🔥GwenJungle Build Guides, Runes, Items, and Abilities🕹️

Gwen is one of the best carry junglers in the entire game. She is a farm-heavy scaling champ that has some of the best dueling and sidelaning. When ahead on Gwen, you are able to single-handedly carry games like no other champ can. Gwen has one of the most satisfying kits in the game, and is one of my favourite junglers to play. She is super underrated because of her slow early game, but we’ll get into that later.

Gwen jungle has a 52.78% win rate in Emerald+ on Patch 15.06 coming in at rank 1 of 69 and graded S+ Tier on the LoL Tierlist. Gwen jungle is a strong counter to Gragas, Skarner & Nocturne while Gwen is countered most by Bel'Veth, Shaco & Poppy. The best Gwen players have a 59.36% win rate with an average rank of Master on the Gwen Leaderboard. Below is a detailed breakdown of the Gwen build, runes & counters.

Strengths

• Very Fun: Gwen has a very strong and fun kit for those who like auto attacking, dealing insane damage.
• Immense 1v9 Potential: Gwen scales hard with her items and can 1v9 games, even the doomed ones, after 3 items.
• Gwen is Immune: Insanely busted ability if used correctly. Run people down, negate backlines, get big resistances, immune everything outside. Can absolutely 1v9 fights.
• Strong Teamfighter: Gwen can zone people and shred through frontlines during Hallowed Mist, run down people for free, and do insane AoE dmg with her Snip Snip! and Needlework.
• Great Objective/Tower shredder: Gwen is solid at taking objectives and can look to get a lot of gold on sidelane with how quick she shreds towers.
• Cute Scissor Girl: Solid skins, S-tier dance, design, fanart. Just Ws all around.

Weaknesses

• Low gank potential pre-6: Gwen has no CC for ganks pre-6 and can pretty much only flank people with Ghost
• Vulnerable outside of W: Not having W makes it a lot harder to walk up in teamfights and it takes a lot of Gwen experience/discipline to know how to use/space W properly.
• Weak early/prone to invades: Gwen is pretty weak before her first items and needs to priortize farming to level 6 and can have less impact compared to stronger early game junglers. She's also prone to invades and it's very bad to have camps stolen.
• Reliant on Ult for teamfights: Having ult for the AoE damage and slow is so important and its hard to take fights if you're missing ult and they have theirs.
• Very resource-reliant: If your team is getting stomped and you lose map control, being unable to farm makes the game significantly harder as Gwen.
• Countered by Dive assassins: People who can dive on top of you and one shot you are hard to counterplay unless you have a lot of AP for Hallowed Mist resistances.

• Try to get a good ward in the jungle before the game starts, depending where it is placed, it can tell you where the enemy jungle started and predict where they are pathing. I will show them in my clear video below.
• Try to save Needlework and Ghost unless you're fully guaranteed a kill/committed to a good fight, it makes or breaks teamfights.
• Properly using Gwen's W is something that takes a lot of games to master, sometimes it is good to use it early so that you can run down people for free, sometimes its good to hold it to hold off their backline while you Snip Snip! their frontline.
• Play with your winning laners (gank for them/hover around them while they are pushing to protect them from ganks, unless it's 2v5 xd) Ganking for them before objectives usually means a free objective.
• Once you get to the mid-game (after first-item usually), it is ideal if you can clear your camps before taking fights/objectives but if a fight/gank is happening and you can win it, I'd definitely skip camps to hover as kills later in the game can translate to towers/objectives. Losing map control as Gwen sucks as that means you lose access to farming camps = less gold income.

• AA + E +AA + Q + AA: Start with an AA, then E and AA again, then Q and AA to finish.
• AA + E + W + AA + AA + AA + AA + Q + AA: Begin with an AA, then E, W, AA quickly. Then hit two more AA's, Q and AA to finish.
• R + E + AA + AA + R + AA + AA + R + Q + AA: Start with your R and instantly E to get on your target. AA, AA, R, AA, AA, R and finally Q and AA to finish.
• W + E + FLASH: Use your W, then E & Flash.
• R + E + AA + R + AA + R + FLASH: Start with your R, then E and AA, then RR and AA and finally RR Flash to finish.
• AA + E + AA + AA + AA + Q + FLASH + AA: Start with an AA E AA, then AA, AA and Q, Flash & AA.
• R + AA + E +AA + R + Q + AA + W + R + FLASH: Start with your R and then AA E AA for the reset. Then R, Q and AA. then W, R, Flash quickly to finish.

