Hello, Summoners!
Welcome to my comprehensive guide to Udyr, the Animal Spirit, in the current meta. If you're reading this, chances are you're interested in mastering one of the most unique and versatile junglers in League of Legends. Well, you've come to the right place.

About Me

I've been playing Udyr since Season 1—yes, you read that right. From the days when the jungle was a wild, untamed abyss to its current state, I've been there, bear-slapping and tiger-mauling my way through opponents. I took a sabbatical from the game for about 6 years between Season 6 and Season 12, but my love for Udyr remained unchanged. Upon my return, I achieved a peak rank of top 80 Challenger in Season 13, solidifying my comeback and passion for this champion.

Why This Guide?

Udyr is a champion that can be built in numerous ways, and trust me when I say, I've tried them all. Tank Udyr, AP Udyr, Hybrid Udyr—you name it, I've tested it. Despite the multitude of guides out there, I felt a need to produce a guide that doesn't just scratch the surface but dives deep into the nuances of playing Udyr effectively. This guide specifically focuses on AD Udyr in the current meta, which I believe offers a strong blend of carry potential and team utility.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Udyr is his flexible kit, which allows you to adapt to a variety of situations. While other champions are restricted by ultimates and longer cooldowns, Udyr has the unique privilege of choosing the right stance at the right moment. In this in-depth analysis, we'll explore how to make the most out of Udyr's abilities, specifically focusing on AD Udyr.

Stance Dancing – The Core Mechanic

Before diving into each ability, it's crucial to understand the concept of "Stance Dancing." Udyr doesn't have a traditional ultimate; instead, he has four basic abilities that he can swap between

Q Stance
Standard Opening
The bread-and-butter for AD Udyr. Starting fights with your Q stance—when you're in melee range—can provide the burst damage required to get the upper hand immediately. The DOT (Damage Over Time) that Tiger Stance provides can help you secure kills and dominate 1v1 situations.

When to Awaken Q
Awakening your Q stance is generally your go-to option in 99% of cases. The extra damage provided by an awakened Tiger Stance can be a game-changer in fights, especially when you need that extra push to take down beefier targets or secure objectives.

Secondary Option for Awakening
Your W stance should generally be your second option for awakening, especially in drawn-out fights or when you're tanking objectives. An awakened Turtle Stance provides significant sustain, allowing you to stay in fights much longer than you'd expect.

When to Use W
Turtle Stance is not just for awakening; use it tactically to absorb burst damage or to heal up while jungling. It's essential to swap to W when you're expecting incoming burst or CC that you can't avoid.

E Stance
The Gap-Closer
If you can't get directly into melee range, opening with E is your best bet. This will allow you to close the gap with a burst of speed and a stunning auto-attack. Once you're in range, immediately switch to Q to apply your damage.

Awakening E - Generally Not Recommended
While the idea of being unstoppable might seem tempting, awakening your E stance often compromises your damage output. Being unstoppable for a brief moment usually doesn't outweigh the burst damage lost by not awakening Q. Therefore, in most cases, avoid using E for awakening.

ALWAYS FULL CLEAR

There is rare occassions in that you will not full clear your Jungle. Udyr is too reliant on all of his 4 abilities in early game and cannot execute properly without it!

Objectives and Farm is your best friend until midgame. Still you should aim for easy ganks in between jungle spawn timers!

Matchups IMPORTANT

In case you play against a 100% invading Champion (nidalee e.g.)

You usually wanna be on the other side of the map of where she is so you can limit invades as much as possible as udyrs level 1-3 is extremely weak

This means that you always wanna ward the small bush in the river (usually you sit in the bush next to it and backport at around 0:45 and place it the last second before you get teleported back)

Option B

Should teamfighting ever not work out, can a Hullbreaker make Udyr into a Splitpushing Monster!

Please make sure to let me know about how you liked this guide so i can do better in future!

For questions you can always check out my Stream! We stream everyday starting at around 3-6pm CET+1 in English & German!