Why Draven Jungle?

Hello and welcome to my Jungle Draven guide. First off you may have thought this guide was a joke, but in all honesty Draven's high base damage and carry potential fit well in this meta. When you have champions like Mordekaiser bot and Varus mid and Kindred jungle, you can potentially play some very different roles with champions you might not expect.

When Does This Work?

Draven jungle is certainly situational. He needs a few things to be a viable pick. First the summoner playing him will have to be experienced at both Draven and jungling. Draven is a complicated character, and putting him in the jungle adds extra complication, but the rewards are also great. Jungling Dravens also require a tanky top laner and/or support-one that can initiate. Draven has small cc that aids in ganks but he does not have enough cc or tankiness to start fights. Even as a jungler he is primarily a back line champion.

Greater Seal of Armor These seals are not really debatable. Seals are most efficient in defensive stats, such as armor. This armor will make you able to stay alive in the jungle and let you gank bot lane easier.

Greater Mark of Attack Damage Flat attack damage marks will help you clear camps early and give you plenty of damage output early on. Marks are most efficient in attacking stats, so these will cover a lot of ground.

But why not scaling AD?

Draven has incredibly high base damage for the first few levels, so having flat attack damage will give him a clear advantage over other champions early on. Later, when he gets his items, he is even scarier as a carry and does not need to rely on scaling attack damage.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist Glyphs provide magical stats, and since Draven doesn't rely on AP, it is better to invest these 9 slots in the most efficient and relevant stat he can: Magic Resist. These are scaling because mages tend to have low early game damage as opposed to later game when they can build more AP.

Greater Quintessence of Attack Speed Attack Speed is a stable among junglers, and Draven is no exception. However he benefits even more from a natural attack speed steroid in his W and parts of his build, as the attack speed will stack.

Optional Runes:

Greater Mark of armor penetration There is merit in getting armor penetration on Draven, as it helps him deal more damage and really scales well into late game. However, this Draven build is focused on jungling, and this stat will prove pointless when you're trying to clear camps as they don't have armor (or very little).

Greater Seal of Health I can see the merit in getting this one. However, much testing has found that armor goes slightly farther when it comes to surviving in the jungle, which is a primary concern of this build and champion.

Greater Mark of Critical Chance This one is more opinion based. Many players do not bring critical strike runes as they don't like the risk involved when they could lose a basic stat like plain attack damage. However, if you're one of those risk takers, then feel free to bring these along in place of your attack speed or attack damage runes.

Boots:

Berserker's Greaves These items are an obvious choice for any AD Carry. They provide movement speed and attack speed which are both important stats for a champion like Draven. Don't consider other boots.

Pick an Enchantment:

Enchantment: Furor This enchantment actually works really well with Draven. One of the most challenging things about playing Draven is catching his axes (which will be discussed later in the guide). This enchantment makes doing that infinitely easier.

Enchantment: Homeguard Everybody loves this one and it's easy to see why. It makes defending your base easier and lets you get back to your team or the jungle a lot quicker.

Enchantment: Alacrity In the current meta, getting movement speed is underrated. Especially on a fragile carry such as Draven, this can be a more important enchantment than you think.

Jungling Item:

Hunter's Machete This isn't optional. Start with this and two health potions.

Ranger's Trailblazer This jungle upgrade is pretty standard for how I play Draven jungle. This makes clear time a lot faster and lets you get out of the jungle with more health, which can be important for jungle Draven.

Skirmisher's Sabre You don't see this jungle upgrade a whole lot but it's underrated. This will make dueling a lot easier, which is a situation you might find yourself in a lot once the enemy jungler thinks he can invade on you.

Stalker's Blade This can add some much needed soft cc to your Draven, making ganks easier. This, combined with your E, can guarantee a kill on ganks if you position correctly.

Okay, but what about enchantments?

There's really only two enchantments you should consider for Draven. Devourer and Warrior. Let's discuss both.

