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Choose Champion Build:
Spells:
Smite
Exhaust
Ability Order
Stone Skin (PASSIVE)
Wukong Passive Ability
The Jungling Monkey
Please guys, if you view the guide, please comment or vote. I'd like to see either suggestions, comments, etc. so I can improve it, and if you like it, please upvote it so others can see it as well!
So as the title states, this is a jungling build/guide for Wukong. Wukong is one of my absolute favorite champs to play and I've been running him solo top for a while. However, I always felt his skill could be interesting in as a jungle, both with the CC on his ult and the general sneakiness he can have in a fight. So I played around with this a bit and got what you see here.
One note I do want to make: Since Wukong is not by himself a great jungler, make sure you have the necessary runes to run him! He will be VERY mana dependent if you can't take a few hits in the jungle (trust me, I tried jungling him without runes and it proved quite difficult).
As always, I welcome any and all feedback, but with most other guides, please don't be rude about it. I'm looking for honest feedback and if you think this just doesn't work, please give good reason why and explain it. Also realize I'm not saying that this is the best place for Wukong; I do stand on the premise that Wukong proves a better top than not, but in situations where top is already taken (or there is a hard counter to Wukong top) he can be an interesting jungle that many people aren't going to necessarily expect.
For most of you out there that already play Wukong, you may be asking yourself the simple question: "Why jungle him?" This makes even more sense when you think about the other champions that run a successful jungle. Here is my logic behind building this and why I like the concept of running him as a jungle.
The combination of Warrior Trickster and Cyclone work well for ganking champions. The stealth of Warrior Trickster allows you to pop from the bushes or jungle into the lane without being seen initially, giving you a jump on them. Furthermore, you can jump into the fight with Nimbus Strike, drop Crushing Blow, and then follow up with your ult as they are running away. This combination makes a great sequence for hitting.
Another strong point is that Wukong runs decent with different combination of items. The items I have selected above is the "main" build I recommend, but in the items section below I am going to detail a few other builds based on what is going on in the game. Wukong runs well with different sorts and can swap between being high damage, to high health/tanky, to even being a CC/Support master. This gives him a ton of viability in the jungle and allows him to cater his build to the game/team composition.
Beyond what was presented above, there is one advanced technique that exists to make Wukong a strong candidate for jungling. Looking at Draft/Ranked, Wukong can be selected by a team and, in the general scenario, can run: TOP, JUNGLE, or SUPPORT. The enemy team isn't going to know which, but based on typical scenarios, will assume he is going top. With this, they can throw up a counter pick to Wukong ( Irelia, Lee Sin, and Singed all work as strong counters to him in top lane). In that situation, Wukong can swap to jungle, allowing the rest of the team to then COUNTER the counter-pick, giving a strong jungle AND a countered top position. If all else goes well, it can also allow a counter-pick in mid or adc, giving the team two major counters instead of the standard one you are going to get.
This advanced technique is one of my main reasons for wanting to develop a viable build for him to jungle with. If you don't like this, fine, but I think it adds a level of customization for Ranked play, and as I'll explain through the rest of his, Wukong is viable and sufficient to run jungle in Ranked.
Basic:
The combination of Warrior Trickster and Cyclone work well for ganking champions. The stealth of Warrior Trickster allows you to pop from the bushes or jungle into the lane without being seen initially, giving you a jump on them. Furthermore, you can jump into the fight with Nimbus Strike, drop Crushing Blow, and then follow up with your ult as they are running away. This combination makes a great sequence for hitting.
Another strong point is that Wukong runs decent with different combination of items. The items I have selected above is the "main" build I recommend, but in the items section below I am going to detail a few other builds based on what is going on in the game. Wukong runs well with different sorts and can swap between being high damage, to high health/tanky, to even being a CC/Support master. This gives him a ton of viability in the jungle and allows him to cater his build to the game/team composition.
Advanced:
Beyond what was presented above, there is one advanced technique that exists to make Wukong a strong candidate for jungling. Looking at Draft/Ranked, Wukong can be selected by a team and, in the general scenario, can run: TOP, JUNGLE, or SUPPORT. The enemy team isn't going to know which, but based on typical scenarios, will assume he is going top. With this, they can throw up a counter pick to Wukong ( Irelia, Lee Sin, and Singed all work as strong counters to him in top lane). In that situation, Wukong can swap to jungle, allowing the rest of the team to then COUNTER the counter-pick, giving a strong jungle AND a countered top position. If all else goes well, it can also allow a counter-pick in mid or adc, giving the team two major counters instead of the standard one you are going to get.
This advanced technique is one of my main reasons for wanting to develop a viable build for him to jungle with. If you don't like this, fine, but I think it adds a level of customization for Ranked play, and as I'll explain through the rest of his, Wukong is viable and sufficient to run jungle in Ranked.
PROS
|
CONS
|
OFFENSE
Summoner's Wrath : The boost to Exhaust (or Surge if you take that) for the single point is just too useful.
Brute Force : Going through the jungle, any additional damage that can be done will speed up the push through and also help increase your chance of making it through effectively. Furthermore, this comes into play with life steal as well.
Alacrity : Similar to the damage, the attack speed helps deliver that damage quicker, making the jungle push quicker.
Weapon Expertise : This one is specific for Wukong's ult, Cyclone; with the right boost in Armor Penetration, his ult will do a lot more damage when stunning them. Since it isn't a high damage ability to begin with, any boost that can be given is crucial; this also falls in line with the Runes.
TOTAL FOR OFFENSE: 9 points
DEFENSE
Summoner's Resolve : Similar to the point in offense, this grants the 10 extra gold for use with smite.
Resistance : As with any jungle, the ability to resist damage is crucial, along with later game. Wukong has a bit of tank in him, so this helps push that quite a bit (especially since you'll most likely be building damage on him).
