In the conclusion of the Vainglory World Invitational quarterfinal matches we witnessed Fusion and Divine Brothers battling to advance in the tournament. While the games became very close, there can be only one King of the Jungle!

jungle shop wision

Bluberryz and DonJon frequently joke about “wision” and its impact on the game. In reality, they aren’t joking. They have created a term that has double meaning: vision, and winning. In Vainglory it is one and the same.

The Divine Brothers prioritized jungle vision very early in their match-up against Fusion. Before the four minute mark in the game, both teams were solidifying their access to the Jungle Shop. Without access to the central shop, teams are unable to purchase vision or combat stats without going back to their base. Due to the fast-paced action of Vainglory, having any member of one team go back to base gives the other team a distinct advantage, even for a few seconds.

the jungle ally

Gold mine control started to be a factor in the game as early as five minutes in, just a minute after it spawned. Traditionally, teams wait for the gold miner to accrue some gold before slaying him for a pay out. However, due to the position of the gold miner in relation to the jungle shop, teams have been investing in capturing him earlier and earlier.

Recruiting the gold miner to fight for your team makes controlling the middle of the map even easier, because now the game is a 4v3. Aside from the vision that the gold miner providers, if you fight near him, he will fight for you. Once the burly prospector aligns himself with your faction, it becomes much more difficult for the enemy team to capture, as you can enhance the excavator’s combat stats with Minion Candy, you have vision when the enemy team attempts to attack him, and his damage can never leash onto you or your allies.

Jungle’s final boss

Most of the bonuses and advantages in Vainglory can be quantified, but the value of the elusive Ace Buff is not so easily calculated. Despite the inability to know its worth, both teams were quite adept at using the value of that buff effectively, and that was to take down the jungle’s final boss.

When these professional teams would score an ace, they would immediately flock to the lane for objective control. The objective they desired was Kraken, but Kraken must take two turrets to be gold efficient (900 team gold per turret kill vs 1500 team gold per Kraken kill). Once the Ace Buff started to heal the players back to full health they would sprint across the Fold and help the enhanced lane minions destroy a turret. Securing one turret guaranteed map control, but also helped set the stage for Kraken.

Destroying one turret before capturing Kraken means that Kraken will approach a full health turret. Kraken can usually solo a turret by herself, and by not taking damage from a turret exploding on death helps Kraken stay healthy during a siege. Also, by pushing one turret down before taking Kraken, players are able to heal to full health, and have remnants of a minion wave charging down the lane towards their enemies’ base. If you ignore those ace minions, you may (or may not) live to regret it.

jungle finale

Both of these teams were extremely careful to create these advantages for themselves and use their lead to its fullest potential. Once a team had mastered the way of the jungle they were able to close out games methodically.

When a team has more dominant vision control, has enlisted the gold miner, and controls the Jungle Shop, the best strategy is to start a fight near the gold mine on a carpet of Scout Traps. It represents the culmination of teamwork and preparation that translates directly into a winning scenario. The two teams today really helped determine the true King of the Jungle.

If you’d like to read more about the Vainglory World Invitational click here!