Quick answer

Before starting Dragon, Baron or another available objective, check nearby allies, lane waves, vision and your Smite. If your team cannot arrive and the enemy can, giving up the objective may be safer than starting a fight in the pit.

Before starting Dragon, Baron or another available objective, check nearby allies, lane waves, vision and your Smite. If your team cannot arrive and the enemy can, giving up the objective may be safer than starting a fight in the pit.

Know your mode

This guide concerns standard PC Summoner's Rift 5v5. Riot's 26.1 notes retain Void Grubs and Rift Herald in standard Rift while removing Atakhan; the same notes remove Grubs and Herald from Swiftplay. Check the current map and objective timer because modes and patches differ. Don't copy a Swiftplay timer into a standard match.

Four checks before the pit

  1. Waves: Look at the nearby lanes. If teammates are catching a large wave under their turret, they may not reach you in time. Ping your intention and allow them to move when safe.
  2. People and health: Count nearby allies and visible enemies. Check health, important abilities and whether your teammates actually respond; a ping is not a guarantee they can follow.
  3. Vision: With a teammate, inspect the enemy approach and place or clear vision when safe. Don't enter a dark enemy jungle alone to remove a ward.
  4. Smite: Check its availability and the damage shown by your current in-game tooltip. Watch the objective's health and coordinate other damage with teammates; never assume an old fixed number.

Example: the dragon decision

Your bottom and middle teammates have moved toward the river, an enemy jungler is visible elsewhere, and your team controls the approach: start only if health and Smite are ready. If instead both lanes are trapped under turret and the enemy enters first, back away, protect your camps or help a lane. Recheck the map rather than forcing a 1v3.

After taking an objective, look at nearby waves and the next safe action. If a fight begins while attacking it, decide whether to turn with the team or retreat; continuing alone can lose both the objective and your life.

Sources: Riot patch 26.1 standard and Swiftplay objectives · League Wiki jungle objectives.

Sources