Welcome to my guide of Jarvan IV - the Exemplar of Demacia. In this guide I will cover Runes, Masteries, Items, Skills, Summoner spells, and Team work. Jarvan IV barely has any cons and is pretty much an all pros hero. Jarvan IV is an offtank dps hero and is a very capabale initiator/semi tank aswell as dealing out a decent amount of damage. Jarvan IV is a support based damage dealing tank which is what makes him so valuable to a team. Always support you team members in gangs.

Okay so firstly we have the 9 Greater Mark of Attack Damage these contribute alot to your early game in lane or even in jungle. Secondly the 9 Greater Seal of Health, benifets of these runes are early survivability. Next are the 9 Greater Glyph of Attack Speed attack speed will always benifet an AD based player both early and late. Lastly are the 3 Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage vital for early harassment aswell as that extra AD late game.

Optional Runes
Greater Seal of Vitality.
Greater Glyph of Magic Resist.
Greater Quintessence of Vitality.

Masteries for this build are 0/21/9. 21 in defense specifically for a good defense aswell as a small bit of mana regen, health regen, armour and magic resist. I believe a good defense is always a good offense. 9 in Utility for both hp/mana regen aswell as that extra boost on ghost and bonus experience.

Firstly a Doran's Shield is key for early farm/survivability. It is important to farm with most heros and pick up both kills and assists on the way which is quite easily done with Jarvan IV.

1. Berserker's Greaves - Extra attack speed early is always a bonus, aswell as the little boost in movement speed. Although Mercury's Treads are also a good option.

2. Sunfire Aegis - Key to farming, good amount of health and armour for survivabilty/tanking.

3. Banshee's Veil - Good amount of magic resist aswell as a decent amout of health contributing to Atma's passive damage.

4. Atma's Impaler - Good for armour and passive damage (2% of max hp) in damage.

5. Hexdrinker - Small but good amount of magic resist aswell as that little extra damage.

6. Last Whisper - For that extra armour penetration aswell as a decent amout of attack damage.

This build will not only allow you to tank but will allow you to deal damage whilst making the most of your skills.

Benifets of build

Health + Atma's = damage

Armour/Magic resist + Golden Aegis = Ability to tank

Last whisper + Dragon strike = Decent armour penetration

Beserker's boots + Demacian standard = Great attack speed

All benifitial to eachother.

Optional Items

Mercury's Treads - Extra mag resist and reduction of getting disable good for when you've trapped the enemy team in Cataclysm, optional item switch with Berserker's Greaves.

Black Cleaver - Good for armour pen and attack speed, optional item switch with Last Whisper.

Frozen Mallet - Good for hp, damage and slow also benifets of build, option item switch with Hexdrinker.

Spirit Visage - Also good for abit of hp and some mag resist while giving a minor CDR, option item switch is also with Hexdrinker.

Item Summary: The core items Sunfire Aegis, Banshee's Veil and Atma's Impaler should not be changed, changable items are as above being Hexdrinker, Last Whisper and Berserker's Greaves.

In any adverage game I buy the core items first mainly for survivability, althought this can come at a disadvantage sometimes.

Normal order: Doran's Shield > Sunfire Aegis > Banshee's Veil > And then the optional/situational items.

Now the core items are situational it terms of buying arrangement, for example if you're solo it's probably best to start with the sunfire cape to ensure survival and the mass amount of exp gain so that you can surpass most players both in level and possibly farming. This build shines in early game but as usual Jarvan's mid game ain't to great although where this build really exceeds is after it's complete, so late game you'll totally own. Hence why it's important to gain those extra levels and farm if you're soloing.

If you want a more risky type build where you could either do really well or quite bad use an order similar to this: Doran's Shield > Black Cleaver > Hexdrinker/ Frozen Mallet or even Last Whisper > Core items.

Demacian Standard Level 1 - Specifically for scouting bushes.

Dragon Strike Level 2 - Ability to attach to standard for initiation, escape, support or knock up.

Golden Aegis Level 3 - (Max this skill before leveling Demacian standard or Dragon strike.) Golden Aegis specifically for defense aswell as harassment with the slow it outputs. Eg. Someone trying to harass you in lane, activation of Golden Aegis will not only sheild you from their damage but also slow them so you can lay a few free hits into them. Try spamming this on the enemy allowing you full lane control. Along with Demacian standard and Dragon strike you can harass a hell of alot.

Cataclysm Level 6,11,16 - Obviously cause it's your main skill and the most sexiest. This skill not only holds enemies in so you can bash them it holds enemies away from your team so they can range or even initiate into Cataclysm with various skills. This skill is great for escaping and initiating attacks, especially if you have flash as a secondary skill.

Demacian Standard: (Max after Golden Aegis) Reason being is for the AoE attack speed both you and your team gain from this skill making it a very valuable skill in team fights and such.

Dragon Strike: (Max this skill last) Max Dragon strike last because most players by then will be at full defense making the most of your armour penetration with this skill aswell as last whisper as a last item.

As mentioned in "Item Sequence" if you're solo lane you should focus more on survival and getting ahead of everyone else aswell as farming well, although the you should gang other lanes if your lane has be over pushed the return to your lane once done.

If you're in lane with someone try to support them with the disables Jarvan has to get early game kills ( Dragon Strike to Demacian Standard and then use Golden Aegis for the slow. (In progress)

Jarvan IV is one of the most valuable players in a team fight, based on the actions Jarvan IV takes in a team fight it can decide the outcome and most of the time it's a very positive one. Try to initiate and block the enemy team from their most valuable players.. for example you could block a Kennen from initiating into your team while taking his ulti. Play wise cause if you do you will be sure to win with the support of your team.

Okay so the first summoner spell is Ghost this allows Jarvan IV to gain the extra speed he needs to initiate a battle or to escape a full on gang, it's a sure fire way to escape especially with Dragon Strike and Demacian standard.

Secondly is Flash this skill is usefull for when you try an enemy team and take in loads of damage cause you've intiated a hardcore battle, flash will allow you to get out of your own ulti if you've already used Demacian standard + dragon strike to knock the emenmy team up. Flash limits your deaths dramatically allowing you to pick up loads of assists and kills aswell as farming a good amount of gold.

Optional Summoner Spell is Ignite especially good when you're defensive or trying to harass an enemy, replace it with Flash.

Okay so in this guide I've covered what has been said in the intro. Stacking Hp and some mild defense with Jarvan and the help of his Golded Aegis ensures a high rate of survival during the game. Atma's contributes to your defense aswell as giving you that bonus Ad to really hurt your foes.

There are several other items Jarvan IV can use such as Frozen Mallet, Visage and Black cleaver. Aslong as you keep the basics of this build you will do fine.

Last but least share your opinion and vote for me, I'd appreciate it ^^

Okay so here's a video of me using my build and guide. It was a 4v5 and also a victory with no deaths on my part. In this video you'll see how to harass with Golden Aegis, keep good lane control, pick up kills and tower dive. Enjoy.

Play Video
Sorry for the quality of the video I accidently recorded on half screen size.