This is a complete guide on how to play and build Irelia in the jungle in season 12 of League of Legends. Here we will discuss item options, rune choices, and preferable things that you’ll need to consider before and while playing this champion in this specific role. Please note that things frequently change in LoL, so make sure to visit this complete guide on Irelia jungle if you want to be updated on the best possible setup! Let’s begin!
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Irelia Jungle in Season 12
In truth, Irelia is a very versatile champion. She can go either mid or top or in the jungle and still perform exceptionally well. There aren’t many matchups that can seriously hurt her early game in any of these roles, so she is considered one of the best champions to main overall.
In the jungle, Irelia can have a very easy time winning games. Her passive – Ionian Fervor is a fantastic tool for soloing. It basically gives her bonus attack speed and damage, and since she is an AD champion, she can easily clear camps and take objectives in no time.
Irelia’s Q: Bladesurge is a fantastic ability that resets when you kill a monster or when it fully stacks. And since this is the first ability you’re going to max out, it can do a tremendous amount of damage to both camps and champions, as long as you’re using it right.
And when it comes to ganking lanes, Irelia has fantastic tools for that as well. Her E – Flawless Duet is a long-range stun that she can set up either for herself or her allies. It does take a bit of practice to make this ability a sure shot, but once you do, it’s one of the most useful spells in the whole game.
And Irelia’s R – Vanguard’s Edge is another crowd control effect that favors both her and her teammates. It slows and imprisons enemies in one spot, and those who dare pass it get their HPs halved in the process. Irelia’s W – Defiant Dance gives her a bit of defensiveness, and all of this combined makes her a perfect champion for the jungle role!
Not to mention that Irelia does a lot of damage with all of her abilities. Truthfully, she is one of the hardest champions to control if she gets a lead. She is an incredible dueler, and she can carry 1v5 games if fed enough and executed properly. Whether it’s team fights or split pushing, Irelia shines in all situations and should be incorporated in your champion pool as well.
That said, let’s continue with this complete guide to Irelia jungle in season 12 and discuss more her runes and item choices!
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Best Runes for Irelia Jungle
Conqueror
Conqueror is the default keystone for Irelia in any role in League of Legends, including the jungle . It isn’t the most useful rune while clearing camps and minions, but its value is increased a hundredfold once you start ganking the enemy team. Conqueror grants bonus damage and healing based on how long you’ve been fighting. And this is perfect for Irelia’s playstyle since she is a fighter and not an assassin, so she usually wants to fight longer, and deal damage and heal herself in the process.
Triumph
Triumph is another favorable rune for Irelia. It will restore 12% of her maximum HP wherever she takes down an enemy champion, adding to her power never to stop dueling people. Since Irelia’s Q is a fantastic ability to chase down people and secure kills, Triumph can be a constant source of self-healing throughout the game.
Legend: Alacrity
Irelia is an AD-based champion, and a big portion of her damage comes from her auto-attacks. Well, Legend: Alacrity is an optimal rune that boosts her attack speed tremendously. The rune works on stacks, which you get by scoring kills or assists, so ganks should be your priority as Irelia in the jungle.
Coup de Grace
Coup de Grace is generally the best choice in the last row of the Precision tree, but the Last Stand comes close as well. The main difference between these two is that Coup de Grace will help you finish off targets, while Last Stand buffs your damage potential when your HP gets lowered. There isn’t a strict rule about which one you should always run, but Coup de Grace is generally an easier rune to use, so that is our choice as well!
Sudden Impact
As for the secondary runes, you’ll want to go for the Domination page and Sudden Impact specifically. This rune gives you a bunch of lethality when you use your Q, and it only has 4 seconds cooldown! A central part of Irelia’s style is to always dash to her enemies, so having a constant lethality buff is an amazing bonus throughout the game!
Ravenous Hunter
And lastly, Ravenous Hunter will be the next best choice for Irelia in the jungle. It significantly increases her healing potential and makes her such a scary champion to fight, even if outnumbered. Irelia doesn’t have shields or heals in her primary toolkit, so she really depends on external sources to provide her with both. So, you’ll be wise to get as much lifesteal as possible during every game!
Bonuses
As for the bonuses, the choice is pretty easy. An Attack Speed rune, combined with an Adaptive Force rune and an Armor rune will be the best combination overall. You absolutely need both the attack speed and the armor for the jungle clearing in the early game, and the damage is always welcomed too.
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Best Items for Irelia Jungle
Emberknife + Refillable Potion
Emberknife is the starting you want to go for in most of the matches. It will provide you with the necessary stats that will get you through the first 10 minutes of the game without a problem. And Refillable Potion will allow you to save some gold on buying individual potions, so you can focus on getting your core items sooner.
Blade of the Ruined Kings
As in top or mid, Blade of the Ruined Kings is the best-performing item on Irelia in the jungle as well. And really, the item is everything that Irelia needs! Attack speed, damage, lifesteal, and an active slow – all effects that make Irelia a great champion to carry games with. So make sure to always go for it as a first item.
Trinity Force
Trinity Force, on the other hand, is the strongest mythic item option for Irelia. You usually want to get it after Blade of the Ruined Kings, but you can also purchase it as a first item. Trinity will give you a bunch of movement speed, attack speed, and damage, which will often be enough to win games with, even if you don’t buy any more items.
Sterak’s Gage
For the third item, Sterak’s Gage will generally be the smartest choice. It is a fantastic defensive strategy because it gives you a maximum bonus HP, as well as an enormous shield whenever you get in danger. Sterak’s Gage also provides you with passive healing during combat, so it’s an excellent item for grouping with your team and team fighting.
Death’s Dance
Death’s Dance is a phenomenal item, and Irelia gets so much value out of it. The item is the perfect defensive mechanism because it provides you with both armor and magic resist, plus a lot of self-healing during a fight. This is an endurance item, and purchasing it means that you should look to fight more and close games sooner.
Ravenous Hydra
Ravenous Hydra is a very useful item on Irelia for all the reasons we’ve previously listed. It doesn’t matter much whether you purchase this item in the early game or the late game since it always performs super-strongly on Irelia.
Plated Steelcaps
Plated Steelcaps are considered the best boots upgrade for Irelia, especially in the jungle. They’ll give you armor, and they’ll block a big portion of the jungle camps’ damage in the early and the mid-game. You can also go for Mercury’s Treads if you struggle against the opponent’s CC, but make sure to get Plated Steelcaps in most of your matches as Irelia jungle.
Summoner’s Spells
A jungle classic – Flash + Smite will be your best choice of Summoner’s Spells for Irelia jungle. Sometimes Flash can be exchanged for a Teleport if you want to be more present around the map. But know that this requires a lot of knowledge to be executed successfully, so if you aren’t sure how to do it, stick to Flash.
