Riot GamesPlaying in the Jungle has always been one of the least predictable roles in LoL from patch to patch, with Champions rising to relevance in the meta and falling away as quickly as they rose. With patch 15.2 now live, we’ve broken down which Junglers are best in League of Legends right now.
Tanky champions have always performed well in LoL and are historically less beholden to the whims of each patch. This continues to be true in the jungle, but the arrival of the 2025 season has seen characters from other categories become very strong alongside those high damage mitigation picks.
This leaves some nice options on the table for you to adjust depending on your team’s needs, whether that be additional AP, AD, or CC. With plenty to choose from, we’ve placed every champion into a handy tier list, explaining why the very best are holding their positions at the top of the tree.
LoL Jungle tier list
| TIER | CHAMPION |
|---|---|
| S | Viego, Wukong, Hecarim, Skarner, Diana, Jarvan IV |
| A | Lee Sin, Nocturne, Shaco, Kindred, Bel’Veth, Nunu & Willump, Fiddlesticks, Xin Zhao, Warwick, Amumu, Vi |
| B | Volibear, Briar, Rek’Sai, Pantheon, Zak, Lilia, Zyra, Sejuani, Graves, Elise, Kha’Zix, Ekko, Kayn, Karthus |
| C | Talon, Rengar, Evelynn |
The changes implemented for the 2025 season have been enormous, having a huge effect on how games play out. The priority as a Jungle shifted heavily towards securing camps thanks to the addition of Feats of Strength, and the popularity of champions has shifted to reflect this.
Though the effects of Tier 3 boots have been lessened somewhat, dominating the Jungle is more important than ever, and our picks in the S-Tier should all be able to do that with ease.
Skarner and Viego hold their position in the top tier after showing little sign of slowing down in these early portions of 2025. Wukong also joins the party alongside other Jungle staples from last year.
Our tiers explained
- S: The best Champions around
- A: Very good options, but there are better picks
- B: There might be situations where these can perform well
- C: Best to avoid unless you find yourself drawn to them
S-Tier Champions in League of Legends
Viego
Dexerto/Riot GamesOf all the characters who make the Jungle their home, none are quite as effective at snowballing a game as Viego. With how snowball-y the meta is at the moment anyway, this effect is magnified, and if you can get ahead (or even maintain parity until the mid-game), you’ll be very difficult to stop as Viego when it comes to teamfights.
Though he can be a little tricky to pick up and play, Viego also offers great playstyle flexibility. If you want to gank all the time, that’s an option, but you can also bide your time, clear camps, and secure objectives before coming to the fore later in the game.
Best runes for Viego
Dexerto/Riot GamesWhen heading into the Jungle as Viego, you’ll want to go with a standard Precision Rune setup as your primary tree, with Conqueror, Triumph, Legend: Alacrity, and Coup de Grace.
Complement that with Slightly Magical Footwear, Cosmic Insight, Attack Speed, Adaptive Force, and Health to complete your rune options.
Wukong
Dexerto/Riot GamesWukong is back at the top of the Jungler meta for most ELOs and he’s one of the best picks for those looking to get into the role for the first time. His greatest strength is the range of tools he gives to the player, allowing you to mitigate mistakes with great disengage, strong scaling, and a solid presence in teamfights. His burst damage is excellent – he’s a lot harder to kill than he has been at weaker points in the character’s history.
There were signs towards the back end of 2024 that this Champion was approaching a peak, and he has realized that potential in the first part of 2025. His lack of tankiness is likely his only real weakness in the Jungle right now, but his broad toolkit should prevent that from being too much of an issue, particularly in low Elo games.
Best runes for Wukong
Dexerto/Riot GamesWukong is able to best take advantage of a similar rune setup to Viego, with a couple of minor alterations. Conqueror, Triumph, and Legend: Alacrity are the best ways to go again. Last Stand is a better option for the final node, though, thanks to the fact that you’ll often be lower on health with the way Wukong engages.
In the secondary tree, you’ll need to go with Magical Footwear, Cosmic Insight, Attack Speed, Adaptive Force, and Health.
Hecarim
Dexerto/Riot GamesIf you find yourself struggling to put yourself in the correct position to be effective in LoL’s Jungle, Hecarim is a spectacular pick whose movement speed offers more than enough to get you out of trouble.
He scales very well but isn’t particularly weak during the early game either, allowing you to approach each game differently. If you’re up against a great early-game Jungler, simply farm your camps, setup vision, and scale into the game, picking off easy kills when they become available. If the enemy is weak early, go and steal some of their camps, set them behind quickly, and the game is won.
