NOTE:

i hate sticking to build orders/skill orders/masteries/rune pages. Everyone has their own playstyle and some builds are better for different players.
That being said, the logic behind the build will be explained in more detail below. All that is shown above is a generic, i guess you could say, "recommend item list" which should not be for every game.

A lot of people think Udyr is difficult to play so rather than just explaining a build, i wanted to show a thought-process behind playing the character. True, everyone has their own playstyle, but having something as a starting point is always helpful, in my opinion. This is how i play udyr; if you will follow this exactly as it is written, dont bother reading anymore. Cookie-cutter builds fail eventually.

A little bit about myself. I've been playing League since....i forget. Before season 1, but not during closed BETA. First champion i played was Sion and i failed miserably haha. was the first champion i got good at (because i love skillshots). I followed AP cookie-cutter builds and such. Then came out and I loved him. I started playing AD characters so i could round out my roster a little bit more. was the first carry I became well versed with (well...decently versed with). Then I started playing 3v3s with friends during season 1 as and had a generally fun time with that. But since 5v5s are more enjoyable in my opinion, and i did not like Akali 5v5 as much, i picked up as my main. The big bird was awesome! Then finally came my love for the jungle in the form of . He was the king of the jungle with dodges, shields, etc. Jungling was strange to tackle at first (especially without runes in the old jungle), but he quickly became my main. Later, was a support i instantly loved playing with during this time. More recently, i've been making my way back to AP characters because the jungle is meh now haha. It is fast paced and if you know what you're doing it's not bad at all. It just isnt as fun. I recently started playing and she might become my new main. But Udyr will always be my favorite jungler.

Udyr is a top tier jungler and arguably the best jungler in the game.
His phoenix form has one of the fastest clear times (both in the old and new jungles).
His tiger has very good scaling and applies very strong damage
His turtle provides great sustainability in all phases of the game in all types of situations
His bear is a fearsome CC for multiple targets and a mobility buff

He can be played as a tanky dps, off-tank stunbot, or full tank.
As a tanky dps, he is a powerful bruiser.
As a stunbot, he can be detrimental to an enemy team.
As a full tank, he can maintain control of teamfights.

As a jungler, his paths are very versatile and his builds are very flexible. He does everything a jungler does, and does it well: clearing quickly, map mobility, ganking potential, counterjungling power, and sustainability.

As a toplane, he is very hard to push out of lane. His defenses make him much like an immovable object.

Despite these strengths, he has some problems to keep in mind:
- he has no real gap closer. only a movement speed buff (making it really hard as every new champ gets leaps, stuns, etc.)
- spamming his abilities (because of their low cooldowns) can drain an inexperienced Udyr's mana
- he gets kited because he has no ranged capabilities
- after the initial bear stun, enemies can simply ignore you if you are not a big enough threat

Masteries

Masteries are preliminary and general in terms of setup. This is introductory to getting to know a character. If you see a 21/0/9, you expect a very get-me-farm-and-kills type of character. If you see 16/14/0, you might expect a tanky dps. This allows any summoner to see a character from a very general view.

Runes

Runes are more specific than Masteries, but still introductory. Now you are able to see some of the strengths, needs, etc. of a champion. The feel of the character is now solidified.

Summoner Spells/Abilities

Now we get to the character himself: what the champion can do, what he cant do. What makes the champion.

Thought Processes

If a general feel of a character and what that champion can do is establish and Teamfighting behind the character will solidify a basic understanding.

Jungling and Teamfighting

Having a basic understanding allows now for an exploration of the champion's niche or role in the game and a team. Knowing how to jungle is especially difficult for some people.

Matchups

As with any character, there are characters to beware of and to jump with excitement for. Before sending summoners off to try out the character, why not give some last minute advice.

Itemization

I leave itemization so late in the guide because I build my characters according to the situation. Learning how to build a character, i think, requires a grasp of the character first.

Udyr's masteries are very very flexible. In the new jungle with the new masteries, I have seen 21/0/9, 9/21/0, and 0/21/9 all work. It all depends on what you want.

I prefer 21/9/0 because i like the offensive power for the early and mid game. Also, this way i can use one mastery page for multiple characters.

Offensive:
Obviously take the auto attack/damage based masteries , ignoring the ap stuff. Even phoenix udyr does not need ap.
I took the cooldown , but that's unnecessary (i like it for other characters. For Udyr, whatever you take instead of those 3 pts is just a nice bonus). Additional damage to towers and extra damage percentage are also worthwhile.
Crit strike damage/chance is unnecessary on Udyr, even moreso than cooldowns. Critdyr does not help his overall role on the team.

Defensive:
Armor is always useful and additional damage to creeps helps clear waves faster. The damage reflection to minions is awesome especially for phoenix Udyr who already has aoe and helpful to tiger udyr who could use the damage spread. If you like a 21 defense setup to , go right ahead. It is a bit slower than the 21 in offense to (and i like to be very offensive to throw the game in my favor very early on). Speed and durability are things Udyr already has naturally.