Hardiness : Similar to above, this provides armor, which will help sustain in the jungle and is useful later game as well.
Durability : Doesn't seem like much, but sometimes a small boost in health can make a huge difference in the game. I'm also partial to putting the same points into Vigor instead for the health regeneration. I'll leave that decision up to you.
Bladed Armor : One of my favorite masteries to exist, this one allows you to give back a bit of damage to enemies that attack; great for running in the jungle and for use in general combat since you will either be focused OR will be tanking.
TOTAL DEFENSE POINTS: 12
UTILITY
Good Hands : The time reduction for death is always useful. This reduction seems small, but as the game goes on, this can get you back into the fight quite a bit faster. This combined with Mobility Boots will definitely make you a bit more useful and willing to make that turret dive or sacrifice to get the kills knowing you can respawn quicker AND get back into the fight quicker.
Improved Recall : Being a jungle, part of your skill/ability is timing, having to rush back to base to grab that crucial item and then get into the fight. Since jungle is about timing in a lot of facets, having anything that can get you back into the fight quicker is worthwhile.
Swiftness : Broken record: Faster movement -> Faster jungle -> Back into fight faster
Runic Affinity : Almost a necessity as a jungle. For Wukong, your early jungle is very mana dependent (almost as much so as Amumu) so make sure you defend that blue and use this mastery to hold it longer!
TOTAL UTILITY POINTS: 9
The following are the runes I recommend running with Wukong for the jungle. However, I also have seen variations on any of these so, as I was when I read guides, please follow your own preferences. I will specify why I took what I did, possibly provide some substitutions, and explain ones that I think can be removed or traded for others.
MARKS
9 x Greater Mark of Attack Speed
My reasoning for running these are simple: Faster attack speed allows you to run through the jungle quicker, dealing that damage in faster succession. Furthermore, this rune boost in attack speed scales nicely with Wukong's ability Nimbus Strike, which grants a small attack speed boost for 4 seconds after hit. This boost together with the runes helps push the jungle much quicker.
Other runes that could be used in replacement of the attack speed would be attack damage runes Greater Mark of Attack Damage or armor penetration Greater Mark of Desolation for reasons described in the masteries area. The additional damage will also help with the jungle, but I feel the attack speed is better suited for that (due to his Nimbus Strike) and the armor penetration can be build much easier through items if necessary.
SEALS
9 x Greater Seal of Armor
This one seems be a general standard for any tank or jungle since it boots the armor on your champion. As I mentioned earlier, Wukong isn't the fastest jungler, so he will take some damage as he runs through. By boosting his armor, this makes it much easier for him to take those hits and dish some damage back. Furthermore,there aren't many other runes that go here that can match this support. Due to this, I see no viable substitutions for seals.
GLYPHS
9 x Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist
By adding a bit of magic resist, Wukong works his way towards being a tankier champion that can also do some serious damage if built right. However, the magic resistance isn't fully necessary in the jungle (it comes more into play mid-game) so having a stackable resistance is more viable since it matches what the flat magic resist runes provide at level 12 (which is about when some of the major fighting will begin).
Other options would of course be to run flat magic resist runes Greater Glyph of Magic Resist. Once again, looking at the ratios, the stacked by level ones are a better choice.
QUINTESSENCES
3 x Great Quint of Desolation
This one matches up specifically with what was placed in the marks section of runes. If you decide to swap out the attack speed runes Great Mark of Alacrity for damage or penetration, you can redo the Quintessences by swapping in what you missed. So if you got rid of the attack speed for damage, use the Quintessences to run attack speed, and vice versa. This will make it much easier to fight and control the champion, know how he is going to work, etc.
With the jungle for Wukong, there are two main spells that I take for running him, but I'll also explain a few other combinations that work as well along with my explanation for not taking them.
Smite: Simply put, you are running the monkey in the jungle and he does not have the initial damage output to not have this. As with most jungle builds this one is kind of self-explanatory.
Exhaust: Exhaust is a useful spell to run on any champion that is running top and proves equally useful for the jungle. While not useful directly in the jungle, it does add to the ganking power of Wukong allowing him to slow someone down, reduce their damage, and hopefully rip them apart in that time. It is also a great technique for chasing someone (Especially since you have that dash with Nimbus Strike.
Surge: This is a helpful tool to use with Wukong in the jungle to get past that early part of running it. Since it gives you an attack speed boost, you can use it right after the boost of your E goes down Nimbus Strike, which will give you a full 10 seconds of attack speed boost, which can be necessary in pushing that jungle. It also proves quite useful in making that extra bit of damage after you throw down your Q which shreds a bit of their armor. This spell can be used instead of taking Exaust
Flash: Flash is another all-around useful spell. However, my reason for not putting it on Wukong is that your dash from your E Nimbus Strike gives you that gap closing to attack while Warrior Trickster gives you a viable escape route. Due to this, I feel that having something to either buff the damage of Wukong or nerf the damage of your opponent is much more useful. However, this is still viable if you wish.
Teleport: is another useful spell on Wukong, however, leave that for top or mid. I see no reason to have this for the jungle, especially since you are already building mobility into your champion.
Beyond those, the rest of the spells just don't hold a candle for jungling, so I'm not going to go into detail necessarily as to why (since you've all read the reasons in how many other guides already)
My Spells:
Smite | Exhaust | OR | Surge |
Smite: Simply put, you are running the monkey in the jungle and he does not have the initial damage output to not have this. As with most jungle builds this one is kind of self-explanatory.
Exhaust: Exhaust is a useful spell to run on any champion that is running top and proves equally useful for the jungle. While not useful directly in the jungle, it does add to the ganking power of Wukong allowing him to slow someone down, reduce their damage, and hopefully rip them apart in that time. It is also a great technique for chasing someone (Especially since you have that dash with Nimbus Strike.
