Hey guys! Are you ready to dominate the Summoner's Rift with Warwick, the Uncaged Wrath of Zaun? If you're looking to shred through the jungle and gank with ferocious efficiency, you've come to the right place. This guide dives deep into the best Warwick jungle build, leveraging the insights from Mobalytics to help you climb the ranks. We'll break down everything you need to know, from runes and itemization to ganking strategies and late-game tactics. So, buckle up and let's transform you into a Warwick jungle menace!

Understanding Warwick's Strengths and Playstyle

Before we jump into the build, let's chat about what makes Warwick such a powerful jungler. Warwick is a diver, fighter champion in League of Legends, excels at dueling, ganking, and sustaining himself in the jungle. His kit allows him to aggressively hunt down low-health enemies, making him a terror in the early to mid-game. Here's a quick rundown of his key strengths:

• Sustain: Warwick's passive, Eternal Thirst, grants him bonus healing against low-health targets, allowing him to stay healthy in the jungle and sustain through skirmishes.
• Ganking Potential: His Blood Hunt (W) grants him increased movement speed towards low-health enemies, making him incredibly effective at ganking lanes.
• Crowd Control: Warwick's Infinite Duress (R) is a powerful suppression ability that locks down a target, making it easy for his team to follow up with damage.
• Duelist: Warwick is a strong duelist, especially in the early game. His Q (Jaws of the Beast) deals damage and heals him, making him difficult to kill in 1v1 situations.
• Objective Control: Warwick can solo objectives like Dragon and Rift Herald relatively easily due to his sustain and damage output.

Knowing these strengths is crucial for playing Warwick effectively. You'll want to focus on using his mobility to gank lanes, applying pressure across the map, and securing objectives. Understanding Warwick's playstyle will also help you make informed decisions about your rune and item build.

Runes: The Foundation of Your Warwick Build

The runes you choose play a vital role in shaping your Warwick's playstyle and effectiveness. For a Warwick jungle build focused on aggression and sustain, the Press the Attack keystone is generally considered the best option. Here's a detailed breakdown:

Primary Rune Path: Precision

• Press the Attack: This rune synergizes perfectly with Warwick's kit. Landing three consecutive basic attacks on an enemy champion makes them vulnerable, increasing the damage they take from all sources. This is fantastic for ganking and dueling.
• Triumph: Triumph provides bonus gold and healing after scoring a takedown, helping you snowball your lead and stay healthy during fights. This rune is essential for Warwick's aggressive playstyle, allowing him to dive into skirmishes and come out on top. The extra gold helps accelerate your item build, while the healing sustains you through extended fights, making you a formidable force in team engagements.
• Legend: Alacrity: Attack speed is crucial for Warwick, allowing him to proc Press the Attack more quickly and deal more damage overall. Alacrity provides a scaling attack speed bonus, making Warwick a faster and more dangerous threat as the game progresses. This increased attack speed not only enhances your damage output but also improves your ability to clear jungle camps efficiently and secure objectives, providing a significant advantage throughout the match.
• Last Stand: This rune grants increased damage against low-health targets, further amplifying Warwick's execute potential. Last Stand ensures that you can deal substantial damage even when your health is low, making you a resilient and deadly opponent in critical moments of battle. This rune is particularly effective in clutch situations, allowing you to turn the tide of a fight and secure victories even when facing adversity.

Secondary Rune Path: Inspiration or Sorcery

Your secondary rune path can be tailored to your personal preference and playstyle. Two popular options are Inspiration and Sorcery.

Inspiration:

• Magical Footwear: Free boots at 12 minutes (or earlier if you get takedowns) save you gold and provide extra movement speed later on.
• Cosmic Insight: Grants summoner spell and item haste, allowing you to use your Flash and Smite more frequently, giving you a tactical advantage in ganks and objective control.

Sorcery:

• Celerity: Provides bonus movement speed and damage based on your bonus movement speed, synergizing well with Warwick's Blood Hunt (W).
• Waterwalking: Grants increased movement speed and AP/AD in the river, making you a faster and more effective ganker when moving between lanes and objectives.

Rune Shards

For your rune shards, you'll typically want to go with:

• Attack Speed: This is essential for Warwick, as mentioned earlier.
• Adaptive Force: Provides extra damage, increasing your overall kill threat.
• Armor: Helps you survive early jungle skirmishes and ganks.

