing for creative plays.
Why He’s Top
No significant changes, maintaining his strong presence in coordinated fights.
- Yasuo: Wukong’s knock-ups set up Yasuo’s ultimate.
- Miss Fortune: Combining ultimates can decimate teams.
- Galio: Provides additional crowd control and protection.
- Syndra (jumps past her burst)
- Aphelios (CC lockdown dream)
- Karthus (interrupts and zones out)
- Olaf (ignores CC = smashes monkey)
- Volibear (beats him in extended fights)
- Tahm Kench (peels allies hard)
- Use your clone to bait out enemy abilities.
- Engage when multiple enemies are grouped.
- Coordinate with AoE damage dealers for maximum impact.
Lee Sin – The Blind Monk
- Win Rate: 50.9%
- Pick Rate: 9.5%
- Ban Rate: 8.4%
- Class: Fighter
- Role: Skirmisher
- Release Date: July 1, 2011
- Last Patch Change: 14.5
Lee Sin offers high mobility and playmaking potential. His early-game pressure can snowball lanes, and his skill ceiling allows for outplays.
Why He’s Top
Minor adjustments have kept him viable without overpowering.
- Alistar: Chain crowd control for effective ganks.
- Orianna: Ball delivery system enhances team fight presence.
- Lucian: High burst duo for early skirmishes.
- Jhin (squishy and immobile early)
- Lucian (outbrawls him 1v1 early)
- Ashe (easy to Insec kick)
- Alistar (peels Lee off easily)
- Morgana (Black Shield denies plays)
- Malphite (hard to kill and outruns engages)
- Master ward hopping for increased mobility.
- Look for early gank opportunities to snowball lanes.
- Use Dragon’s Rage to isolate key targets.
Skarner – The Crystal Vanguard
- Win Rate: 51.5%
- Pick Rate: 4.2%
- Ban Rate: 9.1%
- Class: Fighter
- Role: Disruptor
- Release Date: August 9, 2011
- Last Patch Change: 25.S1.2
Skarner’s rework has revitalized his kit, providing strong engage and objective control. His ultimate can single out key targets, making him a valuable asset in coordinated play.
Why He’s Top
Recent changes have improved his jungle clear and dueling potential.
- Malzahar: Layered suppression can lock down threats.
- Jhin: Follow-up damage after Skarner’s engage.
- Thresh: Provides additional pick potential and safety.
- Vayne (picks her up like a toddler)
- Katarina (suppresses mid-spin)
- Seraphine (engages past her zone control)
- Janna (peel queen)
- Olaf (laughs at suppression with ult)
- Morgana (hello again, Black Shield)
- Control vision to find flanking opportunities.
- Use Impale to remove key threats from fights.
- Coordinate with the team for objective control.
Udyr – The Spirit Walker
- Win Rate: 52.4%
- Pick Rate: 4.8%
- Ban Rate: 7.6%
- Class: Fighter
- Role: Stance Switcher
- Release Date: December 2, 2009 (reworked August 2022)
- Last Patch Change: 14.4
Udyr is like a walking, angry mountain. Fast clears, brutal duels, and unmatched objective control make him the spiritual backbone of any team that wants to brute-force wins. His flexibility in builds (tank/bruiser/AP cheese) keeps him from getting boxed into one playstyle, too.
Why He’s Top:
A few patches ago, Udyr got some stance tuning — his Wilding Claw (Q) got a nice buff, making Bruiser Udyr absolutely maul squishies harder than a bear at a backyard barbecue.
- Orianna: Slap the ball on Udyr, watch the ballsy bear run into the enemy team and detonate.
- Seraphine: Shields and healing keep Udyr trucking through the chaos.
- Kennen: When Udyr locks people down, Kennen follows up with a chef’s kiss AoE ult.
- Karthus (bullies him off camps)
- Amumu (better early duels)
- Soraka (can’t heal through Udyr’s sticking power)
- Vayne (melts tanks late)
- Kayn (especially Shadow Assassin form)
- Kindred (kites and out-scales)
- Time your stances smartly — cycling them makes Udyr super tanky thanks to passive shield procs.
- Force fights around objectives — few junglers can match Udyr’s drag/baron control.
- Don’t chase forever — no matter how fast Udyr is, bad dives are still bad, buddy.
