The complete season 13 Neeko Jungle Guide | Build | Runes | Items | Tips and tricks in League of Legends

League of Legends patch notes 13.09 brought the Neeko rework live on all servers. These changes to Neeko also buffed her jungle clear speed. We already created an in-depth article covering the Neeko rework, but it seems players have a hard time adjusting, bringing Neeko’s WR (Win Rate) down. In this complete Neeko jg guide, we will cover everything you need to know before you dominate Summoners Rift with her.

Why should you play Neeko Jungle in League of Legends?

Apart from being one of the cutest champions in League of Legends with amazing voice lines and lore, her kit is also very simple yet effective. The new Neeko Q spell now deals bonus damage to jungle monsters and the area of effect has been increased by 25 units. The empowered auto attack on Neeko’s W ability now also deals bonus damage to jungle monsters. And that’s before considering Neeko’s new passive ability that allows you to transform into nearly everything! 

Neeko is an easy champion to pick up that offers a lot of versatility. You can play Neeko effectively in several roles with different builds, depending on the situation. Mid lane and support Neeko players usually build ability power and damage. Top lane Neeko players love to abuse the on-hit Neeko build. But the recent Neeko buffs made Neeko jungle viable. And it’s one of the strongest and most unique picks in the LoL JG role. 

Best Neeko Jungle runes LoL s13

These are the best Neeko jgl runes in season 13 of League of Legends. And in this Neeko jungle guide, we will explain why. Since Neeko jg plays like a burst mage/ assassin, the Domination tree is her best choice. Dark Harvest is the best rune choice on all jungle champions who deal burst damage since it resets. Cheap Shot works great with Neeko since her E spell and Neeko ult are crowd-control abilities that activate this rune. Eyeball Collection gives her more damage and Ultimate Hunter lowers the cooldown on Neeko ult, allowing for more play-making potential. 

You should always choose the Inspiration tree for your secondary LoL runes. Hextech Flashtraption allows you to use a modified version of the Flash summoner spell, even when it’s on cooldown. Cosmic Insight is a great rune choice for all jungle champions since it lowers the cooldown on your Flash and Smite LoL summoner spells. It also lowers the cooldown on item actives. And as you can notice in the best Neeko jg build section, she can use two of them. 

Best Neeko Jungle build in League of Legends season 13

The optimal Neeko build in the jungle consists of these items. You will always want to purchase Hextech Rocketbelt as your Mythic item. You will follow it up with a Mejai’s Soulstealer if you have a major advantage. If you are not as successful, feel free to build Zhonya’s Hourglass for more survivability and play-making. Always make sure to purchase Rabadon’s Deathcap and Void Staff for the maximum amount of damage in League of Legends.

Best Season 13 Neeko Jungle Items

When playing as Neeko jungle, the first item you always must purchase is the LoL jungle item. Your choice can vary depending on the situation. But since Neeko is a squishy burst mage, your best choice is the Gustwalker Hatchling. The blue jungle item gives you +45 movement speed in bushes. And since you play Neeko in the LoL jg role, you will use this a lot. The second item you should be purchasing, ideally on your first base, are the Sorcerer’s shoes. These tier-two boots will give you the movement speed needed to catch up or run away from your enemies. They also give +18 magic penetration. This means that in the early stages of the game, your abilities will deal almost true damage to champions and jungle monsters. They improve your jungle clear, pathing, ganks and keep you safe.

The first item you should try to complete should be Hextech Protobelt. This will be your LoL mythic item when playing Neeko jg. The stats it gives are great and the active also helps you land more Neeko ults. The mythic passive gives +5 magic penetration for each legendary item purchased. This will help you scale up and increase your damage output as the game progresses. After that, you should get Zhonya’s Hourglass. Not only does it give armor and cooldown reduction, both things Neeko jg needs, but it also has a powerful active. You can combine it with Neeko ult or use it after your initial engage. Follow those two up with Rabadon’s Deathcap and Void Staff for the maximum amount of damage.

Complete Neeko Jungle gameplay guide

When starting to play Neeko jungle, your first clear is the most important. The Neeko rework added a lot of extra damage and since most of her abilities are AOE (Area of Effect), she can start her clear everywhere. If you have a leash, it’s better to start on the Blue Buff. It gives Neeko jg enough mana and ability haste to help her clear the jungle. But Neeko LoL can clear the jungle without a leash. To help your teammates, you should be starting on the Wolf camp or the Raptor camp.

Fastest Neeko Jungle clear and pathing in LoL s13

Level up your Q ability first and make sure the pop damage gets the entire Raptor camp. This will help you reach level 2. Then you will scale up your W ability because it does extra bonus damage against jungle monsters since the recent Neeko rework. Save your Smite summoner spell and kite the Red buff camp. Then head to the Krug camp and use your Smite on the big one. With these 3 camps cleared, you should be level 3 at 2 minutes and 22 seconds. 

From here you can use your passive ability to transform into a minion and gank the closest lane with the upcoming wave to blend in. Neeko has a lot of damage at level 3 with a Red buff, so don’t be scared to go for plays. That’s why we tale the attack speed rune shard in the secondary tree. Otherwise, you can continue to the opposite side of the map and clear the rest of your jungle. Clear the Wolves camp, before doing the Blue Buff and Gromp. You should clear your jungle around 3:08, which is a lot faster than most jungle champions. Make sure you take at least one Scuttle Crab before basing for boots and a Dark Seal.