Utility:
Besides the buff duration and movement speed , i dont feel the utilty tree is necessary for Udyr since the offensive and defensive tree fit right in with Udyr's roles. If you like 0/21/9, go ahead. Otherwise, i would leave this tree alone. Death time reduction is nice on characters, however as an Udyr, you should not die too often. Mana regen is nice, but you can manage your mana well enough with blue buff early game and turtle stance mid-late game.

Ad reds (and AD quints if you like) work wonders. Tiger's Dot has such a nice AD ratio, it's almost a shame to not have attack damage runes. Attack speed reds work (but then again, attack speed runes work for most junglers).
Health quints work as well. It just depends on your playstyle.
Armor yellows are my personal favorite out of all runes. They help against creeps, camps, and ad champs. They are all around good runes to have all throughout the game. (and you can use them for other characters, which makes them very cost effective)

As for blues, magic resist per level is my choice. Udyr has a great health pool and a turtle stance shield. However, a bursty mage can screw over an Udyr who is not prepared. Wits End helps, but you have to get some attacks in first. Especially early game when you only have merc treads, those magic resist runes let you gank much more freely. Mana regen per level work or attack speed for Phoenix . Other blues just dont appeal to me for Udyr.

Attack speed red and quints . Those phoenix waves make you clear the jungle in seconds. Other runes pale in comparison by far. Phoenix already gives you an AD buff, and the point of phoenix is to get those 3 hits off quickly.
Health quints work as well. It just depends on your style.
Yellow (see tiger)
Blue (see tiger)

This is a MUST on any jungler. Why? Faster clear times, steal enemy buffs, 100% security on Dragon, 100% security on Baron. Screw up your enemy jungler and your lanes are safe. Screw up on baron and you lose the game. If a jungler does not get this, they have no idea what they're doing.

When choosing your second spell, ask yourself: what does Udyr need?


I prefer flash over any other spell for Udyr simply because it is a gap-closer. You have movement speed, defense, regeneration, ad or as buff, and a stun. Your biggest weakness is being kited; flash helps you get that that you need or to run away when things get rough. All around still a great spell even with the nerfs.


I get this on other junglers sometimes. It's not horrible on Udyr, but it's just not as good as flash. You already have a speed buff + stun with . Adding ghost on top of that may make you a lot faster, but it's overkill. Also, in teamfights you're going to be wading into the enemy team, not dancing around on the outside.



- Some people justify this because they absorb a lot of cc. Personally, i think it is less valuable utility-wise than . Mercury Treads is enough to mitigate that stuff for a tanky-Udyr.
- You are already an excellent duelist and you have damage mitigation/stun. So this spell is not needed as much as something like flash or ghost.
- Unnecessary because of . Someone else can have it.
- Udyr is not ap. While this does look like it synergizes with , your main role is not DPS. Your job is to protect your carry (and since you do not build AP, this spell will fall off very fast).
- This does provide split-pushing opportunities. However, Udyr's mobility makes this spell meh. Also, with its long cooldown, its relative usefulness is minimal. Compared to flash, this spell pales in comparison.
- Extra damage, DOT, useful right? It does not help Udyr. Sure you may get a little extra damage, but you miss out on the utility of other spells. The costs outweigh the benefits for this spell.

I dont feel like i need to talk about the other spells....LOL

Udyr is a great team-disruptor. Ganking with bear->tiger is deceptively strong; bear->phoenix causes panic. Turtle makes his sustain insane. Depending on build, Udyr can be a squishy-shredder or a monster truck. Udyr is not invincible; he's just an immovable object.


[Q] Tiger: Activating gives Udyr a ton of attack speed and the first attack after activation gives the target a DOT (based on AD damage)

• single target decimation at early levels
• tower shredder at mid-late game
• offensive

[R] Phoenix: Activating surrounds Udyr with periodic flames every 3rd attack; while active, Udyr gains an AD buff.

• burns through monster waves/creep camps
• area of effect
• offensive

[W] Turtle: A shield surrounds Udyr and auto attacks give Udyr back a small portion of mana and health.

• mana/health regen like crazy
• shield (damage-block at early game; momentary damage-halt at late game)
• defensive

[E] Bear: Activation gives Udyr movement speed and attacks stun the target (the same target cannot be stunned for 6 seconds)

• ult-disruptor
• teamfight chaos
• chase/escape
• utility

Monkey: Stacking up to three times, using an ability gives Udyr bonus attack speed.

• Being more active with Udyr gives you more power; a passive Udyr is less useful
• CAUTION: know when to stop keeping up stacks; mana bar takes priority

Which Skills Do I Max?

When picking which skills to max to level 5, think of it like this:
What would you want the most:

• - +100 damage, +10% atk speed
• - +80 damage shield, +4% lifesteal, +2% mana "steal"
• - +6% movespeed, +1 second duration
• - +20 damage, +16 ap, +8 ad, +80 damage per 3 attacks

In my opinion, bear loses out.

