Hello everyone and welcome to my first ever build/guide. Today I will be focusing on explaining a Phoenix Jungle build for our favorite bear Udyr. Phoenix allows for some of the fastest jungling LoL hase to offer and has great damage output all game.

What are the benefits of Phoenix stance?

• A Incredibly fast jungle
• Blue Golem start
• The ability to do MASSIVE aoe damage all game
• Ganks are a breeze
• Can build to defeat any enemy

• Can be kited easily (You must know when to back off)
• Has no ranged harassment

Updated!* 3-8-12

• Build narrowed to fit for new jungle
• New Jungle explanation
• Build changes
• Narrowed rune options

Updated* 12-15-11

• Dodge runes removed

Updated* 12-11-11

• Mastery Trees
• New starting items
• New jungle accounted for

Updated* 11-20-11

MASSIVE Rework

• Updated items for optimal performance
• Updated runes for the up coming removal of dodge.
• New Mastery Trees updated

Updated* 10-14-11

• Created updates chapter
• Guardian Angel addition
• Greater Quintessence of Swiftness added
• Madred's Bloodrazor Explanation added
• Greater Seal of Resilience added

Updated* 9-18-11

• Build 3: Recurve bow jungle.

So lets get on with it. The Udyr player's favorite thing to debate and argue over since forever.

"Tiger scales better and has overall higher lategame damage."

*Yes, your right. Tiger has better scaling numbers and does do better single target damage mid-late game. The thing is you'll never be a leblanc without sacrificing defense. Udyr is completely melee. He should be on the front lines taking damage and creating chaos. AOE damage is much scarier than you bursting Jarvan while you missed Ashe due to flash. Let the real single target focus do its job and support your team with overall damage and threat.

Phoenix provides:

• Super fast jungle
• Constant AOE damage
• 360 degree damage
• Builds tanky
• Creates ENORMOUS threat

Tiger provides:

• Mediocre jungle
• Amazing single target burst
• Damage over time on a single target
• Lifesteal build

I know i'm hating a bit, but tiger isn't better than phoenix. They are equal in their own respects and I would never use phoenix over tiger in a 1v1 fight. I find that AOE damage wins teamfights. Expect for things to not go as planned and utilize AOE damage to adapt. Zone your opponent to death.

Ghost is my personal favorite summoner skill. On Udyr it is questionable due to the diminishing returns on movement speed when you stack along with bear stance. If used correctly you can maximize speed while holding off on bear stance.


Smite is essential for any jungle. Speed is key to making a jungle character good or bad. Increasing your already fast phoenix jungle is important and starting at blue is a must.

Other Choices


Flash. Its flash? Use this to escape or catch.


Great for extra damage.


Always good for moving around the map.


If your having trouble chasing for some reason this can be a good spell to pick up the slack.


Getting focused really bad? Pop this along with Ghost and you'll be moving.

For runes I use the following set every time I jungle.



I take these for overall damage. Great for jungling, a must if you want to start at blue.



Standard jungle seals. Very cheap and make the jungle hurt a great deal less.



Udyr's base MR and MR plvl are very low. Taking these doubles his MR midgame which is important for fights.



More damage please! Awesome increase to your overall phoenix damage. (Even faster jungle)

OR!!!



These are honestly some of the best quints in the game. Udyr is all about chase and these up your lethality.

9/21/0



These are the 3 I focus on getting for overall combat. They are amazing early and carry well into lategame.



These along with the other choices into the defensive tree are mostly for earlygame bulk and an easy jungle. Standard bruiser masterys work fine.

Alright this is where I find most people lose understanding of Udyr. "Wheres my skill shots?" Well Udyr has none, but let me assure you he has something much more dangerous.

The Stance Dance and you!