Surge: This is a helpful tool to use with Wukong in the jungle to get past that early part of running it. Since it gives you an attack speed boost, you can use it right after the boost of your E goes down Nimbus Strike, which will give you a full 10 seconds of attack speed boost, which can be necessary in pushing that jungle. It also proves quite useful in making that extra bit of damage after you throw down your Q which shreds a bit of their armor. This spell can be used instead of taking Exaust
OTHER VIABLE SPELLS
Flash: Flash is another all-around useful spell. However, my reason for not putting it on Wukong is that your dash from your E Nimbus Strike gives you that gap closing to attack while Warrior Trickster gives you a viable escape route. Due to this, I feel that having something to either buff the damage of Wukong or nerf the damage of your opponent is much more useful. However, this is still viable if you wish.
Teleport: is another useful spell on Wukong, however, leave that for top or mid. I see no reason to have this for the jungle, especially since you are already building mobility into your champion.
Beyond those, the rest of the spells just don't hold a candle for jungling, so I'm not going to go into detail necessarily as to why (since you've all read the reasons in how many other guides already)
NOTE: This is written in such a way so as to assume you have never played Wukong before, so my apologies on the overexplanation on each item. If you are just looking for the "how to run it in the jungle" portion of it, read thegreen text.
Passive: Stone Skin
Wukong's armor and magic resistance are increased by 4/6/8 for each nearby champion.
Unfortunately, this passive isn't the most useful in the game, but it does give Wukong a slight boost in team fights as it will buff his armor and magic resistance when he pops in for a fight. This can be useful with his ultimate. Since it is an automatic passive and there isn't really anything you can do to manipulate it, there isn't much to explain with it.
Q Skill: Crushing Blow
Wukong's next attack, within 5 seconds, will deal 30/60/90/120/150 (+1.1 per attack damage) physical damage and will reduce the enemy's armor by 30% for 3 seconds
There are three major points to discuss on this ability.
First off, it shreds armor for 3 seconds, which is extremely useful in a fight in taking down opponents who have a lot of armor built up on them. This is also the "third" iteration in your burst (which is described below) for attacking champions.
Second off, it does a good boost of damage and has a decent scaling with AD, so it is useful in pounding some good damage onto the champion. Also, the damage it delivers is PHYSICAL, so your armor pen will apply to this as well.
Third off, Crushing Blow breaks the game mechanics a bit in that it will reset your "attack delay", meaning that, even if you just autoattacked something, once you activate your Q and attack again, it will automatically trigger the attack, kind of giving you a 2 for 1 special with your attack. This can be really useful when trying to steal those minion kills in the jungle and saving yourself a bit of damage.
For jungling, the Q is your second main attack since the extra damage it does isn't the same as your E. However, the Q is a useful item to land as often as you can when running the jungle (WATCH YOUR MANA) because it will shred the armor of the minion/monster you are attacking, making it easier to deal damage to them for 5 seconds.
W Skill: Warrior Trickster
Wukong becomes stealthed for 1.5 seconds and leaves an uncontrollable decoy that doesn't attack or move on the place he activated it. The decoy will deal 70/115/160/205/250 (+60% of ability power) magic damage to nearby enemies after 1.5 seconds. .
While Warrior Trickster does deal damage (magic damage too), the major purpose of this is as an escape or trickery move. Since you are stealthed during the 1.5 seconds, unit collision no longer applies so it is a great way to jump on a champion, escape, or can even be used as a way to avoid an attack while fighting (if they were originally targeting you, they will continue to target your clone unless they reselect you).
A more advanced feature of Warrior Trickster lies in some interesting tricks. This works for both the jungle and standard, but by pressing S (standard configuration) your champion will stop in place, which the appearance is the exact same as what Wukong's clone does when you activate Warrior Trickster, so proper utilization can cause some people to overshoot you, allowing you to dodge a gank without having to actually use your skill!
For the jungle, Warrior Trickster functions in a similar method as above (especially useful with the fake-out procedure), but also has one more highly viable feature. For ganking a lane, use of the Warrior Trickster can grant you a few seconds of non-detection before you are seen, giving you time to close the gap and hit them even harder. Even better, if you happen to land in a bush that someone has warded, use of Warrior Trickster can allow you to sneak into the lane without them realizing it (unless of course it's a sight ward). This can create some nice ganks without them even realizing it, giving a nice advantage.
E Skill: Nimbus Strike
Wukong dashes on a cloud toward a target enemy and sends out images to attack up to 2 additional enemies near this target, dealing 60/105/150/195/240 (+0.8 per bonus attack damage) physical damage to each enemy struck. He also gains a 30/35/40/45/50% attack speed bonus for 4 seconds after using this skill.
Nimbus Strike is what makes Wukong a great champion, a great burst damager, and gives him the viability and skill to be an awesome jungler. So, in general, this is the initiation move for attacking a champion (and is first in the burst sequence described below). This can also work as a great escape (especially combined with Warrior Trickster) as you can jump towards minions to try and get out of the way. Unfortunately, you CANNOT jump to your own minions.
So there isn't too much special in the jungle for Nimbus Strike except that this is your main skill for running the jungle. The damage output it does early is extremely useful, along with the fact that it can damage multiple enemies, AND gives you the attack speed boost. This is why getting an early and lengthy blue buff comes in handy; the blue buff should allow you to engage almost any jungle monster constantly with your Nimbus Strike sequence, keeping your attack speed up and doing the necessary damage.
When ganking, this is your distance closing move; it allows you to get into the fight quickly and deal that necessary damage. It also gives you a chase ability if you need to turret dive and get that last quick hit.
