Although League of Legends would appear as a simple MOBA at first glance, the diverse and engaging world of Runeterra has a vast and captivating history behind it, which Riot games wasn’t afraid to gradually introduce us to. From hidden passives or plotlines to full on rivalries, the way League’s champions interact with each other is best observed through the lore, and today we’ll be focusing on one of the most iconic grudges in League history.
After losing one of his eyes to Kha’Zix, Rengar is joining the battle, providing a new and to this day unique mechanic to the game, through his ability to leap from brushes in order to slaughter his prey. Not only that, but the Pridestalker has two more mechanics to set him apart from the rest of the champions, featuring empowered abilities and trophy collection, which were both quite rare back when Rengar was first released.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Pridestakler has always been in a rather solid position in League of Legends, as he isn’t brokenly oppressive or hard to counter, but can also run away with games if played properly.
In the current meta, Assassins can thrive on the raw Lethality items and can also implement a handful of other, utility driven picks in their build, in order to get the most out of the current state of League.
These being said, allow us to introduce you to the core Rengar mechanics, focusing especially on the ideal Jungle routes and clearing strategies, after we take a look at the ideal Summoner Spells, Runes and items, stay tuned!
Summoner Spells
Flash + Smite
As is the case with most Assassin Junglers, Rengar can theoretically get away with running Ignite, as a method to gain some additional early game kill pressure, yet that doesn’t make the idea great.
Unlike Shaco or Talon, Rengar cannot get over terrain through his basic abilities alone, which means that once he enters combat, it is quite difficult to get out of sticky scenarios.
Unless you are an experienced Junglers, who wants to win the early game through invades and pressure, keep away from running Ignite instead of Flash.
Rengar Runes
Considering the dynamics of the Rune system at the moment, Rengar can be played with two primary Rune sets, which we’ll now analyze.
Electrocute
The classic approach surrounds the Domination path, starting with the Electrocute keystone, followed up by Sudden Impact, Eyeball Collection and Relentless Hunter. Electrocute is very easy to activate, as is Sudden Impact, considering the core mechanics behind Rengar, while Relentless Hunter further enhances his Map presence.
For the secondary Runes, leap over to the Sorcery path and pick Absolute Focus with Waterwalking, in an effort to gain just a bit more kill threat in terms of raw stats.
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First Strike
The newest addition among Leauge’s Rune keystones, First Strike works so well with Rengar thanks to his ability to leap onto the enemy targets from brushes, nearly guaranteeing that he gets the first hit. This Rune may be more suitable for Rengar players who have just a slight amount of experience playing this champion, but anyone is free to give it a try.
Pair it with Magical Footwear, Future’s Market and Cosmic Insight, the first two of which being aimed at providing the extra gold efficiency these item-hungry Assassins need.
As for the secondary picks, in the Precision tree, go with Triumph and Legend: Alacrity, as the most effective skirmish boosters to be taken as secondary Runes.
Rengar Items
Starting Items: Emberknife + Refillable Potion
Mythic: Eclipse / Duskblade of Draktharr
Core Items: Defensive Boots, Essence Reaver, Death’s Dance
Finishing Options: Lord Dominink’s Regards, Infinity Edge, Guardian Angel
Regarding the Mythic item, players are free to choose between Duskblade or Eclipse according to their personal preference once again. The choice largely comes to down to picking between some added sustain or invisibility, which can help with securing a chain takedown.
As an overall go-to Mythic, we’d say that Eclipse is more effective for newer players, while Duskblade should be the go-to pick in the case of more experienced Assassin / Rengar players.
The defensive boots can always be swapped out for Ionian Boots of Lucidity, if the enemy team doesn’t seem to have anyone running away with all the gold and becoming a win condition to counter.
As for Rengar’s most important item, Essence Reaver, this pick is simply too strong at the moment. The basic attack enhancement and the overall stats it gives out truly enable Rengar to easily one-shot enemy carries, so make sure to secure this item as second.
Death’s Dance makes for a great survivability tool, especially with its recent changes, while Lord Dominik’s Regards and Infinity Edge act to improve your one-shot potential, even against tanky enemies.
Discussion
With the introduction of Axiom Arc, many Assassin Junglers began running it as a second item. Its enormous cooldown reduction on the Ultimate abilities makes it a great pick for AD Assassins, but in the case of Rengar, things need to be nuanced a bit.
We recommend building Axiom Arc only in games where you and your allies have a significant lead, as only then can you get the most out of the repeated Ultimate casts. Otherwise, do not insist on an item which provides less value than the ones listed above.
Skill Order
Q > W > E > R
The Best Jungle Paths for Rengar
Having covered the basic Summoner Spells, Runes and Items, it is now time to shift our focus to the main subject of this guide, Jungle pathing with Rengar. Keep in mind that Assassin are not meant to be played like most other Junglers, given their need for early advantages and takedown-oriented kits.
We are going to cover the possible starts from each side, but players should keep a few factors in mind when deciding upon where their Jungle pathing should start. These are:
- Which laners are going to provide more help in clearing the first camp?
- Counter-jungle opportunities, based on where the enemy Jungler is likely to start.
- Which lane would you like to gank first, depending on both the allied and enemy champions.
Remember that your primary focus should always be ganking and securing takedowns on unsuspecting enemies who roam too far from their team. However, similarly to Nocturne, Rengar’s ganks are most effective once he unlocks the Thrill of the Hunt (R) ability, meaning that players should also put great emphasis on getting an early full clear, accelerating their rise to LVL 6.
