ResearchJUNGLE CLEAR LAB · PATCH 26.18
Start for where you need to finish.
The first clear is not a race from camp one to camp six. It is a route into your first real decision: contest, gank, invade, cover, or reset.
ROUTE PLANNER
Pressure-test the plan before the camps spawn.
This is a decision aid, not a statistical prediction. It uses your intended endpoint, relative practice tempo, and finish health. It does not invent a percentile.
bottom starttop rivertop decision
ROUTE READThe route and first decision agree.
You are finishing near the intended play with usable health. Re-check lane movement and enemy information before treating Scuttle as guaranteed.
“Unusually slow” should eventually mean slower than the champion + route + patch distribution—not an arbitrary global clock.PACKET-INFERRED SIX-CAMP CLEARS
Real replay clears, fastest to slowest.
Patch 16.17 ranked replays only. Every row is a champion median from decoded packet attacks and damage across at least 10 qualifying clears—not a practice-tool video.
01
Karthusn = 112:45P25–P75 2:36–2:52 · mean 2:47 · median active clear 107s11
Karthusn = 112:45P25–P75 2:36–2:52 · mean 2:47 · median active clear 107s1102
Cho'Gathn = 222:52P25–P75 2:46–2:59 · mean 2:54 · median active clear 116s22
Cho'Gathn = 222:52P25–P75 2:46–2:59 · mean 2:54 · median active clear 116s2203
Hecarimn = 312:53P25–P75 2:48–3:03 · mean 2:57 · median active clear 119s31
Hecarimn = 312:53P25–P75 2:48–3:03 · mean 2:57 · median active clear 119s3104
Shacon = 322:54P25–P75 2:50–3:06 · mean 3:00 · median active clear 117s32
Shacon = 322:54P25–P75 2:50–3:06 · mean 3:00 · median active clear 117s3205
Gravesn = 442:54P25–P75 2:46–3:09 · mean 2:59 · median active clear 122s44
Gravesn = 442:54P25–P75 2:46–3:09 · mean 2:59 · median active clear 122s4406
Sejuanin = 142:55P25–P75 2:51–3:00 · mean 2:59 · median active clear 119s14
Sejuanin = 142:55P25–P75 2:51–3:00 · mean 2:59 · median active clear 119s1407
Shyvanan = 572:56P25–P75 2:52–3:07 · mean 3:01 · median active clear 121s57
Shyvanan = 572:56P25–P75 2:52–3:07 · mean 3:01 · median active clear 121s5708
Qiyanan = 152:57P25–P75 2:50–3:01 · mean 2:57 · median active clear 122s15
Qiyanan = 152:57P25–P75 2:50–3:01 · mean 2:57 · median active clear 122s1509
Lillian = 202:57P25–P75 2:53–3:24 · mean 3:08 · median active clear 122s20
Lillian = 202:57P25–P75 2:53–3:24 · mean 3:08 · median active clear 122s2010
Viegon = 402:58P25–P75 2:53–3:05 · mean 3:02 · median active clear 122s40
Viegon = 402:58P25–P75 2:53–3:05 · mean 3:02 · median active clear 122s4011
Vin = 212:59P25–P75 2:55–3:19 · mean 3:10 · median active clear 123s21
Vin = 212:59P25–P75 2:55–3:19 · mean 3:10 · median active clear 123s2112
Jarvan IVn = 192:59P25–P75 2:53–3:01 · mean 2:59 · median active clear 122s19
Jarvan IVn = 192:59P25–P75 2:53–3:01 · mean 2:59 · median active clear 122s1913
Nunun = 132:59P25–P75 2:54–3:05 · mean 3:03 · median active clear 124s13
Nunun = 132:59P25–P75 2:54–3:05 · mean 3:03 · median active clear 124s1314
Dianan = 182:59P25–P75 2:53–3:04 · mean 3:03 · median active clear 123s18
Dianan = 182:59P25–P75 2:53–3:04 · mean 3:03 · median active clear 123s1815
Kaynn = 412:59P25–P75 2:56–3:15 · mean 3:04 · median active clear 123s41
Kaynn = 412:59P25–P75 2:56–3:15 · mean 3:04 · median active clear 123s41CLEAR BENCHMARK EXPLORER
Every champion needs a different clock.
A Karthus six-camp clear and a Jarvan three-camp gank are different decisions. The correct comparison is champion × patch × route × rank—not one universal “good clear time.”
