Hello there and welcome to Jungle guide! Which is up to speed with the current Meta! Although the new jungle has changed a lot of things, Udyr is still extremely viable if not enhanced by it!

As a jungler, he has it all: Great Clear Speed, Great Duelling, Good Sustain, Good ganks, and unbelieveble tankiness!

My name is Bennett and I currently reside on EU West I have been playing in the League for a while now and my favorite position has to be jungling, by far. I like to play Phoenix style udyr over tiger style Udyr because of the play style being more suited to me.
Even though that I like Tiger-Udyr the Phoenix playstyle suits my way of jungling better than the Tiger way.

Many Udyr guides sterotypically take Tiger Stance early on instead of Phoenix, however this is a completely different playstyle to Phoenix Udyr, which i prefer.

At the start of the game the generic start for most jungler's in a hunters machete and 5 health pots, however because of Udyr's natural sustain with turtle stance (which i reccomend taking second) you hardly ever use all 5 health pots so. Because of this i normally take a ward instead of 2 health pots as this is a far better contribution to your team, and could prevent a gank/ allow you to counter gank due to increased vision.

When you first back, i recommend buying a spirit stone, and boots of speed. If you have spare cash then pick up a ward or some pots but this is optional.

During the course of the game, i recommend building Udyr tanky with attack speed in order to proc your Phoenix stance and so you can do more damage.

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Section on late game choice between Frozen Mallet, Guardian's Angel and Spirit Visage:

If the enemy team has a lot of magic damage and you are getting shredded then i would advise taking Spectre's Cowl in order to reduce your damage taken. However Frozen Mallet is normally the best option because of it's slowing abilities which fit perfectly with Udyr auto attack based combat style, whilst all stats it provides are valuable to Udyr.

In addition Guardian's Angel is a good pick if you are finding it hard to survive fights. It is a very situational option but can still be good.

The new item 'Righteous Glory' has been suggested and used by many people recently and i'd just like to take a moment to clear up why you should buy it on udyr. Firstly it gives you mana as well as health which i will fix some of the mid game mana problems Udyr can encounter. On the other hand it gives you an active ability which speeds you and your team up, which on Udyr combined with your bear stance will reduce the chance that you will be kited. Also this active releases a shockwave afterwards slowing enemies, which is also desirable on Udyr. Finally it gives you health and mana upon leveling up (as it is comprised of a catalyst) which is extremely handy in the jungle at all stages of the game. Because of all these factors i would highly reccomend buying this item as part of your build as it provides stats which are vital to Udyr's playstyle.

This is primarily a frontline style of Udyr, NOT the 'Run in and spam Q' type that people like to play. This has been designed to allow you to take tons of damage and have the regeneration to withstand this. Udyr should be the brick wall between the enemy and his team, and you should be prepared to take damage.

Unlike some people i would always recommend starting blue, as the benefits of this on udyr far out way taking red. By taking blue it ensures you can change quickly between your stances without becoming low on mana. Which in some cases could force you back to base early instead of being able to gank sooner.

For udyr I typically take Phoenix stance first due to the AOE damage which helps greatly early game compared to only doing single target damage early on. In my opinion taking Phoenix over Turtle first is the best option, as Udyr is able to clear the camps quickly without losing too much health anyway, if given help from your team with the first buff. By starting with health pots it ensures you can sustain the jungle.

I take turtle stance immediately after putting my first point in Phoenix as it is a great help in the jungle however taking it first, which may seems a good option, can in most cases lead to losing more health as a result of not doing as much damage and having to take more damage before you clear camps. (This is extremely good against the replacement camp for wraiths).

As soon as you have taken your second buff which will be red, i reccomend putting the point you get from leveling up into Bear Form as it is more effective than taking tiger form due to the movement speed passive and the stun as you will be looking to gank soon after.

During the early game Udyr's main priority should be to use bear stance to gank the lanes, stunning the enemy and picking up kills for the team. When ganking bot lane, the ADC should always be the primary target.

After taking the blue buff initially, remember to give the next one to the mid laner if they need it. If they dont need it offer it to top lane, and if they dont need it either just take it.

Giving to red buff to the ADC is purely optional, i would reccomend giving it if they are behind/ you are really far ahead.

During mid game, you should try to counter jungle the enemy by putting a Sight Ward on one their red, and when they are taking it, sneak through the bush and steal it using smite. Udyr's Bear stance reduces the risk of doing this as you will be able to get away fairly quickly.

