The purpose of this guide is to fully explain how and why jungling Taric is both possible and effective. Also, I will explain step by step the reasoning behind my various setups , etc. This does work in ranked (especially in solo/duo que games), so this guide will be focusing more on that. Please feel free to request extensions of this guide if your feel I haven't covered something significant. Thank you!

The purpose of jungling Taric as opposed to other junglers is to provide more protection, initiation possibilities, and sustain for your team. Given that most junglers deal mostly physical damage, it is useful to have extra armor. Also, random Taric heals as you pass from lane to lane can make a huge difference as to who wins a lane (especially the solo lanes). Taric doesn't have a knockup, slow, or snare like Xin Zhao, Lee Sin, or Maokai, but rather a flat stun which can open up more opportunities for the lane you are ganking. Also, with constant sustain and lots of armor, Taric is less likely to die from a counter jungle gank, and may even be able to kill the enemy jungler instead. His kit is great for escapes when in a sticky situation, so you are less likely to get shut down if you use plenty of wards.

Advantages:

-Plenty of sustain
-Tanky champion and can give allies increased armor while ganking
-Can 'heal gank' so that your ally lives from almost inevitable death, but no actual aggression is shown toward the enemy.
-Deals a decent amount of damage
-Can increase the physical damage of an ally
-Can easily disengage from an unfavorable fight.
-Can counter-gank effectively, using Dazzle
-Can build tanky or high burst damage
-Can gank often
-Clears jungle quickly after first run
-Likely not to get focused by the enemy team
-Does not need red buff

Disadvantages:

-Needs a strong level 1 leash (if starting at blue)
-Blue buff dependent during laning phase
-Needs to build 250 armor in order to give allies 30 bonus armor aura (which used to be flat out given in the past)
-Slow first jungle clear (which is why I usually gank at level 2)
-Must actively build to counter magic damage (if needed)
-Shut down by silences, and high AP burst damage during the early game
-Relies on Flash to gank safely, and save allies

Synergies:

Champions that have a built-in re-positioning skill are ideal against Taric. Also, champions who have a built-in cleanse or CC-preventing shield are very good against Taric

Top Lane: Mid Lane: Bot Lane:
Jungle:

I recommend Smite for clearing the jungle and Flash for initiation, escape, and gap-closer.

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Why not Exhaust instead of Flash?

-You have a stun, and when you have red buff, you have a slow. You simply do not need the summoner spell to help out your team, especially if someone else on your team already has Exhaust.

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Why not Ghost instead of Flash?

-As Taric, you don't really have the ability to kite anyone. There is no reason to get this spell, because it ruins the element of surprise while ganking, and limits your initiation and disengaging opportunities during the late game. Also, with Mobility Boots, you will already be faster than the majority of your opponents (and if you are not, then you can always flash after them and use Dazzle.

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Why not Teleport instead of Flash?

-Because you need Enchantment: Homeguard boots or Enchantment: Captain boots, this summoner spell will be on cooldown for too long to be of any benefit to you. It makes more sense to move quickly around the map and rotate to where you are needed at opportune times, rather than camping out in a bush. Although Taric can push a creep wave pretty fast late-game, he won't be able to take down turrets fast enough to split push.

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Why not Ignite instead of Flash?

-Unlike junglers such as Fiora who want to get kills, Taric doesn't need the kills. It is much better for him to allow the ally in lane to get it, rather than himself.

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Why not Cleanse instead of Flash?

- Taric is better suited to be a support jungler, and Cleanse doesn't help anyone but himself. Although Cleanse would make him almost impossible to kill, Taric still needs Flash to help his team to his full potential.

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-Without Smite, Taric won't be able to clear the jungle by himself on the first clear, despite Imbue. Also, it'll allow you to make bold plays by stealing enemy buffs, along with Baron and Dragon. No matter who you jungle, you should always take smite (even if you're Warwick or Shaco) because not having it already puts your team at an immediate disadvantage by allowing the enemy team to more easily steal key objectives.

I like to use this setup because the extra attack speed allows Taric to safely clear the jungle during the early levels, and push towers more effectively. I like to have scaling Magic resist Glyphs because it is more beneficial to build armor on Taric, rather then Magic Resist.

Agressive Taric Jungle

Against early-game oriented enemy team

Spirit of the Spectral Wraith is a great item from clearing the jungle, and sustaining in the jungle for a long period of time.

Frozen Heart is a solid item on Taric due to his Gemcraft which increases his damage.

Iceborn Gauntlet is great for all purposes because it also gives Taric a stronger heal.

Seeker's Armguard is a good early-game item that will prevent Taric and his teammates from dying to counter-ganks and the enemy team in general.

Take a look at the sample start below. This is what I usually start with when jungling Taric. Remember to prioritize armor over ability power because it is more beneficial for your team.

I like to max Taric's Shatter after putting at least 2 points into Dazzle. With the stun duration now scaling with with more points in the skill, I find that it is very worth it to do so. I max Shatter because it can really make a difference in mid-game team fights when most carries have not yet built their resistances.

There are many different options for jungling Taric so don't feel restrained by any typical jungle path. Make sure you have a hard leash on Blue buff. Based on he leash, decided whether or not to invade the enemy jungle. Remember that Taric is not Red-buff dependent!!

Ask your support to ward your Red camp so that the enemy jungler cannot steal it as you're ganking mid and top. On your first trip back to base, buy a ward to place in bottom lane in place of the ward your support used on your Red camp earlier. Feel free to buy wards when needed throughout the entire game. WARDS WIN GAMES! Also, everyone should be buying wards, not just the support.

I hope this build answered many, if not all of the questions you might've had about Taric jungle. I enjoy jungling Taric in ranked solo que because I can fool the enemy team into thinking I'm the support, when in fact I'm actually the jungler. You can ruin enemy team compositions during champion select, alone! Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. :D