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Jarvan IV Build Guide by xxIAMLEGENDxx

Tank Jarvan IV Top | Season 6 Guide

Tank Jarvan IV Top | Season 6 Guide

Updated on February 15, 2016
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League of Legends Build Guide Author xxIAMLEGENDxx Build Guide By xxIAMLEGENDxx 285 39 4,875,394 Views 95 Comments
285 39 4,875,394 Views 95 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author xxIAMLEGENDxx Jarvan IV Build Guide By xxIAMLEGENDxx Updated on February 15, 2016
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Choose Champion Build:

  • LoL Champion: Jarvan IV
    Top Lane Jarvan
  • LoL Champion: Jarvan IV
    Tons of Damage - Offtank Bruis
  • LoL Champion: Jarvan IV
    Tanky Jungle Prince
  • LoL Champion: Jarvan IV
    Damage Jungle Prince

Introduction to Jarvan IV Guide



Welcome to my season 5 Jarvan IV Guide. I will try my very best to update this guide as the season goes along. I have not been playing league as of late because I am just really busy. However, I play enough to know what's still going on for each patch and will be making hopefully changes to items , abilities , masteries and all that jazz necessary to ensure that this guide will be up to date and will be useful for reference.

I suggest you only take this as a guide which is what it is and just adapt accordingly to your own play style. This is how I play my Jarvan IV and I've had the most success with this type of builds and so I think it might work well for you too. I think it's best to realise that game to game, team comps are never the same as the previous game and the players you may play with may either be extremely good which might mean an easy win and you might think this build is definitely working well or extremely bad teammates and nothing's working your way and so this guide isn't good. No definitely not that!

Anyways moving on to the guide, the guide i will be showing you right now would be the most success i have with when I play Jarvan IV and the things I have learnt when playing him. He's a strong solo top and jungler. I wouldn't know much champs that can really counter him and as long as you play him smartly, you'll command and conquer the fields. Due to the Season 5 changes this is my build for Jarvan,and this is what I've had success with so far.

*Please take a good look at the "Your Enemies For Life" Chapter because this is where it shows every single top lane champ you can possibly be against, how you counter them, who counters them and my personal thoughts about them in detail. Something unique I am sure no one has done this before - 12/13/12. It took me approximately about 6 hours and a bit to do this chapter so yes, a lot of effort.

To those of you who ask why I have these cooking stuff at end of the guide , i know it's irrelevant but I am basically trying to just sort of advertise them here because I know it's an effective way to get views , and cooking is really one of my favorite things to do , and there's an extremely high chance of me ending up being a chef which is my entire reason.
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A Short Overview Of Jarvan IV









The Exemplar of Demacia

Melee , Fighter

Jarvan IV is a top laner and a jungler. He can be played in multiple positions depending on what your team needs, but around 95% of the time those two will be your primary roles. I suppose you could mid lane or support if you're just doing it for some fun. Don't do it in a ranked game though, you'll definitely piss off your teammates :P. What makes Jarvan IV fun is the fact that he can do a lot of damage when ahead and can contribute willingly to your team regardless of the situation. Thus, he's viable in any meta so far which is another crucial feature I'd like to point out about him. He has never failed to fit in with team comps and new item changes and has just remained a solid pick all around. His kit has not changed either and does not require any changes and that's what makes Jarvan IV who he is, a dominant jungler or top lane pick that can suit most team comps.






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Why Play Jarvan IV?



Jarvan IV seems to be dominant regardless of the meta and season. It seems that he always has a good fit with almost any team comp and can really impact the game heavily if ahead. He's almost never useless if you play your cards correctly. In certain instances where sometimes you're just really behind and you're getting dominated, it all depends according to your team whether they wish to cooperate to mount a comeback or simply surrender as many would do. Regardless, playing this champ and owning him will never be a regret. He was my first bought champ and loved his kit when I was new to league and since, I have not changed my love for Jarvan IV. So why play him?

>CC heavy
>Engaging potential
>Can withstand damage when tanky
>Ganking will be easier and more successful due to kit
>If played correctly, will be unstoppable
>Can be a bruiser, tank or a mix of both
>Can pretty much go any lane (mid and support bottom for LoLs)
>VICTORY!


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Jarvan's Story/Lore



“There is only one truth, and you will find it at the point of my lance.”
The “last words” of Jarvan IV at his failed execution

As the royal family of Demacia for centuries, members of the Lightshield line have spent their lives waging war against any who opposed Demacian ethics. It is said that every Lightshield is born with anti-Noxian sentiment in his blood. Jarvan IV is no exception, even though he is the first Lightshield born to the age of League of Legends. As his forefathers had before him, he led Demacian troops into bloody engagements with Noxian forces, and on many occasions he has bled alongside wounded allies and fallen comrades. In his most crushing defeat, he was outmaneuvered and captured by a Noxian battalion under the command of Jericho Swain. This mistake nearly cost him his life at the hands of Urgot , but he was rescued by the Dauntless Vanguard, an elite Demacian strike force led by Jarvan’s childhood companion, Garen.