Enchantment: Devourer This enchantment is probably what you were thinking when you read "jungle Draven". It makes sense. Draven is an ADC no matter where you put him, so he needs attack speed, and on-hit damage can't hurt him, right? I thought this too when I first started playing Jungle Draven. I reasoned that attack speed would help him deal his consistent damage with auto attacks. However, I discovered Draven does damage in different ways than you think. This being that his main source of damage is his Spinning Axe (Q). This ability does the same amount of damage regardless of his attack speed, and with this build you will have enough attack speed that you can reasonably keep up two axes and deal plenty of damage using Blood Rush (W). Also, now that the sated bonus has been added, he can no longer stack infinitely. While you may think the Sated bonus was useful, I'm here to tell you that for jungle Draven it is a bad thing. Draven benefits almost none from the on-hit effect every two attacks that a Sated Devourer provides, outside of the bonus lifesteal he would get. This item doesn't work for Draven very well, but can still be brought if you feel like you're facing a lot of tanks or that you have been needing more attack speed.

Enchantment: Warrior This is a better option on Draven. This will make your Spinning Axe deal huge damage early and mid game, which is when Draven needs a little help with the clearing department. He gets much-needed armor penetration as well, and since it's a flat amount it's very strong early game when enemy champions have little armor. Plus, the fact that the runes I suggested you bring don't contain armor make this item extremely good for Draven. I recommend this over Devourer.

Core Items

Bloodthirster This is typically the item I rush on Draven. It provides sustain in the jungle that you don't have otherwise and makes you deal huge damage. It scales well into late game and is a standard AD Carry item.

Infinity Edge A Draven item if there ever was one, this provides the most AD in the game and lets you crit more often and for more damage. If you don't have this then you won't be a very useful AD Carry late game.

Statikk Shiv This provides much needed burst and attack speed, but also enhances the critical strikes that your Infinity Edge provides. These two items go hand in hand and if you have both of them you will deal a lot of damage.

Last Whisper Late game, if you're doing your job, the enemy tanks and even carries will start getting armor. This item provides the most efficient late game armor penetration in the form of a percentage, so definitely get this. It may be a good idea to sell your Warrior enchantment if you went that route to get this item, because by the time this item is useful, the warrior enchantment might be not so great.

Pick up a defensive item:

Guardian Angel A staple among AD Carries, this item means that every 5 minutes you effectively can't be assassinated in team fights. This item isn't very useful if you're running around on your own, but if you find yourself teamfighting and getting bursted down too quickly, get this item. If you have huge amounts of gold late game, consider selling this item when the 5 minute cooldown is going to purchase a different defensive item or perhaps an offensive item.

Mercurial Scimitar An extremely underrated item, this thing will make Malzahar and Warwick hate you. If you are facing a high magic damage or cc comp, pick this up to prevent getting locked down. Another bonus of this item over other defensive items is that this item actually gives a lot of attack damage. Sadly it is quite expensive, but it scales really well into late game.

Banshee's Veil I've been seeing AD Carries get this item more and more in recent seasons, and it's no wonder why. It provides large amounts of health and magic resist and prevents you from getting caught by say a Blitzcrank. Get this if you are facing a heavy AP comp or a comp that relies on getting catches, such as an opposing Nautilus or Ahri.

Randuin's Omen Actually less crazy than jungle Draven in its entirety, this item is useful if you find yourself dueling enemy AD Carries a lot. It slows their attack speed and gives you high armor and health. It is very efficient late game and the active can be used as a form of self-peel.

Item Alternatives:

Youmuu's Ghostblade This item is reasonable on Draven. It essentially provides the same bonuses as his Blood Rush (W), and gives him similar stats to the Enchantment: Warrior. Get this item against tanky duelists for early to mid game.

Phantom Dancer Another worthy contender, this item provides slightly better stats than a Statikk Shiv but without the bursty aoe component. I simply prefer Statikk Shiv as it gives Draven some burst that isn't usually there in his kit.

Essence Reaver It's true, Draven does have mana problems if you're playing him as efficiently as you can. The importance and "spamability" of Blood Rush (W) means that you will find yourself running out of mana often unless you have blue buff. This item just doesn't provide enough damage or lifesteal to make it worth it in most cases, and honestly doesn't fit well with Draven's kit.

Trinity Force Okay, this item is interesting on Draven. While it provides many stats that Draven needs and gives him 2 different on-hit passives that are really good for him, it just doesn't provide enough of a single stat to be of much use to Draven. While you're getting critical chance and attack damage, you're also getting ability power. Plus the Sheen passive isn't really that useful for Draven since his Spinning Axe can be strung together without activating any abilities.