There are 3 clears that I do consistently which all have different pros and cons to them. Formulating a game plan at champ select and deciding what clear to do is essential to do.

1. Raptors Start Full Clear

• Raptors -> Krugs -> Red Smite -> Wolves -> Gromp -> Blue -> Crab ( Smite if needed) -> Raptors -> Krugs -> Back = ~1250g Blasting Wand Dark Seal

• Quickest way to lvl 6.
• Best if lanes have no setup or volatility (they won't fight enough to get low) and you won't be invaded. Best handshake clear.

• Need to be back at raptors when they respawn or they might get stolen. Leaves little time for ganks.
• A bit unhealthy and no Dark Seal for early fights. Prone to invades.

2. DSeal 3 Camp Back

• Raptors -> Red -> Krugs Smite, back for DSeal + Sweeper -> Wolves -> Gromp -> Blue -> Crab ( Smite if needed) -> Raptors -> Krugs -> Back = ~1250g Blasting Wand Dark Seal

• Great for dealing with invades/fighting at crab.
• Able to contest blue quadrant/crab with full HP and Dark Seal

• Less optimal than normal full clear since 2nd spawn krugs will be delayed
• Need to be back at raptors when they respawn or they might get stolen. Leaves little time for ganks.
• Still hard to fight some champs (ex. Bel'veth, Kha'zix, Rengar)

3. Blue Buff Blue Side

• Blue ( Smite) -> Gromp -> Wolves -> Raptors -> Krugs -> Red -> Crab ( Smite if needed) -> Back = ~850g Blasting Wand

• Great for pathing towards bot lane (blue side only).
• Recommended if botlane is only lane with engage, good in lower elos where bot lane and dragons are good to play for.

• Not the fastest way to hit lvl 6.
• Prone to invade on red quadrant, look to drop a ward while clearing raptors.

Farming is just a consistent and guaranteed way to get gold and XP and getting to lvl 6 as Gwen makes you a lot stronger and can take more 1v1s/ganks.

Ganks are hard to force as Gwen as you have no CC and are pretty much just walking up to people with Ghost.

1. Conditions for good ganks:

• Kill is at least 90% guaranteed, we don't want to play for summoner spells (only high end players can use that advantage usually)
• Wave state is good, enemy laner is pushed up/frozen on.
• Enemy laner low enough / Your laner has good setup/kill potential if you come.
• Note summoner spells, harder to kill if they have all summoners and can get away.

2. Ganking tips:

• Get behind them as much as possible to cut off escape.
• E over walls to create good flanks (baron pit, dragon pit, etc).
• Use E to cover distance/dodge CC.
• Use W to block CC/focus fire so you can run people down.
• Don't ping your teammates till you're in position for them to go in.
• Don't pop Ghost/ult till it's certain you can get a kill. Using ult in early game is always worth if you can get a kill.
• If you're able to auto someone and they're trying to juke your R, just hold your R and force them into a bad position where it's easy to hit them. You have like 10 seconds to recast each part of R.

I like to think of Gwen as a melee hypercarry ADC in how you want to play teamfights.

Teamfighting tips:

• Use W to block CC/focus fire while you hit their frontline or badly positioned carry. Back off towards your team when it’s down unless you can kill the rest of the other team easily.
• If the enemy team will start with unavoidable CC on you (Vi ult, Qiyana ult, etc), use your W before the hard CC goes off so you will be protected from backline threats for the duration of the CC.
• Having Ult is very important for teamfights, don’t waste it before objectives unless your team commits to a good fight or picks off someone. Ghost is good as well for moving around in fights/chasing people down.
• Hit the person you can easily hit/who your good teammates are targeting.
• Red pet helps a lot with slowing the first target you hit so you can stick on them easily.

