Preface

Hey folks, this is my first attempt at a LoL guide so please go easy on me! For a while now I've been playing Lulu in the jungle and have absolutely fallen in love with this. She can bring so much to the Summoners Rift that it's really not as detrimental as people might think. As such I've decided to share my favorite role/champion with you all.

. I'd also like to add that what is found in this guide can also apply to Lulu in lanes(maybe not the item build but general game play) and it shouldn't be considered as "exclusively" jungle oriented.

Finally I'd like to thank anyone who's read the guide and at least gave it a chance. So now, enough with the delays and let us get right into it.

Lulu, The Fae Sorceress

Background

Perhaps more than any other champion in the League, Lulu marches to the beat of her own drum. During her youth in Bandle City, she spent most of her time wandering alone in the forest or lost in a daydream. It wasn’t that she was antisocial; the day-to-day bustle of Bandle City just couldn't compete with the vibrant world of her imagination. She saw wonder in places most people overlooked. This was how she found Pix, a fae spirit, pretending to be stuck in a birdhouse. Lulu's imagination distinguished her to Pix, and he seized the opportunity to lure her into his life. He brought her to the Glade, the enchanted home of the fae, which lay nestled in a clearing in the woods. There the rigid properties of the outside world - things like size and color - changed as frequently and whimsically as the direction of the wind. Lulu felt at home in the Glade and she lingered there with Pix, fascinated by this secret place.

She quickly lost track of time. Her life in the Glade was comfortable, natural. She and Pix played fae games together, the sorts of games that she had been told were "only pretend," and she got exceedingly good at them. It caught her by surprise when she suddenly remembered that she had left a life behind in Bandle City. The Glade had a way of making everything outside seem distant and surreal. Lulu decided to revisit her former home, to share some of the lovely things she'd learned, but when she and Pix returned the world had changed. Time, she discovered, was another property that behaved differently in the Glade, and centuries had passed while she was away. Lulu sought to reconnect to the residents of the outside world, but her attempt had unfortunate results. She led all the children off to play hide and seek, temporarily changing them into flowers and animals to spice up the game, but their parents didn't appreciate her efforts. When the yordles insisted that she leave their land, she turned to a vibrant, magic place where those with unusual gifts were not just accepted but adored: the League of Legends.

Pros Great Ganking Potential Surprising Burst Power Strong Basic Attacks Fight Changing Ult

Cons Slow Early Clear Speed Lack Of Mana Sustain Weak Duelist Easy To Burst Down Weak Objective Control

So here I'm just going to go ever the mastery choices for both builds. In my opinion offence is the way to go, but these are just suggestions.

Abusing Pix

The Purple Explosion

This is an AP oriented build that focuses on burst damage. I find this kind or weaker than the other "on-hit" build, but still viable. The shields and damage from Glitterlance make up for the generally weaker clears.

Abusing Pix with Runes

The runes I use for the "on-hit" build are the following:
These runes are fairly generic for a jungler with no AD or ASPD steroid (see Nocturne or Lee Sin)

Greater Mark of Attack Damage These are to help with clearing. I chose to have the AD on the marks because it gives more AD than 3 Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage
Greater Seal of Armor Standard runes for jungling, you need that armor.
Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist This is a preference, to help survive burst. You could replace them with Greater Glyph of Magic Resist though, since you typically don't join in prolonged fights until the later levels, you get more out of the Scaling Runes.
Greater Quintessence of Attack Speed I use these rather than Greater Mark of Attack Speed since the 3 Quints yield more Attack Speed than 9x Marks.

Runes for creating Purple Explosions

These runes are my choice runes for an AP centered jungler.

Greater Mark of Hybrid Penetration I use these rather that Greater Mark of Magic Penetration simply because jungle minions lack any kind of magic resist and therefore are the latter marks are wasted in the jungle. Though you could argue that they could be used for when you gank however I leave that up to personal preference
Greater Seal of Armor Again, standard on any jungler.
Greater Glyph of Ability Power Huh, no magic resist. You could got Greater Glyph of Magic Resist or Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist though I like the AP to clear faster and since jungle minions do no magic damage I chose not to use MR glyphs.
Greater Quintessence of Ability Power These Quints are pretty standard on any AP champion and I do not really see or know of any replacement.

As always, rune setups are a personal choice, these are just my personal preferences.