R Skill (Ultimate): Cyclone
Wukong's staff grows outward and he spins it around for up to 4 seconds, dealing 20/110/200 (+1.2 per attack damage) damage every second and knocking enemies up once per cast. Wukong gains an additional 5% movement speed bonus every half second for the duration of the spell, with the bonus disappearing once he stops spinning. Wukong cannot attack or use other abilities while Cyclone is on, but he can deactivate it at any time.
So Cyclone is the reason why Wukong is a ton of fun and an extremely viable champion. Combine this at the proper time in your sequence and the effects can be massive. Beyond the simple CC it provides, it can also be deactivated at any time, making this an effective initiation tool, escape tool, and saving tool depending on the situation! In truth, the skill for using Wukong comes from knowing and determining when to use your ultimate and when to not. The cooldown isn't too long on it but is just long enough to make you think twice about wasting it. Keep in mind the knock up isn't too long (only about 1.5 seconds) so if you are just using it for the stun, you wanna pop it, go in, and turn it off to get out. This can be combined with Warrior Trickster after you disengage it (or it ends on its own) to escape away from a fight, potentially saving your team from a nasty fight.
So those are the skills! However, as I'm sure you imagined, there is more. The true trick to running Wukong through the jungle is knowing how to use his abilities to the best and knowing how to call situations properly and make his damage or viability that much better, so here is some details on how to run him.
ALL SEQUENCES BELOW ASSUME YOU ARE AT LEAST LEVEL 6 TO HAVE HIS ULTIMATE
The standard engagement revolves around the following sequence:
This sequence is the standard run for a normal engagement (partially assuming it's a 1v1 at this point). The use of the ultimate is conditional but in general that will stop them from flashing out before you can do the necessary damage and whatnot. This sequence is made all the more powerful when combined with the recommended items, specifically Sheen, which will do additional damage on your next Auto Attack after your use an ability (thus, the reason for the AA between abilities above!). Remember, your Q will give you that extra damage, shred the armor, and then give the buff from Sheen as necessary.
A simple sequence that, if timed right, should allow you to deal some serious damage and get away before they can respond. Be careful though, once the champion starts catching on to this sequence, if they have a CC they will start engaging that on you right away to try and catch you in the middle of the sequence.
This sequence can also be modified slightly if you are engaging on a champion without a CC as you can do some damage in between the spell casting.
This sequence is great for running the jungle ganks as it provides you some awesome features you just don't have with every jungle, the first being the stealth attached to Warrior Trickster, which gives you those free precious seconds to close the gap on your enemy and you, allowing you to dash in and start the sequence.
In many gank situations, the enemy champion will engage flash as soon as you hit them, HENCE WHY I DON'T PUT CYCLONE FIRST!!! Get them to burn their flash and re-engage if possible, or try to get back before it comes back. If you can force them to burn their summoner spell without burning your ult, job well done!
ALL SEQUENCES BELOW ASSUME YOU ARE AT LEAST LEVEL 6 TO HAVE HIS ULTIMATE
Standard Engagement
The standard engagement revolves around the following sequence:
1. E Nimbus Strike
2. Auto Attack
3. Q Crushing Blow
4. Auto Attack
5. R Cyclone
6. Repeat as necessary
2. Auto Attack
3. Q Crushing Blow
4. Auto Attack
5. R Cyclone
6. Repeat as necessary
This sequence is the standard run for a normal engagement (partially assuming it's a 1v1 at this point). The use of the ultimate is conditional but in general that will stop them from flashing out before you can do the necessary damage and whatnot. This sequence is made all the more powerful when combined with the recommended items, specifically Sheen, which will do additional damage on your next Auto Attack after your use an ability (thus, the reason for the AA between abilities above!). Remember, your Q will give you that extra damage, shred the armor, and then give the buff from Sheen as necessary.
Poke/Harass Sequence
A simple sequence that, if timed right, should allow you to deal some serious damage and get away before they can respond. Be careful though, once the champion starts catching on to this sequence, if they have a CC they will start engaging that on you right away to try and catch you in the middle of the sequence.
This sequence can also be modified slightly if you are engaging on a champion without a CC as you can do some damage in between the spell casting.
Gank Sequence
1. W Warrior Trickster
2. E Nimbus Strike
3. Auto Attack
4. Q Crushing Blow
5. Auto Attack
6. Repeat until they back off
7. As they back off, engage R Cyclone
7a. If possible, use your E Nimbus Strike to land on them
2. E Nimbus Strike
3. Auto Attack
4. Q Crushing Blow
5. Auto Attack
6. Repeat until they back off
7. As they back off, engage R Cyclone
7a. If possible, use your E Nimbus Strike to land on them
This sequence is great for running the jungle ganks as it provides you some awesome features you just don't have with every jungle, the first being the stealth attached to Warrior Trickster, which gives you those free precious seconds to close the gap on your enemy and you, allowing you to dash in and start the sequence.
In many gank situations, the enemy champion will engage flash as soon as you hit them, HENCE WHY I DON'T PUT CYCLONE FIRST!!! Get them to burn their flash and re-engage if possible, or try to get back before it comes back. If you can force them to burn their summoner spell without burning your ult, job well done!
BUILD 1 (Running with Wriggles)
BUILD 2 (Running w/o Wriggles)
In the builds above, I've got two main item combinations that I see as extremely viable all-around setups for jungling Wukong. My reason for having both up there is a bit of preference; some people still like running Wriggle's Lantern through the jungle for the ward and the additional magic damage while others are looking for ways to break away from it and rush other items. For a champion like Wukong, Trinity Force is just an unbeatable item on him and, in the second build, I rush that instead of Wriggle's Lantern and also build him with high health regeneration and resistance/armor, while in the first build, banking off the life steal effect, get a similar end-game but with less health regeneration and instead a high bit of life steal.
