The jungle can either be the most aggressive role in League of Legends or the most passive one. When you and your enemy are avoiding each other, it may seem like it doesn’t really matter what you’re playing. But when invades and river fights are constantly erupting, you definitely want a safe champion in your hands. So, who are the safest jungle picks in season 12?
Junglers are the toughest ones to determine. It’s not like choosing a safe mid laner or a safe top laner. Junglers don’t have a single lane opponent – they have five. They need to roam the entire Summoner’s Rift and find possibilities whenever they can. And so, choosing a champion for the jungle lore is much more complicated.
However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t champions that generally do well, no matter the matchup. Here are my top 5 safest jungle picks you can play in season 12!
1. Nunu & Willump
Nunu is often overlooked as a jungle pick. You rarely see a Nunu main taking full advantage of the champion’s abilities. But it doesn’t really matter because Nunu is amazing at learning the role with.
The first thing that separates Nunu & Willump from the rest of the junglers is the Q ability – Consume. When used, Consume deals a lot of instant true damage to the monster and heals Nunu for a significant amount. Against champions, the ability isn’t that scary, but the healing remains the same.
So thanks to Consume, Nunu can remain at full HP throughout the game. He never has a serious problem clearing the camps. So if you want an easy champion that always does well, Nunu is your pick.
Now, in the late game, Consume deals more true damage than Smite. So not only does it help you stay safe, but it also allows you to secure objectives like Dragon and Baron. You can also steal these objectives away from the enemy jungler if you time the ability right.
Nunu is also tankier than most melee AP champions. Depending on your build, you’ll have a mix of damage and defensive stats. You can also go for a tanky build, which will give you even a safer playstyle.
As Nunu, you won’t have to fight as much. You’re generally there to take Dragons and Barons for your team and to enable them to win. Sure, you can gank with your snowball, but you aren’t expected to carry. So if you enjoy that style, definitely give Nunu a try.
Also read: 5 Best Late Game ADCs
2. Warwick
Warwick is another easy-to-play, safe jungle pick in season 12. You don’t have to have extensive experience in the champion nor in the role to succeed. You only need to understand a few key concepts to make it work.
For example, Warwick will never get below 70% HP while in the jungle. It’s simply impossible. The champion has incredible self-healing while fighting jungle monsters, so you won’t have to worry about recalling back to base.
Now, the same can be said for invades. Junglers don’t typically invade Warwick in the early game because they have less health than him. And even if they have more damage than him, he can still heal up through his auto-attacks.
In other words, Warwick is an extremely defensive and safe pick. His build includes items with a lot of health, lifesteal, and damage. You can pick Warwick in any matchup and do alright, as long as you don’t play too aggressively early on.
Warwick is also fantastic at taking objectives solo. He doesn’t rely on his teammates to help him with Dragon, and he can tank the Baron for days. His ganks are exceptional, thanks to his ultimate, Infinite Duress. He has multiple ways to help his allies, so you can always pick him if you are unsure what to play.
3. Shaco
One of the most challenging things you can do in LoL is to kill Shaco. He may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he is one of the safest jungle picks in season 12. His ability kit is wonderful for outplaying opponents and messing around with them. Shaco can hide, blink, use boxes to cast fear – all things that make him a really safe champion to play.
If we take a look at Shaco’s Q, Deceive, we’ll realize that this is perhaps the most helpful ability for escaping the enemy. It’s a blink, much like Flash. But instead of simply teleporting you into the distance, Deceive also puts you into invisibility. This allows you to not only jump walls but also remain hidden from your enemy.
Obviously, Shaco’s Q is amazing at escaping, but that’s not everything he has. His W, Jack in the Box, is one of the most frustrating spells to deal with. It puts a box on the ground that detonates after a champion, or a monster touches it. It deals damage, and it puts the nearby targets in fear, making it almost impossible to catch Shaco. It’s also great for farming in the jungle since Shaco doesn’t have to tank the camps – the boxes do it for him.
And lastly, we have Shaco’s R, Hallucinate. When used, Shaco creates a copy of himself that he can control. The copy acts the same way as the original Shaco, but it doesn’t cast spells. You can use Hallucinate to quickly secure objectives around the map or to trick the enemies when you’re running away to safety.
If you decide to play Shaco, you can expect to have a chill time in the jungle. He is quick, effective, and fun to play, so give him a shot.
Also read: Best Maokai Skins
4. Evelynn
Evelynn has a very nasty reputation in League of Legends. That’s because the champion has one of the most broken mechanics in all of gaming, not just League – permanent invisibility.
Invisibility has always been a touchy subject in video games, especially in MOBAs. In League, it often seems unfair that some champions can turn invisible, and some can’t be we get around to it.
However, we can’t do much about Evelynn’s permanent invisibility. Sure, you can use red wards, but you’re limited to only one red ward at a time on the Rift. Your teammates can also put one, but that doesn’t happen too often in solo queue, does it?
What I’m trying to say is – Evelynn is one of the safest champions in season 12, not just among the jungle picks. True, she is pretty vulnerable in the early game and can’t really duel anyone. Invades and early skirmishes on the river can set her behind. But after level 6, Evelynn is simply broken.
As Evelynn, you can roam the entire Summoner’s Rift and find squishy targets to one-shot. Repeat this process two to three times, and you’ll be so fed that you can assassinate anyone in the game. You might need your teammates to secure objectives, but you’re otherwise safe in pretty much everything else.
Evelynn has amazing damage on top of her Charm mechanic. Any time the enemy jungler invades or tries to fight, you can simply Charm him and disappear into invisibility. It’s really easy to navigate through the game as Evelynn after level 6, so I totally recommend her!
Also read: Best Supports for Jhin
5. Rammus
And in the 5th place, we have Rammus! Now, Rammus doesn’t have any invisibility effects or fancy mechanics that will keep you safe. He is just a simple magic armadillo that has tons of armor and is unable to die in the jungle.
When you consider his ability kit, you quickly realize how strong Rammus actually is. His passive, Spiked Shell enhances his auto-attacks to deal bonus magic damage based on his armor. So the more armor you buy, the more damage you’re going to deal. This is incredibly helpful in clearing the jungle, especially in the early game.
And if you ever have trouble either with jungle camps or champions, you can use Rammus’ W, Defensive Ball Curl. This ability will give you a bunch of armor and magic resist, reducing the damage you take significantly.
Rammus’ Q, Powerball, is a fantastic mobility tool. It grants him tons of movement speed, allowing him to move around Summoner’s Rift quickly. This will help you get away from any fed enemy or catch up with a fleeing one.
Rammus, like Warwick and Nunu, doesn’t require his teammates around the Dragons. You can rely on his defensiveness to get you all way from the early game to the late game. He is incredibly tanky and safe in the meta of season 12, so I definitely recommend it too.
And the greatest thing about Rammus is the fact that he is really an easy champion to play. Even if you don’t have much experience in playing jungle, Rammus will help you figure things out. You won’t have trouble with the jungle camps, so you can focus on things like ganking instead.
So, these are the top 5 safest jungle picks in season 1 of League of Legends!
