Introduction
Today we will discuss on everything you need to know about How to carry On Ekko Jungle, a for League of Legends a Riot game.
Have you ever wondered how the Season 12 changes affected Ekko?
If the answer to any of those two questions is yes then you need to read through because I may have some insights that may help you out.
My goal is to help you climb in League of Legends and win more games.
I have been playing League of Legends Summoners rift since season 7. During that time I have played all roles of the game with particular focus mid and top. I have been able to easily reach high gold elo since the beginning of playing the game and have peaked to Platinum in several seasons. I have played in NA, EUW and EUNE servers. My main account is in EUW.Without going into the details of each we are going to break down each of those but first lets begin.
With Riot’s recent buffs in patch 11.17 and 11.9 (not beneficial buffs from Season 12 items) to assassin champions like Qiyana, Talon, and Ekko, we’re seeing them appear a lot more in the jungle than their more common role, mid-lane. These champions have shown great carry potential in the jungle due to the fact that they can farm without the annoyance of being poked by mage champs in the early game.
In today’s guide, we’re going to be discussing Ekko in the jungle. We’ll be going over his kit, runes, items and explaining how if he is played correctly, you can easily become ‘1v9’ with this devastating scaling champ.
Ekko: The Boy Who Shattered Time
Ekko was released in 2015 as an assassin in the mid-lane with an interesting kit that provides a lot of utility. Although he’s not the strongest early game champion, players soon discovered the potential Ekko had to carry games. Whilst he is an item-reliant champion, being able to play safely in the early game until you’ve reached his power spike is seriously rewarding.
Ekko’s kit
Passive: Z-Drive Resonance
This part of Ekko’s kit is what allows him to wreak havoc in a game full of squishy’s. Paired with items and the right combos, you can ‘delete’ enemy champions from existence before they even have a chance to react.
Knowing how to utilize the passive bonus magic damage for 1-shot burst kills and the extra movement speed for those sticky situations or tankier targets is key to mastering this champion.
Q Ability: Timewinder
This ability doesn’t provide as much damage as it does utility. Ekko’s Timewinder ability isn’t what deletes enemies, but it’s a key part of his main combos that allow him to take advantage of his passive. Using the ability to slow an enemy can be crucial for a successful gank, allowing you to stack your passive or for your teammate to land their key abilities.
W Ability: Parallel Convergence
An ability that can completely change the outcome of a fight for many reasons, and, a skill that if landed in a gank attempt, can guarantee a kill with stun it provides. This ability comes in handy at any part of the game, whether it’s the shield to allow you to outlast your opponent in a 1v1 or a stun which allows you to get your passive off without taking damage.
E Ability: Phase Dive
A great gap closer, a little more damage, transitioning over walls, or even a makeshift flash to dodge enemy abilities, his E provides a tonne of outplay potential. The ability is also an important part of Ekko’s main combos, making the already strong passive, even stronger. Understanding the utility this provides is the difference between a great Ekko player and an average one.
R Ability: Chronobreak
Possibly the most fun part of Ekko’s kit, his ult can be used in a tonne of ways and makes him a very forgivable champion if ever you find yourself in a sticky situation.
Whether you’ve miscalculated a play and need to escape or you do the exact opposite and calculate the return point into a group of low-health enemies to wipe them out, this ult has to be one of the best in the game.
Ekko Combos
If you want to use Ekko to his full potential and become the 1v9 monster he really is, mastering his combos is the most important aspect of this champion. This is because Ekko’s power lies in being able to utilize his passive, so the quicker you can get the passive off, the quicker you wipe enemies out of sight.
We want to get into the guide on how to carry with Ekko jungle, as we understand a lot of people may already be familiar with Ekko and his kit from playing him previously in mid lane or jungle mains picking him at the start of the buffs to try out.
Here’s a video with Ekko’s combos, including the basic combos that everyone looking to pick up the champion should know and more advanced ones for those new Ekko mains wanting to take their skill level even further.
Carrying With Ekko In The Jungle
Let’s get into what you really came here for: how to carry with Ekko in the jungle.
How To Build Ekko In Early Game
With Ekko being an item-reliant champion, his early game is pretty weak and makes for 1v1’s with early game junglers that have good sustain like, Kayn, Lee Sin, Viego a struggle. Understanding jungle matchups Ekko struggles with is important in not being rendered useless in the late game.
As much as your team may tilt in the start and taunt you, it’s important to remain with the mindset that you are going to carry the game, PLAY FOR YOU. A lot of low elo players don’t understand how underpowered Ekko is compared to tankier junglers and those with sustain.
Although his early game fighting potential may not be great, his clear speed if mastered is one of the fastest in the game. You can 5 camp clear on any side and make it to river before the scuttle has spawned. Ekko needs items to unlock his true power, so constant gold income should always be on your mind, whether it’s easy kills or farming camps.
