Ganking Routes and Timing

9.8 Ganking Routes and Timing

For junglers in League of Legends, successful ganking is the key to creating advantages for your team and snowballing leads. Understanding optimal ganking routes and the precise timing for these plays can turn the tide of a game, securing kills and opening up opportunities for objectives.

Ganking involves a jungler leaving their jungle to assist a laner in killing an enemy opponent. Effective ganking requires more than just showing up; it demands knowledge of map awareness, enemy positioning, minion wave states, and the optimal pathing to surprise and overwhelm opponents.

Understanding Gank Opportunities

Before even considering a route, assess the potential for a successful gank:

• Minion Wave State: The ideal scenario is when the enemy minion wave is pushed towards your allied tower. This allows your laner to engage without being immediately threatened by enemy minions, and it means the enemy laner is closer to your position.
• Enemy Position: Is the enemy laner overextended? Are they low on health or mana? Are their key defensive abilities on cooldown?
• Vision Control: Does the enemy have vision in the river or around their lane? Wards can easily thwart a gank.
• Ally's Engage/CC: Does your allied laner have crowd control or an engage tool to help lock down the target?

Common Ganking Routes

Ganking routes are highly dependent on the lane you're targeting and the enemy jungler's likely position. Here are some general examples:

• Top Lane Ganks:
  • From River: The most common route, entering from the river bush. Requires good timing to avoid enemy vision.
  • From Behind (Tri-Bush): If the enemy top laner is very overextended, you can sometimes path through the enemy jungle's tri-bush and come from behind. This is riskier due to potential enemy jungle vision.
• Mid Lane Ganks:
  • From River: Standard route, entering from the river bushes on either side.
  • From Side Lane Brush: If your mid laner has priority and can push the wave, you can sometimes enter from the side lane brush and flank the enemy.
  • From Behind (Enemy Jungle): A more advanced and risky route, entering from the enemy's side of the jungle.
• Bot Lane Ganks:
  • From River: The most common route, entering from the river bush.
  • From Tri-Bush: If the enemy bot lane is pushed up, you can path through the bot lane tri-bush and come from behind. This is often the most effective bot lane gank.
  • Through Dragon Pit: Sometimes, you can path through the Dragon pit area to approach bot lane from an unexpected angle.

Timing Your Ganks

Timing is as crucial as the route itself:

• Early Game Pressure: Many junglers aim for an early gank after their first clear (around level 3 or 4) to help their laners get a lead.
• Objective Timers: Gank lanes that are pushing towards objectives like Dragon or Rift Herald to set up a favorable fight.
• Enemy Jungler's Location: If you know the enemy jungler is on the opposite side of the map, you have a window to gank freely.
• Laner's Cooldowns: Coordinate with your laner. If they have their ultimate or key CC ability up, it's a prime time to gank.
• After Recalls: Ganking a lane right after the enemy laner has recalled can be effective, as they might be returning with fewer resources or at a disadvantage.

Advanced Ganking Techniques

• "Proxy" Ganks: For some champions, you can farm enemy jungle camps that are pushed up towards your side of the map, effectively "proxying" and potentially catching the enemy jungler off guard.
• No Minion Wave Ganks: Sometimes, a gank can be successful even without a minion wave advantage if the enemy is severely out of position or low health.
• Counter-Ganking: Predicting where the enemy jungler will gank and being there to intercept them.

Mastering ganking routes and timing requires constant map awareness, communication with your team, and a good understanding of your champion's strengths. Practice these routes and timings to become a more impactful jungler.