Hello, laners!
Today, we'll be jumping in and analyzing how the recent Jungler overhaul in patch 8.10
affects all laners.
We'll look at the new Rift Scuttler and how important it is, which picks are OP in the
new patch, as well as how you can stay safe from the new gank timings.
And, if you watched our video on Friday, this first section won't be new to you, but it
will get very lane specific very quickly, so be sure to stick around.
So, the first thing we want to touch on are the changes to the Scuttle crab.
For those who don't know, Scuttle has received massive XP buffs, going from 10xp to between
115 and 230 scaling throughout the game.
The way it spawns has also changed.
Initially, two crabs will spawn on both sides of the map at exactly 2:00.
Once both are killed, 2:15 later, another, single scuttle will spawn randomly on either
side of the map--only one scuttle will exist at any time for the rest of the game.
A lot of pros and streamers are voicing their opinions that scuttles are the most important
things in the game, one pro saying to "just pick a level 2 spiking Jungler, take scuttles,
and win"But, we find this a bit curious, as the first scuttle that spawns is really just
another Gromp, albeit a gromp that doesn't fight back and damage you as well as providing
some light vision control.
So, it's not going to give the Jungler some huge XP or gold lead to take those early Scuttles.
REMOVED SOME TEXT AT END HERESo, while we're not convinced by the absolute importance of
the first scuttle spawns, the following spawns are very powerful, scaling very well throughout
the game in both gold AND experience.
So, it will be very important that you're able to help your Jungler secure the Scuttle
after that first 1-2 spawns which arent as important.
Also, as with any other objectives, you'll only want to rotate if you have lane priority.
It's not worth leaving lane and losing gold and experience, because that will only make
future scuttle contests that much worse.
Alright, now that we've talked a bit about the almighty crab, let's talk about which
champions are OP in this patch.
So, in terms of actual champion balance, not a lot has changed with only a few champions
actually being adjusted.
HOWEVER, what is prized in champions has changed slightly.
To be more specific, champions who are able to push their lanes in the mid game give their
Jungler massive priority over the Rift Scuttler, which is a huge boon to the team as a whole.
Here are some champions in every lane who excel at pushing and controlling their lanes,
which is going to be a very strong strategy for 8.10So, in the top lane bruisers with
kill pressure or a tank with a lot of wave clear and dominant trades like Ornn.
In the mid lane, Taliyah and Aurelion Sol are prime examples of champions who can perma
push and roam very easily, while Syndra and Zoe are champions who, while still having
good wave clear, also have significant kill pressure to threaten opponents out of roaming.
In the bot lane, it often comes down to who has the range advantage, so ranged supports
are very strong, but something like Rakan can definitely work with massive kill pressure.
Champions like Caitlyn and Ashe push the lane by abusing their long range, whereas someone
like Sivir can push by just clearing waves instantyl.
So, those are some of the really strong picks as well as why they're great for controlling
lane and giving the Jungler priority over the Scuttle crab.
However, at the end of the day, it really just comes down to actually executing and
winning lane, which can be done with any champions.
And, remember that the Scuttle is worth more and more as the game goes on, so pushing lane
in the mid game is more important than pushing super early.
So, in the ideal world, you'll be pushing up your lane as much as possible, allowing
you to place deep wards on the Enemy Jungler or Scuttle itself, and rotate quickly if your
Jungler needs help.
Alright, we've now talked about how much priority you should be placing on the scuttle, as well
as some strong picks for Patch 8.10 that will allow you to push your lanes, making it easier
for your Jungler to contest and take the crab.
So, let's now shift to the big one: When am I gonna get ganked?
And here's our very exciting and helpful answer: we have no idea.
We really don't.
Jungle paths are so insanely varied right now, that it's impossible to tell you exactly
when common ganks will head your way.
But, don't despair!
While we don't know when you'll be ganked, we have some tips on how to find out.
And, the focus of our advice centers largely on the Patch 8.10 changes to the Warding Totem,
changing the duration at the start of the game from 60 to 90 seconds.
So, to tackle the massive importance of this change from a high level, it's important to
note that, with the changes to the Scuttle, Junglers are moving out of their Jungles and
into the River earlier than ever.
This also means that Junglers are ganking earlier, very commonly ganking at level 2,
potentially after just one, leashed camp.
A gank like this can come as early as 1:50, which could be before a mid laner even finishes
clearing the first wave.
So, what we recommend is shifting your habits from warding at level 2 or 3, to just warding
at level 1.
Let's see some examples from Challenger Korean Solo Q. In this clip, we see Lucian and Braum
moving to the dot brush, with Lucian dropping a ward at level 1 before running to lane.
And, this a fantastic ward that the red bot lane is able to place because they aren't
leashing.
This ward will catch Nidalee if she moves down the ramp into the river to go for a gank
or just take scuttle, giving the team valuable informationEven if Nidalee starts top side,
takes two camps, THEN runs down to the bottom Scuttle, which is a fairly common route, this
ward will STILL be alive to see her.
