Jungling: Movement Speed

Movement Speed is incredibly valuable to any jungler. Whether you aim to perpetually farm while ignoring the ire of your teammates, to counter-jungle a foolish opponent, or to gank continuously Movement Speed makes a monumental difference

It's no coincidence that nearly every competitive match starts with eight or more players sporting Boots of Speed. That 50 Movement Speed is so valuable that it can easily determine many lanes even without the influence of a jungler. Small exchanges can become outright routs, and many normally safe positions become unsafe without that seemingly small boost. The power of that Movement Speed difference is why junglers are beginning to invest so heavily in the attribute.

Increasing Movement Speed means reaching important locations sooner, and closing the distance to vital targets faster. It's difficult to comprehend just how effective Movement Speed is until you've played without it. Try jungling Cho'gath with a Regrowth Pendant and no Movement Speed runes or masteries, then try again with Boots of Speed, and then again with every Movement Speed bonus you can get. Jungling without any Movement Speed increases is simply a handicap.

It's for this reason that Mobility Boots and Movement Speed runes and masteries have become increasingly popular. Between the two a jungler moves as much as 20% faster from place to place, an incredible advantage. Whether rushing somewhere in time to counter-gank or running in to gank, that boost easily turns would-be escapes into kills.

This is also another reason why Janna is such a coveted support, especially for bruisers without gap closers. The power of that seemingly innocuous 3% Movement Speed boost is huge, and is even more painfully felt when the other team picks her. Nothing makes an Udyr cry more than to see Janna on the enemy team.

Not every jungler can take full advantage of Movement Speed. Some derive other critical benefits from runes, masteries or boot upgrades that preclude zooming around the map at Mach 5. For those that can, such as Cho'gath or Maokai, it simply amazing. Try it once and you'll find it very difficult to go back.