Greetings, Summoners! Librarian Husky here. Emerald ELO is often considered by many players as one of the most challenging brackets to climb out of. While it’s not impossible to progress, the level of unpredictability and frequent questionable gameplay can make the climb seem frustrating. This challenge becomes even more intense for jungle players, who carry the burden of controlling the pace of the game while facing criticism from teammates. This guide aims to provide strategies to help junglers overcome the hurdles of Emerald ELO and increase their chances of winning games in difficult situations.

The Challenge of Being a Jungler

As a jungler, you often find yourself making critical decisions that can determine the outcome of the game. However, even as an experienced player, your decision-making is frequently questioned by underperforming teammates. For example, being asked, “Why are we playing around topside, bro?” by a teammate who is performing poorly, can be frustrating. Learning to navigate such situations, especially when you’re not having your best game, is key to maintaining control of the match.

Even Pros Make Mistakes

It’s important to remember that even professional players make mistakes. For example, even Faker has made errors that led to him losing against a lower-ranked opponent. Mistakes happen to everyone, and as a jungler, you need to accept that one misstep doesn’t define the game. In this guide, I will discuss how to recover from early mistakes, such as misplaying a gank, to ensure the best chance of winning.

The Bot Lane Disaster

Bot lane can often be the most volatile part of the map, and sometimes things go wrong before you even have the chance to intervene. In one of my games, while I was pathing toward bot lane and taking Gromp, my bot lane died unexpectedly. Though I was able to clean up a kill, other lanes were suffering, with my Zed losing heavily in mid. Despite going out of my way to help, I still faced harsh criticism from my teammates.

The Mid Lane Meltdown

After I attempted to save mid lane by freezing Zed’s lane, I still found myself under fire from my own team. When situations like these arise, it’s essential to remain calm and not let the negativity affect your play. As a jungler, you will often be blamed for things outside your control, but staying focused and prioritizing your own play is the key to overcoming these challenges.

The Unappreciated Jungler

It’s common to feel unappreciated as a jungler. Even after making significant plays to assist struggling lanes, teammates might continue to flame you. However, maintaining composure and continuing to make strategic decisions is vital. By the end of the game, your contribution will be clear in the final outcome. If you’re playing correctly, you can often still carry games that look bleak at the start.

Struggles in the Early Game

Early game can be difficult for a jungler, especially when all lanes seem to be losing. For example, in one of my games, both top and bot lanes were in terrible shape just 5 minutes in. Despite these setbacks, it’s possible to make a comeback and turn the tide of the game. The key is understanding how to maximize your own strength and influence despite a poor early start.

The Challenger Advantage

As a challenger player, I’m able to win difficult games most of the time because of my mechanics and decision-making. However, you don’t need to be at the highest level to improve your win rate in challenging games. By following a couple of simple steps that I’ll outline in this guide, you can start turning around losing games about 30–50% of the time, which can significantly boost your LP gains.

Boosting Your Win Rate

Turning around seemingly lost games will have a massive impact on your win rate. What I’m about to share is simple yet highly effective. It might seem too basic at first, but the reason it works is because it focuses on the fundamentals of the game. Let’s explore how you can use these strategies to improve your chances of success.

Mastering Jungle Fundamentals

Before diving into advanced strategies, it’s essential that you have a strong grasp of jungle fundamentals. This guide assumes you already have a basic understanding of jungling, but if you need to improve your core skills, consider studying comprehensive jungle guides, such as those created by Heximal. Mastering the basics will amplify the effectiveness of the strategies outlined here.

The Frustration of Playing Mid

As a former mid-laner, one of the most frustrating aspects of the game is the jungle mechanic. In this guide, we’ll explore a jungle mechanic that will help you recover from seemingly doomed games. The important lesson here is that as a jungler, it’s almost impossible to fall behind if you maintain a calm mindset and avoid panicking.

Staying Even in Levels

You might have seen situations where one jungler is playing exceptionally well, while the other is performing poorly but remains the same level or even higher. This happens because of the way the jungle role works, where specific systems prevent significant level disparities between junglers. Understanding how to maintain parity in experience will ensure you remain relevant, even when behind.

Jungle Systems Prevent Falling Behind

Several built-in jungle systems, such as jungle pet treats, comeback experience, and invade protection, prevent junglers from falling too far behind. Even if you lose a camp or two, it’s not the setback it used to be. These mechanics ensure that you can stay in the game, even if the early stages don’t go in your favor.

The Ego of Losing a Camp

Losing a camp to an invade might feel like a blow to your ego, but it’s not the end of the world. In fact, losing a camp can sometimes work in your favor since the respawned camp will be worth more experience. The key is to maintain composure and focus on efficiently farming the camps you still control.