WITHHELD, NOT ZERO
Lee Sin · Platinum–Emerald · 6 camps
Median clear time, p25–p75, p10–p90, final HP, minimum HP, and lowest-health camp will appear only after the cohort passes sample-size, route-detection, and health-validation gates.
—median clear
—finish HP
—lowest HP
The all-rank packet chart above is released; the champion × rank × route cells here stay blank until each narrower cohort clears the same detection and sample-size gates.
THE HEALTH CURVE
Finish HP hides the dangerous camp.
A jungler can finish healthy after dropping into invade range two camps earlier. The study must preserve the full risk curve, not only its endpoint.
Record your lowest-health camp
Lowest point recorded at Raptors. Until packet health is validated, this remains your observation—not a replay-derived fact.
- Per-camp entry HPSeparates a bad transition from a dangerous camp.
- Minimum HP and timestampMeasures the invade window the final value erases.
- Smite, potion, and level-up healingExplains recovery rather than crediting “clean kiting.”
- HP at river decisionConnects PvE execution to the contest that follows.
WHAT THE STUDY MUST ANSWER
One clear, five consequence chains.
Each question has a denominator, a comparison group, and a line we will not cross without evidence.
Does the route end near the right play?
Compare endpoint, lane priority, first interaction, and recall—not blue-side versus red-side starts in isolation.
How often do ranks actually recycle camps?
Measure time-to-reclear, camps per minute, and alive-but-untaken camp time. Raw CS/min cannot distinguish good sequencing from lane taxation.
Can the atypical crab rescue a slow clear?
Define “slow” within champion + route + patch. Compare uncontested capture, death, reset timing, and next-cycle tempo while acknowledging the choice is not random.
What is Dragon’s actual lifespan?
Measure spawn-to-first-damage, first-damage-to-kill, and spawn-to-kill separately. Start side matters through endpoint, recall, bot/mid priority, and information.
Does a fast clear predict anything durable?
Relate relative clear speed to level, gold, and CS at 5/10/15; first gank and objective; and win. Report adjusted associations, not “seconds cause wins.”
Do not defend the original plan after its assumptions break.
This is a coaching hypothesis awaiting replay validation.
- 01Are you actually slow for this route?
Compare against your practiced route now; later, against a champion + patch + route cohort.
- 02Can the nearby lanes move first?
If no, “standard Scuttle” is not yours simply because your path ended there.
- 03Was the enemy jungler seen?
Opposite Scuttle is a recovery route only when information makes it safer—not because atypical means uncontested.
- 04What preserves the second cycle?
Take the free crab, cover a lane, or reset. The goal is to prevent one slow clear from becoming a death plus a late respawn cycle.
How this becomes a real benchmark.
Published September 2026. Strategic field guide live; population estimates withheld.
Required unit of analysis
One first-clear episode per eligible jungler in ranked Summoner’s Rift. The episode begins at first camp damage and ends at the first of: the planned camp count, river interaction, champion combat, invade, recall, or a fixed maximum window. Leashes, invades, disconnects, nonstandard role assignments, and incomplete packet coverage must be labeled—not silently mixed.
Benchmark release rules
Publish median, p25–p75, and p10–p90 with cohort n. Split by champion, patch, route shape, and rank only when the route detector and health reconstruction pass independent review and the cell clears a predeclared sample floor. Means and win rates need uncertainty intervals.
Why Match-v5 is not enough for HP curves
Riot timeline frames support coarse game-state analysis, while camp-by-camp health and exact clear transitions require higher-frequency replay evidence. This repository’s current public event fixture identifies epic-monster kills but does not provide a validated first-clear camp/health sequence.
Confounding and causal language
Champion, route length, patch, rank, map side, leash, invade, lane priority proxies, early kills, recall timing, and first action all influence both clear speed and outcomes. Results must say observed or associated unless a defensible identification strategy supports stronger language.
Official sources
Riot Games: Patch 26.1 jungle adjustments — early clears were intentionally slowed while post-camp healing was made more forgiving. Patch 26.16 and Patch 26.17 show why champion and system benchmarks must be patch-specific. Riot Developer Portal documents Match-v5, routing, and Data Dragon.
Choose your first decision. Route backward from it.
Speed matters only after the route has a job. Health matters at the moment someone can punish you. Scuttle and Dragon are consequences of the plan—not proof the starting side was correct.