- Tiger's damage/attack speed work well with Phoenix
- Turtle grants even more sustainability
- Phoenix benefits both turtle and tiger as well as more damage
- Bear only gives extra movement speed (and you already have 21% extra for 3 seconds at level 3)

"5 points in bear give you more utility, and since you said you shouldn't deal damage...
+You don't have ghost, if you had ghost I would say 3 points are enough, but without ghost you will really need taht speed." - PartyMagier

Tiger Udyr:

(my personal favorite)

Early game: Feasting Tiger

Utilize those AD runes and the DOT. During this phase, Tiger Udyr is semi-bursty. AD runes are their strongest during this phase; Tiger's scaling is insane. Bear -> Tiger -> 1 or 2 auto attacks can turn the lane into your ally's favor.
Your job is to secure lane advantage. Secure it early game, and you will have a much easier time later. Disrupt the enemy jungler. Disrupt their carries.
This is Tiger Udyr's prime. A tiger loves to catch its prey when it's most vulnerable.

When ganking during this phase, go -> stun -> . Once you get turtle, keep in mind that your shield stays for a few seconds after switching skills. So you can end up going -> -> , assuming you have blue buff or at least about half your mana bar without blue buff. Your goal is to apply tiger dots to shred your opponents. Don't care too much about kills (but if you can get the kill, do it); your priority is making the enemy use their summoner spells or making them go back to base. I will explain more about ganking in a later section.

Mid game: Prowling Tiger

As your enemies get smarter, tankier, and stronger, tiger udyr plays more defensively. Keep up the tiger/turtle levels with the mindset of widdling down your opponent. Even the strongest enemies wear out after a few tiger ganks. Pressure pressure pressure. If you got a few kills, your enemies will fear you. If you didnt, don't worry; farm and make your presence a nuisance.
Your job now is to maintain your ally lane advantages. Wear the enemy out (making them go back is as good as getting them killed) and push down towers. Get dragons to slowly get gold advantage.
Awareness and patience are key. Attack from all sides; be everywhere; let the prey bleed to death because you cant jump in for the kill just yet.

Here, you can cycle through -> -> granting that you have enough mana. Now, you need to use your skills according to the situation. When ganking with an advantage, should be used when available. When ganking to ward people off, keep at the ready to block spells like . All the while, counting the seconds for when to use . If you can master when to use which abilities, you will be much more useful during teamfights.

Late game: Roaring Bear

You should have experienced some teamfights already. Those experiences + ganking = your information gathering: how the opponents act, their synergy with their teammates, etc. Now you transition from a deadly tiger to a durable, fearsome bear. Catch people, be aware of enemy locations and ally locations.
If you have an ally who can initiate better than you, dont bother starting fights unless you are catching their carry out of position. In this situation, you are more of an off-tank. Stun as many people as you can, apply tiger DOTs to high priority targets, turtle up, etc.
Now you should be aware of your abilities' situational uses:
should be used to apply additional damage to high priority targets. Because it is a DOT, tag them with it and move on to other enemies. Use this with the mindset of softening opponents for your allies to kill.
is used obviously as a shield. When you're in the middle of a teamfight, this is the ability that makes you a sponge. Especially if the skill you want to use is on cooldown, Turtle Stance will fill in that waiting time quite nicely.
late game, this skill is your best skill (even if you don't level it to 5). Save your carry from a , , or . Catch up to fleeing enemies with the speed. Catch up to teamfights happening far away. Halt your enemies from reaching your carry.
will give you a farming ability like you've never known. And it buffs your tiger stance greatly. If you want to go all out offense, go -> for maximum DOT damage.
A good Udyr will defend the carry as a meatshield, a stunner, and a softener.

Phoenix Udyr:

Early game: Consuming Fire

Your speed is unparalleled. You have the ability to counter jungle very effectively. Think of it like a candle burns through paper. You can keep back enemy lanes and starve out the enemy jungler very effectively because of your speed (counterjungling will be explained later).
Your aoe is your early advantage. When you gank with -> , don't focus so much on killing (although if you have the chance, go for the kill). Your job is to burn out those summoner spells and make sure your allies have the lane advantage.

Once you get turtle, keep in mind that your shield stays for a few seconds after switching skills. So you can end up going -> -> , assuming you have blue buff or at least about half your mana bar without blue buff. Keep up with your enemies to ensure maximum damage (so boots are very viable early game). With Red buff, sticking to enemies and burning them up becomes easy.

