Clear your jungle at 3:45

This guide allow you to Jungle with Rammus very effectively with out the need of Smite and let you chose a more usefull summoner spell.

If you want to take smite anyway for being safer (afraid of gank or buff steals) you're welcome to do so. Please dont Downvote just because you think jungling without smite is impossible, i'm just offering a way to do so.

If you go with Smite you dont really need a guide because Rammus is op in the Jungle =).

Armor is the base of your early game jungle as Rammus.
The Runes I suggest are the optimal way to jungle, but other runes are viable.
If you follow these runes, you'll be able to do it faster and with only 4 potions.

Not only does it make you take less damage, but most importantly it makes you kill faster. With those runes and a Cloth armor you'll start the game over 80 Armor, increasing the damage of your W by 8 *(which is awesome)* and your auto attack by 20.

Attack speed Marks help you jungle the best, they are here to get more damage from fortify's passive. Magic Pen Mark are also help you jungle, or any other marks like MR.

I won't elaborate on all the rune matchup you can make, but I can say i've done this Jungle without smite in around a 100 games and this combination is my final conclusion.

Standard tank masteries ignoring the dodge lane.
2/3 in strengh of spirit as fillers > than 1% dodge IMO.
2/3 Ardor with Attack speed Marks start the game at 7.723 instead of 6.25
and Reinforce (Imp.Fort) because i take Fortify and it's a must upgrade for it.

0/21/9 --> 9 in Utility for Jungling
Mandatory Awardness and Highly recommenced +Buff duration

Ghost Vs Flash - I prefer Ghost over Flash, but both have the same utility. Ghost stacks well with Powerball. You can Spec in Imp. Ghost with 0/21/9 and i find that Ghost-Powerball counters flash (you will catch an enemy who flashes). If you're trying to run away, Ghost last longer, you can't screw it up (failed flash) and you're hard to kill so chances are you'll get away. To kill, Powerball + flash over minions is good, but you can also consider ghost pass the minions and power ball after.

Fortify Vs Smite - For every jungler i play, i only really find smite usefull for the fist 3 minutes of a game. So if you can do with out it, I say go for it!

Now some is asking why Fortify? well Fortify is a jungling spell, it adds +9 dmg to minions when it's ready to cast. It also works good on Rammus with the dreaded *Taunt at turret* move.

The only + to Smite is if there is a buff war ( someone try to steal your buff / dragon)
To that I say If you're really afraid of this, go ahead and take smite, but Rammus doesnt really need buffs anyway. After the first jungle route I often offer my Mid or solo top to come steal my blue to help them. In the laning phase you'll need xp and Gold though so dont be shy to take those buffs.

Also, since we dont get Smite, the enemy team is less likely to come gank.


Fortify Facts: - You can Cast Fortify while you're dead.
- If an enemy get hit by a turret while your Fortify is active and that enemy dies, you will get an assist. You will even get the Kill if none of your teamate is credited for the kill (executed Enemy).

Funny Anecdote : I Once nearly scored a Pentakill while I was dead!! All my teamates were dead and all 5 enemies were pushing after a teamfight. I was 1v5. I was waiting between my 2 turrets at the nexus as they were charging. Once they arrive, I activated my ult to clear the minions and try to do some damage... Sadly they killed me, and it was GG as we were all dead and all 5 of them were at our nexus. I Activated Fortify, 2 turrets AoE dmg, scored a triple kill and the 2 other barely survived by running away. Rest of my team Rezed and we managed to win to game later on. Epic Moment =D

Teleport /any other spell: If you're Ballsy enough to try that, practice in a custom game first. It will take you 1 more minute to complete the jungle, you'll be close to dead after the small golems, but it's doable with MagicPen Mark x9. It's doable but it will not forgive any mistake and it's longer before you can gank you'll have nearly lost the blue buff before you start ganking.

W-Q-W for Jungling.
After that R>E>Q>W.