The Changing Perspective on Losing Camps

These days, losing a camp doesn’t affect me as much as it used to. Sometimes, letting the enemy jungler invade can even be advantageous. While this may not be the ideal gameplay design, it’s important to understand that as long as you keep farming efficiently, you will always stay strong. The goal is to farm what you can and seize opportunities for kills when they arise.

Guaranteed Strength in Every Game

No matter how badly a game is going, as long as you continue to farm, you will remain strong. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have a significant impact on objectives or ganks. Often, your team might flame you for not being more active, but as long as you keep farming, you will be in a strong position to contribute when the time is right.

The Impact of Panic and Strategy

Panic is your worst enemy as a jungler. When players panic, they start over-complicating their strategies and deviating from fundamental gameplay principles. This leads to poor decision-making and a feeling of helplessness. Instead, remain calm, focus on your farm, and avoid trying to over-strategize in moments of high stress.

Advice on Playing Around Strong Teammates

You’ve likely heard the advice to play around your strong teammates and ignore the lanes that are losing. While this advice holds some merit, it’s important not to force plays around bad teammates. Stick to your core principles, and let the game naturally create opportunities for you.

The Importance of Cross Mapping

When you’re unable to contest the enemy jungler, it’s critical to use cross-mapping effectively. Cross-mapping involves making plays on the opposite side of the map while the enemy is focused elsewhere. This keeps you active and maintains pressure even if you’re behind.

Over-Focusing on Strategies

Many junglers, when behind, tend to over-focus on strategies and lose sight of the fundamentals they’ve learned. Strategies like cross-mapping are useful, but you shouldn’t feel the need to force them in every situation. The best approach is often the simplest one—continue farming and capitalize on opportunities as they present themselves.

Strange Behavior When Behind

In my experience as a coach, I’ve seen players make strange decisions when they’re behind. The pressure to “do something” often leads to rash and illogical moves. As a jungler, it’s essential to stay composed and avoid falling into this trap. Your strength will come from your consistency and calm decision-making, not from forcing unnecessary plays.

How to Actually Come Back

The secret to coming back in games lies in staying focused on farming and making smart plays based on your jungle routes. In difficult games, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the demands of your teammates or the mounting pressure. However, by continuing to farm and making plays around your camps, you can gradually regain control of the game.

Falling Behind Early

Even in games where you fall behind early, such as missing out on an important gank or losing a key objective, the path to recovery is still viable. If you suffer an early death or make a mistake, the best response is to keep farming efficiently. In one of my games, after an early misplay, I simply returned to farming my camps to maintain my strength.

Staying Calm After Respawn

After respawning, it’s important to stay calm and stick to your routine. While your team might be spamming for assistance or criticizing your decisions, focusing on clearing your camps will allow you to remain strong and contribute later in the game. Staying calm and avoiding the panic that often comes with early deaths is essential for long-term success.

Ignoring the Panic Around You

Your team may be panicking, with multiple lanes spamming pings or asking for help, but as a jungler, your focus should remain on your own gameplay. By sticking to your plan and continuing to farm, you will be in a much better position to help your team as the game progresses. Often, the panic of your teammates can cloud your judgment, so it’s best to remain focused on your own path.

Seizing Opportunities Without Forcing Them

When you see an opportunity for a gank or a counter-jungle, you can take it, but don’t feel the need to force plays. If no obvious opportunity presents itself, it’s perfectly fine to continue farming and waiting for the right moment to strike. This patient approach will pay off in the long run.

Making a Risky Gank in Mid

Even if you make a questionable decision during the game, such as a risky gank, it’s not the end. Mistakes are part of the game, and the important thing is how you recover. In one of my games, I misplayed a gank, which led to increased criticism from my teammates. However, by focusing on my farm and assessing my strength, I was able to recover and turn the game around.

Assessing My Strength

After a mistake, the key is to assess your current strength relative to the enemy. In the example game, even after misplaying a gank, I realized that I was still strong. Despite the setbacks, I had completed an important item, which allowed me to stay competitive with the enemy jungler. This is an important concept that you can apply in your own games.

Playing Around Your Camps

If you stick to playing around your jungle camps, even poor plays won’t set you back too far. Your strength comes from consistent farming, so after a misplay, return to your camps, continue farming, and look for opportunities when they arise. Don’t feel pressured to force plays just to prove your worth to your teammates.