Mid game: Flying Phoenix

As your enemies get smarter, tankier, and stronger, phoenix udyr just keeps up the pressure. Keep up the phoenix/turtle levels with the mindset of slowly wearing out your opponent. Even the strongest enemies wear out after a few ganks. Pressure pressure pressure. If you got a few kills, your enemies will fear you. If you didnt, don't worry; farm and make your presence a nuisance.
Your job now is to maintain your ally lane advantages. Wear the enemy out (making them go back is as good as getting them killed) and push down towers. Get dragons to slowly get gold advantage.
Awareness and patience are key. Attack from all sides; be everywhere; let the prey bleed to death because you cant jump in for the kill just yet. Your greatest asset is your clearing speed (which does not let up). This allows you to farm and keep up ganks. As long as you keep the pressure, you've done your job. Starve out your opponents.

Here, you can cycle through -> -> granting that you have enough mana. Now, you need to use your skills according to the situation. When ganking with an advantage, should be used when available. When ganking to ward people off, keep at the ready to block spells like . All the while, counting the seconds for when to use . If you can master when to use which abilities, you will be much more useful during teamfights.

Late game: Roaring Bear

You should have experienced some teamfights already. Those experiences + ganking = your information gathering: how the opponents act, their synergy with their teammates, etc. Now you transition from a relentless fire to a durable, fearsome bear. Catch people, be aware of enemy locations and ally locations.
If you have an ally who can initiate better than you, dont bother starting fights unless you are catching their carry out of position. In this situation, you are more of an off-tank. Stun as many people as you can, keep up those AOE waves in the midst of your enemies, turtle up, etc.
Now you should be aware of your abilities' situational uses:
is your turn-the-tide-of-a-teamfight ability. Its AOE weakens your enemies so that your carries can rip them to shreds. Get as many people in your flames as possible (while still keeping in mind that you are not invincible).
is used obviously as a shield. When you're in the middle of a teamfight, this is the ability that makes you a sponge. Especially if the skill you want to use is on cooldown, Turtle Stance will fill in that waiting time quite nicely.
late game, this skill is your best skill (even if you don't level it to 5). Save your carry from a , , or . Catch up to fleeing enemies with the speed. Catch up to teamfights happening far away. Halt your enemies from reaching your carry.
should be used to apply additional damage to high priority targets. Because it is a DOT, tag them with it and move on to other enemies. Phoenix is your priority to soften up the whole of the enemy team; Tiger is for single target softening.
A good Udyr will defend the carry as a meatshield, a stunner, and a softener.

RULES:

1) Your mid loves blue buff. After your first run, Udyr does not need blue that much (unless your mid lane just sucks).
2) You are not the star; your AD and AP carries are. Make sure they are the strongest they can be by giving them lane advantage even when they dont need your help.
3) Do not steal farm when your ally is there (unless you're pushing to damage the tower). You have your whole jungle (and your enemy's jungle). Your allies' only source of income is their farm.
4) Towers are more valuable than kills. If you can fend off your enemies, fend them off. If you sacrifice tower advantage for a kill, you've set yourself back.
5) Dragon control. Best time to take this is when the enemy bot lane is occupied or away. After all, this is why you dont put solos bot: so you can have 4 people on dragon.

-Buffs take 5 minutes to spawn again
-Dragon takes 6 minutes to spawn again
-Baron takes 7 minutes to spawn again

Sight Ward
These are so important. As a jungler, you are the most mobile person on your team. Put wards where your support cannot. This is also why is quite favored. Place them at (in order of priority)
1) to keep watch on enemy jungler ganking positions [this loses precedence when laning phase ends]
2) at high traffic intersections
3) at high-priority mobs (baron > dragon > buffs) [this takes more precedence when teams get strong enough to get baron]
4) counter-warding with
5) where 3+ paths meet

You might be thinking: "But i'm not a support! I dont need to get wards!"
Good luck getting to high ELO. EVERYONE gets wards. Udyr is just in a better position because of his mobility/roaming status.

Paths:

Wolves (if possible) -> Blue buff -> Wraiths -> Wolves -> Golems -> Red Buff

Skill order:
-> -> -> SPACE OR SPACE -> -> ->
Stonewall008's Clearing Path Play Video
This is the classic jungling start. This is the best path for beginning summoners/less-than-stellar champions. It should get you to level four.
Damage Mitigation - Camps all deal physical damage
HOWEVER: once you get comfortable with Udyr, you should not be following "paths". Udyr is one of the best if not the best jungler in the game. Pathing takes advantage of none of his skills and the most worthless jungler is the farming jungler.
This path feels like this: Once me and my team get situated, I will attack.

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Wolves (if possible) -> Blue buff -> gank or enemy Red Buff

Skill order:
-> or
-> or

Stonewall008's Phoenix -> Turtle (Old Jungle, but principle still applicable) Play Video
Stonewall008's Tiger -> Bear (Old Jungle, but principle still applicable) Play Video
Aggressive- Mobility + Less defense. You get these items when you want to be mobile for counterjungling or speedy ganks. You have less sustain due to fewer pots, less armor, and no level 2 Turtle. This is for more experienced Udyrs.

