I feel like jungle became too optimized.
I don’t mean that jungle is too hard to start playing. If anything, Riot made the entry level easier with jungle pets, recommended jungle paths, camp indicators, and objective timers. You can queue jungle, follow the suggested camps, clear your jungle, and technically function. Jungle is easy to enter now, but it feels impossible to casually compete in.
And I think this might be one of the reasons why jungle is so unpopular and why so few new players want to actually learn the role. The difference between “I can clear my camps” and “I can compete with a jungle main” feels massive.
I’m a casual player, but I’ve always been decent at the game and I used to play a lot of different champions and roles. I could pick up any role and perform well enough. But jungle feels different now. I can still play the role, but I no longer feel like I can casually pick it up and compete with someone who actually plays jungle.
In recent years, there has been a ton of "educational" League content and optimization. And no role has been more impacted than jungle. Nowadays, when you can't do double or even triple camp clearing at once, you are already behind. Just being a few seconds late is almost game over. Knowing each matchup and where to invade is crucial. And if you fall behind, all your lanes suffer.
I know other roles have also become more optimized. What was previously a Diamond level skill is now common Silver knowledge. But jungle feels like the role where optimization changed the experience the most. If you get gapped in lane, you can usually still play safe and limit the damage. If you get gapped in jungle, it feels like the whole map suffers.
I asked this question on r/Jungle_Mains, but I’m curious what non-junglers think as well. Do you think jungle’s skill ceiling has become too high compared to other roles? And if so, do you prefer it that way?