By carefully selecting your runes, you can optimize Warwick's strengths and tailor him to your specific playstyle. Whether you prefer the utility of Inspiration or the added damage of Sorcery, choosing the right runes will give you a significant edge on the Rift.

Item Build: Gearing Up for Victory

Now, let's talk about the core of your Warwick jungle build: items! The items you choose will determine your damage output, survivability, and overall effectiveness in the game. Here's a look at a typical Warwick build path:

Starting Items

• Emberknife: This jungle item is crucial for clearing camps efficiently and provides bonus damage to monsters.
• Refillable Potion: Provides sustain in the jungle, allowing you to stay healthy and gank more frequently.

Core Build

• Titanic Hydra: This item is a must-have on Warwick. It provides a massive amount of health, attack damage, and an active ability that deals bonus damage on your next auto-attack. Titanic Hydra synergizes incredibly well with Warwick's Q (Jaws of the Beast), allowing you to deal burst damage and heal simultaneously. The added health also makes you tankier, increasing your survivability in team fights.
• Boots of Swiftness or Plated Steelcaps/ Mercury's Treads: Your boots choice depends on the enemy team composition. Boots of Swiftness are great for roaming and ganking, while Plated Steelcaps provide armor and reduce damage from basic attacks, and Mercury's Treads offer magic resistance and tenacity. Boots of Swiftness enhance your ganking speed and mobility across the map, allowing you to quickly reach lanes and surprise enemies. Plated Steelcaps are essential when facing teams with a heavy emphasis on physical damage, while Mercury's Treads help you resist crowd control effects, making you a more resilient target in team fights.
• Divine Sunderer: This item is a fantastic option for Warwick, providing a mix of damage, healing, and tankiness. Divine Sunderer's Spellblade passive deals bonus damage based on the target's maximum health, making you incredibly effective against tanky opponents. The healing component of the passive also enhances your sustain, allowing you to stay in fights longer and emerge victorious. Divine Sunderer's balanced stat profile perfectly complements Warwick's playstyle, making him a formidable force in both duels and team engagements.

Situational Items

• Spirit Visage: This item increases your healing received, synergizing perfectly with Warwick's passive and Divine Sunderer. Spirit Visage enhances your survivability and sustain, making you a difficult target to bring down in prolonged fights. The increased healing allows you to recover quickly from damage, enabling you to continue applying pressure and securing objectives for your team.
• Dead Man's Plate: Provides armor, movement speed, and a slowing effect on your next auto-attack, making you a more effective ganker and team fighter. Dead Man's Plate improves your ability to engage on enemies, making it easier to catch them out of position and secure kills. The added movement speed also enhances your roaming potential, allowing you to quickly respond to threats across the map.
• Guardian Angel: A great item for survivability, providing armor, attack damage, and a passive that revives you upon death. Guardian Angel gives you a second chance in critical team fights, allowing you to continue contributing even after taking significant damage. This item is particularly valuable in late-game scenarios, where a single death can swing the outcome of the match.
• Thornmail: Thornmail inflicts grievous wounds on enemies who attack you, reducing their healing. This item is crucial when facing champions with high sustain, such as healers or life stealers. Thornmail effectively counters their healing abilities, making them more vulnerable and easier to eliminate. This item is a strategic choice when the enemy team composition includes champions who heavily rely on healing to survive.

Item Build Path Summary

1. Emberknife + Refillable Potion
2. Titanic Hydra
3. Boots (Swiftness, Plated Steelcaps, or Mercury's Treads)
4. Divine Sunderer
5. Situational Item (Spirit Visage, Dead Man's Plate, Guardian Angel, or Thornmail)
6. Situational Item

Remember, item builds are not set in stone. You'll need to adapt your build based on the enemy team composition, the game state, and your personal playstyle. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each item, you can make informed decisions that will help you carry games as Warwick.

