Hello all, this is my first guide on mobafire, for the champion Udyr. He has become one of my favorites because of his jungling ability and versatility throughout the stages of the game. I have tried several different builds for Udyr (Phoenix hybrid tank and pure Tiger dps), and found that neither suited my play style. If I went the standard phoenix jungle build, while I would clear very quickly (3:30-4:00), I couldn't gank very well at lv. 4 because phoenix doesn't offer enough burst damage. On the other hand, a pure tiger build lengthens the jungling period significantly, and the lack of an aoe ability severely hurts your farm and usefulness in team fights.

Pros:

Excellent Jungle (3:30-4:00 clear)
Tanky dps
Good Chaser
Versatile

Cons:

No range
Requires initiator to be effective in team fights
Reliant on teammates

Udyr's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness: he has no ultimate. This means that he relies solely on his movement speed and dps to be effective, but also means that he can fill multiple roles in any given game.

For masteries I went 0/15/15.

I put 15 points into utility to gain the move speed bonus and the increase in buff times

Udyr relies heavily on movement speed to initiate ganks because he has no ultimate or ability to cover distances. Therefore Nimbleness (increased movement speed on dodge) is a must and synergizes well with Udyrs passive.

In defense I put points into Resistance (mag. resist) and Hardiness (armor)

The 2 points in Veteran's scars gives a bit of health which is very useful, especially in the early game.

I ignore improved smite because 5 gold per use and a 5 second cd reduction does not give you a significant advantage over an extra point in Veteran's Scars.

Udyr is a very versatile champion, and so there is no single rune set that must be used. Depending upon whether you play him as a tank or dps, your rune choices might vary significantly.

For this build, I recommend:

Greater Mark of Attack Speed x 9

The increased attack speed greatly enhances Udyr's jungle phase, and increases the amount of procs you get in phoenix stance.

Greater Seal of Evasion x 9

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist x 9

Dodge and Magic resist runes are standard for any tanky champ, and I like them here because they don't favor a single part of Udyr's kit.

Greater Quintessence of Health x 3

Greater Quintessence of Attack Speed x 3

I like health or attack speed quints. Health is a generic quint, and works well for any champ, while alacrity quints makes up for Udyr's slow attack speed in the early game.

Runes are very important for most junglers because they give you that extra boost to start at blue golem or not use that health pot etc., reducing your overall jungle time and setting you up better for ganking. For Udyr, I believe these give him the best overall jungle.

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Start off the game with Cloth Armor and Health Potion x 5

I tried to fit in a ward at the start, but if you use phoenix to jungle, you need atleast 4 health potions to be successful.



After you've gone through your standard jungle (I will return to this later), go back and buy Boots. I have tried ganking without boots and it's nearly impossible. After the stun from bear runs off, you need to be able to chase the enemy champion while bear is on cooldown. Assuming that they are somewhere between your tower and their tower, you need the boots to chase and burst them down before they hit their tower.



Regardless of a successful gank or not, your next item will be Madred's Razors. This item significantly boosts your jungling speed. (If you do get a successful gank, you can upgrade straight to a Wriggle's Lantern, which provides some lifesteal and a free ward. [Wriggle's also allows you to do a solo dragon kill around lv. 6]


Then you have a choice, which depends entirely on your situation:

or

An early Sheen provides good burst damage, and should be taken if you had a good early game and want to continue ganking lanes etc.

Spirit Visage gives you a good amount of health, magic resist, CD reduction, and increases the lifesteal on wriggle's and turtle stance by 15%. This item makes you very bulky and is a cheap, early game option if you are getting taken down too fast.

Pick up a Heart of Gold when you can, and then get a Sheen if you didn't get it earlier.

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Your core late game items will be Trinity Force and Randuin's Omen, which make you very tanky, while also giving you some awesome damage.



If the game goes long enough, buy a Banshee's Veil to top off your magic resistance and give you a bit more health.

Monkey's Agility:

Udyr's attack speed is increased by 10% and dodge chance by 3% for 5 seconds each time he switches stances. This effect can stack up to 3 times. Switching stances sets off a 1.5 second global cooldown.


Tiger Stance:

(Stance) - Activation: Udyr's next attack will deal magic damage over 2 seconds. Udyr has 5 seconds or until he switches stances (whichever gives more time) to proc this attack. In addition, Udyr gains an attack speed buff for 5 seconds, this stacks additively with his persistent attack speed bonus.

Persistent effect: Udyr's attack speed is increased.
Cooldown: 6 seconds.