Briar – The Restrained Hunger
- Win Rate: 52.1%
- Pick Rate: 5.5%
- Ban Rate: 8.9%
- Class: Fighter
- Role: Diver
- Release Date: September 13, 2023
- Last Patch Change: 14.6
Briar is basically a chainsaw with legs — her self-taunt mechanic forces chaotic, bloody fights, and in the right hands, she snowballs out of control faster than a bot lane flame war.
Why She’s Top
Briar got some healing tweaks, making her slightly less “immortal in 1v5s” but still a royal pain if fed.
- Thresh: Lantern can save her from suiciding after a kill.
- Annie: Burst damage to complement Briar’s messy engages.
- Yone: Dives deep, just like Briar. Big “we either win or go down in flames” energy.
- Miss Fortune (can’t escape self-taunt dives)
- Ziggs (paper-thin defense)
- Ezreal (if caught, it’s curtains)
- Janna (blows her away, literally)
- Malzahar (just… presses R)
- Trundle (laughs at her face-tanking)
- Pre-plan exits because Briar WILL commit once her W is popped.
- Snowball early — late-game, she’s more cannon than tank.
- Use jungle plants smartly (like Blast Cone) to disengage when the hunger’s too real.
Fiddlesticks – The Ancient Fear
- Win Rate: 53.2%
- Pick Rate: 4.1%
- Ban Rate: 5.8%
- Class: Mage
- Role: Ambusher
- Release Date: February 21, 2009 (reworked 2020)
- Last Patch Change: 14.4
Old Fiddle’s still the king of heart attacks. His scarecrow shenanigans force constant paranoia, and his massive AoE ultimate can turn games with one perfect flank.
Why He’s Top
Small buffs to W healing keep him relevant even when teams can afford early MR.
- Amumu: Stacks AoE CC for horrific teamfights.
- Samira: Fiddlesticks locks them down; Samira mops the floor.
- Malphite: Layered initiation — if one doesn’t get them, the next will.
- Kai’Sa (bursts her from fog)
- Vayne (hard CC ruins her mobility)
- Sivir (can’t spellshield the AoE terror)
- Blitzcrank (goodbye channeling)
- Nocturne (counters fear setup)
- Jarvan IV (traps Fiddle in Cataclysm)
- Control vision religiously. A well-placed effigy can save lives.
- Channel ultimate from over walls — the spookier, the better.
- Farm safely — early Fiddlesticks is a wet napkin without items.
Elise – The Spider Queen
- Win Rate: 51.0%
- Pick Rate: 3.9%
- Ban Rate: 4.5%
- Class: Mage
- Role: Assassin
- Release Date: October 26, 2012
- Last Patch Change: 14.5
Elise isn’t just a spider; she’s the embodiment of early-game terror. Dive potential, tower dives with spiderlings, and brutal level 3 ganks make her the jungle’s most persistent nightmare.
Why She’s Top
Minor buffs to her Q helped her burst even harder — as if players needed more reasons to fear cocoon stuns from the fog.
- Renekton: Dive buddies for the early game.
- LeBlanc: Chains + Cocoon = no one moving ever again.
- Lucian: High burst laner who snowballs from Elise’s early pressure.
- Syndra (easy tower dives)
- Jhin (punishes lack of escapes)
- Orianna (predictable movement = easy Cocoon)
Zac (out-sustains and disrupts dives)
Olaf (ignores Cocoon with ult)
Rammus (tanky and painful to dive)
- Gank constantly — Elise isn’t here for late-game scaling.
- Use Spider Form smartly for tower dives (spiderlings tank).
- Ward enemy jungle early — invading and catching their jungler can snowball games instantly.
Jungle Play: 5 Quick FAQs
What’s the most important thing for a jungler in 2025?
Early impact. Players need to gank, invade, and fight. Farming like it’s a single-player RPG will just leave them irrelevant by 15 minutes.
Should I full-clear or gank early?
Depends on the champ — but generally, look for level 3 ganks unless playing ultra-farmers like Karthus or Fiddlesticks. Time is blood.
How do I stay ahead if I’m behind?
Drop the ego. Cover lanes, steal camps when it’s safe, and stop forcing bad fights. Catch EXP wherever players can and wait for mistake windows.
What’s the biggest jungle mistake right now?
Overfighting early skirmishes without tracking enemy jungler location. Trading a kill and losing your camps is how games get thrown before Drake even spawns.
Is vision still that important for junglers?
It’s more important than ever. Control Wards, sweepers, and river dominance are basically non-negotiable. No vision = no plays = no win.
