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League of Legends Preseason 2023: How to dominate the jungle with your pets

Grow and evolve your jungle pets like Pokemon. (Photo: Riot Games)
Grow and evolve your jungle pets like Pokemon. (Photo: Riot Games)

It’s been a week since the League of Legends (LoL) Preseason 2023 kicked off, with the majority of the changes coming in the jungle.

One of the most notable changes is the addition of jungle pets, cute little companions that you can purchase in the in-game item shop at the beginning of each game.

Players can buy these pets in the in-game shop. These jungle pets can help attack, heal, and buff your champion.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to take care of your pets, which champions go well with them, and how to succeed with them.

Junglers can buy the pet egg from the in-game shop. (Photo: Riot Games)
Junglers can buy the pet egg from the in-game shop. (Photo: Riot Games)

How to grow and evolve your jungle companion

Once you get your jungle companion, you’d need to take care of them in-game so they’ll get stronger and evolve.

These pets evolve twice throughout the game if you give them enough treats. Here’s how you can get treats for them:

  • 1 treat per large monster/champion takedown

  • 1 bonus treat is stored every 60 seconds before reaching the companion’s final evolution form

  • 1 bonus treat is stored every 90 seconds after reaching the companion’s final evolution form

  • When a large monster is killed with bonus treats available, players will receive 2 treats and 50 bonus gold. 1 bonus treat stack will also be removed.

Giving treats to jungle companions by slaying monsters will help them evolve faster. (Photo: Riot Games)
Giving treats to jungle companions by slaying monsters will help them evolve faster. (Photo: Riot Games)

Remember that you don't need anything special to activate the treats. After you defeat the monster or exit the fight, your pet consumes the treats automatically. Each treat grants bonus gold when your pet consumes it.

After getting enough treats, your pets will evolve and get stronger. Here are the effects of each evolution:

First Evolution:

Giving your pet 20 treats will trigger the first evolution, and your pet will become bigger.

At this point, Smite transforms into Primal Smite. You can use this smite on enemy champions too, dealing 900 true damage to them.

Final Evolution:

Once you’ve given your jungle companion 40 treats, they will transform visually into their final form.

Your Primal Smite transforms into Avatar Smite, doing 1200 true damage to neutral monsters.

At this point, your pet can empower your champion and give them buffs depending on your chosen pet.

Which pet is best for me?

Choosing a pet depends on your playstyle and the type of champion you’re playing in the jungle.

You can pick among three: Scorchclaw, Mosstomper, and Gustwalker.

Let's take a closer look at each one.

Scorchclaw

Scorchclaw is great for early-game junglers like Viego, Bel'veth, and Lee Sin. (Photo: Riot Games)
Scorchclaw is great for early-game junglers like Viego, Bel'veth, and Lee Sin. (Photo: Riot Games)

Great for: Aggressive, early-game junglers, and junglers that thrive in 1v1 skirmishes

Recommended for: Bel’Veth, Elise, Graves, Kayn, Lee Sin, Nunu and Willump, Rek’sai, Shaco, Viego,

Effects: Scorchclaw’s Slash: Scorchclaw will accumulate Ember stacks at a rate of 3 stacks per 0.5 seconds or 100 stacks upon killing a large monster. At 100 Ember stacks, your next instance of damage against an enemy champion will slow all enemies in a 250-unit radius by 30% (decaying over 2 seconds) and deal burn damage equal to 5% of the target's maximum health in true damage over 4 seconds to the primary target.

Protection Buff: Take 30% reduced damage from monsters while at least 2 allies are within 1300 units

If you’re the type of jungler who likes to do jungle invades and pressure enemies in the early game, Scorchclaw is for you.

The extra slow and the burning damage from this pet makes it ideal for cross-map chases. The important bit is that you make sure to get your Ember stacks before you execute a gank.

You'll have to spend some time fending off jungle creatures, but the added slow and damage will make your ganks more menacing.

Mosstomper

Mosstomper is a great companion for jungler tanks because of the extra shield. But if you're a squishy jungler champ and want a bit of sustain, Mosstomper can help you too. (Photo: Riot Games)
Mosstomper is a great companion for jungler tanks because of the extra shield. But if you're a squishy jungler champ and want a bit of sustain, Mosstomper can help you too. (Photo: Riot Games)

Great for: Frontliners and tank junglers; squishier junglers

Recommended for: Amumu, Ivern, Jarvan IV, Maokai, Rammus, Sejuani, Shyvana, Udyr, Xin Zhao, Zac

Effects: Mosstomper’s Courage: Gain a 75-330 (based on level) health shield after killing a monster camp or after 10 seconds out of combat. This shield will remain indefinitely. Players will gain 20% Tenacity and slow resist while the shield is present and for 3 seconds after it has been broken.

Protection Buff: Take 30% reduced damage from monsters while at least 2 allies are within 1300 units.

Frontlining junglers benefit much from the Mosstomper. The shield it provides, combined with tenacity and slow resist can give your jungler the upper hand in team fights.

That being said, all the bonuses the Mossstomper provides gives any champion extra survivability which is great for team fights, so you can also opt to bring the little green buddy instead, so you can deal more damage for your team.

Gustwalker

Gustwalker is best for junglers who love roaming and rotating around the map fast. (Photo: Riot Games)
Gustwalker is best for junglers who love roaming and rotating around the map fast. (Photo: Riot Games)

Great for: roaming, speedy junglers that can clear camps easily

Recommended for: Hecarim, Lilia, Master Yi, Nunu&Willump, Rammus, Rengar

Effects: Gustwalker’s Gait: Gain 45% bonus move speed when entering a brush that decays over 2 seconds after leaving the brush. This is increased to 60% for 2 seconds after killing a large monster.

Protection Buff: Take 30% reduced damage from monsters while at least 2 allies are within 1300 units

If you're a jungle champion who likes to go about the map swiftly and clear your jungle camps easily, this pet is for you. It shortens the time between completing one camp and beginning another, making it an ideal pet for early-game junglers who concentrate on farming.

What we love about Gustwalker is that Smiting an opponent when in a bush considerably increases your movement speed and slows down the enemy. This is going to be very helpful in catching them and securing kills.

These pets can help with attacking, healing, shielding, and mana regeneration. (Photo: Riot Games)
These pets can help with attacking, healing, shielding, and mana regeneration. (Photo: Riot Games)

Which jungle companion do you think will suit you? For more details, you can read the Preseason 2023 patch notes here.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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