Best Neeko Jungle abilities order in LoL s13

Unless you are playing on hit Neeko, you should always max your Q ability first. When playing Neeko jg, you will always want to start with your Q ability. You will level up your W ability second to help your first jungle clear. After the Neeko rework, this ability does extra damage against jungle monsters. Finally, you will level up your E ability once you reach level 3. At level 6, you should level up Neeko’s ultimate ability Pop Blossom. 

You will max your Q ability first since that is most of your damage. Use it to clear jungle monsters, minions, and fight champions. Your E ability should be next in your skill order priority. It does more damage than the W ability and it also provides crowd control. The duration of the crowd control scales up as you level up the ability, so make sure to max E second. After that you can use points in W and Neeko ult when available. 

Best Neeko Jungle pathing in LoL s13

The best jungle pathing option for Neeko jungle is to start on a multi-camp. Wolves or Raptors are the easiest camps to do when you start with Q ability. Not only does it do extra damage to monsters, but it also does AOE damage. After that you should head to your buff ,depending on which side you started. Red side clear is better if you are trying to gank at level 3 since you will have the extra damage and slow from Red Buff. Always make sure to clear your jungle so you can upgrade your jungle item faster. But don’t be passive. Make good use of Neeko’s new and improved kit after the rework, and do some creative ganks.

Best Neeko Jungle ganking in LoL s13

When ganking as Neeko jgl, you should always transform into a minion or control ward. If you are doing it after clearing your jungle, use your passive and blend in with the upcoming wave. Enemies will often fail to realize there are more minions than there are supposed to be. This is what makes Neeko jungle ganks so good. If you are in a bush, you can place a control ward and transform into it. Enemies that will approach the bush or place a ward in it will spot you. But they can’t break your cover without using abilities. So make sure to strike first!

Best Neeko Jungle strategy in LoL s13 

During the mid and late-game, Neeko jungle can abuse her new passive ability to set up ambush trap plays. Neeko jg can turn into any champion on her team, a ward, a buff, or any jungle monster that isn’t a Drake or Rift Herald/ Baron Nashor. Transforming into a Blast Cone or Scryer’s Bloom can bait enemies to approach you. You can then unload your combo on them for a surprise attack. Make sure you start by hitting your E ability. The root will give enough time for your Q ability to do double damage. This probably won’t be enough to kill most targets if you are alone, so you can use your ultimate ability as well. Neeko ult now doesn’t shield, but the crowd control lasts longer. This can buy you enough time for another rotation of spells.

Best Neeko Jungle strengths in LoL s13

Compared to other champions in the jungle role, Neeko has a lot of strengths. She has a lot of AOE damage, enabling her to have a really fast jungle clear speed. Her cooldowns are low, and she has a lot of crowd control with her E ability. She can use it deceptively to stun multiple enemies, which can lead to a team fight win. Her ultimate ability is one of the strongest engage tools in the game, applying crowd control and damage over a large area. Neeko jungle can be behind in gold and still win the game with one play!

Best Neeko Jungle weaknesses in LoL s13

Despite all of this, Neeko is still very fragile. She builds damage instead of resistances. You can use your W ability and passive to trick opponents. But Neeko jungle is very weak against crowd control and burst damage. Your E ability is your only defensive tool, so use it properly. 

Best Neeko Jungle counters in LoL s13

It’s been a week since the Neeko rework came out in the patch notes. But according to the numbers, the strongest champions against Neeko jungle are: Jarvan IV, Hecarim, Ekko and Kayn. All of these champions have movement abilities to dodge Neeko’s abilities. They can also use these movement abilities to engage and eliminate Neeko. They all have some sort of crowd control in their kit and they do a lot of burst damage.

Weakest champion against Neeko Jungle 

Neeko jungle does fairly well into Viego, Shaco, Nidalee, and Master Yi. Most of these champions don’t have crowd control or it’s unreliable, giving Neeko jg the advantage. They also do single-target damage, which is hard to do since Neeko can close herself. 

Best champion to pair Neeko Jungle with in LoL s13 

Since Neeko jgl is an AP champion with a lot of crowd control, she synergizes best with champions who can consistently deal physical damage. That fits the description with most ADC champions, and that’s why we have seen her in the bot lane. Neeko jungle can start fights with her crowd control and burst damage. But she then needs allies to deal damage consistently to finish off the kills. With this in mind, she has good synergy with Kled and Fiora in the top lane. In the mid lane, Irelia, Akshan, Pantheon, Tristana and Yone are the best pairings for Neeko jgl.  Because of this, she does great with all ADC champions and really benefits from engage supports like Amumu and Rell following up on her engage.

Best Neeko Jungle tips and tricks in LoL s13

When playing Neeko jungle, you should really avoid starting fights alone. You have a lot of utility and damage, but once you use everything, you are a sitting duck. It might work in the early game since your damage is high. But it will always be better to fight with a numbers advantage or on equal footing. Focus on using your E ability before using your Q ability. That way you can guarantee both instances of damage coming from the Q ability. Another important thing to know is that the duration of the root on your E ability is DOUBLED after it passes through an object. 

So using it through a minion wave, jungle monster or another enemy means that you can create a longer CC chain. Always keep track of what element you have consumed to transform to. Make sure you double click it to consume it and open up the slot for another transformation. Also, when you transform into an ally, you possess some of their stats. These are movement speed and attack speed. These can be really useful for moving around the map. So press Tab and see which person on your team has purchased tier two boots and transform in them. But most importantly, remember to have fun!