Think of this like an all-or-nothing strat (even though it's not really). You sacrifice defense for offense; if you do not take advantage of it, you will lose out in the end. A level two gank is devastating; it can set one of your lanes ahead or set you AND your laner back. It's a risk/reward kind of situation.
This path feels like this: Catch the enemy off guard and keep them down.

Counter Jungling:

If you understand wearing out enemy lanes, now it's time to understand starving the enemy jungler. If you've played a few games in the jungle, you know that your creeps are your main source of income and experience (unless you get lucky/unlucky enough to baby sit a lane). Specific counter-jungling strategies will be laid out in the next section, but just as some general rules:

1) if you're going to counter jungle, do it CONSTANTLY. With the new jungle, creeps respawn fast, and the big monster is worth the most. There are two ways to do this:
2) As with laning, push out the enemy jungler. There's nothing more hindering to a jungler than going back to base. It's the worst position to be at. If you render their jungler unable to stay, you have an advantage.

3) You can lure the Red Buff Lizard Elder to the bush behind the camp. When trying to steal it, kill the small lizards first so that you have a win/win situation ahead of you:
.....the enemy jungler comes and you're still there. He thinks he can handle it now. Run away to the bush behind the buff, wait for a little bit, come back and kill the jungler/steal red.
.....the enemy jungler comes and you've gone to the bush all the way in the back. He thinks Red is stolen. Win.
However, if you see the enemy mid champ coming towards you, you'd better run away or make sure your mid is coming for the fight.

4) Keep tabs on the damage your has. Many people overestimate or underestimate. Waiting to smite-steal buffs/dragon/Baron will help yourself a lot.

This is one of the major aspects that determines the good Udyrs from the bad. When do i gank? Is the enemy far out enough? Am i waiting too long for this to happen? Where should i position myself? These questions will have to be answered in seconds. Answer them wrong, and your team might rage at you. Answer them right, and you will bring your team to victory.

RULES

1) Your goal in ganking is to make your lanes win in two ways.
.....First priority is to BURN SUMMONER SPELLS
.....and SECOND most important is kills. If you can get a kill, go for it. But dont waste your or your ally's flash just to get the kill. Summoner spells save lives.

2) Keep the lanes in your favor by keeping up pressure. That way your team will snowball into late game.

3) Play with your enemies' minds. Early ganks are key; this is when they dont know your power, they dont know your playstyle, and they dont have their full utility set.

Know which lane matchups are not in your favor (for example, if your ally at top is a going up against a . Gank that lane early to give him a leg up (or a pegleg up haha).
Also, help push down towers for your allies (especially mid if that player is aggressive). That way you can have him roam and gank with you.

Stonewall008's Leashing Tutorial

Play Video

Top Lane:

Blue Team:
Blue team (Southern team) has the better ganking spot in my opinion. The tri-bush allows you to come from behind the lane to gank (which is a lot better). NEVER simply gank from the river unless the enemy is at your turret.
Why? Taking the time to go all the way around will allow you to It's not that ganking from the river is bad (and if they ward the tri-bush, obviously dont gank from there), but taking advantage of those kinds of opportunities can mean the difference between a kill and wasted time.
A level two gank for blue team is devastating by an Udyr. With the boots+pot build, you can gank before they even level up. However, a 2v1 gank still is awesome with the cloth armor build.

Purple Team
Your ganking is not bad, but sometimes you wish you had a tri-bush path. Thankfully the river bush is closer to the blue side of the lane, so you have better ganks from the river. If you're waiting for ganks, read your opponent.
Is he going for a last hit in the middle of the lane? If he's far out enough, seize the moment and strike.
Did he scoot back when you got in the brush? There's probably a Sight Ward there.
Can your ally bait a fight? If so, tell him and wait till the enemy commits; when he does, you've got him.

Mid Lane:

This lane can be the trickiest or the easiest lane to gank, depending on the people playing the mid lane. As with top lane, going AROUND can be the best decision you ever made.
For example, Most ganks here will end up being a bear stun from the bush area simply because its easier to wait there. However if your opponent is sitting in the middle of the lane, chances are you will not get the stun off in time to blow a flash or something. Here, baiting a fight is probably your safest bet. A kill for a midlane is very beneficial for BOTH players. Tempting your opponent into a fight can seal his fate for the rest of the game.
With their skills on cooldown, they have no escape except that valuable flash.
Remember that you hate enemy casters. Magic Resist is something Udyr has to invest in, and a fed AP carry spells doom for you. Be careful against this lane, and dont be afraid to back off.

Bottom Lane:

Same rules as toplane in terms of where to gank from, except the paths are switched. Purple Team has the advantage of the tri-bush. Blue Team has the advantage of the bush closer to the enemy. However, it's no longer a 1-on-1 lane. You will have to choose your targets carefully.
KNOW THE STRENGTHS OF SUPPORTS. is annoyingggg. Her transformation ability can ruin your day. Let your teammate bait it or hopefully your team has a stun other than yours.

KNOW THE STRENGTHS OF CARRIES.
At level two for purple team, you could probably burn a flash or two. Remember, tri-bush is your best friend.