• Amumu

• Very Easy matchup, just watch out for q, play for countergank and out-tempo. Can easily dodge his Q with your E. Make sure to space his R range if you’re going to W it.

• Bel'Veth

• Extremely hard matchup. Need to watch for early raptors invade, she also has a strong level 3 invade. If you do my pathing (base with dark seal) and fight her at your blue buff, she will still win, unless you have lane prios and ping your team. A good belveth will punish Gwen early, but if you get past the tough early game, you can easily duel her later into the game. Zhonya against bel’veth is very powerful, Plated steelcaps could be incorporated into the build as well.

• Brand

• Very Easy matchup, Gwen counters Brand. Brand will always play for full clear, Gwen is fine with handshaking full clears (you want farm). Brand is one of the best Grub takers in the game, so watch out for that. If he has ghost you can just run him down easily by spacing his spells or using W for his Q (stun). Overall just a free matchup, you can always run him down.

• Briar

• Annoying/Easy matchup. Briar has a strong level 3 invade against Gwen. You can cancel her W with your W (she can’t target you if you’re out of range). If you get invaded, make sure to take a point in W so you can easily outplay her. If she has ghost there is a lot of outplay potential as well (harder if she has flash). Overall you just outscale her and can easily duel her past early game.

• Diana

• Medium matchup. Diana doesn’t have a strong level 3 invade, though she might flip it. Diana likes to play for full clear, but she has strong teamfighting and dueling as well. Gwen outscales, but Diana has a surprisingly strong early game now post-buffs. Make sure to use your W to avoid her Q if you’re ever gonna duel her.

• Ekko

• Medium matchup. Ekko has a window to invade you level 3, though it isn’t that strong, he might flip it and ruin your game. Ekko relies on snowballing heavily, so if he doesn’t get ahead you just win and outscale him. Use your W to either dodge his Q, or to tank his burst damage combo with the increases resistances.

• Elise

• Easy/Annoying matchup. She has an invade window level 3 where she can kill you. Use your W to dodge her Q. You outscale hard, just try to be there for her dives and plays if you can, if you can’t then play opposite side of the map for resources.

• Evelynn

• Easy/Annoying matchup. Handshake full clear with evelynn, just make sure you try to let your team know about her potential 3 camp gank (get vision on raptors if you can). Evelynn plays for snowball, but you generally just outscale and can out-impact her, playing for objectives. Use your W to avoid her Q (avoid her charm). She can one shot you late game though.

• Fiddlesticks

• Medium matchup. Handshake full clears with fiddle and avoid his fears with your W and you’ll be fine. If you get feared lategame, you probably just lose the teamfight. Very important to get vision on him midgame/lategame. You can easily run him down after 1 item. Fiddle can easily land his W on you though, as it’s similar range to your W. Try to save your W for his Q.

• Gragas

• Medium difficulty matchup. Gragas can invade you level 3. If you dodge his E, he’s useless against Gwen and you can just W his entire combo. If he lands E, it can be really hard to play. You outscale and can run him down easily after 1 item, just be careful of his burst and E.

• Graves

• Easy/Annoying matchup. Graves has an invade window level 3, but unless he has lots of lane prio, you can outplay it with your W (don’t take two points q right away). You can easily space graves throughout the game, and you have lots of outplay potential. Can always run him down with ghost and chase through walls with E + R. Graves will usually itemize Maw, but he is never too much of a threat to Gwen as we typically just have more damage than him.

• Hecarim

• Easy matchup. Hecarim can’t really invade you. You can out dps him early as long as you try to space his Q’s. Can run him down easily throughout the game. Unless he’s ahead through ganks, you should be even/ahead in tempo. Try to use your E to space/dodge his R. Use your W for the resistances when he fully commits to fighting you with his E. Gwen outscales Hecarim, and you will most likely have plenty of invade windows.

• Ivern

• Hard/Annoying matchup. Ivern will set you behind and take your 2nd buff every game. Ivern doesn’t need resources to be useful, his main goal is to set you behind, which makes the matchup difficult. Ivern’s R still hits you even if he’s out of range. If you do get the chance to get in Ivern’s range, you shred him.