In my opinion Udyr's passive defines his play style and you'll need to feel it out to succeed with him. When Udyr uses one of his abilities he changes himself into that 'stance', giving him it's activation and passive buff. This also begins his passive which places a unique buff on him. Udyr's passive buff only lasts 5 seconds so once possible you'll want to change stances. (This is where he gets fun!) When Udyr changes his stance a second time he shifts his activation/buff, but restarts and gets another charge of his passive buff. Keeping yourself switching between stances keeps your passive alive and allows the stacking of activation buffs for a short time. This is what is known as the 'Stance Dance' and you should be doing it as often as your mana allows.

Staying on top of this is key for jungle and combat. Udyr doesn't win combat without his passive. Change stances often and throw your enemy off guard.

Burst damage Imo!

Welcome to your nuke skill. Tiger stance allows your next attack bonus magic damage and damage over time. Activating tiger also gives you massive passive/activation attack speed buff. Tiger should be used directly before phoenix to gain the attack speed buff onto phoenix damage. Tiger is best used in 1v1 fights or to quickly burst down an enemy.

I can tank! Kinda...

This is your defensive ability. Not only is the shield great at denying harassment, but it can help you regen both pools. Turtle has its uses in the jungle, but since nerf it isn't as reliable than before. Use turtle to apply the shield and keep your passive alive. Switch to phoenix ASAP after popping this in the jungle.

It is important to note that the shield scales with your defenses and AP making turtle great for late game combat.

I'ma smack you. Reeeaaalll hard.

This ability is the reason I play Udyr. Not only does it provide you a speed boost, but a solid repeatable stun! Sadly, the stun can only be used on the same target once every 6 seconds. Don't let that get you down though, switching targets allows you to stun multiple people multiple times. This can also be used to save peoples lives. This skill breaks channeling ultimates and is a great counter to Malzahar, Warwick, Galio, Nunu, Katarina, Karthus, Fiddlesticks, and Caitlyn. The stun isn't that long, but it sure counts!

AOE Damage Baby!

Phoenix is the unsung hero of Udyr's skills. Its damage and passive buff make it an extremely competitive jungle tool. With the massive attack speed this build is based around you will be dealing insane aoe damage to your enemies. Focus on keeping this your main DPS stance. Its great in all around combat and excels during team fight.

Udyr is an amazing jungle/ganker/teamfighter. Your role using this build will be AOE DPS Offtank. Your job is to support initiation into the enemy team forcing them to focus you or risk taking massive damage. You will be quite good at taking damage all game, but will not be a full on tank like Singed or Cho.

The New Jungle

Long story short the jungle got a nerf. Both gold and experience took a big hit, but now the jungle is a little easier to work with and respawns much faster. What makes a good champion a good jungler now a days is if they have a steady AOE damage output and are able to build gold per 10s midgame.

Udyr fits this new jungle like a glove. He clears the jungle with ease and almost always at full health. Wingborne Storm is what this is all about and with it you can straight up ignore Wriggle's Lantern.

Jungling

• You will start at blue golem, no excuses. You can take it without a leash, but one is always encouraged. Pop phoenix once you start fighting and continue to activate it once its off cooldown. Keep your aoe ring effect up at all times if possible. Remember to use a health potion the instant you start taking damage. Focus blue golem and smite it around 400 health.
• With blue buff in hand head to wolves. Invest your level 2 skill in turtle stance and focus the big wolf. Try not to use a health pot here. Pop phoenix and wait till you get your cone burst off.(3 auto attacks, this is a very important part of your damage) Once you cast your cone switch into turtle and as soon as possible switch back into Phoenix. This is your jungle rotation.
  
  Cone Cone Cone etc etc
  
  
• With the wolf camp dead head to wraiths. Repeat the same combo as before, focus the blue wraith.
• Pass up red buff and move on down to the double golems. Put your third skill point into phoenix level 2. Focus one down at a time, these should be a cake walk. You can potion here if needed. (I recommend it)
• Move into the brush next to red lizard. Wait for about 200 mana and then go in. Same rotation as before Phoenix/Cone/Turtle/Phoenix/Cone. Use a health potion here once the fight starts.