Secondly if following my ability leveling by mid game/early late game you should have a few points in Wilding Claw, therefore you should be looking to split push using the Wilding Claw to attack turrets and the Blazing Stampede to get away after doing so.

Late game is where Udyr shines in my opinion. The combination of items you will have makes you an amazing initiator, and you have alot of CC with your bear stance stun and randuin slow.

At this point, you really don't need the buffs anymore. Give Blue Buff to your Mid laner/ mana reliant Ap casters and Red Buff to your ADC.

Early game Udyr does a fair bit of damage but this damage dosent scale that well, and late game he sort of evolves into a utility tank, stunning and tanking the damage.

PROS!

-Good jungle sustain with Turtle Stance
-Fast Camp Clear time with Phoenix Stance
-VERY versatile
-Good source of CC
-Doesn't Require Damage items
-Does not fall off late game

CONS!
-Easily Kited if not played well
-No gap closing ability (However my preference to take flash over the more commonly used Ghost, fixes this!)
-Good co-ordination with team is required to have successful ganks
-Can easily be stopped whilst ganking by a skillful player

Monkeys Agility - This isn't actually a skill but its his passive so i thought i should cover it. Basically, as long as you change stance in less than 5 seconds, you stack 10% AS and 3% dodge up to three times. Unless you have no mana of course, but that usually dosent matter after early game. If you take blue first like i recommend you dont have problems stance spamming early game either.

Tiger Stance - Not a huge fan of this, it is the least valuable skill. But i put some points into it late game for more damage and to help when split pushing. This does crazy damage to turrets. I mean crazy. Seeing you tend to split push later on in the game for me it makes sense getting it later on.

Turtle Stance - This is the skill that makes Jungling fairly easy on Udyr. It has lifesteal, and a damage shield. I max this after Phoenix and Bear, but take it as my second ability at the start of the game.The great lifesteal that lets you stay in the jungle instead of having to recall for more Health Potions. I max this third because although it is good, your items will do plenty of tanking early on. You need your skills to do damage.

Bear Stance - This skill is great. This is what makes Udyr a good ganker. A 1 second stun that can be used on every champ on the other team, and can be used again on each champ every 6 seconds. Plus it gives you a speed boost for 4 seconds at level 5. This Ability reduces the time for getting from camp to camp, reducing clear time.

Phoenix Stance - Everything about this skill I love. The activation gives you AoE damage as well as bonus AD. Plus every three hits you deal bonus magic damage in a cone in front of you. This makes it especially good for teamfights.

Ghost- Ghost is great for Udyr and when combined with bearstances speed boost you get about 560 or 570 movement speed. The only people that can run away are people that can jump walls, continuously slow.

Smite- While it isn't absolutely REQUIRED, I strongly STRONGLY suggest this. Without it, you just can't keep up with the enemy jungle. Consider it required.

Flash- It can give you that little jump on the ganks, it can counter enemy flashes, and can even get you out of a jam. I prefer to take this over ghost as it fixes Getting kited (to a certain extent) and means you have a gap closer when ganking.

Udyr can fit in any team that needs a tanky jungler (which is typical in current meta);
-he can be an initiator
-he can peel
-he can deal nice damage

He is kitable so enemy team can be a factor:
-His ganks have less odds of being successful by very mobile targets (junglers like Hecarim or Jarvan suffer way less from this)
-He doesn't like slows

If you can't gank successfully, it's not the worst thing. Clear your jungle, then clear the enemy's ^^

With the use of Phoenix Stance, Udyr has very fast wave clear because of the AOE meaning he is fairly good at farming.

Although as a jungler he wont be farming much, with the use of Phoenix it's an effective way of holding lanes or stopping the other team from diving you if your holding the lane for a member of your team, as you can kill the minions very fast preventing most dives.

Alternatively swapping between the stances whilst farming allows you to temporarily stun the cannon minion frequently, reducing damage taken.

About 80% of the jungle i take is normally through counter jungling due to his insanely fast camp clearance and high movement speed so i can get around their jungle fast, and get out fast. Try using your Phoenix Stance before you get to the buff, with this your next attack will deal additional damage, you should be able to use the ability again after you hit the target, this makes you do a double phoenix burst.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph Udyr is an incredibly strong counter jungler who is great at dominanting the jungle, and grinding the opposition out of the game. When I play jungle Udyr one of the main advantages I have at my disposal is my ability to crush most junglers in a 1v1. This means I release a lot of pressure off of my team as a result of the enemy jungler being in such a weakened state.

