Machete, Spirit Stone, Wriggle's: Life in the Old Jungle
Before smite-upgrades and plants, the jungle was a place you survived — camp by camp, pot by pot.
The machete revolution
Preseason 3 gave the jungle its first dedicated starting item: Hunter's Machete. Before that, junglers survived on cloth armor and five pots and a leashed camp. Now the basic act of jungling — hitting monsters — had an item of its own.
Machete grew into Spirit Stone, and Spirit Stone into three Spirit items: Ancient Golem for tanks, Elder Lizard for fighters, Spectral Wraith for AP junglers. Your champion decided the destination of your first recall.
Wriggle's Lantern, the farmer's badge
The other icon was Wriggle's Lantern: lifesteal, armor, bonus monster damage, and a free ward on active. Farming junglers, Lee Sin players, even top laners swore by it. The minute mark of your Wriggle's completion told everyone what kind of day you were having.
Its stats look modest now, but in an era when wards were precious, one free ward was worth more than numbers. Jungle vision play began with a Wriggle's ward in the dragon bush.
The kings of the old jungle
The jungle's rulers were Lee Sin and Elise — fast early gankers, less bound to jungle-item gold, and endlessly rewarding of mechanical skill. This is the era that named the InSec kick and separated the classes of pro junglers.
Behind them came Jarvan IV, Vi, Hecarim, Evelynn. The tier list and champion guides in this archive keep their era-correct builds intact.