No one is impossible to gank. But ganking bottom lane requires thought. Especially for Blue team, it might be best to wait for a fight to begin before going in.

NOTE:
"If you activate tiger before you come out in bear when you attack and apply the stun you will also apply the tiger dot, you can then swap immediately back to tiger and apply the dot again for a very nice chunk of burst dmg. That burst is the sole reason I almost exclusively start with tiger." - jyveturkey

A good Udyr will rarely have bad matchups, and in the jungle, he has no bad matchups persay.
However, the best Udyr needs to know how other junglers jungle and how to react. So here's some general rules (but note, every player has their own playstyle)

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In my opinion, your hardest matchups simply because 1) Power like yours 2) Unpredictable without a good However, this just means you need to play a good game. Manaless - They (especially ) usually start at double golems and go for a lv2 red buff. IF they do this, you have a couple options: Steal Blue - However, WARN TEAMMATES that a good Lee Sin will gank early. Also, you are more vulnerable to an early level fight if they notice you and early game counterjungling from Lee Sin. However, this is probably more comfortable for beginner junglers who are used to farming paths; but i would not recommend this. (boots or cloth builds work) Countergank - For less experienced players who want a safer alternative, this ensures that you ward off that lv 2 gank from him. (boots or cloth builds work) If he does start at blue, Take his red Remember get a good leash so u dont use smite on your blue. If he's not at Red, lure it to the bush behind the red buff area. if he's there, go for the kill. A half-health Lee sin is no match against Udyr+Lizard. (boots build required) Dodge his skillshots and beware of enemy movements. may take priority sometimes. is second only to in terms of clearing speed. Making her a great: Theif- She farmfarmfarms all the time. But YOU have better ganks. Duelist - Sometimes saving until after she blows her Q and E is a good thing (her auto-attacks buff her abilities). She is sometimes forced to get or have a stun/snare-based team. Be wary of what Summoner Spells she gets and play accordingly. has the fastest jungling speed in the game, has decent ganking power, and sustains like a beast. In teamfights- stun him and leave him. the longer he is in the fight, the more of a threat he is. Dont focus him, just keep him out of the fight. In counterjungling - just dodge his q's and his ganks become irrelevant. But IF you do get hit, he can chain them like no tomorrow. Early on, mundo is extremely vulnerable, but will only get more tanky as the game progresses; shut him down early. When he has it, bait out his ult whenever possible.

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Difficult like Lee Sin because they also have equal power in the jungle to you. However, they love blue-buff and are a little more predictable. Steal Red - Because they start at Blue, you can head over and take it before they come (or at least make them try to take it prematurely and you make them pay for it). Strong picks - Keep up with them in terms of lane pressure or else you and your team will fall very far behind. I've been favoring Jarvan over Udyr recently simply because he offers more to your team, he has a knockup (which is better than a stun), a dash (which is usually better than a speed buff), and a jump/teamfight disrupter/initiation. Disrupt these guys early and dont fall behind. When they gank, you have three options: 1) Steal their jungle 2) Counter gank if you are close 3) Gank another lane and come to that lane later If they invade, you invade. If they retreat to farm, you take the advantage to do what you need to do. The only difference between these guys and Lee Sin is that they are a little more predictable.

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If you have to face these guys, get ready to dominate. This is what separates the kings of the jungle from the merely good junglers. Don't get me wrong, these guys are pretty solid. However, Udyr can exploit their minute weaknesses. Blue Reliant - without blue, their sustain gets hurt. Knowing this, you can use all methods of counterjungling: stealing red buff, stealing wraiths/golems, stealing blue at 7:30ish, etc. Less Flexible - However, their ganks are slightly better than yours. This is the edge they have over you, and you need to make sure it does not make a difference. Keep cool and keep tabs on the enemy jungler. You'll be just fine. However, for , while his ganks are on par/slightly better than yours, his early route is very predictable. Most will into the Wraiths and head for Blue buff. Thus, you can easily steal Red Buff or have your team invade (if your comp allows for it). Specifically for , she cannot win duels against you. Her main strength is her CC. If she has teammates nearby, she can keep you there forever until they come and destroy you. BUT, if it's just you and her, you will eat her alive.

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These guys are effective on their own, but buffs greatly enhance their strength (Nocturne can start double golems, get red, and gank). So apply much of the same rules as the group above.

The only difference is that these guys are very squishy, especially at early levels. Additionally, your shield absorbs most of their hard-hitting abilities. Duel them early if possible and set them as far back as possible.

IF you steal their blue and make sure your team has yours, their jungling takes a massive hit.

