Predecessor Builds > Crunch > Crunch Jungle Build Examples

Crunch Jungle Builds:

Crunch has pretty flexible builds as a bruiser, and they depend upon not just item strength in any given patch (Hello Voidhelm changes in 18.3), but also the enemy strengths and weaknesses and which hero may happen to be fed in each individual enemy teamcomp particular teamcomp.

Ability order: You may notice I have the skill order of the first 4 levels listed as Q > E > Q > RMB
If you don't have a gank before level 4, it's better to take another point into Q at level 3, as taking RMB makes your clear about 2 seconds slower than if you take a second point into Q. Of course if an enemy laner is in a vulnerable position take RMB and start your snowball.

I have listed a variety of builds that are generally good against the listed cookie cutter scenarios, but even then every scenario will have a degree of modularity depending on what specific enemy heroes make up said scenarios.

For example, in my 4 fun assassin build Mesmer is one of the items I have listed, but Mesmer is actually a niche item that can be slotted if the enemy team has a fed Murdock. Shotgun is very annoying, and while you can plan to use ult dash to get back onto him, it can be awkward if the enemy Murdock holds shotgun so you can't use another ability without risk of him shotgunning you away and being unable to gap close back onto him. In this scenario the use of Mesmer allows you to negate this key ability and make Murdock unable to play the game.

There are also items you can build that I have not listed. Warden's Faith is particularly good against teams with multiple crit users (ADC Offlane anyone?), and is also a very strong counter to Revenant. Since he does so much bonus crit damage due to his passive, 12% reduction on critical strike damage in conjunction with the 6% reduction in nearby hero physical power goes a long way against him.

On most of these builds I have Mutilator slotted as the first item. Since Augmentation was nerfed (thanks Zarus) it's not longer super amazing on Crunch late game, as the item lost 66% of it's damage. Mutilator's passives apply to jungle camps and jungle objectives, while also helping keep Crunch's sustain up pre 6 with the component Bloodletter that builds into Mutilator. That said, no item is so core that it should be built first every game.

Quick Tip: You should be checking items any time an enemy hero comes back into vision to see what they're building, so you can counterbuild their build, but also so you can compare the value of your items and determine if you should be fighting them or not!

Basilisk is a very strong item in general, and this item is stronger against tanks than even old mutilator was. It can be built in conjunction with Citadel if the enemy has multiple tanks to help out. (Playing Crunch into 3+ tanks is suffering)

In most builds I have Draconum slotted before any magic resist, as usually AD is more of a threat by 3 items than an individual mage would be, but if there is a fed mage, or the enemy team has 3+ mages, it would be better to go magic resist first. Absolution gives Crunch a lot of what he wants, and is very good against Countess and Aurora, as is Dread. Tectonic mallet feels very good as an early pickup in the jungle, but since movement speed doesn't stack, if you're going to get a second Fangtooth for 8% MS, the item loses a lot of value.

You also need to test items that may not be obvious. As an example, Galaxy Greaves is a very interesting item on Crunch. When you're behind it's not very viable because you need to stack damage so you can try to 1:1 someone and collect their shutdown, you have no chance if you stack armor. That said, when your team happens to be ahead, and you're in a position to split push, you can take galaxy greaves because you don't actually lose momentum from your RMB dash in the air, so if you super jump and then dash away you cover almost twice the distance. It can make it very obnoxious to play against because nobody will have the mobility to catch you out 1v1 and punish your positioning in any scenario. There are probably going to be more opportunities to split push on Crunch in Solo lane, and there are probably better items to slot on him in general, but it's not completely terrible and deserves more usage to see if it can hold a spot in the meta or not (Gaia Greaves makes this even more annoying, but it might actually be trolling, idk :P)

There are a lot of things to consider, and you should always be trying to find ways to push the meta further, on any Hero, even if it might seem like trolling to your teammates. (As long as you're not actually trolling)...

I will finish up and re-emphasize that you need to understand what every item does, and what situations will cause certain items to get the most value in each individual match. Mastering this is key to pushing to higher levels of play.