Those close to him believed that his capture had changed him. Xin Zhao was quoted as saying: "His eyes never seemed to look at you, only through you to something he could not look away from." One day, without warning, Jarvan IV handpicked a squad of Demacian soldiers and left Demacia, vowing to find "atonement". He began by tracking and hunting the most dangerous beasts and bandits he could find in northern Valoran, but he soon tired of such prey. Seeking something that only he understood, he ventured south of the Great Barrier. He wasn’t heard from again for nearly two years. After many had assumed the worst, he returned to glorious fanfare on the streets of Demacia. His Demacian plates were adorned with the bones and scales of creatures unknown. His eyes bore the wisdom of someone twice his age. Of the twelve soldiers who had departed with him, only two returned. In a tone as cold and steady as steel, he swore to bring the enemies of Demacia to their knees.
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Runes



Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush


Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage (3) You'll need 3 of these, typical AD runes for ad bruisers like J4. It makes your last hitting a wwhole lot better and works very well with your passive.

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist (9) Provides 9 MR You need 9 of these puppies. Gives you quite a great amount of magic resist, and is very beneficial especially for teams that have a lot of AP or otherwise, when there's a fed AP champ on the other team it's always great having these.

Greater Seal of Armor (9)Provides 12.7 Armor The typical armor seal of resilience is great for any tank, and gives you a boost of armor which is a must have especially if you are against a heavy AD team. The amount it gives you might not be much, but trust me every little thing counts.

Greater mark of armor penetration (9) Provides 14.94 Armor Pen This is great for Jarvan IV because it basically enhances your damage dealing when you basic attac. . With this , Dragon Strike and your passive Martial Cadence, you'll have no problem last hitting those minions and of course your armor shred is ridiculous , adding to that if you have a Black Cleaver.
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Masteries



9-21-0 masteries where you take 9 in offense and 21 in defense. Now, it's quite self-explanatory, you would want the highest chance of surviving in team fights and also, with these masteries you can play aggressively up top and harass well with your Q. I think defensive masteries this season are extremely good especially against bruisers because you take less damage and all. Jarvan IV, he may not be the best damage dealer but he is in fact, a great bruiser while being really tanky. Adding to this is the massive health you receive from Veteran's Scars , Juggernaut and the overall armor and magic resistance you get. When jungling , it's a similar phase except you take things such as Tough Skin and Butcher just to allow more damage dealt to them but taking less damage from them.

For the utility side, it isn't that much of a help to you, i am sure a lot of people want the Runic Affinity mastery which provides you 20% longer durations for your buffs, but in all honesty, it is best for Jarvan IV to get a bit of damage so as he can harass and play aggressive in lane. It's more beneficial if you give the red buff to preferably, the AD carry and the blue golem buff to your AP teammate rather than taking it all yourself.

Play as a team and win!
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Skill Sequencing/Combo



Note: These are Jarvan's Abilities, Simply drag your mouse to the photos below for the description of each ability


Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
E > Q > R > W (Flag, Knock up , Trap , Slow)

Level 1: Always start with Dragon Strike or Demacian Standard
Level 2: Get one of the above, depending on which you unlocked first.
Level 3: Always get Golden Aegis , whatever you didn't get at level 1 and 2.


Personally, the reason why Q or E is best taken first is because it's Jarvan IV 's CC ability and damage dealing ability. It's the knock up from the combo Demacian Standard and the damage dealing ability from Dragon Strike . Sometimes you also have to look at the situation. W is best taken if you find yourself getting chased down at level 1 because of counter jungling. You got yourself an escape tool. At level 1, this is your only escape. Once you know you're safe to go, take Q first and then E next.

W should be maxed lost because personally, they aren't the most useful ability for Jarvan IV to max first. Although, you should consider mixing everything up and levelling each of your abilities. It's just that I max it last. Only reason being is because you don't usually run into fights a lot, and if you do we're talking about 1 v 1 or 1 v 2 fights. Adding to this, Jarvan is really tanky and the shield from Golden Aegis is not as good as the armor and attack speed from Demacian Standard.

Overall, it's best looking at what's needed. If you're top lane and want maximum damage and penetration then max Q. If you're in the jungle or against an AD bruiser top lane I suggest you take E because of the great armor it gives you which definitely assists in your survivability and dueling. Perhaps you could also mix it around max Q and E each which is not a bad idea too.


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Useful Ways to use your abilities to escape/gank




A great way to gank and synergise with your mid laner. As you can see this is just a random bot game with Chogath knocking up the sivir. Try and work with your mid laner for similar ganks such as Syndra by letting her hit her stun combo. However, you don't necessarily have to wait for the mid laner to initiate with their own CC as they may not have one at all times. For instance , Fizz. It's best if you go in with this unexpected EQ combo followed by ultimate. Fizz can then hopefully follow you up with his own fish which should hit because the mid laner is trapped in your Cataclysm and usually should be an easy kill. Take note it will not always work and a Flash should be burned minimum. There are exceptions to this gank of course , people like Kassadin or Katarina who will just walk out of your ultimate with ease. However, do this as many times as possible if you're against a mid laner with literally no escape. This is amazing if you want to avoid wards around in the river area or the bush beside me which laners normally ward. It will not always be warded, but get rid of it once you know it has been warded (this can be done either by seeing the mid laner actually warding the bush, your mid laner seeing it ward in that bush or checking it out by yourself with your lens sweeper.




