Skip to main content

Decision Rules

Decision-Making Principles (How to Apply the Rules)​

The checklists above determine whether an action is allowed.
The principles below explain how to recognize opportunities earlier and how to avoid giving value away for free.

These principles become increasingly important as you climb.

Read Your Own Lane States First​

Before evaluating a gank, evaluate your own lanes.

  • A pushed enemy lane indicates vulnerability
  • A neutral lane indicates low reliability
  • A pushed allied lane often signals countergank risk

Looking at your own lane states first prevents forced ganks and helps you anticipate where fights are about to happen, not where they already happened.

If a lane looks volatile, assume interaction is imminent.

Counterganking Converts Enemy Pressure Into Advantage​

Counterganks are often higher value than proactive ganks, especially when:

  • Your laner is pushed or low HP
  • The enemy jungler is missing
  • A dive or forced play is likely

By hovering vulnerable lanes instead of farming blindly, you can:

  • Turn losing fights
  • Secure double kills
  • Gain tempo without committing first

At higher levels, junglers win games by being present, not by starting fights.

Never Allow the Enemy Jungler to Gain Value for Free​

Every enemy action must be answered.

If the enemy jungler gains:

  • Kills → you must gain camps, vision, or objectives
  • Objectives → you must gain pressure elsewhere
  • Time → you must gain information

The only losing play is doing nothing.

Even partial trades (2 camps for a kill) reduce variance and prevent snowballing.

Cross-Map Trading at Higher Levels​

As skill increases, trades become symmetric, not reactive.

  • Enemy ganks top → you invade bot or start Drake
  • Enemy commits to bot dive → you pressure Herald or mid tower
  • Enemy takes Baron → you take inhibitors or force fights

At higher ranks, jungling becomes a resource exchange, not a series of isolated plays.

You do not need to match plays — you need to out-trade them.

Kills Are a Tool, Not the Objective​

Kills matter because they:

  • Create tempo
  • Remove pressure
  • Enable objectives

They are not valuable in isolation.

A kill that does not lead to:

  • A reset
  • A camp steal
  • An objective
  • Vision control

…is often lower value than a clean full clear.

How These Principles Scale​

  • Iron–Gold: Focus on lane states and avoiding free losses
  • Platinum–Diamond: Prioritize counterganks and cross-map responses
  • Master+: Evaluate every play as an exchange of tempo, risk, and information

Mastery comes from recognizing why a rule applies, not just when.