4.21 Jungle Part 2

     Hey guys! This is part 2 of my 4.21 jungle post where I'll be discussing the changes to smite as well as the effects of each machete upgrade. To check out part 1, check the post below this one where I discuss the changes to each camp. Just like the last post, I'll be posting a TLDR at the end of the post.

Smite Changes

     There were two big changes to smite in season 5. For one, smite now has a 60 second cooldown vs the 45 second cooldown in season 4. Also, smite can now be "upgraded" depending on the item you upgrade your hunter's machete to. I'll discuss the value of each upgraded machete.

Poacher's Knife (Scavenging Smite) 

     If smite is used on a large monster in the enemy jungle, Smite's cooldown is halved and you gain +20 bonus gold. You also gain 175% movement speed which decays after 2 seconds when killing the monster you smite. 

     This jungle item is largely considered the worst jungle item. While counterjungling is an effective jungling strategy, this jungle item is lackluster for a few reasons. This jungle item doesn't provide the sustain/AoE clear from the Ranger's Trailblazer. It also provides no combat effectiveness (e.g. Skirmisher's/Stalker's). In addition, the jungle item also only provides a very SHORT movement speed buff when you KILL a camp. The final note is that if you purchase the Poacher's Knife and the enemy team notices, they'll know what your plan is and it's relatively easy to counteract your counterjungling by maintaining vision control around their jungle entrances. This can lead to deaths if you attempt to counterjungle anyways. 

Ranger's Trailblazer (Blasting Smite)

     Smite will deal half of your smite damage to all monsters  and enemy minions near the target you smite. The monsters/minions will also be stunned for 1.5 seconds. Smiting a monster will also restore 15% of missing Health & Mana.

     This jungle item is effective for champion's who have trouble clearing and sustaining in the jungle. Prior to the 4.21 patch, it also reduced your smite's cooldown but that change was removed. This patch, it just restores missing health/mana, AoE's, and stuns. I like to use this jungle item on champion's like Amumu and Fiddlesticks. It's also useful for champion's like Kha'Zix. Basically, anyone who gets low in the jungle. It's also the easiest to use smite so if you're a less experienced jungler, it's probably the best one to get.

Skirmisher's Sabre (Challenging Smite)

     Smite can be cast on enemy champions, revealing them and making them take 60-162 true damage over 3 seconds. In addition, you also take 20% reduced damage from the target you smite for 6 seconds.

     I don't think this item is as useful as it was in the 4.20 patch where your autos would deal true damage for 6 seconds, making it monstrous on auto attack based champions. However, it's still a decent jungle item if you intend on skirmishing (hence the name) with the enemy jungler. I find it most useful on aggressive invade-centric champions like Lee Sin, Rengar, or even Shaco. 

Stalker's Blade (Chilling Smite)

     Smite can be cast on enemy champions, dealing (20 + 8 x level) true damage as well as  reducing their movement speed by 50% for 2 seconds.

     In my opinion, this smite is the most useful smite for more experienced junglers. Prior to this patch, I would have said to always go Trailblazer because of the reduced smite cooldown but this smite makes ganking and making plays easier because of the slow. I generally purchase this on all my gank heavy junglers (e.g. Fiddlesticks, Jarvan, Kha'Zix, Rengar). 

     Keep in mind two things. One, the trailblazer, sabre, and blade are all useful items so it's almost always dependent on your own playstyle and what you intend to do rather than your champion pick. Two, the sabre and blade both make it so smite can be used on champion's. Be careful because, if in a smite fight, you might accidentally smite the champion instead of the objective. 

Jungle Item Enchantments

     While I'm here talking about the new jungle items, I might as well talk about the enchantments as well. There are four enchantments that'll give combat stats to your jungle item. You pick one and you'll recognize the effects of each jungle item if you played in season 4. 

Devourer

   

       
     This enchantment is similar to the Feral Flare from season 4. It's best on auto attack based champions like Master Yi and Udyr. This item does significantly less damage in the 4.21 patch due to being nerfed. However, it's still normally the best enchantment on Yi and Udyr.

Juggernaught

     This enchantment is most similar to the Spirit of the Ancient Golem before they removed the Tenacity passive. It's best built on tank jungler's (e.g. Cho'Gath/Nautilus) and Elise. 

Magus

      This enchantment is similar to the Spirit of the Spectral Wraith item. It provides the same amount of AP as a fully stalked Wraith would. This enchantment is best on any type of AP jungler (e.g. Amumu/Diana/Fiddlesticks).

Warrior

     This enchantment is most similar to the Spirit of the Elder Lizard item. It no longer has the true damage effect but instead has +10 armor penetration. This enchantment is best on more aggressive early game AD junglers as well as champion's with decent AD ratios. It's also a decent alternative to the Devourer enchantment for auto attack based champion's if you feel like you're going to need to be more aggressive early game and won't have time to farm up your stacks.

TLDR 

1. Smite has a longer cooldown. Smite can be upgraded depending on the jungle item you purchase.
2. Poacher's Knife isn't on the same level as the other jungle item's because of how the movement speed bonus works, the fact it provides less sustain than the trailblazer, and how it announces to the enemy team your intention's of counterjungling.
3. Ranger's Trailblazer is best for novice junglers. It's also best for champion's who have a rough early game and have trouble clearing. Good alternative to the champion smites for champion's who don't have any real trouble ganking but have trouble sustaining (e.g. Kha'Zix/Rengar).
4. Skirmisher's Sabre is a decent jungle item for more aggressive junglers who like to invade a lot. It's also great for junglers who plan on split pushing. The reason is because you take 20% less damage from the target that you smite, making it a very strong 1v1 item. If you plan on fighting someone 1v1 a lot, it's the best pick up.
5. Stalker's Blade is probably one of the more powerful smites since it makes ganking even easier. It provides a slow which allows both you and your laner to catch up in ganks. Very useful for gank heavy junglers.
6. Most of the enchantments were derived from the season 4 jungle items. Devourer = Feral Flare. Juggernaught = Ancient Golem. Magus = Wraith. Warrior = Elder Lizard. The item's all have slight changes though.

      That's basically it for this post. In the next post, I'll be discussing which champion's I feel are strongest in season 5 solo queue. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to comment here or tweet me at @Lilnovalas. Thanks for reading!

Sources 

http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/game-updates/patch/patch-420-notes

http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/game-updates/patch/patch-421-notes