Ganking and Early Game Strategy

Warwick excels at early ganks, thanks to his Blood Hunt (W) and Q ability. Your primary goal in the early game should be to secure kills and apply pressure to lanes. Here's a breakdown of a typical early game strategy:

• Jungle Pathing: Start on the side of the map where your bot lane is located (for a stronger leash). Clear your first buff (Blue or Red), then move towards the opposite buff, clearing camps along the way. Look for ganking opportunities in mid or top lane after your second buff.
• Early Ganks: Warwick's Blood Hunt (W) allows him to quickly move towards low-health enemies. Look for opportunities to gank lanes where enemies are extended or low on health. Coordinate with your laners to set up successful ganks. Communication is key to a successful gank. Ensure your laners are aware of your presence and ready to engage when you arrive.
• Objective Control: Warwick can solo Dragon early in the game. If you see an opportunity, and the enemy jungler is on the other side of the map, consider taking Dragon to secure an early advantage for your team. Securing early objectives like dragons can provide significant buffs and advantages for your team throughout the game.
• Counter-Ganking: Be aware of the enemy jungler's movements and try to counter-gank when possible. This can turn the tide of a gank and secure kills for your team. Tracking the enemy jungler's position allows you to anticipate their ganking attempts and position yourself to counter them effectively. Successfully counter-ganking can disrupt the enemy's plans and create opportunities for your team to gain a lead.

Mid to Late Game: Team Fights and Objective Control

As the game progresses, Warwick transitions from an early-game ganker to a mid-to-late game team fighter and objective controller. Here's how to play Warwick effectively in the later stages of the game:

• Team Fighting: In team fights, your role is to lock down high-priority targets with your ultimate (Infinite Duress) and deal damage while staying alive. Focus on engaging on key enemy carries, such as the ADC or mid-laner, to disrupt their damage output. Your goal is to create opportunities for your team to eliminate the enemy's primary threats and secure the win.
• Objective Control: Warwick is still excellent at securing objectives in the late game. Use your sustain and damage to help your team take Dragons, Baron Nashor, and Towers. Coordinating with your team to secure objectives is crucial for maintaining map control and pushing your advantage. Ensuring the rest of the team will group and help with objectives, Warwick is a fearsome objective taker and can quickly solo objectives, if needed.
• Split Pushing: If your team is ahead, you can consider split-pushing to apply pressure to different parts of the map. Warwick's dueling potential and sustain make him difficult to deal with in a 1v1 situation. Split-pushing can force the enemy team to make difficult decisions about how to respond, creating opportunities for your team to secure objectives or engage in favorable team fights. Communicate with your team about your split-pushing intentions to avoid getting caught out and losing valuable time.
• Vision Control: Maintain vision control around objectives and key areas of the map. This will help you track enemy movements and make informed decisions about when to engage in fights or take objectives. Placing wards in strategic locations allows you to anticipate enemy rotations and make proactive plays. Effective vision control is essential for controlling the flow of the game and securing victories.

Tips and Tricks for Mastering Warwick

Here are a few extra tips and tricks to help you master Warwick and climb the ranks:

• Practice your Q (Jaws of the Beast) timing: You can use Q to dodge skill shots and reposition yourself during fights. Mastering the timing of Warwick's Q is crucial for maximizing his damage output and survivability. You can use Q to follow enemy dashes or blinks, ensuring that you stay on top of your target and continue applying pressure.
• Use Blood Hunt (W) strategically: Don't just use W to run at enemies. Use it to scout ahead, track low-health targets, or escape from dangerous situations. Blood Hunt is a versatile tool that can be used in a variety of situations. Use it to scout ahead and gain vision of the enemy jungle, or to track low-health enemies who are trying to escape. You can also use Blood Hunt to disengage from fights and reposition yourself, if needed.
• Coordinate your ultimate (Infinite Duress) with your team: Let your team know when you're planning to use your ultimate, so they can follow up with damage. Communication is key when using Warwick's ultimate. Let your team know who you're targeting so they can focus their damage and secure the kill. Coordinating your ultimate with your team ensures that you maximize its effectiveness and create opportunities for your team to gain an advantage.
• Adapt your build: Don't be afraid to deviate from the standard build if the situation calls for it. Build items that counter the enemy team's composition and playstyle. Flexibility in your item build is essential for success on Warwick. Analyze the enemy team's composition and adjust your build accordingly. If they have a lot of magic damage, consider building more magic resistance. If they have a lot of crowd control, consider building items that provide tenacity.

Conclusion: Become a Warwick Jungle Master

So there you have it, guys! A comprehensive guide to the best Warwick jungle build, incorporating Mobalytics insights and strategies. By understanding Warwick's strengths, mastering his abilities, and adapting your build to the game, you'll be well on your way to dominating the Summoner's Rift. Remember, practice makes perfect, so get out there, experiment with different builds, and have fun unleashing the beast within! Now go forth and conquer the jungle with Warwick!