We wouldn’t recommend ganking before you’ve taken scuttle unless you’re certain it’s a kill. But, always keep checking lane states in the early game as you may be able to make a difference, securing a kill and saving a teammate.
A good indicator for whether you can probably kill an enemy champion or not is the Dark Harvest stack showing above them, especially if it’s a squishy target. If you see this, you should definitely look to make an appearance with a gank, but, to secure the kill, getting your passive off is key.
Ekko Early Game Tips Dependent Upon Circumstances
Ekko can easily fall behind in a game if he doesn’t get the items he needs. Dying in the early game can result in your camps being taken by the enemy jungler, leaving you with a lack of gold to get the items you need for a power spike.
How To Get Ekko Early Kills
If you manage to pick up a few kills in the early game with Ekko, it’s huge. Early kills with Ekko in the jungle allow you to really carry a game to the win right from the start, but how? By asserting your dominance. Getting core items as quickly as possible results in your passive being devastating for low-health enemies.
When you get early kills, take advantage of it. You need to learn how to leverage the leads you earned. Ekko does great into champs with a lack of mobility and cc, it’s every Ekko’s dream. If you have one of these in your game, bully that lane with your early lead to further extend that lead.
No kills? Play smart
Had no luck in the early game getting kills? Don’t worry, it happens. Instead, be focused on farming when your camps are up so you have a constant stream of gold coming in to reach your core item power spikes.
Look for alternative plays around the map. If the enemy jungler is taking drake, look to take herald instead. Securing this before 14 minutes allows for easy plates which can make up for the lack of gold.
Always try to show up at lanes when you can and it’s sensible to do so. Even if you don’t get a kill, preventing a teammate from being killed means one less tilted person in your team and you don’t have a fed enemy to deal with.
How To Build Ekko In Mid & Late Game
Mid game
At this point in the game, towers should be taken, some objectives will be secured and you should have your core items. This opens up a tonne of ways to utilize Ekko’s kit. Whilst you should still be farming to achieve your late-game item build, turning you into a powerhouse, you have flexibility in mid-game.
Ekko’s ult allows for you to make riskier plays whether it’s getting the enemy team low for your teammates to finish off or simply utilizing your passive to delete enemy squishy’s off of the rift one at a time.
Ekko’s playstyle is purely dependent on the enemy matchup. In a team full of squishy’s, you can become a menace and a real pain to deal with, resulting in the enemy team to type ‘’jgl diff’’ at 20 mins. Whereas into comps with 3 or more bruisers/tanks, things can become a little more difficult to deal with, especially with cc involved.
A great Ekko player knows how much damage they can get off in a combo with their passive. This allows for them to make plays with certainty, removing the enemy’s key carries from the map, and leaving the tankier champs to be dealt with by your team instead without being harassed by the enemy ADC.
Ekko Mid & Late Game Tips Dependent Upon Circumstances
Objectives
If you’re facing a squishy jungle champ, trying to target them is always ideal to allow for free objectives. Ekko’s objective taking can be difficult, especially if you don’t have an item like Nashor’s Tooth for extra attack speed. So removing the enemy jungler from the map and allowing your team to help cover you on objective is a surefire way to secure objectives.
Tanks
For Ekko, tanks make the game a little less fun compared to squishier enemy comps, Ekko’s burst one-shots are what make him so amusing to play. Understanding how to deal with tanky champs is a must if you are to become an Ekko main, as some matchups just simply aren’t favorable.
This is where the utilization of his passive really comes into play. A full HP tank cannot be deleted by Ekko, so you must chunk away at them. Getting your passive burst off to remove a decent amount of their health is ideal, but once you’ve got your passive combo off, Ekko’s damage becomes really underwhelming.
Use the extra burst of movement speed to kite these tanky champs, dodge their abilities, and maintain your HP. Pay attention to the passive timer which circles the enemy, once this has disappeared, repeat again. This can win a 1v1 against tanks or simply make them overstay which gives your teammates a chance to make an appearance, allowing for an easy 1v2 scenario.
Crowd Control
Ekko’s kryptonite. Crowd control can make an Ekko main miserable, especially if the enemy team has an overhaul of it, paired with tanks, it just makes the game unplayable if you don’t respect it. Point and click cc like Annie’s is, unfortunately, something you cannot do anything about, but skill shot cc is all on you to be able to dodge and avoid.
The best way to deal with CC as an Ekko, especially with the intention to carry a game, is to allow your teammates to engage and force the enemies to use key abilities. This gives you a window of time to get your passive off on the enemy’s main threats and flip a team fight in your favor.