Can be very useful if you're in a tight spot and getting chased by the blue side. A very handy escape tool over the wall rather than simply just EQ'ing forward. There's hardly any champs that can go over that wall and so will increase your success rate of surviving.




Same principle as the previous one. Great escape tool if stuck in a jungle fight and you're trying to escape. Doesn't matter which side you are on, very useful and effective way to escape.




Probably most useful during a tight fight around the baron pitt area or the river and you need a quick easy escape. Most effective if on the blue side, as you're retaliating to base on the right direction , not so much for the purple side. Best method is to most likely jump over the baron pitt towards your side.




This may be a great bush to check sometimes especially during mid-late game. If that bush is not warded then use your flag to check it out. Following with your Q is up to you whether you wish to engage or not. Of course , it varies whether you're whole team is behind you and whether if there's only a couple of enemies in that bush or all 5 of them are bunched up. If all 5 are bunched up and you have a great synergy champ like Orianna i suggest you initiate with her ult because many of them will get trapped. Just make sure you have your team close to you and not just suicide in.


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Useful Starting Items




This item is without a doubt a core item that must be bought almost every single game. Of course, it varies upon your match up and whether you are winning your lane or losing really badly. Nonetheless, a very staple item for Jarvan IV and provides significant stat boosts at the early stage of the game no doubt.


Tiamat should surely be here because it just goes in conjunction with Jaurim's Fist above, which will then turn into Titanic Hydra at its final form. Great item in general, good for pushing the lane and provides significant AD/Health Regen which I think is very beneficial in the early stages of the game. Titanic Hydra is a great item for Jarvan IV, so it is advisable to purchase Tiamat.

You really want this item for Jarvan IV. I think the amount of damage you do early on with this item is just ridiculous , especially if you do hit your combos then following it up with some AA. Now it really depends in your situation on the things you purchase. If you're a jungler , you might want to invest on items that may help your team as a whole but if you're really going to be greedy then go for this. It's more or less the new brutalizer item.
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Beneficial and Optional Items / Spells



Jarvan IV has a lot of other optional items. It's best to look at the situation that you are in. You maybe against many different opponents, ranging from tanks to bruisers to AP casters. Below here are some viable items for Jarvan IV but also looking in depth to the situations. Take note that not all the photos I use below are necessarily the ones I use in my build. I place the top 3-5 items with description below, these are the items that are the most beneficial. The others are just optional.

Take note: The 5 items below each chapter are not going to be your final build either, along with the boots of your choice. These are just examples of beneficial and optional items for Jarvan IV.



-Summoner Spells-



Very easily said to be the most used Summoner Spell. Flash is without a doubt a very useful spell, probably the best for almost any champ. It helps you escape, chase and chain some combos. You can also%2 red knock back whenever your jungler ganks. If you flash just to get in range for Cataclysm this is a good way to chase!

Again very famous spell and probably one of the most useful again. Although they nerfed this item extra CD, it's still useful as ever. Personally i love this especially when you're in 1 v 1 situations against the top laner. Whether if it's escaping or chasing, Ignite is basically a strong spell because it deals true damage over time.

This is probably the other spell that I use the most with Jarvan IV. I use this whenever no one in the team takes Exhaust. I really think this spell is very underrated, and I find this especially good if you're chasing down people which is what Jarvan IV can do well. Demacian Standard + Dragon Strike + Cataclysm should be an easy kill whenever you're chasing down someone.



-Movement Speed Boots-



These boots give you 25 MR and a unique passive that reduces the duration of CC which is great for AP heavy teams and teams that have a lot of CC. These are the best to go with if you're in this situation. Also, you should consider getting this especially if you're having trouble against an AP caster or AP carry up top.

These boots personally don't give you any combat stats aside from movement speed alone. These aren't the best boots for Jarvan IV either mainly because it doesn't suit him well. This is still viable though and it gives you a ridiculous amount of movement speed. All I can say is really great for chasing. Take it if you want to mock around.

These boots give you 25 armor and a unique passive that reduces incoming basic attacks from champions. These are great especially for AD heavy teams and bruisers. These are the best to go with if you're in this situation. You'll find this useful especially if you're against an AD bruiser like Jayce.

These boots grant you 20% attack speed, slight nerfed from last Season. However this is pretty straight forward, not my favorite boots for Jarvan IV though, because personally I don't think he needs that extra attack speed. You can still get this though, if you're really just going to be a full AD bruiser.



-Against Heavy AD Team-



This item is a great investment for Jarvan IV. Between this or Randuin's Omen, it's quite hard to gauge although I am sticking with Dead Man's Plate because of the Randuin nerf. But, I personally think this item is a great fit for J4. The two unique passives combined together make a great tool that just works with Jarvan IV's skillset. A definite must buy in your build.

This is very critical especially if there is about 4-5 AD on the other team. It gives a unique passive of returning back 30% of the damage in magic damage from basic attacks. Now take note, this is also especially helpful when you notice about 2-3 of the enemies bruisers or ADC are really fed. You'll really need these just to minimize the damage they deal.

