Jax Build Guide: [S3] Jax: The UlTiMaTe Guide by NightReaper

Introduction

HeLoL summoners! My name is Nightreaper775, and argentinian LoL player (sorry if my english is not very good) and i'm here to teach you the way you can play Jax - The grandmaster at Arms (Commonly known as "The man with a ******* lampost that kicks your ***")

I have more than 120 games with Jax, i´ve played him at any position! Even as a support (of course he is not very good at that), but in that match I was "trolled" by another player who went to top lane even without calling "top", so I was force to support with Jax. We still won.

I am in Bronze league Division II, yes, I know that's not very high, but the average LoL player is in that League. However, I don't think that I am a bad player, but I still have things to learn, as everyone else.

If you don't like long and complete guides, you are free to go :)

Enjoy this beatiful music while reading this guide!

Why and when to play Jax

Good question, Jax is one of the best solo tops and junglers, he is also a good ganker/roamer.

Why play Jax?

Well, I usually pick Jax when I want a solo top that can trade damage easily in 1v1 fights, an AoE stun and a very good teamfighter/pusher (yes, with his passive, he destroys turrets easily).

When to play him?

This question is usually for ranked games, where you usually know what the enemy team is before you choose a champion, if the enemy top laner depends on basic attacks or is DPS based ( for example), Jax is one of the better choices, since he can dogde her true damage attacks, and stun her easily. Also, Jax can absorb a lot of damage when his ultimate () is active, making him a very good champ to sustain a fight or to escape.

Pros and cons

As every champion, Jax has his strenghs and weaknesses, lets list them.

Pros:

+Great 1v1 fighter
+Can jungle
+Good ganker
+THAT OP DODGE!!!!
+Can survive bursts
+Many different builds
+Very mobile
+Great to assassin or to disable carries in teamfights
+AoE Stun
+Can engage or escape very easily
+Wins most trades

Cons:

-Not very strong against AP champs early game
-Needs to stick to his target
-Melee/Not very good farmer
-Can be harassed very easily
-His E has a very long CD
-Not that good if he runs out of mana

As you can see, is a very versatile champion that can sustain a long fight if he uses his abilities in a proper way. He builds both offense and defense, which makes him good at many roles, as he can play as a AD/Hybrid/AP carry, or as a jungler, and, at the same time, receive high damages without dying.

When your team has low CC, you can AoE stun the closest enemies, focus the weakest opponent and sustain the damage.

If your team has high CC, you can work as an assassin, to a weak champion and kill him/her relatively fast, using some spell combinations or just auto attacking.

Also, his mid and late game are great, so, when another champions fall off, you become better, making you a lot more powerful the longer the game gets.

Runes and masteries

Runes

This is a very interesting part, because if you change Jax's build, you must also change his rune page/rune set.

Why?

Simple, because his strenght will relie on AD, AP or both, so, if you choose AD runes, but you build him AP, it will not help Jax, furthermore, he will lose power.

After this example, we are going to see what runes should you equip him and why.

AD Jax runes

You are building AD, if you want to deal more damage to your opponent, you must penetrate his or her armor to reduce the percentage of physical damage it blocks.

Another options are:

Yes, armor. It will reduce the amount of damage you will receive from basic attacks and physical damage spells, so, why not?

Another options are:

AP champions get very strong in mid and late game, so early MR would be unnecesary, scaling magic resist seems to be a better idea, as you will be getting more MR at level 7 or 8 that you would get at level 1 will flat MR runes, and the difference becomes bigger the more levels you gain

Another options are:

Jax´s and scale both of AD. Bonus AD at the start also empowers your basic attacks, making 1v1 fights, farming and killing turrets easier. Also, with your armor penetration runes, you will deal quite good damage.

Another options are:

Hybrid Jax runes

Great runes, them give you armor penetration and magic penetration, so you can deal more damage in average.

Another options are:

You are still going to receive physical damage in top, even if it´s from minions or an enemy champion.

Another options are:

You will block more MR at mid or late game, when the enemy AP carry will be better.

You will need AD to last hit minions better, and to empower your Q and E combo (we'll see that later is the guide).

