Home » Jungle Guides » High Elo Fiddlesticks Jungle Path – The Best Jungle Routes for Fiddlesticks in Season 12
Every time Riot decides to give a champion a VGU makeover, players can expect something rather impressive to be made out of the old-school character, and to this day, the best VGU update ever made by Riot arguably surround Fiddlesticks, the Ancient Fear.
Not only have his visuals been massively improved, but the entirety of his kit began feeling more interactive, allowing players to have a more immersive experience when playing who was meant to be League’s scariest champion.
Relying heavily on Fear mechanics and the ability to appear out of nowhere, Fiddlesticks makes for a great pick when your team’s composition lacks heavy AP damage. Even more impressively, Fiddlestick can consistently clear multiple camps at once, being one of the most efficient Junglers in the entire game.
Without further to do, allow us to walk you through the ultimate Jungle routes and clearing strategies for Fiddlesticks, along-side the full Summoner Spells, Runes and items this champion is meant to be played with, in our in-depth guide!
Enjoy!
Table of Content
show
Summoner Spells
Flash + Smite
The Best Fiddlesticks Runes
Although there has never been a meta surrounding Fiddlesticks and his ideal Runes, the Rank 1 players are currently abusing Predator, followed by Cheap Shot, Zombie Ward and Ultimate Hunter, allowing Fiddlesticks to chase down his enemies like a real horror movie demon.
The secondary Runes are usually Perfect Timing (as it provides really good value, since Fiddlesticks always build Zhonya’s Hourglass) and Future’s Market, in an effort to help with the gold efficiency.
However, in the recent patches there has been a new keystone taking over the rift, especially in the case of these AP controllers, which is considerably easier to play than the Predator approach.
Glacial Augment
Going with the off-meta keystone, Glacial Augment in combination with Fiddlesticks’ fears can create extremely powerful setups for ganks and picks later on into the game, as the rest of the Inspiration path also brings plenty of tools to play around with.
Follow it up with Perfect Timing, Future’s Market and lastly with Approach Velocity, in order to maximize the utility and gold efficiency of your Runes.
As for the secondary picks, Cheap Shot and Ultimate Hunter make for some solid picks, but something like Nimbus Cloak and Gathering Storm will work just as effectively.
The Best Fiddlesticks Items
Starting Items: Hailblade + Refillable Potion
Mythic Item: Hextech Rocketbelt
Core Items: Sorcerer’s Shoes, Zhonya’s Hourglass, Void Staff
Finishing Options: Demonic Embrace, Rabadon’s Deathcap, Shadowflame
The ideal build for Fiddlesticks is rather standard, as it focuses on providing well-rounded stats in terms of flat ability power and magic penetration, combined with the mandatory Zhonya’s and the meta item Shadowflame.
Players can experiment with other Mythic options such as Liandry’s or Everfrost, as well as with some more ludicrous items such as Crystal Scepter, meant to keep all of your enemies slowed, once you land your Ultimate.
However, this standard balanced build is likely going to prove most effective, as it is overall well-rounded, offering everything Fiddlestick needs in order to destroy his opponents.
Also Check Out: Most Toxic Champions in League of Legends
The Best Skill Order for Fiddlesticks
W > Q > E > R
Since W is your primary source of damage against the Jungle monsters, it is also the first ability you’re going to be maxing out, followed by Q. However, the second spell point should be invested in picking up E instead, in order to help with the following camps.
The Best Jungle Paths for Fiddlesticks
The Ancient Fear has some incredibly Jungle clearing tools, most notably through its Bountiful Harvest (W) ability, allowing Fiddlesticks to drain the HP from all monsters, on a very short cooldown. This ability enables him to clear multiple camps at once, similarly to Shaco players. His other clearing tool, the Reap (E) ability makes for a decent AOE damage source to use while W is on cooldown.
We are going to cover the most advantageous starts from each side, but players should keep a few factors in mind when deciding upon where their Jungle pathing should start. These are:
- Which laners are going to provide more help in clearing the first camp?
- Counter-jungle opportunities, based on where the enemy Jungler is likely to start.
- Which lane would you like to gank first, depending on both the allied and enemy champions.
Given his incredible clear, Fiddlesticks is meant to go for an early full clear, getting the most out of his kit’s potential to build early gold leads through farm alone. Some camps will be secured simultaneously, in order to get a massive tempo edge over the opponent.
Red Side, Red Clear
Starting our routes from the Red Side’s Red Buff position, as we’ve previously mentioned, Fiddlesticks can clear multiple camps at once, and with this start, you’re going to be securing the Red Buff and Raptors simultaneously.
Start by hitting the Red Buff with a basic attack and briefly making your way towards the Raptors, just enough for you to land a basic attack on the closest small Raptor. Stand at the corner of the Red pit, about the midway between the two camps, and activate your W.
By standing in the right position, neither camp will be losing its focus, and you can simply cast W repeatedly until both are slain, leaving you with plenty of Health.
Next, head for the Krugs and once again slay them with the help of W, perhaps throwing in an E for added haste. You can also use your first Smite charge on the larger Krug to be more efficient.
Having now cleared one side of your Jungle, it is time to head into the other, where the Wolves will be waiting as your next objective. Slay those comfortably with the use of W and E, before making your way to the Blue Buff.
At Blue, you will once again be using Fiddle’s ability to clear multiple camps at once, attacking the Gromp at Blue in order to attract their focus. After that, position yourself in the middle of the two camps, so that neither loses its focus. Simply press W and repeat it as often as needed in order to secure both camps at once, leaving you with a full Health bar.