Ganking

After red buff you have a decision to make. Should you go back to farming jungle, or gank a lane? You need 1050g for recurve so you might need farm a bit more. Personally, if I have a extra health pot left I aim to gank top lane or middle. Gank rotation is as follows.

Cone! Cone! etc etc

Remember to keep you passive alive! Try to keep a rotation going at all times and don't forget to pop into turtle if they start to fight you. Remember to coordinate with your team! A good gank is a planned gank.

Mid Game

Mid game is where Udyr begins to shine. You should have Wit's End, Boots, and hopefully HoG. Farm like crazy. Thats what Udyr is good at. FARM FARM FARM FARM. Its easy, Phoenix stance a bunch and the camp dies. Gank when your lane needs support or you find your enemy over extended. Forcing a summoner skill is a win in my book. Most mid characters have the ability to kill on their own which means any advantage you provide is great!



Once you have hit level 6 I highly suggest you take a level in tiger stance. This opens up a new rotation that helps maximize damage done.

cone! cone! , etc etc.

What you need to do is focus on only staying in tiger stance long enough to grab the activation buff. Quickly switch to bear stance and enter with a stun. Switching to bear stance and attacking fast enough (within 3-4 seconds upon entering bear stance) will warrant you the burst damage and stun on a single auto attack. Switch to phoenix and hit away with full stacks of your passive. Stay in phoenix long enough to cone effect and switch back into tiger. Get someone with this full rotation and they will be hurting. Following up with phoenix directly after tiger will allow you to take full advantage of the increased attack speed buff.

Late Game

Ah late game. So, full on team fights are happening and your wondering what exactly to do. Udyr's job is to follow the tank in and go straight for someone squishy. What rotation should you be using? Here are a few I recommend.

Single Target/Hybrid Damage
Cone! Cone! Cone!

Pure AOE Teamfight Damage
Cone! Cone! Cone!

Crazy Aoe Stunning Damage (Switch targets often, like every 3 seconds)
Cone! Cone! Cone!

Remember to exit tiger stance as soon as possible. Its activation buff is that main reason it deals so much damage. Take advantage of other stances and focus on shifting into it for only a moment or two. Phoenix will be causing massive AOE damage which is why its so scary. Positioning yourself accordingly is important. You want to be facing most of the enemy team while you cone, but also land as much flame ring damage as possible.

If the enemy team is sporting remember that your spells come back more frequently than your allies. Trading your stun for AP burst damage is a smart move.

While team fighting stunning an enemy and moving on is a smart move. Stun someone and move up the line to stun/fight the next person. Use ghost to quickly get across the fight while you stun people along the way. Udyr has the ability to deal out consistent AOE stuns.



It is important to remember that bear stance has the potential to cancel channeling spells. Spells like Fiddlestick's crowstorm, Katarina's death lotus, and Malzahar's nether grasp can be completely shut down if you stun them quick enough.



So in most of my combat combos you might have noticed I don't really use Turtle stance. Turtle stance is very situational and the key is to use it at the correct moment. Throw it around in combat where you are beginning to take damage. With this build turtle's shield will be very useful during late game combat. I usually use turtle more in 1v1 fights along with tiger. Combos like this one below can lead to easy 1v1 wins.

1v1 Fight combo


Turtle can be used heavily in teamfights if your getting focused. A repeating shield is VERY annoying and the enemy team will really hate you. Remember to monitor how long your in turtle. Only pop in and out of it.

+ Movement/Speed

With the new jungle in full swing, we have a very easy time with Udyr. I take boots for a massive mobility bonus early and move into my usual build quickly after. Kite is Udyr's worst enemy and by taking boots we increase the success of early ganks.

AS

This beauty in the hands of a true master Udyr is just money. Phoenix alone can clear the jungle with recurve. Madred's helps with dragon, but doesn't really do much for you in the AOE damage department. Recurve increases your early game phoenix damage by a enormous amount quickly making the jungle your complete *****.