As with any good jungler, the item build above is meant to be a "general" guide, meaning that, depending on how the game is going, the items should be modified accordingly. One of the great strengths of Wukong in the jungle is his ability to play an assortment of class styles, whether that be a strong tank, a hard CC champion (combined with slows and effects), a more harass and poke based champion, or even a straight up damage champion, items can be combined in certain ways to give him whatever effect he needs. Therefore, the builds above are my "recommended" general builds to go with as they cover a good middle ground between decent damage, high health, armor, resistance, and some other "buff" like slow, life steal, or health regeneration. I'll explain my choices and detail some of the combinations of items that work well with Wukong and also present a section of "alternate" items to run with him in certain situations.
Starting Items:
Cloth Armor & 5x Health Potion
This is a common start for jungling, especially for those that don't have the best viability in the early part of the jungle. This can be substituted for boots and pots ( Boots and 3x Health Pot, but I think the extra bit of armor makes sure you aren't going to get in trouble in the jungle. It also is VERY dependent on your leash; a strong leash is needed to really make it work well, otherwise you'll need those extra pots.
Primary Item Order:
Boots & 2x Health Potion
This should be your grab on your first back (after your first rotation through the jungle -> see below if you need details on the timing). When reentering the jungle, you want to have 3 Health Pot on you in case of invade, so if you were able to save a few because of a good leash and some lucky crits, then you won't need to buy as many.
IF GOING Wriggle's Lantern
Vampiric Scepter
Grab this as soon as you can as it'll help with our sustain. This should be on about the third or fourth round of the jungle if you are lucky. If you happen to be out in lanes more often then expected, it's ok to wait. This item is a crucial build into Wriggle's Lantern and helps with sustain.
Wriggle's Lantern
The basic standard for most jungle champions pre-season 2. However, it does still have a bit of viability, but there can be alternatives. If you are going this route, you already know the benefits it provides, but for those that don't, it grants the ability to drop a ward once every 3 minutes, some life steal, some armor, and a chance to do bonus magic damage on hit. A good all-around item.
IF NOT DOING WRIGGLE'S LANTERN:
Ruby Crystal & 2x Sight Ward
If you are not going for Wriggles, start rushing for Trinity Force, the first choice always being to target Phage since it gives the chance of a slow and boosts your overall health which is extremely viable in running the jungle and those ganks. Since you don't have Wriggle's Lantern this is when you are going to want to grab a few wards for warding Dragon, Baron, or your crucial buffs. Good cooperation and teamwork can reduce the number needed, but these are always necessary to pay attention to.
Phage Explained above
THIS POINT THE GUIDES CONVERGE
Mobility Boots
I know I'm going to get some feedback on this decision, but I find these to be one of the greatest grabs in the game for a jungle. The ehnanced movement will allow you to get back into a fight quicker, get across the map quicker, and allow for more effective ganks. As Wukong you already have a decent chase, but not having to burn that Nimbus Strike all the time to catch a champion is awesome, not to mention it goes perfectly well with Warrior Trickster; Popping that steal before rushing in for a gank is a brutal technique for skilled Wukong junglers. Combined with Mobility Boots, the distance covered is increased before you come out of stealth, a great combination.
ALTERNATE BOOTS:
Mercury Treads
A standard boot build for Wukong, this item grants a big of magic resistance along with the movement speed boost; on top of that, it stacks Tenacity, which will reduce the duration of slows, stuns, etc. These are extremely viable for the jungle and for Wukong in general, but if you aren't in a situation/game where this is an issue, they aren't always that worth it. The rest of the build is going to get you the magic resistance and health you need, so having the extra mobility can be more worth it, but these are viable.
Trinity Force
This is the holy grail of items for Wukong. Very few people are unaware of the power of this item and the cost associated with it seems to point in the same direction. For Wukong, here is the breakdown of effectivness:
Trinity Force tends to get ignored at times for numerous champions, especially in the jungle, but combined with Wukong's abilities, the true power of this item is seen. It also builds nicely on top.
A): It grants a chance to slow upon hit, which is useful for ANY jungle engagement.
B): It grants a 150% damage boost after using an ability. As explained earlier in the skills section, the sequence used for Wukong's attack and harass fits well with this ability, so this greatly enhances the damage output of Wukong and grants him some serious power.
C): It grants movement speed, attack speed, and crit chance, all elements that can boost the damage output.
D): It grants health and mana. These are kind of self explanatory.
E): All these buffs take up ONE slot in your items...meaning you can still build on top of this.
B): It grants a 150% damage boost after using an ability. As explained earlier in the skills section, the sequence used for Wukong's attack and harass fits well with this ability, so this greatly enhances the damage output of Wukong and grants him some serious power.
C): It grants movement speed, attack speed, and crit chance, all elements that can boost the damage output.
D): It grants health and mana. These are kind of self explanatory.
E): All these buffs take up ONE slot in your items...meaning you can still build on top of this.
Trinity Force tends to get ignored at times for numerous champions, especially in the jungle, but combined with Wukong's abilities, the true power of this item is seen. It also builds nicely on top.
DIVERGENCE:
So this is the point in which the guide kind of diverges since it is the point where decisions have to be made about how you want to build Wukong. In my opinion from the numerous games I've played with him, I feel there are 5 main avenues you can go when jungling him, and I will detail each one and explain the general choice of items. I will then describe and detail all the viable items that can be run on Wukong.
PATH 1: High Damage
While not technically a carry, Wukong can do a serious amount of output, especially when combined with a bit of armor penetration to supplement his Crushing Blow attack. So here are the remaining items to build if you want to go damage based
WITH WRIGGLES:
4. Infinity Edge
5. Madred's Bloodrazer
6. Last Whisper
7. Phantom Dancer (IF NO WRIGGLES
High damage item that also scales with the increased critical chance that is granted from Trinity Force
5. Madred's Bloodrazer
This is great and almost specific to having a high tanky opponent. Most occasions when Wukong is going to want to go damage is because the opposite team is building really tanky, so this helps cut through that **** really well.
