I just played a game as jungle cow and it was one of the roughest experiences I've ever had in league. It's frustrating that my strongest jungler is now my worst. Any tips?

I have never optimized a rune page for Alistar jungle, never needed to. My ad bruiser page was always sufficient (ad reds and quints, armor yellows, flat mr blues). I feel that my masteries were exactly what a jungler would look for, so I don't feel masteries are an issue.

Started the game boots and 3 health pots and pummel. I started blue, got a moderate leash from adc Ez, still ended up killing blue and minions with less than 100 hp remaining after using a health pot. Wolves were a little less stressful with heal but I still had to use a health pot. Wraiths were nothing, so on to golems. Ended golems with half hp and my last health pot used. Almost didn't kill red buff and had to run from wraiths and b.

This jungle is so incredibly rough for me, how can I handle it without starting cloth armor and 40 armor runes?

Start machete + 5 pots. Build Spirit Stone -> the nice new tanking jungle item with tenacity.

Ali shouldn't be in the jungle, I'm glad he sucks at it now.

Welcome to the entire point of making the jungle not mindnumbingly weak.

Machete and the additional 2 pots is very helpful compared to boots + 3 pots. also spirit stone lets you eventually get a great tank item with tenacity, freeing your boot slot for CDR boots

^ lol, the ignorance is strong in this one

Oh but it's not.

When low sustain, low damage, CC heavy gankers dominate the jungle for a LONG time something has to give because of the effects they have on long lane play.

Alistar just doesn't have the numbers to be good anymore, and that was Riot's intention. Better scaling junglers who are slightly less intimidating to laners early because they lack boots and have lower HP.

And let's be honest here. You "Started at Blue" and called me ignorant. There's a lot you've got to learn.

Wait, what? Starting at blue is a bad thing these days?

When wolves spawn 10 seconds earlier and you're getting damage from someone else, yes.

Very much so. There's no point to standing there with your thumb up your ass. It's been that way since the jungle became mindnumbingly weak when S2 started.

They wanted to nerf level 2 ganks

jungle cow's whole schtick is unstoppable level 2 ganks.

ergo, working as intended.