MR+AS+AP

Wit's End will increase your on-hit-effect damage a great deal and also provide you with magic resist. The MR will give you a strange advantage early countering their quick to scale AP burst. Magic resist is usually something people buy later in the game, so they won't expect your hybrid damage.

Dodge+Armor/Tenacity+MR

These are the only two boots you should be taking on Udyr. Grab Ninja Tabi for an AD heavy enemy team and grab Merc Treads for a AP/Stun heavy team.

Everything?

I think its common knowledge trinity force is great on Udyr. On Udyr the sheen effect alone is a monster amount of damage. Your constantly using short cooldown spells, which means most of your overall damage becomes nukes. This along with Wit's End will be all the damage you need to anti-carry and pressure.

MR+HP/Mana

Some people insist that before I grab banshee's I should get Atma's, I disagree. Your damage output is still extremely high at this point. Taking another huge stride into survivability is important here to keep up with full build enemies. Banshee's veil gives you all you'll need and adds onto Atma's damage increase.



Atma's means you have almost achieved god status. All your health converted into AD will throw off most teams. Tiger suddenly hits like a mack truck and your armor is through the roof. You might find the lack of a Warmog's Armor or Frozen Mallet strange. To be honest Atma's is as cost efficient as items come. Great stats for any bruiser, especially Udyr.



This is your luxury item slot. Amazing armor item, but works best against enemies that utilize attack speed. Omen slows their attacks heavily and allows you to stream roll over them.

Great magic resist and an awesome active. Taking this against heavy CC or suppression is important. Using this requires the enemy team to have at least 3 hard stuns or 1 solid suppression.



If your short on armor Frozen Heart is your solution. Increasing the speed of switching between stances helps overall damage as well. Fighting heavy AD champs is what this item is about.



Great hybrid damage increase along with a massive attack speed bonus. This item is really key while using phoenix stance. You need to proc your cone effect which means you need attack speed. Udyr is constantly using abilities so you'll feel the full effects of this item very quickly.



Sometimes I will finish off my build with this beauty. I only do so if their team warrants more armor and I am being focused a whole lot. Tower diving with this is easy, so make use of yourself when pushing inhibs. (thanks to KuteKitten1798 for the recommendation)

Remember that your role is to initiate with your tank and focus on AOE damage. Once u have frozen mallet its pretty much over. I enjoy running alongside Alistar, Shen, Malphite, Cho'Gath, and even Gragas. Focus on ghosting into their team while your tank picks somebody up. Your team will do the focus fire, your job is to grab the rest of the enemies.

Jungle/Farming (Money!!!)
Cone Cone Cone

Ganking (Surprise is key)
Cone! Cone!

Single Target/Hybrid Damage (For fights that you need to focus fire in)
Cone! Cone! Cone!

Pure AOE Teamfight Damage (Team focus, AOE damage)
Cone! Cone! Cone!

Crazy Aoe Stunning Damage (Switch targets often, like every 3 seconds)
Cone! Cone! Cone!

1v1 Fight combo (Single target burst + shield)


You are going to be taking damage. Udyr has absolutely no range so you must be able to devote and play to win. Most games I play I am ignored during early teamfights by full burst, but once they know your the problem be ready to turtle and hope for the best. Fight to win, not to run.

Your somewhat of an anti-carry. You need to be on someone easy to kill and create panic. Focus on phoenix aoe damage while your auto attacks do the work. Your damage is hybrid everyone will feel you, even the tank. Smart teams will give you more attention with their focus. When this happens make sure your tank can make something happen. (It is his job)

Udyr's phoenix stance allows for repeatable burst. Your damage is consistent and most teams won't know what is going on.

All in all it was quite a read. This build is 100% ranked viable and I hope people will start to look into phoenix builds a bit more. Udyr is a unique champion and he can be built many different ways. I hope you give the build a try and find out how fun it is to be the puppet master instead of a cannon. Control the enemy team, defeat the enemy team. Simple as that.