League of Legends jungling "stagnant" says Riot Games, outlines changes for Season 3

League of Legends lane

A role commonly found in most League of Legends teams is the stalwart jungler, a hero bravely venturing into the underbrush that borders lanes in pursuit of sacks of gold masquerading as hostile creatures. In comparison to normal lane-play, jungling can be somewhat lackluster and inefficient, as nerfed creature camps and gold per 10 items diminish challenge and increase the pressure on lanes. Yesterday, Assistant Game Designer "Statikk" said current jungling tactics seem " stagnant " and that changes are on Riot's scope for Season 3 tournament play and beyond.

Season 2 of League of Legends' $2 million world tournament wrapped up earlier this week with a victory by Taiwan's Taipei Assassins after Riot issued a $30,000 fine to team Azubu Frost for unsportsmanlike peeking at the spectator screen.

"The approach we're currently taking is to significantly increase the rewards of jungle camps over time (junglers already have a huge impact on the early game)," Statikk continued. "To go along with this, though, we are buffing jungle camps back up to actually be more threatening while simultaneously offering new and improved item paths for players to specialize in the jungle. Overall, we want junglers to be rewarded for building combat stats rather than always being forced to build gold generation items."

Omri Petitte is a former PC Gamer associate editor and long-time freelance writer covering news and reviews. If you spot his name, it probably means you're reading about some kind of first-person shooter. Why yes, he would like to talk to you about Battlefield. Do you have a few days?