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Red Side, Red Clear
As Rengar, players want to constantly get the most out of their passive, entering the available brushes to jump onto the Jungle monsters. This applies for most of the camps found in the Jungle, as otherwise Rengar’s clear is quite standard, focusing on enhanced basic attacks and well-sequenced abilities.
Start by securing the Red Buff using basic attacks, leaps and Savagery (Q) hits, holding on to your Smite until you reach the second camp.
After defeating Red, make your way to the Krug camp and with the use of Savagery (Q), Battle Roar (W) and the first Smite charge, clear that camp as quickly as possible before heading towards the Bottom side of your Jungle.
On your way to the Blue Buff, stop at the Raptors and Wolves in order to get the most resources out of your Jungle, clearing these camps with mostly the help of Battle Roar’s AOE damage and healing.
At the Blue Buff, use the small brush near it to constantly leap and attack the Buff, until its Health bar drops below 450, when it’s up to Smite to execute it. After that, turn your attention towards the Gromp, slaying it accordingly, before making your way into the River.
Have your fury stacked up in order to root the Scuttler with Bola Strike (E) in its enhanced form, breaking its shield, and secure the extra vision for your team.
You are now in a favorable position to gank either Mid or Bot from, which you should be doing before the first reset.
Red Side, Blue Clear
When starting from the Blue Buff, your tempo will be slightly better, as your first two camps will only have a single mob, and you can expect to be near full Health by the time you reach the Raptors.
The clear is pretty standard, slay Blue and use Smite on the Gromp to accelerate you progress, heading for the Wolves and Raptors next. During your fight with the Red Buff you can expect to lose a bit more Health than usual, but given the added HP regeneration granted by the buff and Smite’s healing, your HP bar shouldn’t be of concern.
After clearing Red, players have three options. Finishing a full clear by slaying the Krugs and Scuttler, skipping the Krugs altogether, or forcing a gank on Top and resuming the clear afterwards.
This is a purely personal choice, but if unsure, we recommend going the safe route and finishing the Krugs and Scuttler, unless a fight breaks out somewhere in your proximity.
After gaining access and vision in the River, you are now free to force a gank on your Top-side lanes.
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Blue Side, Red Clear
Switching into the Blue Side, starting at the Red Buff is going to offer the advantage of having 2 allies helping you take the first camp. Although most Junglers would call this difference insignificant, in the case of these more squishy Assassins, any piece of extra assistance is going to have an impact.
From the Red Buff, head towards the Krugs and Smite the largest one, then head towards your Raptors and Wolves, again as the more difficult aspect of your early game pathing.
Your fifth and sixth camps are once again going to be the other Buff and the Gromp, slaying Blue with the help of Smite and Gromp naturally, leaving you with plenty of Health to contest the Scuttler if needed.
After taking the Scuttler Crab, look for a position to gank from on Mid or Top, accounting for the enemy line of vision and the positions of the lanes.
Blue Side, Blue Clear
And finally, if you are looking to land a first gank on Bot, the Blue Buff start is going to leave you with a great opening to do just that.
Secure the Buff and use Smite to finish the Gromp as soon as possible, then head for the Wolves and Raptors as usual. Save your Smite for Red, transitioning into the Krugs afterwards.
If you have reason to believe that the Rift Scuttler needs to be contested, you can skip over the Krugs and secure the extra vision and gold, but otherwise stick to the pathing shown in the image above.
Once the full clear is over, you can use E to cross any walls necessary for you to reach the desired angle, allowing you to gank effortlessly. Still, you’ll want to take the more advantageous looking trades, as your early game objective is to build a lead.
The Best Tips and Tricks For Rengar
- Savagery (Q) is Rengar’s core ability when it comes to dealing damage, yet many players are in misbelief regarding its effects. First off, Rengar gains bonus attack speed for his next two attacks within a three second window, with the first attack dealing extra damage, gaining range, and becoming unstoppable.
- Battle Roar (W) is actually quite effective against the Jungle monsters, as it both deals bonus damage and regenerates more HP if used against them. More importantly, however, is the secondary effect it has once used in its empowered form. It now gains the utility to cleanse all crowd control off Rengar, which is especially useful when the Pridestalker finds himself in the middle of the enemy team.
- Bola Strike (E) contains the only trace of hard crow control Rengar has in his kit, and that only applies when used in its empowered form. It becomes quite important when the rest of your team is also ahead, allowing you to simply root the enemy target and allow your team to close in on them, instead of risking to die by leaping onto them alone.
- Lastly, Thrill of the Hunt (R) is not only a great assault tool, but can also be used to zone the enemy team away from certain objectives, by merely standing within the 1600 range radius, causing the enemies to think that Rengar is about to leap onto them, while in reality you are only buying time for your team to secure an objective.
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Finalizing Thoughts
Rengar’s early game focuses around building up a small gold lead through farm and consistent ganks, in order to reach that first to second item power spike, when the real game can finally begin.
Over the course of the match, it is very important for Assassin Junglers to constantly drop vision into the enemy Jungle or River, in order to catch unsuspecting enemies off guard when they decide to roam the map unassisted. The hyper-mobile kit allows champions such as Rengar to go in, secure the takedown and get out, earning bonus resources while the rest of the enemy team has to manage through a 4v5 scenario.
Once in the later stages of the game, Assassins want to be on the lookout for more similar mistakes, such as an ADC stepping too much forward or a Support roaming to set up vision by themselves. Additionally, by knowing where the enemy carries are located, Rengar can wait for the fight to kick off and go around the enemy team, reaching their backline through Thrill of the Hunt (R).
With that we conclude this article, hoping you’ve found sufficient information to leap and delete the enemy carries with in your next game of Rengar Jungle! Also make sure to keep an eye out on our website to stay up to date with our latest League-related content!
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