Hello, my name is Frankietown and this is my first guide. I've been playing Jarvan IV since his release and this was the best make up I could find for him. I will update this with the nice shiny photos when i learn how to do them. I just wanted to share my thoughts on building him and my experiences.

For Runes:


9x Greater Mark of Desolation
9x Greater Seal of Evasion
9x Greater Glyph of Clarity
9x Greater Quintessence of Desolation


He is innately tanky therefore i go with the Armor Pen to make him hit harder. The Evasion yellows help a lot as you are always auto-attacking people and up close. As everyone already knows, he is mana intensive. But with smart game play and not spamming spells uselessly, i can get by with just having the mp5 blues throughout the whole game.

My Core Build so far have been:

Merc Threads

Stark's Fervor

Infinity Edge

Phantom Dancer

This has given me enough survivability with laning and fighting as the Attack Speed and Lifesteal, in conjunction with being already "tanky" it just makes it a hard day for your opponents.

I usually go for a BF Sword as my first item then go make a Stark's Fervor. With those two, my staying power all around has been very good. You can even go and Jungle after fights then go back to the lane because of the health it gives you back. Jarvan is a GREAT farmer, take advantage of it.

If i am doing well i go to Infinity Edge. If I am not, i go with Black Cleaver or Bloodthirster. Both are viable alternatives as BC gives you armor reduction for more damage or BT gives you more lifesteal to live longer in fights.

I always go to Zeal -> Phantom Dancer next as Jarvan lacks some movement speed. The crit and attack speed helps a lot as well keeping me alive and making me hit hard.


Usually the game has ended by this time. If the game is still going you can go in two ways:


You can go defensive: if the other team are getting harder to kill.
Banshee's Veil

Randuin's Omen / Guardian Angel

You can go offensive: if you are doing well and they aren't really killing you.
Bloodthirster

Madred's Bloodrazor

Jarvan is quite team dependent. If you have a good team or lane partner, you will do very well. He literally is like a General in battle leading the warriors to victory. But if your team can't handle it, you will all fall.

Laning Phase

He works well with Burst DPS, AOE DPS, DPS w/ CC. His knock up combo early game along side a smart lane partner will let you win the lane over and over again. Laning with someone who can use your flag is also a bonus as both of you will hit faster. You have to pick your battles however. Because he can't get life back like Xin, you have to be smarter on your harassment. Use your Q skill here. It has a pretty damn long range, so harass with it smartly. Be weary of mana usage as well. Can't mindlessly harass without hitting. Once you have your ult, be smart on not ulting someone with flash or an escape, like Shen's dash, as they will walk out of there and just leave you trapped. Try to prey on the ones who will be sitting ducks.

When laning phase is over, try to be with a teammate at all times. It works wonders as he has synergy with so many people. Jarvan isn't a gung-ho type player, you have to play with people and use that great synergy to your max advantage. I walked around one game with a Katarina while we just combo'd the **** out of the other team. Your best prey are obviously 2/1 champions by themselves. 2 v 2, you will win most of the time. Single out the weak link with your Ult, Hit them to death with your teammate then switch to the other one running for his/her life.

Team Fights

Now this is where it get's tricky. You just can't ult randomly on a person trapping everyone and getting everyone killed. You have to be smart about it. You also have to be smart on using your E + Q combo to knock people up. I usually let the tank engage then:

- E+Q the group and knock people up and allow my team to decimate a target. Rinse and Repeat. Keeping the flag in the middle of things help's everyone hit harder.

- Ult on their Carry and let my team decimate that target from the outside. (IE. Akali / Jax / Katarina jmping inside with me)

- Ult on a group of people and let some AOE damage happen. (IE. Katarina / Miss Fortune) Be Careful however, you have to gauge if your team will completely decimate them. Then use your E + Q combo to knock up everyone trying to leave after your ult.

You have to be smart on using your abilities. They aren't just spammable abilities that you throw around. When used correctly and efficiently, it is hard to counter you and your team.

Any stragglers still left alive, well i just Q them as the range on that is quite nice.

Jarvan is a lot of fun. He is a good leader in the game. I usually end up setting the tone of the game when i play him. He is a great first and second initiator that can really turn the tide on the team fight at the start. Just play smart and play well with a teammate and he is really a force to be reckoned with.

If you have any questions or comments please leave them. Like everyone else we are all trying to still learn him, so just post your thoughts and experiences as it can help me tweak him to play a lot better.

Next up: Making this Guide look pretty and TANK Jarvan. :) He's mega-fun as a tank.