This item was slightly nerfed and used to be way better. However, this is still a good item especially if you want to add some tankiness, damage as well as a good amount of critical chance. This is good if you're going AD offtank bruiser. Really works well with Jarvan IV and should consider buying it if you wish.

This item really gives the 2nd most amount of armor in the whole game. It grants you a great 90 armor and 20% CD, and a unique aura of reducing the attack speed of nearby enemies by 20%. You need to be in range in order to activate this aura. Overall gives massive combat stats and the armor which you need for heavy AD teams.



-Against Heavy AP Team-



This is probably the item that I will most likely substitute because it gives you MR and attack speed. Your MR also increases for every basic attack you do by 5 for 5 seconds and stacks 4 times. This is a big boost, and also add the extra 42 bonus magic damage for your basic attacks. Really great for AP tanks like Singed.

This is very critical especially if there is about 4-5 AP on the other team. It gives a unique passive of absorbing a shield that absorbs 400 magic damage for a duration. Now take note, this is really good especially for bursty AP champions. This not only gives 55 AD and 36 MR, but it suits Jarvan IV pretty well.

The reason why this item is so good is because of the aura it gives. Really beneficial for your team and of course yourself. I mean yes , I am sure you all miss Runic Bulwark especially because of that massive 55 magic resist boost it gives you. This is still a very good item to buy , it's still an aegis of the legion with the locket shield included.

This is actually not a bad item at all, because this gives you the 3rd most MR in the game, Spirit Visage 2nd and Runic Bulwark the most. This is really good especially for team comps like Nautilus , Zyra , Malzahar. How does this work? Naut (Jungle) , Zyra (Supp) and Malzahar (Mid). Really heaps of CC and this item is going to help.



-Other Alternatives-



This is a good substitute item for Jarvan IV if you're planning to really chase up squishes in the opposing team. Not necessarily the best or most recommended item, but definitely not the worst as it still contributes well to J4's overall stats. However, invest in other items as much as possible.

This item is pretty much viable for Jarvan. I used to get this as it pretty much gave you a great amount of attack speed and gives a decent amount of MR and you increasingly get more in team fights. However, I swapped this around with Blade of the Ruined King. Wit's End is basically barely used now , mainly because of all the Season 3 changes to the items.

You really shouldn't get this because this isn't Jarvan IV 's best item but again it is still viable. While you do gain a great amount of AD, I suggest buying this only if you were going full AD. I prefer Ravenous Hydra over BT for Jarvan IV as it helps you farm so much easier and you can clear lanes way quicker!

Zephyr is actually a decent item because it gives movement speed, attack speed, AD and tenacity. I think this is great only if you're lacking the Mercury's Treads' tenacity passive. However, still a viable item, i wouldn't get it though because there's far better items for Jarvan IV.



-How your final build should look like #1-



-How your final build should look like #2-





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Laning Phase/Understanding Items (Solo Top)




Laning phase and Understand items on the lane you are in is possibly one of the most important skills you would want to know about along with map awareness and overall the decisions you make. What's really important when going Jarvan IV is you would want to really put the pressure on your opponent. Jarvan IV is one of the most dominant solo top, because of his CC and escaping abilities, which is helpful for ganks and overall for the team.

Now let's get to the laning phase and understanding the items you purchase early game. These are the very common early game items for J4, and i'll explain in detail the reasoning on why they're useful and also their disadvantages.




So this is pretty straight forward for almost every single champ. You want to take that extra bonus movement speed because again it helps you in a lot of ways. First of all, during laning phase hels you escape ganks a lot easier. Adding to this is when the opponent initiates on you. Sometimes it's easy to tell he wants to fight you, but if you're not fast enough to let's say run away, you'll receive heavy damage.

Again, the best along to go with Boots. Synchronizes well together, and very useful early game. These give you 150 health, and since you have 3 of these they give you 450 health. They basically help on your laning phase because it gives you more sustain and you wouldn't want to be constantly returning back to base. If you lane well and farm well, you get more gold which amounts on more health pots.

You only purchase Doran's Blade for Jarvan IV whenever you're going more of an AD Bruiser offtank. If you are, purchase 2 of these all the time. Grants 20 AD, 10 health on every basic attack, 160 HP. Great overall combat stats which are also great for last hitting minions. I advice not to get this when you're going tank, purchase a Doran's shield instead and then stick to the usual plans.

One of the most important laning items. You simply just can't lane without a slight vision of the map near the brushes or the river. What's so good about this item is that junglers like to constantly gank especially when they like to shut you down or if the top laner is friends with junglers, usually they would do that a lot. This helps you keep safe from ganks basically. Take a Vision Ward especially for people like Shaco.

As previously said above, you invest on this item if you're primarily the tank on your team. The reason why this item is good is because it gives good tankiness for early game. It grants 100 health, 5 armor and 5 HP regen. The only time you get Doran's Blade is when your AD offtank bruiser. I know I understand this item is really good, but please stick with tank if you're tank.
I think this is a great item for damage for early game. Good armor penetration , cooldown and damage. What else can you ask for? Again like i previously said , build this when you're going to go somewhere around offtank bruiser or just a full damage. Even if you're a tank , you could still build this but I am sure there's going to be more important items you'd want to purchase when you're the tank of the team.


