This IS NOT your standard, run of the mill, alistar guide. This is for the people that want to get in there and initiate like a standard tanky alistar but do some real work on top of it. Now I know you are probably fuming with anger at how "stupid" you think my guide is but I assure you, that this guide will make you successful. Read the whole guide, follow through on it, 100% and you will love it, I guarantee it!

9-21-0 masteries are the way to go. With Alistar in the jungle he doesn't really need the utility tree because he will be getting his cdr from other places. 9-0-21 is not a bad setup and you can still be the successful jungle alistar but I don't think its the best way to go.

The 9 points in the offensive tree give us some mpen which is key to an AP champ which this alistar is.


The 21 in defense allows us to keep that tanky nature of alistar for the initiation part of the game.

Everyone knows runes are vital to a jungler's success. Alistar is going to get health quints to give him that extra health to get through the level 1 blue buff, along with the armor. The magic pen marks and magic resist glyphs are more directed towards your late game so you can take all that magic damage they throw out, and return a bit of your own.

Alistar is pretty versatile in runes so feel free to chose your favorite set-up here.

This is the downside to jungle alistar. You obviously have to take smite to jungle effectively so that limits Alistar's ability to take both ghost and flash to really get in there and initiate. I feel like boots of mobility help enough to bypass ghost and pick up flash for the team fight initiation. This summoner spell set up is pretty much the only way to go as jungle alistar.

After activating an ability alistar deals 10 + 10%ap damage to surrounding enemies



It's so new i had to write in the title of the skill and description lol.
This is the key to jungle alistar. His new passive allows him to deal constant aoe damage which is perfect in the jungle. It allows him to farm the jungle much more quickly than before. Activating this as many times as possible is vital to your success in the jungle.



Alistar smashes the ground, dealing 80 / 125 / 170 / 220 / 270 (+100% of ability power) magic damage and tossing all nearby enemy units into the air, stunning them for the duration.

Cooldown 15seconds
Cost 70 / 85 / 100 / 115 / 130mana
Range 200



This is going to be your damage dealer when ganking early game. You'll want to level it up a bit but its not the key to your jungling. Get it first at level 2 and max it quickly while picking up a couple extra levels in your heal and a level 3 point in headbutt.




Alistar charges at an enemy and rams them dealing 90 / 140 / 190 / 245 / 300 (+100% of ability power) magic damage and knocking them back (does not stun).

Cooldown 12seconds
Cost 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 / 120mana
Range 650



Headbutt will simply be your initiation to your ganks and isnt meant for the early game damage. Late game since it has good ap ratios it will be our damage source, so we can hold off until later levels to build it up. Use this to gain better position on your enemies, whether it be seperating them, pushing an enemy into a teammate or turret, or away from a teammate.




Instantly restore 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+40% of ability power) health to himself and half of that value to surrounding allied units. Cooldown ticks down by 2 seconds each time a nearby enemy unit dies.

Cooldown 12seconds
Cost 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60mana
Range 200



Most people will be shocked that this is the first level you get when jungling with alistar. The main reason to take it is to activate the new alistar passive, trample, and keep your health up while killing golem. You want to level this somewhat early so you can use it to gain some solid health while jungling and constantly activate it to use your passive on the jungle.




Alistar gains 60 / 75 / 90 physical damage, and takes 75% reduced physical and magic damage for 6 / 7 / 8 seconds.

Cooldown 120 / 100 / 80seconds
Cost 150mana
Range 1



Everyone knows what this is for. When its up either tank a turret with your teammates or use it to start a teamfight. Flashing in and activating your ult is a great way to start a fight and then get to work dealing damage. You will do alot of damage but if they focus you for those 8 seconds they arent going to hurt you too bad so either way its a win win.

E at level 1. This is to activate your passive most while fighting level 1 big golem. It gives you health and is not very mana heavy so you dont need to take a mana pot with you on trip 1.

Max Q first, take at level 2. This is your damage spell early game. Late game it will taper off so get it early to get its effectiveness in asap.

W, take it at level 3 but wait for awhile for another level in it. This is because its ap ratio is important late game but not a ton early. Save it for the later levels like 12-18. Get it early though so you can use it to start your ganks.