• Jarvan IV

• Easy Matchup. Dodge his E + Q combo and you just win 1v1’s. You outscale and can E out of his R.

• Jax

• Medium matchup; Easy in low elo → Can be very hard in high elo. Jax is one of those junglers you only see in higher elo, and if he’s in your lower elo lobbies, you just win because it’s hard to pull off. Use your E to dodge his E when he Q’s onto you. Always good to still auto attack him during his E for Q stacks. Be ready to E + Q when he Q’s away. You have a lot of outplay potential. Hard to win 1v1 when he’s ahead

• Karthus

• Medium/skill matchup. Karthus can full clear and invade you right after. Use your E + Ghost to dodge his Q’s and you can easily run him down throughout the game. You can use your W to dodge his R as well as Q.

• Kayn

• Easy/Medium Matchup. Kayn is a special jungler in terms of ways to counterplay him early with invades, but it’s pretty easy. As long as Kayn can’t start your wolves or raptors, you win early game and can out tempo. Use your W to dodge his W, and use your E to dodge his Q.

• Kha'Zix

• Medium/Hard matchup. Kha’zix can invade you at level 3 and can easily kill you. You will always be isolated to Kha’zix. You can outscale, but avoid dueling him early, and if you have to, make sure you use W to tank his burst (E + Q).

• Kindred

• Medium/Annoying matchup. Kindred can invade level 3 but you can outspace her with W + Ghost. If Kindred doesn’t get ahead early, you can easily snowball this matchup and out dps her. Make sure to keep your Q stacked for the end of her R. Use W + E to space her at the edge of your W circle.

• Lee Sin

• Medium matchup. Lee sin can invade level 3, and has kill pressure. Make sure to either dodge his Q or use W to avoid it. Ideally you don’t fight lee early as he just wins. You outscale hard.

• Lillia

• Hard matchup. Lillia won’t invade you, but she has a very fast fullclear. A good Lillia will outspace you and kite you. She becomes very hard to kill even with Ghost and R. Can look to fight her when she has no passive stacks. Gwen W isn’t that useful against Lillia.

• Maokai

• Easy/Annoying matchup. You out-tempo Maokai. You outscale him as well. Watch out for early raptors cheese and you’ll be fine. Not a very popular pick atm, but use W for his R.

• Master Yi

• Hard/Hardest matchup. Yi can easily kill you earlygame. His R counters your R. You need to space very well, and make sure to hit your Q either before or after his Q. Steelcaps are good in this matchup, but if you avoid fighting him earlygame and play for Nashor’s spike, it’s not that bad.

• Morgana

• Easy matchup. She can’t invade, she can never hit Q on you. You just run her down after full clear.

• Nidalee

• Medium/Hard matchup. Nidalee has a strong level 3 invade, if you dodge her Q and stay on top of her you can kill her, but ideally avoid fighting her early. Can run her down with Ghost if you hit Q. You outscale, just watch for her Q’s in teamfights.

• Nocturne

• Medium/Hard matchup. Nocturne can stay on top of you easily with his fear. Really hard to duel Nocturne early game, but once you get Nashor’s spike it becomes a lot easier. Use your W to avoid his Q. Make sure to use F keys to see where he R’s.

• Nunu & Willump

• Easy matchup. You outfarm Nunu hard. He’s most likely going to look for early cheese ganks, but he won’t really invade you. You can use your E to dodge his W easily. Use W to space his R. Can easily run him down.

• Poppy

• Medium matchup. Poppy can invade you level 3. Her W counters your E. You outscale her hard. Use your W to dodge her R lategame, and she isn’t much of a threat.

• Rammus

• Easy matchup. You deal so much damage to Rammus at all points of the game. If you get taunted in a teamfight, make sure to use W to protect yourself. Rammus won’t really stack MR, so you can play front-to-back easily.

