League of Legends: Preseason 2023 jungle changes – what to expect

Last Updated on: 12th August 2022, 01:18 am

A recent post from Garena may have provided more information than what it was supposed to, and honestly, it feels like the developers are leaking details just so we are prepared for the updates. The post focused on what we could expect in the preseason of 2023, especially for junglers. The post was put down, but you can always count on Reddit users to keep a copy of the page.

Although the post argues that there have not been any major changes in the League of Legends jungle, veteran players know that if you put all the small updates done this year and compare it to how the jungle scene was last year, it does look somewhat different.

The post goes on further by saying that they have noticed a decline in the number of jungle main due to the changes and hint that this is something that they want to look into and update for their seasoned players. It does clarify that the developers are not “dumbing down” the jungle role but would like to encourage more players to come back to using it as their main.

Jungle pathing, clear optimization, and jungle items

Jungle pathing involves the heroes’ routes to farm the camps, set up a vision, and prevent enemies from invading the jungle. This gameplay strategy defines how well the team can play against the opposing heroes. The developers are eyeing to help the junglers on this matter. Specifically, they want to adjust how camps leash, including their ranges, and reset rules. This was done last year and gathered mixed reviews about the update. Ultimately, this will be about champion optimization. The article states, “The jungle itself shouldn’t be the deciding factor as to whether a champion is viable.”

Jungle clear optimization is a key factor in jungle champions taking part in team fights, instead of being inside the jungle doing their own thing. This is what they plan to work on (at least in my perspective). The jungle should not dictate which champion needs to do the task. This can go both ways; if they decide to nerf the neutral creeps, this opens the jungle to more champions being viable for the role but may end up putting champions already in that role too overpowered.

The post further says, “If jungle clear optimization is no longer a major barrier-to-entry for jungle viability, way more champions can be played there.” This could be the reason why the post was taken down. It will most likely gather more negative reactions to the already dwindling number of jungler main of the classic franchise. It does clarify that “Skill should be rewarded across the roster of champs, not only on the select few that can effectively clear the current jungle.”

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The post finalizes that the major change they are planning for Preseason 2023 will be on jungle items. The developers added, “The current items are functional, but they aren’t that exciting or (particularly in the case of red smite) understandable.” It was not mentioned in the post, but around Season 5 or 6, they did add spice to the use of smite, depending on which camps you use your smite, like that baby wolf that would ping to alert players of a possible invasion.

“We want to capture some of that fantasy with a bit of a twist this time… pets.” the post then surprises us. It also reminisced on an old game update: “These pets will help you do little things in the jungle like clearing or taking down epic monsters (think old Sated Devourer puppy). As you jungle, you slowly raise and feed your pet until they’ve grown up enough to be able to empower you.”

If you want an art design of that, you can take a look at the picture below. However, the developers clarified that they “haven’t locked the final design (or art) of these yet, and in order to save you (and my editors) from having to understand what I’m trying to convey with the text.” They added, “Our earliest prototype was a jungle wolf that followed you around, and Ahri’s foxfire missiles shot into the wolf’s mouth whenever you killed a camp.”

The developers are keeping mum about the specifics of the “pet.” However, it has been clarified that the companion will not just be an aesthetic with no actual purpose. With the pet being always at the screen, though, this may cause players confusion to players; when you’re kiting wolves, if it stays at your screen, players might mistake it for one of the wolves you need to finish.

The concept of an emotional support animal for junglers is definitely thinking outside the box. This, however, means that they would also need to make more changes to other items that may be rendered obsolete, given the addition of the pet. The idea sounds messy but promising. Again, this might also be the reason why the post was taken down, as there was never any clear indication that it would be finalized.

It becomes a question of whether adjusting existing neutral creeps like the Scuttle is a better option. There are also arguments for adding previously removed ones, like the Chemtech Dragon from Summoners Rift.

All things considered, it would still be too early to tell if the developers would really push this idea through. Regardless of what they come up with, it will be faced by the players, and we will still have to adjust according to the update. It will be met with reviews that may either praise or question the concept. The most important part of this is that the developers are aware of what is happening and are looking at viable options to help their players have the best experience with the game.