Either these are the characters you should be laughing at or the ones you should be deathly afraid of. It all depends on if they gets their buffs.
ESPECIALLY for
You have an advantage on him in every aspect UNLESS he gets his buffs/items.
Yi is very glass-cannony, and thus is a risky pick....ESPECIALLY if you play correctly as Udyr.
What he needs: (and all of these guys, really)
1) Red buff - You can and must steal this if possible. This is what changes his ganks from meh to faceroll. His lack of cc no longer applies and his already HIGH damage gets amplified even more.
2) Gold - His speed in jungling is reliant on RNG (random number generation) at the moment. Counterjungle as much as you can (obviously winning lanes is more of a priority, but counterjungle whenever you can). Yi is a character who needs to be kept down.
has his so counterjungling may take slightly higher priority than with other opponents.

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While he is a very very VERY strong top lane as of the Nautilus patch, he is not as godly in the jungle. He has better sustain than you and slightly more freedom in build choice, but his speed is much slower than yours. You must take advantage of this.
Dueling him is a 50-50 shot, depending on the skill gap between both players. Just remember to proc a new ability before he taunts you (dodging it is always better so he does not get the bonuses).
Counterjungling is easy, especially for Phoenix Udyr. His speed much much slower than yours, and you should have no problem out-farming him.
and ALWAYS out-gank him. His ganks can be the best or the worst (Depending if he lands his taunt), but if your team can win their lanes w/ ur help, you are set.



She has unpredictability on her side because she doesn't need blue buff. Sometimes she starts at blue Golem, sometimes she starts at double golems, sometimes she starts at wraiths. Like Lee Sin, a good goes a looong way.

Apply the same rules as Lee Sin, but you dont need to worry as much about it. Her jungling power is strong, but not as strong as yours.


Disruption is easy: trigger his boxes at level 1. The skilled Shaco's tend to lay their boxes at Red buff first and then move to blue buff. Thus, a new avenue of counterjungling can open up:
Steal his blue or meet him there.

Shaco's ability lies in his ability to box everywhere and blink anywhere w/ stealth. Be aware of his location.

He heavily depends on blue, and his red is almost required for ganks. If you steal these, he has nothing for him.

His speed is mediocre, and his ganking is ok with buffs.

Tanking:

You are a very efficient damage soaker when built tanky. Your is phenomenal for sustain and defense during fights. Remember, your CARRY needs to be doing the damage.
think about it like this: your may wreck, but will shred much much faster. your may be a great aoe, but i guarantee your team will appreciate the a lot more.

Coincidentally, the 2nd thing a tank must have is CC: your second strength. will stall their carry from destroying your team, will disable those nasty spells from AP carries, delaying tanks from diving your team and causing chaos, etc. REMEMBER: this skill is a great deterrent as well.
Enemy pushing to your tower and your carry is counter pushing? Stall with bear.
Enemy wanting to start a teamfight but your AP carry just bought from base? Prevent that fight with bear.
Enemy tower dive? Make them pay with bear.

You call the shots. You're the hinge point for teamfights. If it's a bad situation (ur missing a carry, ur team is low, ur support is out of mana, etc.), tell your team to back off. If it's a good situation...

Initiation:

...then initiate!
-> -> stun enemy = "GO TEAM GO"
Of course, if you dont have time to pop turtle, DON'T.
The important thing is to catch an enemy with bear.
Catch a tank like or or , and you've basically screwed your team. This gives them the BEST window of opportunity for their CC. you do NOT want to do this.

The goal in catching someone is to kill high damage dealers. In a teamfight you want to go for the enemies' offensive power (AP carries, AD carries). Why? THEY DO THE MOST DAMAGE.
Think about it, bursting a might deter him from the fight, but their just shredded the rest of your team (not to mention all the wasted effort).
But if you bursted down, what can do except help his team escape?

Initiate by catching squishy, high damage targets. Catch the wrong person, and you might have screwed your team.

Disruption:

Say the teamfight started without you (idk why) or you already initiated a fight. Now what do you do?
Mess with the enemy team as much as possible.
applies that DOT. Enemy carry out dps-ing your carry? Apply that DOT for that extra little boost of damage. Enemy about to and get away with 100 hp? Apply that DOT
is a burning AOE. Surrounded by a bunch of potential targets? Why not burn them all?
allows you to stay in longer. Some people will be so annoyed with you, the'll want you dead. Stay in for as long as possible with this stance.
is annoying. No carry wants to be stunned. can't get that third shot in. cant finish that . just wasted his ult. Stun on carry = less dps to your team.

Use your skillset to your advantage.

High Priority Targets:

These kinds of targets have abilities that can devastate your team....and can be disrupted. It's best to save your bear stun for UNTIL they use their channel ability.

and will tear your team to pieces with their ult.
and will disable and burst your carry down with it, destroying your team's source of damage.
will not leave the fight because of unless you cut it short.
That is why these targets must NOT be stunned early (unless you caught them out of position and your team can burst them down).
Just wait patiently for them to make their move, and then maul them.


You have to be trigger happy for these targets. They can dive in and out with and unless you stun them when they come in.