I don't really like to go into this as I think again, these depend on the players but...
Smite Flash

These are the two I recommend. If you really wanted to, you could replace Flash with:

Ghost Movement Speed is nice, but it takes time to get somewhere. Flash is Instant.
Ignite If you feel like going HAM on the other team then maybe, though if you do, you lack any instant escape
Teleport It sets up some nice ganks and allows you to split push but the lack of instant escape bothers me.

The other summoner choices would be a bit silly and I don't recommend them though you could probably make a case for Heal but it seems like overkill considering Lulu's kit.

So much of this game is subjective, and this is another case. What you max first depends on a few things such as: How your game is going? How are your ganks? Is your team dying every time you gank?
There are so many reasons why you could level one skill over another and it varies based on the game so what I'll give is a BASIC idea of what I do, and why, ideally, I would rank those skills up first.

Glitterlance I tend to max this first as it is the primary tool for ganking. It's long range damage and slow component make it ideal for securing kills. I also take it at level 1 for the "AoE" damamge to the whole jungle camp.
Whimsy I typically rank this up second and the reason why is because the Polymorph duration increases with levels. This means that the potentially dead target is unable to escape for longer. Also, the Movement Speed duration increases, meaning you get from camp to camp faster.
Help, Pix! I rank this last, and this may surprise some of you but, a 4 second shield is not really enough to sing a song about in the jungle and it's damage component is not a WOW factor either. Often I find myself casting this on a minion to get more range out of Glitterlance rather than using it to damage. You could argue to max it second if your teammates are getting wrecked when you gank for them.
Wild Growth I rank this up any time I get, it is useful in a lot of situations which I'll discuss more of in the strategy/gameplay section.

I typically stick with the same skilling order in both the "on-hit" and AP centered builds, varying as needed.

This section is complicated... It's up to personal preference AND up to the flow of the game. Enemy team builds a ton of armor, lets build Last Whisper and so on. Since it's a volatile subject, I'm going to list what I think is Core, what you need for the builds to work, and situational items that you can get depending on your game.

Hunter's Machete + 4x Health Potions are standard starts for any jungle. The bonus damage and defense against jungle camps are a must. And health potions keep you alive while clearing.

I like to go Wriggle's Lantern with Lulu, it synergises well with Pix, Faerie Companion and that's just the Attack Speed component. The on-hit damage and heal make for a formidable basic attack oriented champion and is great for taking down jungle objectives as it gets stronger the more you farm the jungle(and get kills/assists).

Finally, the last item that I use as a Core Item is Blade of the Ruined King. The %health damage is great for making up for Lulu's lack of dueling ability; it offers amazing sustain in both the jungle and while ganking and its active slow/burst is really dangerous. It also synergises with Pix, Faerie Compation in both the "on-hit" damage and the Attack Speed.

Here is a list of a few Items that can be used, though these will mostly depend on how the game itself is going.

Offensive Wit's End Yes, I consider this an offensive item, Attack Speed, On-hit Damage and Magic resist shred? Yes, it's offensive. And its bonus magic resist is always nice if it's needed Nashor's Tooth Not AD? No problem, the AP + Attack Speed + On-hit damage make this viable even if you aren't fully AP oriented. Youmuu's Ghostblade It just gives a whole lot of stats that are nice. It makes it so you don't have to use Whimsy on yourself to chase, it's attack speed bonus is great with an "on-hit" build and it gives armor penetration. Last Whisper Armor Penetration in case of huge amounts of Armor on the other team.

Defensive Zephyr It gives tenacity, which is really nice, also, Attack Speed. Banshee's Veil This is great for surviving AP burst but doesn't do much to prevent AD damage Thornmail Lot's of AD, no problem! This will solve almost all your problems. Guardian Angel Dying a lot? This guy will help you stay alive once every 5 minutes. Still decent if you need that final push. Also, armor and magic resist keep you alive against both.

Boots Mobility Boots These are my choice boots until teamfights start though I'd keep them if I'm split pushing. Berserker's Greaves Attack Speed is all there is too them. Sorcerer's Shoes These are an option, one that I've tried but don't really like. Magic Pen synergises well with the damage from Pix, but not from Blade of the Ruined King or Feral Flare

**//To Come, another section on the more AP oriented build//**

Early Game/The Jungle

Your jungle route will depend on where your bot lane is. Since that's where you'll get the most help, it's where you want to be. Glitterlance is exceptionally good at clearing the Wraith camp so that should be your second stop before heading to your next buff. It's important for Lulu to be able to Smite at the right moment, she has a notorious lack of any other way to clear the camp quickly if you miss, making objective control tricky without help.