Key spells, items, and abilities that can combat cc are: Flash, Stopwatch>Zhonya’s Hourglass, QSS, Phase Dive (Ekko’s E ability), A well-timed use of Chronobreak (Ekko’s R ability)
Late game
Having a lead with Ekko definitely opens up opportunities to end a game before the 20-25 minute mark, but if you don’t manage to for whatever reason, his late-game with a full build can be nothing short of impressive.
By this point, your AP ratios on your passive will be crazy, allowing you to chunk a quarter or even half of a tank or bruiser’s health. One-shotting squishy’s becomes a breeze, especially if you have mastered his passive-orientated combos.
But, Ekko is also squishy himself, although he has a forgiving ult, getting cc’d late game can allow the enemies to wipe you out easily.
In the late game it’s not wise to engage into full teams with their key abilities up, let the tanks and bruisers in your team to soak up the damage and waste the enemy’s abilities. Then you can come in and clean up with your 3 hit passive, as well as the extra magic damage passive to low health champions.
Securing baron or elder dragon late game is a guaranteed win (unless you throw). Ekko’s Q and passive combo makes clearing minions waves super fast, meaning you can shove buffed minions all the way to the enemy base with ease.
Late game Ekko is a one-shot beast, the Elder Dragon just exaggerates this even more, making any champion who attempts to challenge you laughable, even tanks & bruisers.
One last thing to mention, his magic damage on his auto attacks and Phase Dive (E ability) allow for him to take towers and inhibs in a matter of seconds. Paired with Nashors Tooth and his forgiving kit, don’t be scared to commit to taking an inhib. Unless the enemy team has a tonne of cc, you should be able to escape the enemy base easily once the inhib is secured.
Ekko Items and Rune Builds
Items
Best Full Build For Jungle: Hextech Rocket Belt>Sorcerer’s Shoes>Nashor’s Tooth>Rabadon’s Deathcap>Void Staff>Banshee’s Veil
Best Core Build: Hextech Rocket Belt>Sorcerer’s Shoes>Nashor’s Tooth>Rabadon’s Deathcap
Enemy Comp Dependent Items: Zhonya’s Hourglass, Banshee’s veil, Quicksilver Slash (QSS)
Starting Item: Hailbalde and Refillable Potion
Ekko Best Build If Ahead With Dark Seal Stacks
Ekko Best Build Without Dark Seal Stacks
Ekko Best Lich Bane Build
Ekko’s Best Build For Heavy CC Enemy Comp
Ekko Early Game Buys
Ekko Nashor’s Tooth VS Lich Bane
It’s personal preference, whilst Lich Bane allows for more burst damage BEFORE Rabadon’s Deathcap, Nashor’s Tooth grants way more utility: Objective taking speed, jungle camps farming, shoving waves, grant passive quicker if mess up combo.
The difference between Nashor’s Tooth and Lich Bane once you’ve bought Rabadon’s Deathcap is minimal. But as we mentioned it’s personal preference, so try both items out and see what you prefer.
Situational Items
As mentioned in the guide, CC is Ekko’s kryptonite. So sometimes sacrificing a little more AP for the sake of being able to survive is the smarter decision. Item’s like Zhonya’s Hourglass, Quicksilver Slash (QSS) and Banshee’s Veil all offer Ekko a great way to deal with enemy comps with heavy CC.
Ekko Rune Builds
Primary Runes: Domination – Dark Harvest>Sudden Impact>Zombie Ward>Ravenous Hunter
Secondary Runes: Inspiration – Future’s Market>Cosmic Insight
Primary Keystones
Whilst many guides opt for Eyeball Collector for the easy stacks from kills and assists, Zombie Ward provides so much more utility and it doesn’t sacrifice a whole lot. Being able to gain stacks for clearing wards is an incentive to do so, but also granting extra vision for you and your teammates is huge.
Secondary Keystones
Other guides also opt for Magic Boots instead of Future’s Market, but I think for Ekko being so item reliant, Future’s Market is way more valuable. In the early game as a jungler, boots can come in handy for quicker coverage across the map, not only this, but Future’s Market allows you to get core items on the map sooner.
Conclusion
If you found How to carry on Ekko Jungle useful and you think it may have helped you please drop me a cheer below I would appreciate it.
Ekko is a super fun, forgiving champ with a tonne of carry potential once mastered. Bringing a whole bunch of utility to team comps, he can be found useful in any game with an understanding of how to play him under all the different scenarios.
Whether you’ve been playing Ekko in the jungle since the recent buffs and just want to improve or you’re simply a jungle main looking to pick him up, this guide should have you covered on everything you need to carry on Ekko in the jungle.
If you have any questions, comments please post them below I check periodically and try to answer them in the priority they come in.
Also if you have any corrections please do let me know and I’ll update the article with new updates or mistakes I did.
Which is your favorite Ekko Item?
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