Example Full Build:

Play Video

Above is a preview of Draven's abilities.

League of Draven
Explanation: This passive is a great way to get ahead even though you are in the jungle. The amount of gold you get from this passive can put you nearly an item ahead of everybody else later in the game if you're playing well. This passive makes it so that you can farm and play safe and still potentially be far ahead of your opponents. Spinning Axe
Ability Explanation: This ability is Draven's bread and butter. This thing will make you do loads of damage early game, and is the only reason Draven can actually jungle. Now there are a few complicated points I have to make about this ability:

1. This axe scale with your attack damage and act as a basic attack just with more bonus damage. This bonus damage is not effected by the Sated Bonus but is calculated in when you crit something.
   
2. You can guide and therefore predict where the axe will fall because it will go generally in the location you are headed when the autoattack lands. For example, if you attack an enemy champion and then move away from them, the axe will move in the direction you are headed once you attack them. If you change direction between attacking and catching the axe, then it will still go to its original destination.
   
3. If you are standing still when you attack, the axe will either land right where you are or slightly to the side of you. You should have enough time to get to its destination before it lands.
   
4. If Draven kills 6 minions in a row without dropping an axe, he gains bonus League of Draven stacks.

The general use for this ability is to break through the enemy team's front line, duel the enemy champions, or refresh your Blood Rush. This ability also let's you farm the jungle early as it gives significant early game damage. Blood Rush
Explanation:One of the main concerns of a Draven player is catching those axes. This is Riot's answer. This ability provides a speed boost that you might need to catch that straggling axe. Also, the attack speed boost is what makes him such a scary AD Carry. Even if he doesn't have a Spinning Axe readily available, he can still use his autoattacks backed with this surprisingly huge steroid to take down some opponents. Also be sure not to spam this ability every time you catch an axe. Even though it refreshes the cooldown, that doesn't make it a good idea--you still need mana. Stand Aside

Explanation: Draven's only cc comes packaged in a slightly unique ability. This ability functions very similarly to Janna's Howling Gale Except it slows and knocks enemies aside instead of up. The reason I say it's similar to Janna's (Q) is that this ability can function in the same way if you use it strategically. Let's discuss how to use this ability properly:

• Use this ability to open your ganks. Position yourself behind the enemy laner and throw it in such a way that it knocks them towards your base. This means get them on the half that is closest to your base.
  
• This ability can be used to deny airborne abilities, which is why it is like Janna's Howling Gale. Say the enemy Jarvan IV sees you and doesn't like you. If he positions himself as if he is going to do his (E) into (Q) combo, then you can throw this in his direction and knock him off course, effectively canceling his dash and knockup. The same goes for things like LeBlanc's Distortion and Tristana's Rocket Jump.
  
• Another thing that this skill can do similar to the above is interrupt channeled abilities. Use this to interrupt when a Warwick uses his (R) Infinite Duress on an ally. In a similar vein, if the enemy Malzahar looks to be about to ult you, you can throw this out to interrupt him even while you're being suppressed, as long as you cast your Stand Aside slightly before him.

Whirling Death

Ability Explanation: Draven's ultimate is iconic. The giant global ranged axes that are essentially a huge Boomerang Blade are the cherry on the Draven cake. Here are some tips on how to use this effectively:

*This ability is best used to finish an enemy off in a duel. It casts very quickly so it can be used as a surprise burst after "retreating" out of vision.
*

Whirling Death has a global range so you can use it to snipe kills if possible. Just remember that it will slowly turn around after hitting an enemy champion so make sure there aren't any other champions in between you and your target.
*It can be used to take objectives such as dragon or help minions push a lane from far away.
*If you see your enemies grouped up in a teamfight, be sure to use this ability. Just make sure that you don't use Stand Aside before you use this ability as your ultimate will likely miss.

As you probable saw above, here is my recommended skill sequence for Jungle Draven: I don't recommend any other way of doing it. His Q is is primary source of damage and should therefore be maxed first. His W is an important tool for carrying mid to late game, but is a little less powerful until you get some built attack speed to stack with it. His E is mostly for its utility and should therefore be maxed last.