Turtle Stance:

(Stance) - Activation: Udyr gains a shield, up to 5 seconds, that absorbs damage.

Persistent effect: Udyr's attacks cannot crit, but he restores a percentage of his damage as health and mana.
Cooldown: 6 seconds


Bear Stance:

(Stance) - Activation: Udyr gains increased movement speed for a few seconds.

Persistent effect: Udyr mauls his target with such force that they are stunned for 1 second. This effect can only occur once every 6 seconds on the same target.
Cooldown: 6 seconds


Phoenix Stance:

(Stance) - Activation: Udyr sends out pulsing waves of fire dealing magic damage each second to nearby enemies for 5 seconds. During this time Udyr's ability power and attack damage are increased.

Persistent effect: Every third attack, Udyr engulfs the enemies in front of him in flames, dealing magic damage.
Cooldown: 6 seconds



REASONING:

The skill sequence for this build directly relates to the roles that Udyr fills over the course of a game. I don't like static builds that block you into either a tank or dps role.

1. 1 point in both phoenix and turtle to effectively jungle

2. At lv. 3 take 1 point in bear stance so that you can gank when you hit lv. 4

3. Instead of strictly leveling phoenix stance, leaving tiger stance for last, I take 3 points in tiger stance at lv.'s 4, 5, and 6. As stated earlier, phoenix lacks the burst to make Udyr an effective early game ganker, while tiger stance gives you a ton of burst, largely ignoring items. Most tank guides ignore tiger stance, and then level it at 16, 17, and 18. In reality, tiger is most effective at the early levels, when you will be fighting 1v1 and 2v2, while phoenix is useful for team fights, which occur at the later levels.

4. Next, I alternate leveling bear and phoenix stance. You can choose to level one over the other, depending on whether you are farming in the lanes and need aoe, or ganking and need the speed boost.

5. I end up putting 5 points into turtle stance, but I leave it for last because team fights don't occur until late in the game, when it would be most useful to have a shield etc.


I believe this is the most logical way to build Udyr, and follows the patterns of the game.

1. The path starts at the Blue golem (Spawns at 1:55). This is the most risky route to take because it is predictable. Have your allies leash the golem and then babysit you while you take it down. As you can see, this strategy requires teamwork, which you must take into consideration when jungling.

2. If the golem was leashed correctly, you shouldn't have to use a health potion for the wolves. The "correct" way to fight as a phoenix/turtle hybrid is to auto attack 3x, proccing the cone damage, and then switch to turtle stance. However, I have found that on the initial jungle path, especially at the wraiths, you take to much damage sitting in phoenix for 3 auto attacks. So be careful, and if you see yourself dropping, switch to turtle.

3. Pop a health potion while running to the wraiths, and then alternate phoenix/turtle to burn them down. Focus fire the large wraith first.

4. Pop another potion while running to the twin golems, and then burn them down.

5. Finally, heal up close to full in the bushes near the lizard, and then take it down. Remember on the lizard and blue golem to ignore the 2 adds on the side. Your phoenix stance will take care of them.


*Note* There are many ways to jungle, and each path has its advantages. For example, if you are worried about counter jungling or ganks, you might start at the twin golems. However, I have found that Udyr really needs the blue buff to make his initial jungle work because switching between turtle and phoenix starves you of mana very quickly.

You just successfully completed the Blue Golem jungle, and you may be asking yourself, what do I do now? Blue pill back and buy your boots, and now you're ready set up a gank. Usually, you will want to help out the 1v2 lane, but if you see an enemy around 60% health pushing a tower, go for it. Tiger stance provides a surprising amount of burst, even with no damage items, and you will be able to drop an enemy from around 60% without any trouble.

Early/Mid Game:

Continue to set up ganks and help out lanes that are being pushed, while also maintaining your level. This means clearing the jungle while you run from top to bottom lane.

After you get your Wriggle's Lantern, you will be able to do 2 things. First, you can solo dragon. This should be done as soon as possible, because the extra gold can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Second, you can now farm by alternating phoenix/tiger stance, and use the lifesteal from your lantern to gain health (instead of switching to turtle stance)

Late Game:

As the game progresses, the fights will progress from 1v1 and 2v2 fights within lanes, to larger ganks and responses (3 champs gank a lane, then 3 enemy champs counter gank etc.), and finally to full scale team fights. This build is designed to evolve with this progression, taking you from a single target burst dps champion, to a tank-like champ with some good aoe damage. In team fights you should wait for your true tank to initiate (assuming you have one), and then bear stance charge to the carries, stunning them if possible. Alternate turtle stance for the shield and phoenix stance for the aoe damage.