League of Legends S12: Elise Jungle Build Guide

From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Elise in the jungle in League of Legends.

Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.

That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.

Runes

Core Items

Night Harvester

3200 Gold

Zhonya's Hourglass

2600 Gold

Build

Night Harvester is great on an AP jungler like Elise, offering AP, health, ability haste, and extra on-hit damage. 

Zhonya's Hourglass is an essential survival tool for AP champions, while offering a solid AP boost.

Other good items include Morellonomicon and Shadowflame.

Starting Item & Boots

Refillable Potion

150 Gold

Hailblade

350 Gold

Sorcerer's Shoes

1100 Gold

Skill Order

While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Elise skill priority is:

R > Q > W > E

Summoner Spells

These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Elise in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.

Gameplay

Elise is an AP assassin, with good AP scaling. She can put a lot of pressure on lanes in the early game, helping teammates get ahead. However, she's rather fragile and susceptible to being locked down by CC, so play patiently and choose your targets well. 

• Level 1 - Take W - Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy, for the extra damage from the Spiderlings.
• Level 2 - Take Q - Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite, for the extra jungle clear.
• First Back - Start building towards your Night Harvester. 

Tips & Tricks

• Use your spider form to move around the jungle, given the move speed bonus.  
• You have a lot of damage potential in the early game, so don't hesitate to exert pressure on lanes from level 3. 
• A Flash + Cocoon (in human form) combo can be used to surprise champions in any lane.
• Start camps in human form to take advantage of the % health damage, before switching into spider form.
• In spider form you can use your spiderlings to take damage for you. 
• Cocoon grants vision of the entire area shown on the ground.