Another options are:

Your early game will not be as offensive as you were a full AD jax, take one of this to raise your overall defense.

Another options are:

AP Jax runes

You will be dealing more magic damage than physical, so, pick this runes to achieve maximum damage.

Another options are:

You are an AP top, you need some ability power, and this seals will help you a bit during mid and late game.

Another options are:

Not that much armor as in my other Jax builds, but very nice to absorb physical damage.

Another options are:

Even if the amount of MR you´ll get is not very good, it is worth to have more MR at mid and late game.

Another options are:

More AP for mid and late game equals more spell damage.

Another options are:

It is never bad to have a bit of AP as you start a game, it helps your damage early game.

Another options are:

Like in my hybrid runes section, this will increase your defense and resistance to true damage.

Jungle Jax runes

Yes, this runes are by far the best for jungling, it helps you deal more DPS to monters and clear camps nore easily.

Another options are:

Lovely runes if you are in the jungle, you will receive less damage from monsters, which will help you a lot.

Another options are:

At late game, you will need MR to reduce the damage from magic and AP casters, take this runes.

Another options are:

AD will help you kill monters faster, empower your AD scaling spells and, when you get some life steal, this runes will help you achieve more regeneration in every basic attack.

Another options are:

Masteries

AD Jax masteries

Masteries

21/9 standard AD mastery page with a bit of defense to be better in 1v1 and teamfights, to absorb more damage and have a better early game ( is great doing that job)

Hybrid Jax masteries

Masteries

Little changes here and there, I've replaced 2 points on the critical strike damage mastery and 1 in with 2 points on and 1 in . This makes you have more AP damage.

AP Jax masteries

Masteries

I kept the attack speed bonus from intact, but i spend 4 points in , 1 in , still the same points in but 3 on . Defense remaains almost without changes, the only difference is that, now, and are equal.

Jungle Jax masteries

Masteries

My typical jungle mastery page, focusing more on defense and utility that attack, I take 3 points on to stop worrying about dying in camps, as I regenerate more health the lower I get. 3 obvious points in and 2 on .

For the utility part I get little mana regen from , to unlock , the movement speed from and a faster recall time (). I also add 2 points on and 1 on (Wriggle Lanters's wards cooldown reduced to 2:45 from 3:00, for example)

Summoner spells

Top lane Jax summoner spells

/// ///

All of these combinations work greatly on .

- + is the best idea when you want to stick to your target and combo him or her down, or to outrun him/her,

- + is the most popular combination in the entire game, it provides extra damage, chasing or escaping potential and it synergizes well with almost all champions.

- + , also a good idea, if you are facing an enemy that can outdamage you, is great to fight him/her, pursue targets, focus somebody in teeamfights, etc. Flash is great for escaping/chasing.

You can also use (In order of preference):

1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -

Jungle Jax summoner spells

///

Never jungle without , you gain bonus gold when killing a monster with it, you can steal or secure buffs and , .

is great to engage and escape, and it's utility is wonderful.

You can also use , it's better if you want to pursue or outrun someone in wide areas, great on champions that need to stick to their target, falls into that category.

AD/Hybrid/AP/Jungler Jax Items

All right as we get deeper into this guide. It's time to talk about the items you can get as Jax, which are better, worse and situational picks.

AD Jax items

How to start?

Elixir of Fortitude + 1x Sight Ward + x1 Health Potion

S3 brought a lot of new ways to play LoL, one of that ways is to start with a , also known as Red Elixir, a and 1 . This item is great if you want to 1v1 the opponent, turning up fights, escaping ganks, avoid death, etc. Also, the bonus Attack Damage and Hit Points last for 3 minutes, making you stronger in lane. Since the price was changed to 350g from 250g, it is not the best option, but you can pick it if you think you need to.

Crystalline flask + 1x Sight Ward + x1 Health Potion

Great, this item not only grants a lot of sustain early in the game, but it fills up again every time you are at your base. After S3 changes, this is one the best items you can get.

Boots + x3 potions

After the S3 changes, this is not the best option, but you'll get early movement speed to evade skillshots, escape ganks, move quicker and 450 effective health to recover your strenght after a fight or some enemy harass.

