Difficulty in League of Legends is universal, but it does peak in some areas. One of these areas is certainly the Jungle, which I can safely say is the hardest role in all of League. It is also the most impactful one, and a good Jungler can change the course of the game singlehandedly.
Well, maybe not singlehandedly, but you get the idea.
This role’s difficulty lies in many things, and one of the greater aspects is the Champion you pick for the job. As we’ve demonstrated in our other 5 Hardest Champions lists that detail the hardest Supports, ADCs, Top and Mid Laners, every role has its complex and hard-to-learn Champions.
Being difficult doesn’t necessarily mean that the Champion is good – or even viable – but we’re covering them anyways to highlight how complex League of Legends can get.
This list will show you that the Jungle, too, has its hardcore picks. Keep in mind that the Champions mentioned are in no particular order, nor is any of them inherently better than the other. You can decide that for yourself, and we’re just detailing their complexity.
So, without further delay, let us begin with the 5 Hardest Junglers in League of Legends!
5. Kindred
Kindred as an individual Champion (meaning her overall kit, etc.) isn’t exactly difficult. What is, though, is her Jungling, which can get as tedious as you can imagine.
Despite being a powerful fighter with insane DPS and a lot of survivability and mobility, she’ll go through a gauntlet to achieve her peak strength. This is because of her passive – Mark of the Kindred – which targets Kindred can kill to empower her abilities and increase her range.
However, the problem is that the enemies marked can most likely survive for long enough for the mark to break, and the marked Jungle camps can easily be countered as they show up for everyone on the minimap.
Getting Kindred to her max potential is a mix of luck and coordination. You’ll have to procure help from your allies to safely and successfully pick up those marks on Laners and camps alike.
If you manage to do so, you’ll find yourself incredibly strong and with an amazing Champion on your hands. She’s the snowballing queen if everything aligns as it should, but you should wager for yourself on whether or not it pays off to try.
4. Taliyah
Taliyah is a Champion that I found very hard to understand. Her uses and overall utility struck me as mind-boggling. I couldn’t really pinpoint what role she’s supposed to fill – Disabler? Mage? And I am a seasoned player with over 8 years of experience. For newer players, this will be even harder.
For those that manage to get past her puzzling nature, Taliyah’s difficulty will lie elsewhere. Namely, her over-reliance on skill shots. Everything in Taliyah’s kit is a skill shot or some form of it. Her Q hurls many rocks in a direction but leaves a circle behind where you can only throw one from. These circles can last for a while, and though her Q’s Mana cost is reduced to 1 within them – it becomes nigh useless.
Her W is a shove that is super hard to land properly and in the right direction. This spell is best used in the normal cast, I presume. At least that’s what I did. And her E takes way too long to proc and do its full damage. She’s fast in movement yet so slow on execution that I found her very tedious at times.
Her Ultimate is a spell that I scarcely could figure out at all. Whatever its use is, it’s hard to control and even harder to use to any significant capacity. It has little to no impact on team fights, making it useless in some broader scenario, etc.
Taliyah is not only difficult, tedious, and confusing as a Champion but a Jungler as well. Though she has some utility for the Jungle and is good in ganks, the skill required to perform said ganks is honestly not worth the payoff.
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3. Qiyana
Qiyana is one of the most overloaded Champions League has ever had, and despite that remains extremely difficult.
Much of her kit revolves around the Elements she holds, and they will alter her spells in various ways. Learning how to utilize this mechanic will take a lot of time and practice, as carrying the wrong element at the wrong time can leave you disadvantaged.
She’s quick and very mobile and requires those fingers to work as fast as she does. Her reliance on skill shots also gives her enough difficulty on its own, apart from the aspects mentioned above.
As some players online have said, Qiyana is the perfect Champion to use to show off your hard-earned skill. She’s flashy and powerful and intimidating to see, especially in the hands of a good player. They can use her scary nature to frighten the opponents into submission with her extreme combos and fast spells.
Despite being very complex, Qiyana is fun, and the learning process is therefore alleviated somewhat. Mastering her will not only give you a powerful Champion to play but also some bragging rights, as that is no easy feat.
2. Lee Sin
Lee is among the biggest counter-Junglers in League of Legends, if not the biggest. In the latest patches, he’s become even more powerful and now stands among the top-tier Junglers in Season 12. I’ve seen so many games recently where Lee Sin is the dominant force, which is likely to stay.
As is the theme with this list, Lee Sin is a mobile and fast Champion with tight combos and abilities. They may be simple, and they are, but there’s much differentiating between a good and amateur Lee Sin player. I mean, we’ve all seen the compilation videos and know just how well his kit is when properly used in combinations.
Lee Sin’s Q and R (somewhat) are skill shots and have insane potential and use. There are so many combos that these two spells alone can perform, and I haven’t even mentioned his W and E. His W is a point-and-click dash, similar to Jax’s Q, meaning that he can jump to Wards, minions, Champions – you name it. The only difference is that he can only do so to friendlies.
His E smashes the ground for massive damage and slows enemies on its recast. You can clearly see that Lee has a lot of gap closing and gap creating potential. If he happens to be on your tail, you’re dead meat as there is no escaping. All of this is true if you’re a good Lee player, however.
I’ve played Lee a lot over the years and never understood or fully grasped what he has to offer. He’s a Champion that, similarly to Riven, is either crap or the bomb depending on who is sitting behind the screen. If you spend enough time and effort trying to master this amazing monk, you’ll have on your hands one of the best Junglers in the history of League. And that is an understatement.
I highly recommend you try him out, and this description on the list will make him seem simple enough for you. He has a lot to offer that is not apparent during the first few games, so make sure you go into all the details while playing him.
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1. Nidalee
Nidalee is the most difficult Jungler in the game by a wide margin. I mean, the previous contender doesn’t even come close to her. She’s so high up in terms of difficulty that I admire people who master this Champion.
Nidalee has an insane reliance on her Q, a skill shot ability that is often not easy to hit. It moves slower than the average projectile, and you’ll find yourself missing it a lot. If you don’t hit this Q, the rest of your kit becomes unusable. I mean, you can still use it, just not at the level you would if you hit your Q.
This is because of Nidalee’s passive which marks enemies hit with either her Q or they step on a trap. Setting up traps well enough so people step on them is difficult by itself. So her Q is the main thing that she must hit before unlocking her potential.
You can already see how insane that can become during chaotic and hectic fights. Though she can, in the late game, have a ton of damage on her cougar form – her burst, as well as her Assassin qualities, are all locked behind that vitally important passive that she can find herself hardly landing.
This is where the split between good Nidalee and bad Nidalee players becomes apparent. Learning how to activate her passive consistently will make you a better Nidalee player and improve your aiming skills. Though I wouldn’t exactly recommend it next to so many other great picks, she’s an amazing Champion that benefits from practice, effort and time.
Conclusion
All of the Lanes in League of Legends have their difficulties. But difficult Champions are something else. Despite that, they all offer a few, and we’ve covered them all. You can check out the other lists at the very top of this one, and we hope that they helped you understand the hardest Champions League has to offer.
These lists take time and effort to make, so leave feedback to help us improve them. Keep a keen eye out on our website for more League of Legends-related content such as lists, guides, and articles.