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Your Enemies For Life (Top Lane)









The Fist Of Shadow


Assassin, Melee , Stealth

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counter Mechanics : Stealth Detection and Magic Resist
Detail : Akali is an alright matchup. She doesn't really counter you or anything, but you should really consider playing passively one she hits Level 6. This is when she gets really deadly. However, my main point to you is don't stay inside her shroud. This is her strong point. Engage against her when her shroud is at cooldown, which is where she's got no way to escape and she is vulnerable.













The Terror of the Void


Mage, Melee, Fighter

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counters : Kog'Maw , Warwick , Vayne , Garen , Teemo
Counter Mechanics : % Life Based Damage and Magic Resist
Detail : Cho'Gath is a champion quite similar to you in terms of CC. You both have a knock up and slow, but Cho has silence while you have a trap. However, Cho'Gath has more sustain than you and you should really watch out for his Rupture s. If he lands it, he'll instantly use his Feral Scream. This is a strong combo as you won't be able to do much for that duration. However, play somewhat safe.














The Hand of Noxus


Melee, Fighter

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank : High
Counters: Teemo, Jayce, Yorick
Counter Mechanics: High mobility, Ranged Crowd Control, Armor
Detail : Darius is not really a problem to you as long as you don't get too close to him. Do not let yourself be vulnerable to his Apprehend. This is the only main problem with him. He can do his combo to you, which deals a lot of damage and of course adding adding bleed for a few seconds. I advice you don't fight him 1 v 1 either, but it's best to shut him down early. Ask for constant ganks.













The Madman of Zaun


Melee, Fighter

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Low
Counters: Darius , Miss Fortune , Fizz, Kog'Maw , Olaf
Counter Mechanics : Ignite, Healing Reduction , % Life Based damage
Detail : Dr.Mundo is a decent match up. Both of you can poke eachother with your Qs but overall a balanced lane. Both of you are tanks, and personally what I like to do is just keep farming passively. It's also kind of pointless to gank him at level 6 because of his ulti. However, you can kill him before Level 6 and you should try it. Better than nothing. Just ward and be smart.














The Spider Queen


Mage, Ranged, Melee, Jungler

Difficulty :Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counters: Jax, Kassadin, LeBlanc
Counter Mechanics : Burst Damage, Magic Resist , Spell Shield
Detail : Elise and you shouldn't be that complicated. The only thing I like to point out is she has more poke than you, and she's really difficult to beat 1 v 1 especially because you don't counter her. She can constantly keep swapping forms, depending on how she sees your playing out. Don't forget she has a 2 second invulnerable which is good especially for getting rid of Ignite.













The Grand Duelist


Melee, Carry

Difficulty : Easy-Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counters: Jax, Pantheon , Malphite , Singed
Counter Mechanics: Armor, Slows, Blinds, Taunts , Dodge
Detail : Fiora is one of those easier match ups. Both of you don't really have a strong poke potential and so this lane should be fairly decent. The outcome of a 1 v 1 may come out in question, but you should have the upper hand advantage because you're building tanky and of course Demacian Standard 's bonus armor and attack speed. Tower diving her is the worst idea.













The Tidal Trickster


Assassin, Melee, Fighter

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counters: Ryze , Diana, Akali, Mordekaiser
Counter Mechanics: Snares, Magic Resist
Detail : Fizz is a decent matchup. The only thing you should watch out is that he can still do heavy burst damage. Just take note he takes less physical damage from your basic attacks becaues of Nimble Fighter and he also ignores unit collision like your passive. Make sure you don't get caught in his Chum the Waters because this is one of his main damage dealers and if he chains the combo on you, you're going to have a bad time. You should consider harassing him constantly.













The Saltwater Scourge


Melee, Carry

Difficulty : Easy-Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Easy
Counters: Pantheon, Irelia, Fiora, Jax , Malphite
Counter Mechanics: Armor, Dodge, Spell Shields
Detail : Gangplank personally for me is not a difficult matchup. The number one priority you have to do is shut him down and don't him free farm. He has to choose the option of either last hitting or harassing you with his Parrrley. If he chooses to harass you, bring up the fight to him because trust me you're going to win easily and Gangplank is actually pretty squishy early on. If you let him free farm, you're in some trouble.













The Might of Demacia


Melee, Recommended, Fighter

Difficulty : Hard
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counters: Pantheon , Teemo, Yorick, Jayce
Counter Mechanics: True Damage, Armor, % Life Based Damage
Detail : Garen is quite a difficult match up because he has sustain, incredible tankiness, CC and damage dealing abilities. It is not a good idea to go against him, especially because he can still spin even when you stun him. His Decisive Strike deals a lot of damage, and silences you for quite a long duration. After this he'll continue his combo using his E. Don't forget about his cheap ulti, it can kill you at 1/4 health.













The Will of the Blades


Assassin, Melee

Difficulty :Hard
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counters: Jax, Udyr, Renekton, Yorick
Counter Mechanics : Armor, High Health Targets, Healing Reduction
Detail : Irelia is very strong against Jarvan. She has the tools to counter you in some ways. First, her true damage. This makes your tankiness nothing for her. She also has sustain a lot better than you, and her CC will be based on your health and her health. You can kill her though, if you ask for a gank. Just make sure to farm passively and not let her outsmart you in lane. If you do so, you're in some trouble.