Once you're level 3, you want to try and gank / counter-gank. If you started with your bot lane to leash, that should either be the Top Lane or the Mid Lane. Ganking is a complex art that laners typically ignore. You need to consider your laners health, position skills; can he CC and also, consider your abilities to gank, does the gank depend on landing Glitterlance or using Whimsy to speed yourself up or polymorph the enemy. Can you use Help, Pix! to deal damage or save your laner from an Ignite. You also need to be aware of what the opponent can do, can he CC both of you? Instant burst your Laner or just escape CC (Yes, I'm talking about Gankplank) Will your gank at least get a Flash so you can come back late or has your laner already take his Flash. Lastly you need to be wary of counter-ganks. Is their jungler behind you? Can he do real damage if he tries to counter-gank. I'm going on about this a lot but it's amazing how many people don't play attantion to these things and end up with a teammate going "Wtf jungler, why you no kill/cc/live"

After you get enough gold to buy madred's razor you want to recall and get it, it will help a lot. Farm until you can get Wriggle's Lantern ganking when needed. 7:10 is the first milestone you need to worry about because it's the general reswpawn time of the buffs. This is important because you need to consider, a few things. Do you need the buff(Donate to a laner) can you counter-jungle the opponents buff, should you ambush him. These are decisions to consider.

Middle to Late Game

At this point you're either ahead in hold or behind and now you need to decide your role for the late game. Will you be another ranged damage source or a 2nd support? And you need to start building towards those goals. Lulus objective control is pretty bad so don't try and Dragon or Baron until then enemy jungler is dead or nowhere near those objectives.
You want to save your Wild Growth for your initator or your carries to save them or disrupt the enemy team while disabling the enemy carries with Whimsy. Focus your damage on them and peel yourself(or your carry) if needed. If your carry is going down a lot in fight, focus your damage on the one taking him out so he can focus on eliminating the opponents.

General Strategies

These are tips to using Lulus kit to the maximum of its potential. I'll separate them by skill name.

Glitterlance

Try and use this to allow your laner to close it on the opponent. It's decaying slow should help.
When aimed right, this can completely halt a chase. It will slow more than one person.
Aim it so you hit the most jungle creeps and you'll exponentially increase your clear speed.
It is useful for scouting out brushes as it makes a sound when it hits someone.

Help, Pix!

This can be use to position

Pix, Faerie Companion to launch Glitterlance from and unorthodox position. He also doubles your chance of hitting.
Pix, Faerie Companions Basic Attacks are lauched at the closest target. This means that with proper positioning, you can be attacking someone(something) else while Pix, Faerie Companion hits another target.(i.e Basic Attacking minions while Pix, Faerie Companion hits the enemy champion.)
The 4 second shield can save someone from either a tower dive or an Ignite. Consider when to save it to save a life or take a life.
You can use Help, Pix! to position a Glitterlance right into the fleeing enemy team.

Whimsy

Consider when to use it to speed someone up or slow someone down. It's a highly versatile spell that can change fights around.
Try and save it for high damage channeled ultimate skills (

Karthus, Katarina or Nunu & Willump) are some examples.

Wild Growth

Using

Glitterlance can get you into position to use Wild Growth to knock the enemy up.
Wild Growth can turn a gank around and is really powerful when counter-ganking.
Wild Growth Sometimes its best to use this on a tank, it can throw opponents carries out of position and allow you to pick them off.
Wild Growth is not affected by heal reduction meaning you get the full health benefit despite grievous wounds.
Wild Growth can set up some interesting baits and getting away without a casualty.


These are some of the things I've see/done with Lulu and I hope this section helps a bit.

In short, Lulu is a great champion with potential in the jungle. Her ganks can be very strong since she brings a lot of CC to a game. Her kit also makes her a game changer as she can shift fights around with a single cast. While she lacks dueling potential and objective control, she makes up for in sustained fights.

I hope you enjoyed this guide and found it helpful. Any comments will be read and I would appreciate any constructive criticism you might have.