R. level when you can, its alistars key to initation and being tanky.

Order: Blue buff, wolves, wraiths, red buff, small golems

Alistar can get blue buff first without much trouble but you have to be very careful, you will be under half health most likely when finished so you must avoid getting attacked by enemies. Use flash if you have to and go to your nearest turret. The wolves and wraiths allow you to level a bit, heal up, and get smite back to fight for red buff. make sure to keep using your health pots, you got them for a reason. Once you've cleared the jungle once, you can either help a lane with an early gank or hold it for them or go counter jungle.

Alistar is absolutely great for counter jungling, and i suggest doing this one unless a teammate is in serious need for help. With alistar's headbutt, pulverize and smite, it is extremely easy to steal a buff from an opposing jungler. It will set them back, slow them down and piss them off. Nothing better than that.

Once you get your boots of mobility is where the real ganking begins. Use the speed to get from jungle to lane quickly, keep your teammates alert of your plan so you don't get left to dry. Use any combination of headbutt, pulverize, and flash you see best fits the situation. Easiest would be flash, pulverize, headbutt towards your base, but ideally you would like to headbutt first, pulverize them as they try to run back and save flash for either later or chasing them down to finish the kill.


*Dragon info will be added later when I get more practice with it, but you will need help from bottom lane and possibly need to use your ult in the early attempts.*

Team fights is where your build is going to shine even more. Most alistar's are satisfied with knocking around the enemy team to allow his teammates to kill them all. Not us. We will not only be imitating but we will be a heavy damage dealer. You still initiate the way alistar did before the rework. Flash in then pulverize their team and headbutt out the weaklink, but now while your ult is up for 6-8 seconds you will be dishing out heavy damage, with madreds razor, lich bane, your passive, and abilities you will be putting out some good damage on their whole team while still remaining tanky for those 8 seconds.

Now this build is less tanky than your standard, but his ult still allows him to initiate and he is still really hard to kill with his abilities. Your teammates will be amazed at what you can do with alistar and you will probably be amazed yourself.

Starting off with cloth armor is really just a way to have alot of health pots. They are very helpful to alistar's first jungle run, and id say they are needed to get him through the whole jungle without going back. Now this may seem off but it is worth it with the speed of alistar and his gank/roam ability being jungle improves him alot.

The boots of mobility are for fast movement between the map. From jungle to lane ganks or so you can hold a lane as quickly as possible. Also, they make up for the missing summoner spell ghost.

MOST RECENT CHANGE: instead of getting lichbane and bloodrazor, i now suggest getting the key component of the two instead to move onto the more vital items quickly. get madreds razor to speed up the jungle and farm more efficiently and get sheen to dish out a bit extra damage after each of your abilities which is nice because of spamming health around minions.

Force of Nature or Frozen Heart will be your first tanky item just before/during entering the serious team fighting stage. Your choice should be made depending on if the opposition is more heavily ap built or ad built.

Your 5th item will be based on the same thing, but will attempt to give you some offense to go with that defense. If the team is really lopsided, get the same type of item you got first choice, if they are fairly balanced get the opposite to even yourself out. Sunfire cape increases that aoe damage that your passive is already doing making the enemy cringe every second the team fight lasts.

Your last item is really game dependent and most likely wont be reached in your average game. If you are looking for just being able to last longer because you die quick grab guardians angel. If you are getting shredded by a high damage ability, grab banshee's. If an melee carry is hurting you, grab thornmail. And lastly, if you are in god mode right now just grab a rabadon's for the increased ap and watch as your opponents cry at how op you are.


I know you all probably doubt this item build, but trust me, give it one full go with good jungling nothing going terribly wrong (dying in jungle getting ganked a bunch and whatnot) and it will work amazingly.

This is the strongest alistar to date. His new passive is amazing, and while his turret damage ability may have decreased a good amount, his versatility absolutely skyrocketed. He can now jungle very well, he can still roam like a beast, he can tank pretty decently still, and he can dish out heavy magic damage with this item build.

Jungle alistar is the future of alistar, I am leading the charge. Be there with me or watch as jungle alistar and its users skyrocket to the top of ranked and wish you could have been with us.


If you have any questions about the guide, leave a comment and ill either edit the guide or just answer back with a comment. To anyone who takes this build for a spin, please post your results and how you felt throughout the game. This is the first jungle alistar with new passive guide so it obviously still has room to improve and with your help this guide can become the greatest of all time!