The Exemplar of Demacia


Melee, Fighter

Difficulty : Easy-Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counters: Jax , Olaf , Yorick
Counter Mechanics : Armor, Wall Jumps
Detail : If you're against yourself, you shouldn't have any troubles because you know what his abilities does. basically what we call mirror. The person who wins this basically who farms better, plays more smartly, has better map awareness and doesn't commit much mistakes. In 1 v 1 , same situation it depends on the runes, masteries and the items. That's all I could say for your mirror self!













The Defender Of Tomorrow


Ranged, Melee , Fighter

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Low
Counters: Xin Zhao , Cho'Gath , Wukong
Counter Mechanics: Stuns, Slows, Dodge Abilities
Detail : Jayce is one of the most dominant solo tops. Mainly because of his high mobility, his tools to do heavy damage and overall versatile. I suggest you farm passively, because Jayce can really annoy you with his harasses, because he also has the ranged advantage. This is what makes him really difficult, he can constantly just keep swapping depending on how he feels. Difficult to gank as well.













The Judicator


Figher, Support

Difficulty : Easy-Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counters : Pantheon , Jarvan IV, Yorick
Counter Mechanics: Dodge, Hard CC, Magic Resist, Silence
Detail : Kayle isnt that difficult. She can be annoying because of her Righteous Fury but she can't keep using this forever. You have the potential to take the fight to her because you'll win it. She's basically melee, not ranged without Righteous Fury. However she relies on basic attacks to do damage and without that she's nothing. Just farm well and keep the pressure on her and you'll win the lane.













The Blind Monk


Assassin, Melee

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Low-Medium
Counters: Trundle , Udyr , Renekton
Counter Mechanics: Hard CC, Armor, Defensive skills
Detail : Lee Sin is going to be quite a strong match up. Although melee only, he chains his combos usually a Q > E > W on 1 v 1 situations. This right here is if he wanted to engage on to you. If you were already face up against him, he'll most likely use E first then Q because he wants to reduce your attack speed. However, he deals damage to you, and then when you do your combo right, you'll see the amount of burst you do.













Shard of the Monolith


Melee, Fighter

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Low-Medium
Counters: Rumble , Vladimir, Singed, Cho'Gath
Counter Mechanics : Ability Power, HP% damage , Magic Resist
Detail : Malphiteis a decent match up. Fighting against him 1 v 1 is not the best idea. His abilities are stronger than yours. Ground Slam is the main ability that shuts you down really bad because of the attack speed reduction. Him getting Frozen Heart means you're completely useless to him especially because of that added armor too. I suggest you just farm passively, and don't get yourself ganked.













The Master of Metal


Melee, Pusher, Fighter

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counters: Yorick , Swain , Malzahar , Orianna
Counter Mechanics: Kiting, Cleanse , Magic Resist, Harass, Hard CC
Detail : Mordekaiser is a really strong champ because of the shield from Iron Man. He gets incredibly strong as well late game, when he gets all of his item his combo alongside with his ulti deals so much damage! However I suggest you fight Mordekaiser whenever he's around 1/4 health. Make sure though you are around 1/2 or higher health before you approach him. His ulti steals life off you.













The Curator of the Sands


Melee, Pusher, Recommended, Fighter

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counters: Riven, Rumble , Teemo
Counter Mechanics: Armor, Deny Farm Early Game
Detail : Nasus is actually an underrated champion and he is very strong. He has great sustain in lane, last hitting tools and a slow duration increasing over time. Adding to this is his ulti as well, which makes him really tanky and takes out your health bit by bit. However, try shutting him down early game and prevent him from free farming! Why? If you don't his Q will do 1K+ damage without crit.













The Yeti Rider


Melee, Recommended, Fighter, Jungler

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counters: Jayce , Darius , Sona , Alistar , Blitzcrank
Counter Mechanics: Cleanse, Magic Resist, Interrupts
Detail : Nunu & Willump is actually a viable top champion because he has the sustain to stay there. He also has a movement and attack speed, as well as Ice Blast. It can deal quite a bit of damage especially his ulti. Nunu can actually exchange with you surprisingly. Think of his Ice Blast as his Dragon Strike. It deals quite a bit of damage, and he has an attack speed and movement speed buff just to be safe from ganks or if you wanted to initiate on him.














The Berserker


Melee,Fighter

Difficulty : Hard
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counters: Yorick , Darius , Kennen
Counter Mechanics: Armor, Attack Speed Reduction , High Health Targets
Detail : Olaf is going to be a tough match up. Olaf can sustain in lane and he can deal heavy damage to you, more than you do and also win 1 v 1 fights. His Ragnarok is ridiculous and your CC won't do anything to him. If you get bursted down easily, it's because he maxed Reckless Swing first. Keep the pressure up on him all the time and deny him farm because if you don't you're going to have an even harder time.













