How Much Gold Is Each Jungle Camp Worth in League of Legends?

As a jungler in League of Legends, farming camps efficiently is crucial to get yourself and your team ahead. But with so many camps spawning at different times across the map, it can be hard to prioritize your pathing to maximize gold and experience gains.

Let‘s break down the key stats for each camp so you can better understand their value and how to optimize your jungle clearing.

Red & Blue Buffs: The Most Valuable Camps

The Red and Blue buff camps are the undisputed kings of the jungle. Here are the key stats:

• Provide 85 gold when killed
• Grant 4 CS when cleared
• Respawn 5 minutes after being cleared
• Give you Red/Blue buffs for temporary combat stats

As the most valuable camps due to their powerful buffs, these are almost always cleared first and are pivotal objectives to control. According to League stats site Oracles Elixir, pro junglers prioritize farming their buffs above all other camps.

Being up a buff on your opponent gives you a major advantage, so contest or steal these as often as possible!

Gromp: An Early Game Staple

Here are Gromp‘s key stats:

• Grants 85 gold when killed
• Provides 4 CS when cleared
• Respawns in 2:00 after clearing

Gromp offers very efficient gold and XP for the time spent clearing it, making it a staple of most early jungle routes. As a single large monster, it‘s easy to kill which lets you clear it quickly to grab the stats and move on.

Junglers will typically clear Gromp soon after their initial buff camp to hit level 3 safely and unlock their full kit for early ganking. According toRanked Boost‘s jungle guide, Gromp should be prioritized by tank and AP junglers especially for the bonus HP and mana sustain it provides when killed.

Wolves: Efficient Gold & XP

The Wolves camp contains 1 large Wolf and 2 smaller Wolves, providing:

• 90 gold total for all 3 wolves
• 4 CS when cleared
• 2:00 respawn time

The Wolves are a very jungle camp to clear for their gold and XP gains relative to the time spent killing them. Their positioning also makes them quick and easy to farm while moving between the topside and botside jungles.

Junglers like Master Yi and Shyvana who have AoE damage to quickly clear out the small wolves should prioritize this camp when nearby. Just don‘t forget Smite the large Wolf!

Raptors: The Most Lucrative Regular Camp

Here are the key Raptors stats:

• 131 gold total for all 6 Raptors
• 4 CS for the entire camp
• Respawns in 2:00 after clearing

With 6 Raptors including 1 large and 5 small, this camp provides the most gold of any regular jungle camp. Raptors should be a high priority for farming as their gold and XP outpaces the amount of time clearing them.

Champions with AoE abilities like Karthus, Graves, and Morgana can quickly wipe out this camp. Be sure to use abilities and items like Hunters Talisman to sustain through the damage all the small Raptors can deal.

Krugs: The Most Gold in a Single Camp

Krugs are unique in containing 1 large Krug and 3 smaller Krugs for a total of:

• 160 gold for the entire camp
• 4 CS when cleared
• 2:00 respawn timer

With the highest gold value of any single camp, Krugs are extremely valuable but require some finesse to clear efficiently. Their out of the way positioning in the top and bottom sides of the jungle means they often get ignored in favor of ganking or contesting epic monsters.

However, farming Krugs should be a priority for hyper-carry junglers who rely on gold leads like Master Yi and Shyvana. Clearing the whole camp can lead to major item spikes. Just be prepared to tank some damage and have vision to avoid getting collapsed on.

Scuttle Crab: Map Control over Gold

The Rift Scuttle Crab offers lower gold value than other camps, but provides unique utility:

• 70 gold per Crab
• 2 CS per Crab kill
• Respawn time: 2:00 after death

While they don‘t provide buffs, Scuttle Crabs grant movement speed boosts and crucially provide vision of the river. Contesting Scuttles is more about map control than pure gold value.

Scuttles become more hotly contested in higher elos where vision is critical for controlling objectives. If given the opportunity, clearing both Crabs can provide a useful income boost in the early game.

Ancient Krugs: Mini-Buff Camps

Ancient Krugs are special mini-versions of the Red and Blue buff camps that provide:

• 85 gold when killed
• 4 CS per camp
• 5:00 respawn time

These mini-camps spawn randomly in set locations and provide shorter versions of the Red/Blue buffs when killed. Think of them as smaller bonuses you can pick up while clearing your jungle.

While not as powerful as their regular counterparts, Ancient Krugs give a nice supplementary income boost if you‘re already pathing nearby. But don‘t go too far out of your way to collect them unless you‘re desperate for some combat stats.

Jungle CS and Gold Benchmarks to Hit

Now that you know the value of each camp, let‘s look at CS and gold benchmarks you should aim for as a jungler:

These numbers assume efficient clearing, so don‘t worry too much about perfection especially at lower elos. But try to path towards your most valuable camps while ganking when opportunities arise.

Optimizing Your Jungle Route

Now that you know the value of each jungle camp, let‘s see how you can optimize your pathing and income generation as a jungler:

• Prioritize buffs early: Contest scuttles and gank after your first clear to get laners ahead and deny the enemy jungler.

• Farm efficiently: Clear camps fully whenever possible and avoid excessive walking between cleared camps.

• Track respawn timers: Note which camps you‘ve taken and path back to them as soon as they respawn.

• Counterjungle: If you track the enemy jungler, steal their camps to deny them gold and XP. Just ward against collapses.

• Gank judiciously: Only go for ganks that are likely to succeed. Otherwise, keep farming to hit your income spikes faster.

• Take objectives after ganks: Push towers, take dragons/Baron, or counterjungle after successful ganks to maximize your time.

Proper jungle pathing involves balancing farming and ganking based on the game state. Tracking camp respawns, clearing efficiently, and maximizing uptime are all key to reaching your income goals.

Final Tips on Jungling

Here are a few final tips to help you improve your jungling:

• Review your replays: Watch your past games to identify areas to improve your pathing and income.

• Play meta champions: Junglers like Lee Sin, Xin Zhao, and Poppy have fast clears and good ganks.

• Upgrade your Hunters Machete: This provides bonus gold and sustain from jungle camps.

• Communicate with your team: Let them know your pathing so they can setup ganks and prioirty objectives.

• Track the enemy jungler: Use wards, minion waves, and process of elimination to predict their location.

• Stay healthy: Use refillable/pots and abilities with AoE or sustain to stay healthy in your jungle.

Mastering the jungle is challenging, but incredibly impactful. I hope these tips on jungle camp values, pathing, and income benchmarks help you improve your jungling skills. Let me know if you have any other jungle questions!