Jayce received some major changes to his kit in the past few patches, which have made him a great Jungler in the current patch of League of Legends. Right now, Jayce is an S-Tier pick in both our low and high ELO tier lists, making him a good choice for players who want to climb in Season 26.
In this Mobalytics guide, we will be providing you the absolute basics to help you play Jayce in the Jungle role of League of Legends. If you want to find more tips and tricks to play Jayce, head to Jayce’s champion page, or head to Mobalytics Champion Pages for more advice for any champion.
Best Jayce Jungle Runes in Season 26
This is currently the best set of Runes for Jayce Jungle in Season 26. Jayce takes First Strike as it basically gives him extra damage when he ganks a lane, and he is one of the few Junglers who is technically ranged so he can get additional benefits from this Rune compared to melee Junglers.
You’ll take Domination second with Sudden Impact, as you have multiple tools in your kit that procs it, allowing you to deal additional damage when ganking someone, which makes it easier for you to kill them.
Best Build For Jayce Jungle in Season 26
This is currently the best build for Jayce in the Jungle role for Season 26, each patch might affect his build path. I would advise that you download the Mobalytics App to ensure you always have the best build for Jayce and any champion in League of Legends. Staying up to date, and picking the best items for your champion is key if you want to climb.
The only big difference between Jayce Top and Jayce Jungle is that Jayce in the Jungle doesn’t need the Tear of the Goddess, as he doesn’t have nearly as many mana issues in the Jungle compared to Top Lane.
The standard Jayce build is basically full lethality, as this increases your damage output, makes your poke hurt a lot more, and also increases the success rate of your ganks.
Best Jungle Route for Jayce Jungle in Season 26
Regardless of what side of the map you start on, Jayce’s best jungle route in Season 26 is: Blue Buff > Gromp > Wolves > Raptors > Red Buff then Krugs. You finish the route with the Scuttle Crab.
An alternative route, again for either side is: Red Buff > Krugs > Raptors > Wolves > Blue Buff, then Gromp. You then do the Scuttel Crab afterwards.
The Blue Buff start is better in my opinion, as the additional mana allows you to swap forms effortlessly without worrying about running out of mana, whereas starting Red Buff means you have to be particular about switching forms/ using abilities.
Jayce Synergy
Jayce has good synergy with champions who have hard CC, strong kill pressure and can set up kills.
Jax
- Jax has strong all-in and good pressure in the lane.
Renekton
- Renekton has strong all-in, good gank setup with his W, and the two can snowball easily.
Sylas
- Sylas is really strong in the current meta. He has good gank setup with his E, and he can easily roam with Jayce and get kills.
Nautilus
- Naut has multiple CC tools and can set-up ganks with his auto-attacks, his Q and his Ultimate. Jayce can consistently get kills bot post 6.
Thresh
- Thresh has good gank setup with his Q and E, and his lantern can help Jayce close the gap and get on to the enemy.
Jayce Wins Against
Jayce is really good against these champions. If you see the enemy pick any one of these champions in the Jungle role, then you could pick Jayce into them and have a really good time against them!
Kayn
- Kayn has a 46.6 win rate vs Jayce.
Lillia
- Lillia has a 47.4 win rate vs Jayce.
Sylas
- Sylas has a 47.8 win rate vs Jayce.
Graves
- Graves has a 48 win rate vs Jayce.
Amumu
- Amumu has a 48.4 win rate vs Jayce.
Best Counter Picks to Jayce Jungle in Season 26
If you’re looking for the best counter picks versus Jayce Jungle, then head over to Jayce’s counters page for the latest data. At the time of writing this guide, these champions were the best picks vs him. All of these champions can stick to him and make it really hard for him to get onto them or escape them. Jayce is vulnerable to CC, slows and champions who have a lot of damage.
Dr Mundo
- Dr Mundo has a 57.6% win rate vs him.
Zyra
- Zyra has a 57.2% win rate vs him.
Sejuani
- Sejuani has a 55.5% win rate vs him.
Wukong
- Wukong has a 54.7% win rate vs him.
Rek’Sai
- Rek’Sai has a 54.5% win rate vs him.
How to Play Jayce Jungle in the Early Game
Your job in the early game is to find a balance between farming and ganking your allies. Your first clear should be pretty healthy, as long as you keep switching forms between melee and ranged, and kite the camps. You can start ganking from level 3 onwards, as you'll have access to all of your basic abilities.
Jayce should prioritise ganking his allies who have a good gank setup in terms of CC, strong all-in, and can actually follow up when he goes in. Don't bother wasting time trying to help allies who have none of these things, as you'll be wasting time, and it will be difficult for you to get anything out of it.
When the first objective spawns on the top side of the map, you should try to take it as quickly as possible. Jayce can clear this objective pretty easily on his own. I suggest placing a Control Ward in the pit itself and then try to take it to give your team the advantage.
Don't forget to prioritise the Dragons as well, as they are really beneficial for your team. You might struggle taking this alone in the early game though, so gank bot lane first and then rotate to it afterwards.
How to Play Jayce Jungle in the Mid and Late Game
During the mid and late game, you are going to try to get picks on the enemy carries or champions who are walking around Summoners Rift alone. Jayce has really strong all-in, so he can take down squishy champions really quickly.
Your items cost a lot of gold, so you need to make sure that you are taking your jungle camps whenever you can to ensure you do not fall behind in XP or gold. If Jayce falls behind, it can be really difficult to him to get back into the game because he will lack damage.
Just like the early game, you need to be prioritising taking the objectives whenever you can, and ideally taking them as they spawn, as Jayce can take them down quickly once he has some items under his belt.
In mid and late game team fights, unless you can execute somebody straightaway by jumping on them with your melee Q, such as ambushing somebody from a bush, you will want to poke them down with your Q as much as you can and then go in when they are low enough. Playing vs Jayce while his team is sieging is very difficult because he can do a lot of damage.
Final Thoughts
That about sums up or basic beginners guide to Jayce in the Jungle. Make sure you abuse him while he is really strong in the current meta!