This is where that change to the warding totem was a huge buff to level 1 warding.
And, I want to mention that while the mid laner CAN also drop this ward, it's much better
if bot does it.
The mid laner has to worry about being ganked from two sides with only one ward, while bot
lane only has to be worried about being ganked from one side, while they have two wards.
So, we've looked what bot lane was doing at the start of this game, but what about top?
Well, we see Mundo run to Nidalee's blue and drop yet another level 1 ward before running
to lane.
And, this is yet another super smart, very effective level one ward for a top laner to
place.
First, it lets the red team know that Nidalee is starting bot side.
With Ezreal and Tahm Kench not leashing, it would be easy to think that Nidalee started
at blue, but this ward removes that possibility.
This means that Nidalee is either just doing a leashless Red or Raptors, which is incredibly
valuable information.
Beyond that, after Nidalee does Raptors, Red, runs top side, and starts blue, the ward is
still very alive.
For some reason, Nidalee stops blue early and jumps toward river, which, once again,
is spotted by the level 1 ward.
Everyone on the red team now knows that Nidalee is in top side river, meaning that Top and
Mid need to play safely, while bot lane can play aggressively and don't need to ward.
Beyond that, the long life of this ward continues to provide incredible information by simply
NOT seeing Nidalee.
Here, Mundo sees Nidalee move from blue into the River.
Mundo continues to farm with Irelia dead.
But, he immediately backs off once Irelia returns for two reasons.
Not only did Mundo see Nidalee enter the river, but his ward is still letting him know that
she hasn't returned to Blue!
Beyond that, with Darius just returning from base, Mundo is Nidalee's only gank option,
so there's pretty much a 100% chance she's coming.
Let's see.
So, Mundo played with incredible respect, staying alive through a very dangerous gank.
So, let's review what all this ward accomplished.
First, it let the red team know that Nidalee started bot side.
Then, it let them know when she arrived at Blue, that she left blue to go into River,
and that she was staying in the river, not coming back to her camps, meaning she was
ganking.
So, hopefully I've stressed the importance and power of level 1 warding on this patch,
but in case I haven't, if we jump back to the start of this Korean Challenger solo Q
game, we see 5 level 1 wards placed.
It's obviously something they've caught onto and agree is valuable.
. Anyway, let's get a bit more specific into how to ward now that we understand its importance!
So, on the red side, the top laner should drop a ward either on the blue buff or just
on Scuttle depending on how safe it is to walk into the enemy Jungle.
And, as we saw, the bot lane should be warding either the dot brush or on top of the ramp
near Raptors.
This would allow the mid laner to save his ward for future use at his discretion after
seeing the leash and other factors.
But, let's be real, mid laners, your teammates aren't going to do this.
So, if you need to place the level one ward--do it.
And, we recommend warding near red buff as 99% of the time, if someone is planning a
level 2 gank, they want red buff for it.
Ok, let's shift our view to the blue side.
In the top lane, you can't really walk into top side Jungle as it's very risky, so just
drop a ward on the scuttle.
And for bot lane, I also just recommend warding near the scuttle rather than blue itself.
If you did try to ward the blue, it's very possible that the enemy bot lane and Jungler
would be there to instantly kill the ward.
And once again, this would ideally let the mid laner save his ward, but once again, that's
not likely.
So, we still recommend just warding that red buff side to watch out for the level 2 gank.
So, that's where we recommend warding at level 1 on either side of the map.
Like we said, the pathing right now is crazy and unpredictable, but these wards should
give you a fighting chance at tracking the Jungler and staying safe.
So, we still recommend just warding that red buff side to watch out for the level 2 gank.
So, that's where we recommend warding at level 1 on either side of the map.
Like we said, the pathing right now is crazy and unpredictable, but these wards should
give you a fighting chance at tracking the Jungler and staying safe.
And, just a quick note, you want to drop these wards around 1:20 so they stay on the map
as long as possible without making you late to laneAwesome, we now know how to ward to
stand a fighting chance against early game ganks.
But, what about later in the game?
The best advice we have for you here is to expect the Jungler to be in the area of a
spawning Scuttle.
For example, if you have pressure top and there's a scuttle spawning there, the enemy
Jungler may decide that his best shot at the crab is to gank you before it spawns, creating
a numbers advantage around the objective.
However, don't just completely drop your guard if the scuttle is on the other side of the
map.
For example, in a situation like this, Kindred might realize that she simply cannot contest
this Scuttle.
So, she might go for a gank bottom while she knows that Lee will be top side.
So, if the crab is spawning near you, play extra, extra careful and ward ahead of time
if you can while you wait for your Jungler to come back you up.
And, if the crab isn't spawning near you, don't just blindly assume your safety.
Great.
We've now talked about how laners should prioritize the scuttle, some of the champions that are
really strong for this patch, as well as how to track the enemy Jungler and avoid early
ganks.
For more videos on how to thrive throughout the last half of Season 8, be sure to check
back for move videos daily at Skill-capped.com