COUNTER JUNGLING. Take what you can give nothing back!

Just wanted to make a short guide about counter jungling after doing a few games where I had junglers who apparently did not know how important it is. It basically makes you a pirate and who does not want to be a pirate?

• Watch the map
• Keep track of timers
• Always have an escape ready
• Hand of the Gods
• Have an escape plan
• Ward

When you are in the enemy jungle you should watch the minimap ALL THE TIME, so learn to walk by just watching the minimap and kill the camps while watching the map as well. If the enemy jungle is in the duo lane you can safely take some of his buffs in the solo lane.

Keeping track of timers is piece of cake now that the timers are visible on the minimap, but it is still really important that you are there when the camp spawns. And because you killed the camp without the enemy team being there (hopefully), they do not know the exact time for the spawn. So you should be able to sneak the camp before the enemy team notices that it is up.

No not use your jump when clearing the buff, you are most likely going to need it to get out after stealing the buff.

Clear speed is alpha and omega when it comes to counter jungling, so upgrading Hand of the Gods to rank 2 can be a good idea. Doing so will make the cooldown 30 seconds shorter and because you need to clear your own jungle and the enemy jungle it will make you able to gank a lot more.

This again comes down to watching the minimap and also having communication with your team. If mid lane is rotating, you want to have a plan to avoid running into him when you are done stealing buffs. The same goes for if duo lane rotates etc. basically you need a escape route fore every scenario to be safe.

You need to ward to be able to know where the enemy gods are and where they are not. Knowing that there isn't anyone at red buff is almost as important that knowing that there is someone at red buff. Another great perk is that you get the respawn timer for the buff even if you weren't there when it was taken.

It is forcing a lead for your team to possibly snowball on and then win the game. It also makes the enemy jungle obsolete unless he is something like Thanatos, Tyr or Thor who can do well even from behind as long as they get followup from the team.

For example if you pick up the enemy baby harpies, some of your teammates can take your baby harpies which is a good 71 gold and 184 exp. Just by doing this you give your team a gold and experience lead which will shape the game in your favor. A 1000 gold lead can easily snowball to a 5000 and 10000 lead in a matter of minutes if your team knows how to play when ahead.

It also makes it harder for the enemy jungler to gank, because he is behind and lacks the damage to do much. There is exceptions of course, like Thanatos who can be lvl 2 vs lvl 6 and still gank like a boss. Which then leads to your team being able to farm a lot safer and being able to be aggressive in lane. As well as making it easier for you to gank, because the enemy jungler does not have the opportunity to lose out on more farm by counter ganking.

First of all you need/should have a god with good mobility/escapes and damage enough to kill the camps fast. Here is a list of what gods I personally find best for counter jungling. Note that it has nothing to do with what gods are good etc *cough* Arachne *cough*

Tier 1

Bastet, Odin, Arachne

Tier list 1 explanation

Bastet: She has good damage and Pounce can be used to great effect while being chased, that is why she is on the top of the list.
Odin: He has pretty low damage, because you need to save Lunge for escaping. But his passive birds of wisdom gives you a early heads up if you are getting rotated on. You might not get every camp with him, but you can not die and that is why he is on the top of the list.
Arachne: She has the best early game (pre 5) in the game, Poison Claws, Broodlings and Drain Life makes you able to 1v2 with no problem. You got no escape but the slow on Broodlings makes you able to escape most of the time, but fighting will most of the time be the best option. The Broodlings are also a nice little surprise that you can leave at camp for the enemy jungler. So instead of getting farm all he gets is a few spider bites.

Tier 2

Thor, Hun Batz, Fenrir, Bakasura, Thanatos

Tier list 2 explanation

Thor: He has good damage and Mjolnir's Attunement is a great escape as long as you do not get stunned after throwing it!
Hun Batz: He has great damage and Somersault is one of the fastest jumps in the game.
Fenrir: He pretty much has the fastest clear speed and Unchained followed up by a Brutalize makes for a great escape.
Bakasura: He has good damage and Eat Minions makes for fast jungle clear, Take Down is also a great jump because it is fast like Somersault.
Thanatos: He just got insane damage, no escape though before Hovering Death. But if you get ganked you can pretty much just kill them.

Tier 3

Freya, Loki, Mercury, Ne Zha, Tyr, Kali, Nemesis, Ymir, Athena

Tier list 3 explanation

Freya: She has great damage and Banish can be used for helping with escapes, but it is a lot easier to screw up than to jump over a wall.
Loki: He has pretty slow clear but good single target damage, and his Vanish is a great tool for escaping a bad situation.
Mercury: He has a decent clear and Special Delivery can be used to dash out of trouble, but it is not a jump.
Ne Zha: He has a good clear and ring toss can be used to both slow down enemies and give you a movement speed steroid.
Tyr: He has a decent clear, but he has no jumps before Lawbringer. He has good sustain with Power Cleave though and Fearless is a good escape tool if you got Change Stance.
Kali: She has fairly low damage early, but Nimble Strike is a really fast jump and a good escape tool.
Nemesis: She has a decent clear speed and Swift Vengeance is a really good dash, but it is still just a dash.
Ymir: He has a great clear with Glacial Strike and Frost Breath together with Ice Wall can make for great escape tools in the jungle.
Athena: Her clear speed is good and Preemptive Strike is a decent dash. When she gets Defender of Olympus she can pretty much get out of anything.

After picking your god and getting into the game you have to do is put some pressure on the jungle and solo laner, hopefully with the first wave of minions. So clear the camps as fast as you possibly can then move to the lane and push. If you get a good clean push before the enemy solo and jungle comes to the lane you can go straight to enemy baby harpies or you can stay and hopefully get some good poke on the enemy gods or even a kill to be able to invade more safely. Because if the enemy team are on the ball they should rotate from mid to protect the jungle camps and if the enemy jungle is at full health he can just leave the solo lane and make it a 2v1, which could end up with a easy first blood for them. So look at that minimap! Can't see anyone in mid and just the solo laner in solo lane? GTFO ASAP (unless you are Arachne ofc)!

After doing the baby harpy camp cross over the mid lane between the tier 1 and tier 2 tower and steal the other baby harpy and/or the damage or speed buff depending on what side you started on. Just keep an eye on the minions so that you do not get spotted while walking over the lane!

Here you are OK to pass!

Wait for the wave to pass!

Here you are OK to pass!

I can add more videos as I get some good games showcasing counter jungling if that is something ppl want. But I think this at least shows the basics (leave the annotations on if you want my thought process during the game).

Guess I'm not really done with the guide. But i'm stuck, so tell me what to add if you feel there is anything that is missing. And I will add stuff along the way :P