Ganking Top Despite Reluctance

In certain games, you may feel reluctant to play around a particular lane, but sometimes it’s necessary. If you have no other options, ganking a struggling lane can still yield rewards. In one of my games, I ganked a losing top lane and was unexpectedly rewarded, even though I initially didn’t want to play around that lane.

The Basics of Comebacks

The fundamental principle of coming back in a game is to remain calm and keep farming. This is a straightforward approach, but many players overlook it in the heat of the moment. By sticking to your farming routes and playing around your camps, you can maintain your strength and create opportunities to turn the game around.

Playing Around Your Camps

Focus on your camps and the areas of the map you control. Don’t overextend or force unnecessary plays. The goal is to maintain your strength and make plays when they naturally present themselves. This mindset will keep you from falling too far behind and give you the best chance of coming back into the game.

Step One: Efficient Farming and Playmaking

The first step to turning around a losing game is efficient farming. As long as you are farming efficiently and not wasting time, you will always remain strong. Playmaking should come naturally as you follow your jungle routes. Avoid overthinking or over-strategizing, and stick to the basics.

The Power of Jungle Freedom

One of the biggest advantages junglers have is their freedom from lane responsibilities. Unlike laners, who have to manage minion waves and set up proper recall timers, junglers can farm freely across the map. This freedom allows you to farm efficiently and hit your power spikes at the right time.

The Consequences of Bad Recalls for Laners

As a laner, a poorly timed recall can be disastrous, costing you minions, tower plates, and lane priority. Junglers, however, don’t face the same restrictions. You can recall whenever you want, provided you manage your camps efficiently. This flexibility gives you a significant advantage over laners, and understanding how to use it is key to dominating the game.

The Jungle Advantage

The flexibility junglers have in terms of recall timing is a massive advantage. While laners have to carefully manage their recalls and fight for priority, you can recall at optimal times based on your gold and the enemy’s recall timings. Use this to your advantage to stay ahead in power spikes.

Playing Selfishly to Stay Strong

It’s essential to prioritize your own strength in losing games. This doesn’t mean ignoring your team, but rather ensuring that you remain strong by farming and hitting your power spikes. Once you are strong enough, you can start influencing the map more effectively. Always base your decisions on your own power spikes, not the demands of your teammates.

Timing Recalls for Maximum Impact

Knowing when to recall is crucial. After reaching a key item threshold, such as completing a core item, recall immediately to capitalize on your power spike. Afterward, look for opportunities to fight or make plays, as you’ll be stronger than opponents who haven’t yet spent their gold.

Identifying Enemy Weaknesses

As a jungler, constantly monitor the enemy’s strength and weaknesses. Press the Tab key frequently to check their item progress. Look for windows where the enemy hasn’t recalled yet, and you have a significant item advantage. This will allow you to engage in favorable fights and gain momentum for your team.

Farming When Building Toward an Item

When you’re building toward an important item, every bit of gold counts. Prioritize farming camps efficiently to hit your next power spike as quickly as possible. Once you’ve completed your item, you can shift your focus to playmaking, as the value of farming diminishes after hitting a major power spike.

Changing Priorities After Completing an Item

After completing a key item, your priority shifts from farming to looking for fights. At this stage, farming is less valuable compared to capitalizing on your item advantage. Look for opportunities to fight and punish enemies who haven’t yet spent their gold.

Seeking Fights at Your Power Spike

Once you’ve completed a key item, actively seek out fights. This is the moment where you’re stronger than your opponents, and you should look to engage and press your advantage. If no immediate fights present themselves, continue farming but remain ready to capitalize on any mistakes the enemy makes.

Capitalizing on Overstaying Enemies

In lower ELOs, players often make the mistake of overstaying on the map without recalling to spend their gold. This creates opportunities for you to engage in favorable fights, knowing you have a significant item advantage. Always be on the lookout for enemies who haven’t based yet and capitalize on their greed.

The Difference in Recall Timers

In higher ELOs, players are much more disciplined with their recalls, ensuring they return to base at optimal times. However, in lower ELOs, players frequently overstay, giving you the perfect opportunity to engage in fights while they’re sitting on unspent gold. Recognizing these situations can give you a huge advantage.

Monitoring the Enemy’s Power Spikes

Use the scoreboard to track the enemy’s item progression and power spikes. This information allows you to make more informed decisions about when to engage. If the enemy is sitting on a large amount of gold, they’re vulnerable, and you should look to force a fight before they can recall.

Punishing Greedy Recalls

Even in higher ELOs, there will always be players who fail to respect proper recall timings. When you notice an enemy overstaying, it’s a golden opportunity to force a fight and capitalize on their weakened state. Be vigilant, and punish any mistakes they make.