Since you have such a great tempo, enter the River and break the Scuttler’s shield through your Q, then activate W and finally use Smite to execute it, allowing you to seek an angle to gank from on either Mid or Bot.
Also Check Out: What Happens if You Dodge a Placement Game?
Red Side, Blue Clear
Although it is possible to pull the Wolves and Blue together for a conjoined start, that scheme is slightly more difficult, as your positioning needs to be near perfect. Feel free to look up a few videos if needed, but we’d prefer sticking to a simpler start.
Slay the Blue Buff using W and shift your focus to the Gromp, which you will be clearing with the use of W and E, combined with the first charge of your Smite in order to save time.
Before heading toward the Red Buff, stop and clear the Wolves as well, a clear which should realistically be very easy to complete.
Once at the Red Buff, attract the focus of the Raptors and the Red, standing at the edge of the lower wall of the Red pit, where you can start casting your W to secure both camps simultaneously.
Finally, go towards the Krugs and with the use of your second Smite charge and repeated W and E casts, clear those as well, before entering the River.
If the Scuttler is still available, break its shield using Q and drain its Heal bar to secure some extra gold, experience and vision for your team, before making your way to the Top or Mid bushes, waiting for an opportunity to land an unseen Reap (E).
Blue Side, Blue Clear
Transitioning into the Blue Side, the routes themselves are quite similar, as there are very few particularities to tell them apart, especially when considering that Fiddlesticks doesn’t require much assistance from his Laners.
Once again start by securing the Blue Buff with repeated W casts, then turn your focus towards the Gromp and repeat the process, using Smite to execute it once it drops below 450 Health.
On your way to the Red Buff stop to clear the Wolf camp, using only your W and E combo repeatedly, leaving you with a full HP bar almost every time.
At the Red Buff, catch the attention of the Raptors to pull them towards the edge of the Red pit’s upper wall, where you’ll also be pulling the Red Buff. Simply cast W and repeat it as often as needed in order to secure both camps simultaneously, giving you plenty of time to clear the Krugs afterwards.
As stated, following the Red and Raptor clear, head towards the Krugs and with the use of Smite, W and E, clear this last camp as quickly as possible, allowing you to step into the River just in time to secure the Scuttler mostly uncontested.
Even if the enemy Jungler comes to contest, your Terrify (Q) ability can buy enough time for you to finish the camp. After the Scuttler, try to find an un-warded bush on either Bot or Mid, waiting for the right time to strike, as soon as the enemy pushes a bit too far.
Also Check Out: Best Legendary Skins in League of Legends
Blue Side, Red Clear
For the last starting position, we are once again going to clear the Raptors and Red Buff simultaneously, using the same position we’ve talked about earlier. Simply basic attack both camps and pull them towards the edge of the upper wall surrounding the Red Buff, where you can start spamming W in order to drain the mobs’ health.
Make a quick detour to the Krugs, clearing that camp with the use of W, E and the first Smite cast, before rushing towards the other side of your Jungle.
Once there, secure the Wolves using the same basic ability combo and start up the Gromp and Blue Buff simultaneously, positioning yourself in the middle way of the two camps, so that neither loses its focus.
Lastly, step into the River to secure your last camp, using Q to break the shield and Smite to execute your target, before heading either Top or Mid for an angle to fear your targets from.
The Best Tips and Tricks for Fiddlesticks
- Fiddlesticks applies the Dread Passive to all enemies after being unseen by any enemy champion, allowing him to fear anyone through a damaging ability. This allows the Ancient Fear to reap havoc into the enemy team if he lands a massive four or five man ultimate while unseen, so make sure to always carry a control ward to set up your pocket of fog of war.
- Bountiful Harvest (W) refunds more than half of its cooldown if the ability is left to fully channel, for 2 seconds to be precise. This cooldown refund allows Fiddlesticks players to survive in extended combat, as players can cast W, Zhonya’s and W once more afterwards, ready to drive the opponents mad.
- The best angles for huge Ultimates are found over the walls, especially in the narrow corridors of the Jungle. Setting up vision to get information and making sure that the enemy team does not see you are imperative factors, as only then can players land those devastating Crowstorms.
- Finally, a small detail many players tend to forget about, Terrify (Q) doubles its damage if the target has recently been feared, while feared target are also slowed by an impressive 90%.
Also Check Out: When Do Ranks Reset in League of Legends?
Finalizing Thoughts
The Ancient Fear has been roaming Runeterra for centuries, spreading chaos and dread, as now it is your turn to lock in Fiddlesticks and terrify your opponents through well placed effigies, Reaps (E) and those massive 5 man Crowstorms.
During the early game, Fiddlesticks wants to farm up using his unique Jungle clearing tools, ganking mostly when the right opportunity strikes. Once it reaches LVL 6, Fiddlesticks can lurk in fog of war, waiting to channel Crowstorm (R) over walls, setting up its allies for a couple of easy kills.
Later into the game, the same principles apply. Despite being an AP Caster, Fiddlesticks does resemble Assassins from many angles, especially when looking at the optimal play style which revolves around landing fears on unsuspecting enemies.
Once players have built a couple of items and have passed LVL 11, Crowstorm becomes a very real threat for the enemy team, as it can already deal over 1000 damage to enemies who stand in it for too long, making it a perfect tool to challenge objectives with.
We want to now thank you for reading our Fiddlesticks guide, hoping you found it useful! Make sure to keep a keen eye out on our website so you never miss the fresh content we regularly upload!