R is your ult. good stuff. Low CD ( 60 sec.)dont be shy to use it in the jungle (Cd is lower than smite) or to clear mass of minions to make sure you cash them all.

E is the best CC in the game. It's a silence that makes the enemy attack/follow you and it debuffs armor.

Q A very Good initiating tool, and With your E (Taunt) it's a formidable ganking tool. It's a speedbuff that will stun and slow all enemy it hits. It is also great map mobility.
*** Use it before you leave the Shop. You'll get where you want faster, and you won't lose mana because you'll regen it before you leave.

W you'll need 2 pts early in this to jungle like a boss. After that, your taunt is too important to pass it. and Powerball is also too good to pass it.

Also note that you can not use Q while W is active. You can cancel Q or W by pressing it again.

Game starts:
Classic cloth armor + 5x health potion for early jungle. Although I only really need 4, the fifth one make it safer or gives you just enough HP to go gank after the small golem camp if you see a shiny oportunity.

First Recall: You have around 540g
First priority --> boots of speed for 350g
190g left, I usually buy a Ward and some spare hp pots to keep farming.

Basic items I get evey game.
Philosopher's Stone

Well i'm a tank and i need mana. So once, i opened the mana regen tab and I wasn't impress by what i could get as a tank to counter that problem.

Oh well Philosopher's stone is cheap I'll try it.
And Damn it's not that bad.

1- It's cheap
2- It does the job
3- Also Hp Regen, since we're tanking we're not going lifesteal so it helps early.
4- It cheap at first, and it can actually pay for itself. It takes 26 minutes and 40 seconds to do this. If you sell it, it takes 13 minutes and 20 seconds to pay itself.

Once I get My stone in a match, i never miss mana (Offer Blue to your teamate they'll love you) and i can keep jungling forever. Even if I'm very low HP, I'm not afraid to start a camp because Rammus take so little damage in the jungle the health regen I get is enough.

I also get a fast Heart of Gold for the Money. Let's face it we're not a farming machine, and i personally prefer to let my carry get the golds. These 2 items, for 1750g, gives you 1 gold per second and all the stats you need for an early game tank.

HoG also transform in Randuin's Omen's later on, a top notch tank item. I usually try to upgrade this as late as possible to make the most money out of it.

The inevitable Boots Paragraph:

Boots are situational,
But in most case, Merc Tread is the way to go.
Since We start the game with full armor runes, we lack MR early game. these boots cover it. The CC reduction is also unique and very lovely in almost any match.

Of course if you're Vs 4 AD champs, once you're done laughing you can maybe consider Ninja tabi... maybe. The low price of these boots is appealing, but 35% cc reduc for 400g more is worth it.

If you wants other boots, go for it.

Side Note : You might wanna get a fast Negatron to cover your MR

- I'm in love with this item. In most matches. it's my first advanced item. Why? Alone with HP and Armor, it gives you AoE dmg ( at this point you are really a god in the jungle) you can clear waves of minions without your ult and in any matches, even VS an heavy AP team, Armor is important because you'll be tanking those turret.

: Usually my second items. I already feel invisible at this point. Gives alot of MR and HP regen. The movement Speed buff is even more awesome.

At this point, You have to seriously analyze who is your enemy. Build MR or Armor in consequence.
VS AP i like going for Another FoN
VS AD, Consider completing that or Getting
(if they are heavy AD getting both will shut them down <-- you're team will love you)

In some situation, I also Get a Warmog if i consider that my 4 other items cover all my need of armor/MR. Armor/MR > Flat HP, but sometimes there is a point where Warmog's make you invulnerable =).

The best anti-AD carry out there. +100 armor is shiny.

: Not my favorite. One of the few items with both Armor and MR. The Free Life is situational. I sometime get one early if your team is Dominating and you wanna play wreckless.

Over the course of Time, i've become a fan of over a .