6. Last Whisper
As mentioned, armor penetration is extremely useful on Wukong and if you are building for damage, this is a great addition at the end as it will give you more damage, allow you to break through armor, and work with all the other items currently on Wukong.
7. Phantom Dancer (IF NO WRIGGLES
This item will buff everything with increased attack speed and critical chance. If you get to a point to build this item on Wukong, you should have already won the game :)
PATH 2: Support Jungler
This is probably my favorite route to run Wukong because it allows you to work with the team's support to basically stack all the possible aura items and give your entire team a huge boost and buff. So why does this work for him? Since Wukong doesn't need a ton of extra power to really be successful, he can take the little boosts he gets with the buffs and basically work more as a CC champion and help assist the team in making kills, effectively giving the team two major support champions to work with, but one of them still having a decent amount of damage. So here is the build for that:
4. Warmog's Armor
5. Frozen Heart OR Aegis of the Legion
6. Zeke's Herald
IF NO WRIGGLES
7a. Ageis of the Legion
7b. Shurelya's Battlesong
7c. Locket of the Iron Solari
While not fully a support item, this will grant a ton of health making his other items that much more useful since he can stay in lane much longer.
5. Frozen Heart OR Aegis of the Legion
This will depend on the team comp and how things are going at the moment since many support champions will build one or the other by this point, so make sure you don't double upon it. Take what is necessary for the current fights and make sure to balance between you and the support.
6. Zeke's Herald
A great item, grants life steal and attack speed to everyone around you along with some cooldown reduction to help you get your Cyclone Ult off more often. In addition, this item is relatively cheap compared to the buffs you get for it.
IF NO WRIGGLES
7a. Ageis of the Legion
Explained above, but it grants a bit of defense, magic resistance, and damage. A very useful item and always a great aura build; get this if you really just need to buff your team a bit but nothing specific is needed.
7b. Shurelya's Battlesong
Great use if you want to give a bit of health and mana regeneration and can be extremely useful in initiating some decent team fights or for getting away from a badly setup one. This item tends to be a better build early due to the gold bonus you can get from Philospher's Stone but the effect is still the same.
7c. Locket of the Iron Solari
This is a decent one to give your team a bit more protection and can help quite a bit with some high-level sustain in a big fight. Just make sure you know when to activate it!
Otherwise, another decent route to go for a support jungle on Wukong would be to forgo the last item and instead stack up wards and purchase Oracle's Elixir at this point. In this light, you will help your team have some decent vision of the map and can hopefully restrict the vision of your opponents. I feel like I cannot stress this concept enough, as proper vision (and proper restriction of vision) can be game turners as much so as hitting Baron at the right time.
PATH 3: The Solid Jungler
This seems like a weird category, but if nothing special is needed for the team (you have your damage balanced along with your sustain) then you can build a straight jungle setup, which is very similar to the items presented above. Here are the more "specifics" of this type of build.
Sub 4: Oracle's Elixir & 4x Sight Ward
The concept here is simple: if your team doesn't need anything special at this point in the game, getting Oracle's Elixir will help reduce the vision of your opponent and the wards will allow you to get the necessary vision of the map. These can be HUGE fight changers since you will most likely know where your opponents are coming from well before they get there and, since you have Oracle's Elixir you can barrel through a jungle without fear of being unknowingly seen![/indent[
4. Warmog's Armor
5. Thornmail
6. Sunfire Aegis
7. (IF NO WRIGGLES)
{indent]This one once again will depend on the fight; if you've gotten enough gold to buy your last item, as a running jungle, i'd leave it open to place Vision Ward and Sight Ward into along with purchasing Oracle's Elixir, running the jungle, dropping the wards and picking off the wards your opponents have dropped. If this doesn't interest you (or you have a decent enough of a team that you don't feel this is truly necessary), then the last item I would build is Atma's Impaler since you've already stacked up the health with Warmog's Armor. This adds a good amount of damage to your attacks, some crit chance, and a bit more armor. This can also help take down towers and monsters a bit quicker, useful for counter-jungling and stealing buffs.
4. Warmog's Armor
Reasons explained above, but this is a great jungling item. The power behind a decent jungle is their ability to do decent damage, assist in fights, and stay on the field as much as possible. If the jungle has to return to base, it better not be when everyone else in the team is, so the extra straight health and the decent boost in health regeneration is useful in that respect.
5. Thornmail
If you are up against an AD heavy team, this is always a great way to for items. If you don't need the armor protection (or more of the damage is coming from mages and AP damage) you can replace this with Banshee's Veil or rush Force of Nature to counter in the same way. Either way, this item should be a level of sustain vs. damage based to make it easier to hit ganks in the lane. Thornmail is also a useful item because it can help against taking Dragon down much quicker.
6. Sunfire Aegis
This is a given for the jungling Wukong. If you are running him as a straight/solid jungler, that means you are focusing more on his CC and poke potential than focusing on the overall output or tankiness he has. So Wukong's goal in these fights is going to be to pop in, stun everyone, and get out of the way before he takes too much damage and dies. This allows the rest of your team to finish the damage. Because of this, Wukong will almost always be in the center of fights, so Sunfire Aegis works well with this
7. (IF NO WRIGGLES)
{indent]This one once again will depend on the fight; if you've gotten enough gold to buy your last item, as a running jungle, i'd leave it open to place Vision Ward and Sight Ward into along with purchasing Oracle's Elixir, running the jungle, dropping the wards and picking off the wards your opponents have dropped. If this doesn't interest you (or you have a decent enough of a team that you don't feel this is truly necessary), then the last item I would build is Atma's Impaler since you've already stacked up the health with Warmog's Armor. This adds a good amount of damage to your attacks, some crit chance, and a bit more armor. This can also help take down towers and monsters a bit quicker, useful for counter-jungling and stealing buffs.