His early ganks are particularly good and this suits the current meta very well, with so much of how a game will play out decided in the first 10 minutes. His engage is also excellent and he has some of the better crowd control tools available to any Jungle champ out there. His only potential weakness comes when he is the first in the door, as he’s quite easy to kill if you get caught out, so bide your time and engage a little later than you might otherwise think.
Best runes for Hecarim
Dexerto/Riot GamesSorcery and Precision is the best setup for Hecarim in the current patch. Go with Phase Rush, Nimbus Cloak, Celerity, and Waterwalking to get the most out of your movement speed and you should find yourself racing between camps and lanes.
In the Precision tree, go with Triumph Legend: Haste, Adaptive Force (x2), and extra health in the Defense node.
Skarner
Dexerto/Riot GamesIf you’ve spent any time watching professional League of Legends since the new season started in January, you will have seen very little of Skarner. Not because nobody wants to pick him, but instead because he gets banned out almost every time. At low ELO, Skarner isn’t the ideal pick for several reasons but if you’re Platinum or above, he’s as good as it gets.
Almost impossible to take down by the time the game gets to its later stages, his Ult is a teamfight-dominating monstrous ability that turns even hopeless fights into winning engagements. He’s impossible to pin down and his ability to navigate the map quickly places so much priority on the enemy’s ability to place vision effectively. You don’t even have to get ahead, just hang in there and you’ll be able to stomp anyone after 30 minutes.
Best runes for Skarner
Dexerto/Riot GamesThe primary tree to go for with Skarner is Resolve, allowing you a lot more sustain and turning you into an unkillable behemoth as the game progresses.
Go with Grasp of the Undying, Shield Bash, Conditioning, and Overgrowth to get the most out of the runes on offer. For the second tree, Inspiration is the best bet, with Magical Footwear, Approach Velocity as the main picks, with ability haste and health buffs in the Offense, Flex, and Defense nodes for Skarner.
Diana
Dexerto/Riot GamesIf you’re looking to show up and murder enemies with ruthless efficiency, you’d need to look quite far to find a better option than Diana in 2025. Her camp clearance is genuinely impressive, slotting comfortably alongside the best Jungler picks in LoL. Add to that her spectacular assassination skills and she is a shoo-in for the S-Tier.
Her Ult is a great way to head into teamfights and she can close gaps well, allowing you to mitigate variations in your own team’s performances and engagements with the enemy. Though she can be tricky to pick up, her playstyle isn’t actually as intimidating as she sometimes gets credit for, and you can adjust builds to suit how you want to play. Her burst damage in the current meta is ridiculous and if you can get ahead early then Diana becomes very difficult to stop.
Best runes for Diana
Dexerto/Riot GamesIn an ongoing theme for many of the Jungle champions on this list, you’ll once again want to lock in the Precision and Inspiration trees (in that order). Conqueror, Triumph, Legend: Alacrity, and Coup de Grace are the nodes of choice for the first, with Magical Footwear, Cosmic Insight, Attack Speed, Adaptive Force, and Health in the second.
Jarvan IV
Dexerto/Riot GamesJarvan IV secures his position in the S-Tier by being one of the most impressive early-game champions in the Jungle, making him pretty invaluable in the current meta. The big advantage that he offers is his ability to take Epic monster camps without much in the way of assistance from your team, making the Feat of Strength significantly easier to secure. This is furthered by his one-on-one dueling ability, which should allow you to take out most Jungle foes in the early game, particularly if you’ve hit Level 6 and have his Ult.
He can also snowball games quickly if you get ahead, but with the nice security blanket of not being useless if you fall behind. His peel and engage tools make him a great ally to have for your teammates, even if you can’t output the raw damage needed to decimate enemies. Lastly, he’s also quite easy to play to a competent level, so don’t be afraid to pick him if you’re new to the game or role.
Best runes for Jarvan IV
Dexerto/Riot GamesFor Jarvan IV, you’ll want to replicate the rune build we used for Viego exactly. Go with the Precision Rune setup as your primary tree again, with Conqueror, Triumph, Legend: Alacrity, and Coup de Grace. Complement that with Slightly Magical Footwear, Cosmic Insight, Attack Speed, Adaptive Force, and Health to round off the character heading into your next fight.
Now that you’re up to date with the best Junglers for the current LoL meta, make sure to check out the best ADCs, Top Laners, the most-played Legends, the least-played Legends, and how to check how much money you’ve spent.