As a Tank, You'll be in the front line of most battle, and most of the time, the spell shield will block a spammable spell you just dont care about (Ezreal's shots, a Vlad's Q a Karthus lay waste etc.) Barely never it will stop a Malzahar Ult or stuff like that. (And quite frankly, If Malzahar ult on you that's dumb of him and really cool for the rest of your team.)

For that reason, I prefer the Greater MR of a FoN, and if im vs heavy AP, I like going 2xForce of Nature.

1:40 - Don't waste 15 seconds waiting for the blue buff. Kill those little wolves to save time
Pro Tip: If you have my runes, you'll take nearly no damage VS them, only activate a Pot when they are dead.

Blue Buff spawn at 1:55, you barely waste 10 sec kill wolves.

Activate W right after you auto-attack it. Don't forget to activate your 2nd HP pot as soon as your first one is done and Activate W a second time ASAP.

Pro Tip : Stand Between his 2 little lizards. As soon as the Blue buff dies, you'll level up. Rapidly lvl up Q and activate it to instantly kills what remains of these two litlle brats.

Wraith Camp: Easy, Blast them all with Q and 1-activation of W they'll all die at the same time *Auto-attack to Big on of course*

Pro Tip :En route To the Wraith, Active your Powerball just before you traverse the Mid Lane. Aim your Power Between 2 Ghosts to blast them all 4. Might require practice, it doesnt really matther if you fail and dont hit one, but you'll get it eventually.

Level 3: 2nd pts in W

Red Buff: Engage by hitting them all with your powerball, and activate W right away. As soon as W is done, Activate Q a second time to kill the 2 smaller lizards. Finish of the Red buff with all you got.
Pro tip: Like before, you can activate Powerball as soon as the Wraiths are dead to rush to the Red Buff, Try to hit them all by charging in the middle of them.

Finish off with the 2 small Golems. I suggest targeting their emplacement before you actually see them, or you can experiment a Powerball bug where you cant stun them because you're in auto-attack range and trying to move behing them will make Rammus run to the other side of the Wall.

Level 4 : Start leveling E-Taunt

tip: You Bought 5x hp pot, if done right you'll only need 4. Activate the First one right after the 3 Wolves are dead, and always keep them active after that.

Take the 5th one to be more confortable or if you see an easy gank just before you recall.

Rammus is a Fast Jungler.
at 4:00, most lane/brush arent warded.

Ganking is Important
And Rammus is Great at it!!
you'll be ready to power gank before mostly any jungler.
Let's face it, A speed-boost-Stun that snare, a Red Buff and a 1 second Taunt at lvl 4! You're scary!

1- Gank a lane that is pushed. The further they are of their tower the better it is.
2- Tell your team that you're coming. Teamwork is the key.
3- Look at the enemy summoner's spell. Priorize those without Flash.

Try to activate Powerball a second or 2 before charging in to get some speed, make sure there's no minions on the way if you charge powerball.

Activate Ghost and Rush to them. If you're afraid you can't dodge their minions, dont activate powerball before you reach them. Taunt as soon as the start running and you can activate W for extra dmg if you want.

Powerball is a mini AoE, if you charge a minion lane and the enemy is just there you'll hit it.

If you land Taunt on a Melee champ, Make them run away from their tower. At lvl 1 taunt that doesnt work VS ranged champs.

A lonely enemy at a tower? Dont be afraid to take Turret aggro for your team. Don't be a fool though, Turret diving is dangerous, but if someone has to take those bullets, Rammus does it like a Boss.

Pull someone with E *a la Blitzcrank*. Jax though he could Harrass your team by jumping and running? Taunt him and Run away. he'll walks toward you for 3 second while your teamates bash him.

Your teamate is squishy and you know Warwick is gonna jump on him? stay close to Him and Taunt whoever Treat your teamate.

Your Taunt is a Silence too, Stop Kat and Nunu'ult for exemple

This is the first build ever i created and i hope you'll enjoy it =)

If I ever find out how to put pictures and item links I'll edit it to make it look even more nice.