1x Sight Ward + 7x Health Potions + 2x Mana potions

Without any doubt this consumable items will help you a lot in laning phase if you plan to sustain yourself early in the game and not to leave your lane fast. The downside of this is that you wont have the option to automatically refill your sustain as with when you get to the fountain.

Doran's blade

I quite don't like to choose this, because I can not evade skillshots or escape as easily as if I had boots, also, the 450 effective health is replaced by life steal, but, for example, if you attack a minion to recover HP, you can be harassed and you are open to ganks depending on how pushed your lane is.

Cloth armor + 5x potions

I sometimes use this to jungle, but if you solo top it can also be nice, especially if you want to 1v1 fight the opposing AD based top laner or prevent him from damaging you too much.

Doran's shield

Best defensive item you can get at this price, it gives you health, armor and a little bit of health regen. Although this item seems to give you everything you need to top lane, there are better choices, as the health regen needs some time to regenerate a nice amount of HP, also, if your opponent has s, you will become weaker as he/she recovers his/her hp a lot faster than you.

Long sword + 2x potions

There are little times when you need more damage than defense, but you also need the effective health from health potions.

- If the enemy top lane isn't exactly designed to fit that position ( is a great example)
- If you need to be more effective at farming (Bad farmer or last-hitter)
- If you need to deal more damage with AD spells (AD caster ? It may work, as Jax perfoms worse without spells than, for example, )

Rejuvenation bead + 2x Sight wards + 4x Health potions

When you are laning versus one of your counters you would want to play passive, and some extra health regen, wards and health potions will help you to do so.

Follow with

Boots + 2x Doran's blades + 3x health potions + 1x mana potion

Just... great! Movement speed, life steal, damage and health.

Note: Don't forget to buy s if the enemy team has a jungler or a roamer.

- If you started with a , pick another one, boots and the potions listed.
- If you started with a , pick one , boots and the potions listed.
- If you started with a , pick one , boots and the potions listed.
- If you started with a , pick another one, boots and the potions listed.
- If you started with a pair of , follow this build, but adding either a or .
- If you started with s, health potions and mana potions, don't change this build.
- If you started with a , or , don't change this build.
- If you started with , follow this build, but try to get a to finish your soon.

Note: Remember to buy s to prevent ganks or roaming.

Mid game build

Mercury's treads + Enchantment: Furor + Blade of the ruined king + Trinity Force

Finish your boots, are the best option for , because he has to do the maximum damage possible, as the same time as he can take some damage too, any crowd control will stop this, and the extra Magic Resist is not bad. You'll need to stick to the enemy, that's why I get . But you can take either or . is awesome on AD Jax, it gives you everything you can need. And is very good to fight tankier champions and to sustain yourself, also, the active is beast, and the pushing ability it has is so strong right now.

Late game build

Warmog's Armor + The Black Cleaver + Maw of malmortius

I love this late game build. Why? Simple, will give you that boost on tankyness that you will need to survive teamfights even when tanking almost all the damage. will allow you to deal a lot of damage while also getting a little amount of HP. And, finally, is great on prolonged 1v1 fights due to it's 1st passive, and the 55 bonus attack damage and 36 magic resist, combined with the 2nd passive, that gives you a lot of resistance to AP casters.

Situational Items

Against Heavy AD

Ninja Tabi + Iceborn Gauntlet + Blade of the Ruined King

If the enemy team has a fed AD Carry, 3 or more AD champions in their team or the enemy top laner is purely AD based, take , as it lowers every basic attack damage by 10%.

is pretty good when replacing vs a strong AD enemy team because of it's AoE slow and armor bonus.

And is pretty nice when sustaining against most basic attack based opponents, even if they're tanky.

Against Heavy AP

Mercury's Treads + Blade of the Ruined King + Wit's End

are great against heavy AP and CC, as they give you magic resist and tenacity, just great.

, despite not having any defensive item, this item is really powerful on AD Jax, also, AP champions are not that good on early mid game, so taking this item is not a bad idea.

, awesome, attack speed, magic damage, magic resist, and a great price, very good item overall, better against AP opponents.