1) For the jungle route i recommend starting at Blue (aiming not to use your smite through help from your team).
2)Secondly proceed to wolves and clear then as quickly as possible, remember to focus on the big wolf as the AOE from your Phoenix stance will kill the little wolves in the process.
3)Next cross through mid lane and clear out the wraiths.
4)After clearing wraiths proceed to take the red buff and use smite to help kill it (providing you didnt use smite to take the blue). Once again focus the Elder Lizard as the AOE will kill the other 2.
5)Finally Go Clear Golems, focusing the larger one :)


Notes: Continually use health pots to whilst clearing the camps the first time round to make sure you can do them all in one go. Rinse and repeat this process, and after taking the golems either go back to base if on low health, on go gank top lane as you will be close after finishing Golems

During a team fight as Udyr your main objective should be to get the ADC stunned A.S.A.P and using soak up alot of damage in order to protect the carry.

Your main priority in a fight would be to stun the most dangerous people fast and soak up a large amount of the damage.

Any champion pcik that has any Crowd Control is going to be good lane to gank. That way your ally can use the Crowd control on the enemy, while you close in fast for the bear stun.

For example someone like Jax could use the Leap Strike and Counter Strike combo setting up a perfect Blazing Stampede stun.

What sets my Guide out from many other Udyr guides is that i take Trinity Force. Although at first look many summoners will discard this item for being relevant to udyr, however, this is not the case. When built as the core backbone of my build it works brilliantly with the playstyle of Udyr and the stat benefits help alot.

It gives you health and attack speed which are both desirable on Udyr, whilst still giving you a moderate amount of damage, buffing both of Udyr's form's which you use to do damage, Tiger and Phoenix. Remember by taking Trinity force you will gain AD and AP, and the passive of PHAGE!

Phage's passive is one of the main reasons for me building trinity force on Udyr as it is simply amazing on him. One of the main advantages of udyr is his immense mobility and Phage allows you to get an even bigger advantage over your enemies.

UNIQUE Passive - Rage: Basic attacks grant 20 Movement Speed for 2 seconds. Kills grant 60 Movement Speed instead. This Movement Speed bonus is halved for ranged champions.

Every attack Udyr does counts as an auto attack, so upon attacking you will gain 20 movement speed and if you kill you get three times that!, imagine the benefits of this after a fight chasing people down.

Try this, i promise you it works.

Udyr is a champion that unfortunately has alot of counters, one's you should avoid picking Udyr against.

Champions Udyr is weak against:
Very Slippery and hard for udyr to get up close to, and he has a powerful ranged slow.
Very Slippery and hard for udyr to get up close to, and he has a powerful ranged stun.
Very Slippery, almost impossible to keep up with even for udyr as she is very mobile.
Hecarim is self explanatory;)
Has a large amount of CC which makes it hard to play Udyr against him who is pure melee auto-attack based.

Champions Udyr is strong against:
Fiddle is fairly squishy and if stunned is practically useless.
Unable to match Udyr's sheer base damage throughout the majority of the game making it easy to counter jungle him.
Same story as with Maokai.
Udyr has rengar in his pocket. If you can stomp him before late game he's not a problem at all.
Very weak before he has all his spells, and if he isnt near any jack in a box's.

This section will be an analysis of what triket is best to take on Udyr and why.
Usually you will want to take this trinket as your first buy. It allows you to make sneaky ganks.

For example use it in places where you know the enemy has a ward. You are not visible on enemy minimap unless you attack the ward. You are visible if the enemy look directly at the place which usually doesn't happen. This also allows for securing buffs/objectives and deny enemy vision.


I have tried using this trinket, it is really good for stealing objectives. At level 1, you head over to enemy buff (the one you think they will start with) and wait in a safe brush. At 2:02 +/- place the orb across the wall and smite steal it from the enemy.

It can have the same usage as Farsight Orb but it allows you to secure your own buffs from smite stealing. You can place a ward at enemy buffs to see when they spawn and quickly head over there if you struggle with remembering the respawns.

Tips:
-Fighting in small spaces is GOOD.
-In a fight stun the ADC A.S.A.P
Tricks:
-You can sometimes get a lane to waste a flash by showing your presence even when your not going to properly gank, just when you happen to be running past the lane. Press bear stance whilst faking a gank, sometimes the laner panics and burns their flash thinking your coming to gank. This is good to do in between camps e.g. when running from blue to counter jungle the enemy wolves.

As you can see, the ways i advise trying this is when your en-route to go counter jungle. This way the potential loss is lower as if it didnt work you could then continue on the path and counter jungle, making up for the time spent.

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