If the straight damage doesn't fully appeal to you, you can substitute out anything from the other groups that fits what you are hoping to achieve.
PATH 4: Pure Tank
This is a viable choice for Wukong if the your team has a lot of damage but just isn't surviving long enough to make a fight happen. One of the major strengths of Wukong is his ability to swap about his builds to play the different areas of the game and conform to whatever role is truly needed for him at this point, so here are the details for a mainly tanky build.
4. Warmog's Armor
5. Force of Nature
6. Frozen Heart
7.
Self-explanatory
5. Force of Nature
A great item to throw on a tank like Wukong, as it will grant him a ton more health regeneration, the largest boost in magic resistance you can get with a single item, and it isn't that expensive for what you get. It also pairs nicely with the next item
6. Frozen Heart
This will complete the main tankiness of the entire build if you already have Wriggle's Latern built. This item is seen on a lot of jungles or supports on almost every team and grants a slow for any enemies around him, provides some armor, mana, and a little bit of cooldown reduction.
7.
If you started Wriggle's Latern I highly recommend selling it at this point if you are trying to go tanky, because this last item is the trick for it all and Wriggle's Latern doesn't provide enough of anything to make it viable in this run. So selling it, you can complete the build with Thornmail or Guardian Angel depending on how things are running; enough AD damage on the other team and Thornmail will be a pain for them to deal with. However, if that isn't the case, GA can allow you to facetank a fight and assist.
I do want to make the note that Wukong probably performs the lowest as a real tanky champion; he tends to work much better as an OffTank and a general DPS champion, but he can still operate as a tank if the team desires it.
I do want to make the note that Wukong probably performs the lowest as a real tanky champion; he tends to work much better as an OffTank and a general DPS champion, but he can still operate as a tank if the team desires it.
PATH 5: OffTank/Combo
So this last path doesnt' really have anything too specific to it since most of the items have already been explained in how they work with Wukong and their respective builds, so this path is more of a combination of the paths and builds described above, so this level mainly requires you to make the decision based on the fight. Point: If things are going well but then suddenly they stack up a ton of armor and magic resistance, you can counter that by pushing armor penetration and damage, adding to your team, or working as a tank yourself. On the flip, if you have a support going more specific builds, you can throw on a few of the Auras while also building more damage-based items for yourself. It is in this light that Wukong is a beautiful champion to work with in the jungle.
I know that's a lot of detail and information for the items, but as a jungle, I've had enough times where I've sat there for a moment going "ok, what should I build next?". I detail some more techniques/advice for jungling in the last section here.
So with any jungle champion, a lot of the specifics and skill comes in running through the jungle. Now with most standard jungle champions, this doesn't prove to be a huge issue and can often be modified in a few different ways as long as certain parameters are followed. However, for Wukong this isn't necessarily the case, so I provide my own recommendations and techniques for running the jungle as Wukong and hopefully identify a few pitfalls and potential issues I've seen in running things.
So on each of these engagements, here is the general strategy and technique for pushing Wukong through the jungle effectively.
Your E Nimbus Strike is seriously your friend in the jungle; not only will it damage multiple units, you also get an attack speed boost for 4 seconds after you throw it. Use this as often as your mana will allow you as it helps you push through the jungle the quickest.
Your Q Crushing Blow is nice for the damage and armor shredding, so use this when possible as well. It is especially effective as a starting attack on the larger monsters (like the big wolf or the big wraith) as it will reduce their armor, allowing you to punch through with more damage.
Your W Warrior Trickster is virtually useless in the jungle. The reason I recommend getting it at your 4th level is so that you can use it when ganking the lanes.
On that same note, ganking with Wukong in the jungle is a bit slower than others. In truth, I would recommend holding off hitting a lane until you hit level 4 (which should be after a second run through of the Jungle or pretty close to it). At this point you should have two stacks in your E Nimbus Strike and one in Q Crushing Blow and one in W Warrior Trickster which will allow you to dash in, do some damage, and back off with Warrior Trickster if necessary, or use Warrior Trickster to sneak in at the right time.
Further, Wukong's jungle strength makes a huge leap once he gets his ultimate Cyclone as it allows a major CC attack and has a decently low cooldown compared to other ultimates. Again, look at my guide information above about how to engage in these fights to really get the max out of your items.
On your second run I'd recommend getting the red buff at some point, but make that determination as you see fit. You will also probably need at least one more run of the blue buff once it comes back up, so be wary of that and make sure your mid/mage knows this going into the fight so they don't all of sudden expect it and not get it. You can give it to the mid, but it will probably slow you down as for the first few runs, you really need to be using your E and Q as much as possible to push through the lane. Once you have Phage or Wriggle's Lantern you start stacking enough damage and speed to start pushing the damage without.
Make sure you are checking for Dragon and Baron as needed; Wukong can handle Dragon with a little help around lvl 8 with this build, comes close to soloing it around level 14 with the build above. Again, this can all change depending on how you build and how the fights go.
Wukong unfortunately is not a champion that can successfully solo Baron, at least not in any configuration I've played with and seen. If someone finds a way, please by all means let me know (I came close once, but it just wasn't enough). However, the damage output he has with his Nimbus Strike and Crushing Blow does allow for a semi-early Baron as long as the team is doing well. With a well fed/leveled Wukong Baron can be handled by 3 people, allowing two to wander nearby, making it less likely that the opposing team is going to assume Baron is being taken. Most games I've ran jungle Wukong we've been taking Baron around 28 minutes, and this was without any sort of unbalanced kills or feeding. It was a relatively even game (kill-wise) at that point, but a good engagement gave it to us easily.