• Rek'Sai

• Medium matchup. Rek’sai often looks for early ganks. The way this matchup becomes hard, is if she has successful early ganks. Make sure to get wards on her camps early to see her pathing. Your clear is faster than hers, so play off level leads and dueling her becomes easy. Use W when she tunnels on you and full commits to a fight.

• Rengar

• Medium/Hard matchup. Rengar has a strong level 3 invade window and can kill you easily. Hard to duel Rengar early, but after Nashor’s spike it becomes easy. Use your W when he full commits on you for the armour. Try your best to track his pathing and scale ASAP.

• Sejuani

• Easy matchup. You just run her down all game. Use W to avoid her R. You can duel her at any point of the game, and should easily outfarm her. Be careful of chain CC.

• Shaco

• Medium/Annoying matchup. Try to get vision of Shaco start, and watch out for level 2 or 3 invade. Shaco can invade after 1 camp, and he can invade after 3. Make sure to let your teammates know where he is early, because if he gets ahead he can easily one shot you throughout the game. Gwen W doesn’t work against Shaco clone.

• Shyvana

• Easy matchup. Handshake fullclears. You out damage her throughout the game and can run her down for the most part. Be careful of her burst she has if she lands E + Q. Be careful of her fast movement speed with her W, she can outrun you even with Ghost.

• Sylas

• Easy matchup. Lots of outplay potential with your E and W. Sylas might look for a level 3 invade, but it’s very easy for you to outplay. Sylas is a jungler that relies on snowballing heavily, if he doesn’t get a successful early gank off, you automatically have a level lead + cs lead against him and can run him down.

• Taliyah

• Easy matchup. Handshake full clears and you outscale her. Can easily outspace Taliyah with Gwen W. Make sure you dodge her Flick (W) with either your E, or W. You outscale and can run her down at most points of the game.

• Talon

• Medium matchup. He has a level 3 invade window, but if you dodge W1 or W2 (either your W or E away) he can’t really kill you even with ignite. Most likely Talon will look for a level 3 gank/full clear gank. You can run him down with Ghost at every point of the game.

• Trundle

• Easy/Annoying matchup. Trundle isn’t picked very often. He can run you down earlygame, but he won’t really invade you. You outscale and can duel him after Nashor’s.

• Udyr

• Medium matchup. Udyr can invade you early, as he’s just stronger than Gwen early game. After Nashor’s you can easily kill Udyr, just make sure to do your best to track him and make sure he can’t get ahead early. Use your W to tank his damage when he full commits.

• Vi

• Easy/Annoying matchup. Vi is overall an easy matchup, you out-tempo her and can snowball. She has a level 3 cross map invade window, but it’s rare to be invaded by her. You have a lot of outplay potential with your E against her Q. Use your W to tank her damage when she Q’s in. If she R’s you in a teamfight, similar to Rammus taunt, make sure to W so you’re in safety.

• Viego

• Medium matchup. Viego is stronger than Gwen earlygame, and can look for a raptors cheese/level 3 gank. Make sure to dodge his W with either your W or E, and he should never really be able to kill you. After Nashor’s you run him down, just be careful of his burst.

• Warwick

• Easy matchup. Warwick isn’t picked very often in this meta. He is stronger than you early, but similar to most matchup, once you get Nashor’s you run him down.

• Wukong

• Easy matchup. Wukong plays to farm early, and we do that better than him. He has a stronger 6 spike but we can kite him out pretty easily with Ghost + E. Use your W to tank his all in.

• Xin Zhao

• Easy/Annoying matchup. Xin has to look for early gank opportunities or else you can out-tempo him like crazy. He has a good level 3 cross map invade window so just be careful of that and you should be able to snowball easily. Can be annoying when he has prio on his laners. W to dodge his W, or for when he all-ins you.

• Zac

• Easy matchup. Zac plays to full clear and can maybe cheese gank. Zac has no real invade window and we can get ahead easily through farm. We always shred Zac with Gwen’s kit, especially after Nashor’s. Careful of his crazy healing though (step on his blobs).

• Zed

• Meme pick. Dodge his Qs with your E. Save W to dodge W + Q combo or all ins. Can buy Zhonyas if he's really fed to immune R.