League of Legends is adding jungle pets — little creatures that follow you around — in an effort to make the jungler role more appealing and accessible to new and veteran players. But how do these new critters work?
It appears Riot has, once again, failed the “leave jungle alone in the preseason” challenge. The League of Legends developer has revealed a bunch of new features that would help make the jungle become a more well-rounded role ahead of Season 13.
This includes the addition of jungle camp leash indicators and recommended jungle paths to help less experienced junglers, as well as tools to make the jungle new and more exciting for veteran League players.
The biggest tool for those veteran players, which will also help newer players as well, is the introduction of jungle pets. But what are these pets and how do they work?
What are the new jungle pets in League of Legends?
Jungle pets are a new mechanic that replaces the traditional jungle items (aka the Smite items).
Instead of purchasing an upgrade to an item, or having it change after killing a set number of camps as it was with Smite items in the past, the jungle pets will evolve over the course of a game when the player feeds them treats.
Treats can be acquired by killing champions and jungle monsters. However, players will also get treats over time so they don’t fall too far behind.
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What types of jungle pets are there?
There are three jungle pets that players can choose from, each with their own advantages:
- The Salamander is a defensive option which provides a shield and tenacity to give a healthier clear
- The Fox is a mobility option which provides utility and movespeed to move through the jungle
- The Cat is an aggressive option which provides slows and extra damage, more suited for heavy gankers.
You will buy each pet as a baby and help it grow big and strong by feeding it treats. However, you are not able to sell the pet and rebuy another one, so make sure you’re choosing carefully! For the numbers behind these companions, you can check the patch notes here.
What do jungle pets do?
The pets will help the player clear camps by doing some damage, but they will also heal the player after a monster is killed.
As noted above, the jungle pets also let you customize your playstyle, allowing you to play the same champion as a heavy ganker, farmer, or just move throughout the jungle.
Product lead for Summoner’s Rift Patrick Noonan said jungle pets “[give] you some distinct strategic options to choose from at the beginning of the game depending on what you think will be most important.”
Even though junglers might grumble at another massive change to the role, they will have the opportunity to play with their new pets when Season 13 hits the League of Legends servers in November.