Ah, one of the other major reason I like jungling Wukong, he can be an excellent counter jungler once he hits like level 6. Due to his Warrior Trickster skill, he can easily escape as necessary through a jungle with all the bushes nearby, it's unlikely that an enemy champion will successfully be able to track him if done right. Not to mention, once you get away with it one time, you can easily "fake" the jungle out by using the S-key "stop" technique described above to make them run past, then run the opposite direction and hopefully actually escape as necessary.
However, on the flipside of things, since Wukong is slightly reliant on the right run of the jungle and the right elements, you will want to be wary of your opponent counter-jungilng you. Wukong can be shut down slightly hard this way if the team isn't watching this successfully. Just be aware of this fact and, if you notice them starting to steal items from your jungle, start warding the important items and make sure your team keeps their eyes open.
First Run
1. Blue (Get a good leash! If you can get mid to leash and your top to do some damage, you can easily get out of this without having to burn a health pot (if you use smite) or without burning smite.)
2. Wolves (Use Pot)
3. Wraiths (Use Pot)
4. Golems (Use Pot if nec)
Return
2. Wolves (Use Pot)
3. Wraiths (Use Pot)
4. Golems (Use Pot if nec)
Return
So on each of these engagements, here is the general strategy and technique for pushing Wukong through the jungle effectively.
Your E Nimbus Strike is seriously your friend in the jungle; not only will it damage multiple units, you also get an attack speed boost for 4 seconds after you throw it. Use this as often as your mana will allow you as it helps you push through the jungle the quickest.
Your Q Crushing Blow is nice for the damage and armor shredding, so use this when possible as well. It is especially effective as a starting attack on the larger monsters (like the big wolf or the big wraith) as it will reduce their armor, allowing you to punch through with more damage.
Your W Warrior Trickster is virtually useless in the jungle. The reason I recommend getting it at your 4th level is so that you can use it when ganking the lanes.
On that same note, ganking with Wukong in the jungle is a bit slower than others. In truth, I would recommend holding off hitting a lane until you hit level 4 (which should be after a second run through of the Jungle or pretty close to it). At this point you should have two stacks in your E Nimbus Strike and one in Q Crushing Blow and one in W Warrior Trickster which will allow you to dash in, do some damage, and back off with Warrior Trickster if necessary, or use Warrior Trickster to sneak in at the right time.
Further, Wukong's jungle strength makes a huge leap once he gets his ultimate Cyclone as it allows a major CC attack and has a decently low cooldown compared to other ultimates. Again, look at my guide information above about how to engage in these fights to really get the max out of your items.
SECOND RUN
On your second run I'd recommend getting the red buff at some point, but make that determination as you see fit. You will also probably need at least one more run of the blue buff once it comes back up, so be wary of that and make sure your mid/mage knows this going into the fight so they don't all of sudden expect it and not get it. You can give it to the mid, but it will probably slow you down as for the first few runs, you really need to be using your E and Q as much as possible to push through the lane. Once you have Phage or Wriggle's Lantern you start stacking enough damage and speed to start pushing the damage without.
Make sure you are checking for Dragon and Baron as needed; Wukong can handle Dragon with a little help around lvl 8 with this build, comes close to soloing it around level 14 with the build above. Again, this can all change depending on how you build and how the fights go.
Wukong unfortunately is not a champion that can successfully solo Baron, at least not in any configuration I've played with and seen. If someone finds a way, please by all means let me know (I came close once, but it just wasn't enough). However, the damage output he has with his Nimbus Strike and Crushing Blow does allow for a semi-early Baron as long as the team is doing well. With a well fed/leveled Wukong Baron can be handled by 3 people, allowing two to wander nearby, making it less likely that the opposing team is going to assume Baron is being taken. Most games I've ran jungle Wukong we've been taking Baron around 28 minutes, and this was without any sort of unbalanced kills or feeding. It was a relatively even game (kill-wise) at that point, but a good engagement gave it to us easily.
COUNTER JUNGLING
Ah, one of the other major reason I like jungling Wukong, he can be an excellent counter jungler once he hits like level 6. Due to his Warrior Trickster skill, he can easily escape as necessary through a jungle with all the bushes nearby, it's unlikely that an enemy champion will successfully be able to track him if done right. Not to mention, once you get away with it one time, you can easily "fake" the jungle out by using the S-key "stop" technique described above to make them run past, then run the opposite direction and hopefully actually escape as necessary.
However, on the flipside of things, since Wukong is slightly reliant on the right run of the jungle and the right elements, you will want to be wary of your opponent counter-jungilng you. Wukong can be shut down slightly hard this way if the team isn't watching this successfully. Just be aware of this fact and, if you notice them starting to steal items from your jungle, start warding the important items and make sure your team keeps their eyes open.
Well there you have it, that's my build for successfully running Wukong through the jungle. I will use this section to add things as I see fit along with giving credit to people as necessary. I do want to make one small point here: I"m open to any and all suggestions on this guide, so please, give me workable feedback and I promise I will take it into account and try things out. This is by no means a "perfected" guide yet as I'm still playing with some new ideas and items, but I wanted to show what i've been working with.
SO first off, I want to give credit to BlackIceT: His is the first guide I ever actually looked at for a champion I was playing and I take quite a bit of my learning style on Wukong from his guide, so props to him.
Also, a HUGE thanks to jhoijhoi for his guide on how to make a guide and for his dividers and other elements within this guide. You can see his "guide on making a guide" here
I'll continue to list anyone else on here that ends up contributing to this in anyway!
SO first off, I want to give credit to BlackIceT: His is the first guide I ever actually looked at for a champion I was playing and I take quite a bit of my learning style on Wukong from his guide, so props to him.
Also, a HUGE thanks to jhoijhoi for his guide on how to make a guide and for his dividers and other elements within this guide. You can see his "guide on making a guide" here
I'll continue to list anyone else on here that ends up contributing to this in anyway!
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