They are squishy, and they usually dont have high resistances (unless you've been targeting them; which is a good thing).
If they jump in and you stun them, your team can take out these very high threats (but remember that falls off lategame)

OTHERWISE aim for carries in general. Once you've gotten a feel of who's been doing the most damage on their team, go for them like the scary bear you are and cuddle them to death.


NOTE:
The sad thing about Udyr (and also why i've not been using him all that much anymore) is that he gets kited to kingdom come. That speed boost does little as the meta goes towards mobility/cc heavy champs (like every freakin new champ has).
He's going to need some changes in order to fit better. He's a strong jungler if you're looking at what a jungler needs, but against a lot of champs, he's not as effective as he used to be.

Udyr transitions from a DPS jungler to a Tank/TankyDPS (my preference leans more tanky).

Key to being tanky: a balance of resistances and health. If you build full on health, you'll get bursted/shredded still. If you build only resistances, your health pool is too low to matter.
DPS tanky? That's a little harder, especially if you're not looking to be mainly a damage source.
After initial boots, get gp10 items until the 12 minute mark (which is generally the point where gp10 items start becoming less useful). First i get is usually Philosopher's Stone since you will be giving your blue buff (hopefully) to your teammates. is the next. The rest is really situational.
There are not really any "core" items to a good Udyr (save for maybe and ). Udyr's build depends on the situation, enemy team comp, and your team comp.


- DPS/Utility - This is the first item i used to get. Nice jungle speed because of the Madreds, lifesteal, and multiple free wards. But now, i forego it for other items since you dont need cloth armor early game anymore.
- Tanky Alternative - If i'm getting rocked early game, i'll build my boots and then get Aegis. This is phenomenal for your team, especially if you are losing (you can even get this in your normal build)
- DPS Alternative (expensive) - If i'm doing exceptionally well, i might build my madreds into a bloodrazor, but i usually just stick w/ the wriggles. If the teamcomp is tanky, i might lean towards the bloodrazor.


- Tanky/Utility - i get these boots 99% of the time. CC reduction (expecially since every new champ has some form of cc) and magic resist (which he needs).
- Tanky/Utility Alternative - the 1% of the time i get this is if i've shut down their AP carry and the only other threats are DPS. These cases are extremely rare. However, with the new remake of these boots coming up, i would consider these more.

- gp5 on a jungler? yes. good health, and the slow income of gold ensures i wont be too far behind.
- Tanky/Utility - I normally get this because the active is nice during teamfights and it's the only item u get from heart of gold.
DPS alternative -> - the alternative to Randuin's. If you're doing exceptionally well, you can get this (but i'd probably try phage first)

- ATK speed is a must on both tiger and phoenix Udyrs
- Tanky/DPS - I get this 99% of the time. Again, Udyr needs magic resist or he'll get chopped to bits. And attack speed is awesome (Tiger/Phoenix damage, Turtle regen)
- DPS Alternative - Dominating the enemy? Lifesteal for the team? Get this if your teamcomp demands it. Otherwise, i'd probably stick w/ Wit's End.

- Health and AD and a slow on auto attacks. Yes please.
- Tanky/DPS - All around item for a versatile character. The proc is an added bonus, and so is the ap. Idk. I prefer Frozen Mallet instead, but Trinity Force is a very good item.
- Tanky/Utility Alternative - Personal preference. The slow is awesome, AD, and a huge chunk of health.

- I said it 1000x already but again: Udyr needs MR.
- Tanky/Utility - Great item. Health, mana, and magic resist. And build from Catalyst (which gives you great sustain). And as a bonus: you get a spell shield.
- Tanky Alternative - If you're getting rocked by their AP or they just have an AP comp, get this item.


Offensive: if you want to be slightly more DPS based (or sell ur wriggles for this lategame)
- GREAT item for pushing. It is kinda expensive, but hey, attack speed and health? not bad not bad.
- AD pseudo-glasscannon alternative to something like wriggles; CD reduc and straight up AD
- ATK speed and armor shred. Soften em up for ur carries.
- ATK damage and lifesteal....and minion kills make it stronger?
(Tanky/DPS) - Only get this if you have/plan to have FrozMallet or Warmogs

Tanky: these are not bad items on any tanky champ
- aoe constant burn, armor, and health
- straight up health steroid
- Enemy team ADs annoying you? Want a mana injection? CD reduc? Get this item if you need the insane amounts of armor.
(Tanky/Utility) - Revive on death, all kinds of resistances
(Tanky/Utility) - the old Spirit Visage was much better. I almost did not put this on the list. The extra lifesteal from it is meh compared to the benefits of other items. but it does have MR!

Utility: nice active abilities
(Tanky/Utility) - in addition to Youmuu's or Randuin's, this item has an awesome support ability + u get health from it. Remember, this is utility so think of it like an extra bonus if your team is doing fairly fine. Otherwise, build other items.
(Utility) - Straight up MR item and one of the most phenomenal actives of any item. It's basically cleanse-out-of-anything emergency button. Great item if you need it.