The Artisan of War


Assassin, Melee

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Medium
Counters: Yorick , Malphite , Shen
Counter Mechanics: Taunts, Armor, Hard CC
Detail : Pantheon is going to be a fairly tough opponent for you especially because of his passive and Aegis of Zeonia. This simply helps him deal damage and do his combo to you without a problem. Even though you have your own stun, his is insta lock. Furthermore, by the time he also feels like you're low enough, he's not going to hesitate to tower dive you especially because his shield is going to block the turret hit. Beware!













The Butcher of the Sands


Melee, Fighter

Difficulty : Medium-Hard
Possibility of successful gank : Low
Counters: Malphite , Pantheon , Garen
Counter Mechanics: Ranged, Armor
Detail : Renekton is going to be fairly difDMercury's Treads size=62% strongest early games and it's not a smart idea to approach him 1 v 1 full health especially at level 6. He has the sustain, and can constantly spam and harass you by Slice and Dice > Ruthless Predator > Cull the Meek > Slice and Dice back out.Just keep farming safely but however, ask for help if you're having troubles.















The Pridestalker


Melee, Stealth, Fighter , Jungler

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank : Low-Medium
Counters: Lee Sin , Darius , Jax , Fiora
Counter Mechanics: Armor, Healing Reduction , Stay Away From Bush
Detail : Rengar is a decent match up. What makes him really hard is because of the brushes where he really likes to go because it's his main strong point. Of course this is a tactic, and it's very useful so I suggest if he goes into the brush nearest to you, just prepare for him to jump straight to your face. He'll most likely ulti away when he gets to low health. Don't forget he's everywhere!













The Exile


Melee, Fighter

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank :Medium
Counters: Olaf , Garen , Jax
Counter Mechanics: Armor, Mobile champs with CC
Detail : Riven is one of the most dominant top laners because of her shield, slight dash and an ability which is spammable. What also makes her great is her no need of mana. Riven doesn't really have any sustain items, however you fare fine against her. However, she is still a pretty strong top laner. This only changes if you let her free farm or if she's really fed which is not what you want to do.













The Mechanized Menace


Mage, Melee, Pusher

Difficulty :Medium
Possibility of successful gank :Medium
Counters: Cho'Gath , Yorick , Xin Zhao
Counter Mechanics: Hard CC, Magic Resist
Detail : Rumble actually has the highest win rate as a top champion in Season 2 because of his extreme harassment during laning phase. He basically spams his E at you all day. He also has a shield, and his passive grants increased stats depending on the ability used. Also adding to this is his really strong ulti, which is great exceptionally for ganking. However, you can exchange with him and you can also harass him so keep the pressure up for him as well!













Eye of Twilight


Melee, Tank, Support

Difficulty : Easy
Possibility of successful gank :Medium
Counters: Yorick , Warwick , Jayce, Vladimir
Counter Mechanics: Hard CC , Magic Resist
Detail : Shen is not going to be a big problem to you. He doesn't have the potential to really kill you, and you guys will barely fight eachother. He'll most likely Shadow Dash back out when he sees a gank coming. Just watch out for this as well when the opposing jungler ganks because we all know taunts are annoying. Just farm well, look out for ganks and try dominate the lane!













The Mad Chemist


Melee, Fighter

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank :Low
Counters: Teemo , Jayce , Vladimir
Counter Mechanics: Slow, Magic Resist
Detail : Singed is a pretty strong match up, and you can't really do anything to kill him. Singed is well known for his Insanity poison and Poison Trail combo along with Ghost and Mega Adhesive for chasing down people. I suggest you rush your Mercury's Treads for this guy. Just take note of ganks, because his fling and slow is really gonna hurt! By the way, please don't chase him.







mercy


cutthroat


The Blade's Shadow


Assassin, Melee

Difficulty :Medium
Possibility of successful gank :Low
Counters: Lee Sin, Riven , Yorick , Pantheon
Counter Mechanics : Stealth Detection, CC, Armor, Harass Early Game
Detail : Talon is another very strong laner that deals tons of damage especially when his combo is done right. The person who wins the lane depends mainly on how well each farms and which person does the better decision. In 1 v 1 situation, the outcome may come in question. However, I like to harass him as much as possible so that he knows you're not scared of him. However his noxian diplomacy is really devastating.







Camouflage





The Swift Scout


Ranged, Stealth, Support

Difficulty : Hard
Possibility of successful gank :Medium
Counters: Akali , Yorick , Pantheon
Counter Mechanics : Stealth Detection, Magic Resist, Armor, Gap-closers
Detail : Teemo has got to be the most annoying champion ever no doubt.He's going to constantly harass you all day. Take advantage by being aggressive early game, because he's squishy so ask for a gank often. He also has a blind, kind of like your dodge ability so both of you are pretty equal. However, just be aware of his mushrooms and get an early Oracle's Elixir when you can.













The Piltover Enforcer


Melee, Fighter

Difficulty :Hard
Possibility of successful gank :Medium
Counters: Jax , Teemo , Jayce , Garen, Riven
Counter Mechanics: Knock backs, armor, mobile champions with CC
Detail : Vi is definitely a strong champ because she can deal a ton of damage even when she is tanky. She counters you. When you try and escape, she can just dash forward with her Q and also don't forget her harassing ability E. This actually deals quite a bit of damage and she can use this twice in a duration. Not only that, every 3rd of her basic attacks deals bonus damage which will hurt you quite a bit!













The Crimson Reaper


Mage, Ranged, Fighter

Difficulty :Medium
Possibility of successful gank :Medium
Counters: Riven , Swain , Xin Zhao , Irelia
Counter Mechanics: Magic Resist, Burst Damage, Healing Reduction
Detail : Vladimir is basically one of those champs with incredible sustain. You're going to exhaust your mana already when he's still in lane with a large amount of HP thanks to his spmmable Transfusion. It even gets worse once he gets Hextech Revolver. Furthermore, there's a possibility he can beat you 1 v 1 because of Sanguine Pool. He's going to harass you as much as he can with Q which you can't really do anything.














The Thunder's Roar


Mage, Ranged, Fighter

Difficulty :Medium
Possibility of successful gank :Low-Medium
Counters: Darius , Teemo , Jayce , Yorick
Counter Mechanics: Ignite, Healing Reduction
Detail : Volibear is a decently tough matchup. He is tanky, and can choose to build damage dealing items as well. What I suggest you do is just to farm somewhat passively, and make sure your wards are up in lane. His Thundering Smash definitely is going to be devastating especially when the opposing jungler ganks. It's hard to win against him 1 v 1 but the outcome might be in question.













The Monkey King


Melee, Stealth, Fighter

Difficulty : Medium
Possibility of successful gank :Medium
Counters: lee sin , Darius , Olaf . Garen
Counter Mechanics: Range, CC , Armor
Detail : Wukong is definitely an annoying matchup. The reason for this is because of his famous combo E > Q > W. This basically is his harassing tool all day and he'll always want to try and get in range to do this combo. Of course, the problem with Warrior Trickster as well is he can lead you to a bait to the jungler. Not only that but hitting the Warrior Trickster will result in a massive loss especially during 1 v 1 situations.













The Seneschal of Demacia


Assassin, Melee, Fighter

Difficulty :Easy-Medium
Possibility of successful gank :Medium
Counters: Jax , Malphite , Volibear
Counter Mechanics: Armor, Attack Speed Reduction, Taunts, Blinds, Dodge
Detail : Xin Zhao is one of the comfort zones for you. He can't do so much to you because you're basically tanky and by the time late game comes, he can't do much against you. Both of you has a knock up and slow. I suggest you gank him constantly early game to shut him down, and Xin has no escapes so this will definitely be a useful tactic. Take note as well he can dash to you anytime he wants to.













The Gravedigger


Melee, Pusher, Fighter

Difficulty : Hard
Possibility of successful gank :Medium
Counters: Cho'Gath , Trundle , Xin Zhao , Nunu & Willump
Counter Mechanics: High sustain, Armor, Gap-closer bruisers
Detail : Yorick is again one of your nightmare match ups. He is extremely strong especially when spamming his abilities. Yorick has a slow, and 2 omens that deal quite a big amount of damage and one of them heals for an amount. This is his sustain ability. However, take the fight to him 1 v 1 in full health. He's so difficult to kill and his passive and ulti just makes your life harder. All I can say is farm safely.






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Summary




First of all, I would like to thank all of you for reading through my guide. If you found something that you would want to ask me, don't hesitate to comment below. It's nice to have this build finished because this is the first proper one that i've done and spent a long time doing.

The builds above are based on what I have the most success with and I've gone through the things that can help you out in game through my experience in playing Jarvan IV.

I would be glad if you can give this build positive ratings and comments. I'll gladly reply to the comment sections below if you do in fact have any questions.

I would be glad if you can give this build positive ratings and comments. I'll gladly reply to the comment sections below if you do in fact have any questions. Again do not rely on looking at builds and masteries alone!

Here below is my "proof" video. This is me doing a live commentary and showing some of my best scores as well as my ranked stats for Season 2 and 3. I thought this would be a better idea instead of uploading scores of my photos one by one, and you guys can hear my ****py voice =(. Although I am well-aware the voice sounds a tad low, it's my first time using camtasia :D. More to come though. Please watch it on youtube, it's most likely to have a higher and better quality there. The timer is here below if you wanted to see my main champ's stats for Season 2 and Season 3. I figured some of you would only want to see my main champ stats so here you go.

Here's the timer:

Season 2 - 56/67 (45.5%)
Xin Zhao- 5:04
Jax- 3:31
Jarvan IV- 4:48
Jayce- 6:21
Lee Sin- 7:41
Darius- 5:45

Season 3 - Currently 33/46 (41.8%)
Jax- 10:18
Xin Zhao - 10:09
Jarvan IV- Lacking Games Currently
Jayce- 10:50
Lee Sin- 12:31
Darius - 12:37





Scores of the people who have tried this guide.

GAM NeMeSiS



vIBlazeIV




justStaxx






You can find their work here:
http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/making-a-guide-101506
http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/how-to-use-columns-194730
http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/zyra-build-guide-the-queen-of-thorns-in-depth-231902
http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/tinystars-signature-boutique-lt-3-resources-and-more-248498


Other things I do besides LoL





If you want a quick and simple snack which takes no effort and cost to do then look no further into my Cheese and Mushroom Melt!



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League of Legends Champions:

Teamfight Tactics Guide