Jax Build Guide by ReignReneshin

Introduction to Jax

12/12/2012 Update: Update on lots of stuff, S3 mostly!

Hi there, and welcome to my first guide, featuring Jax! I've been playing him for a really long time, since before his remake. I've been playing since Lux came out so I can say I have hundreds of games with Jax. I play him as a heavy damage hybrid. My aim with this guide is to show how to use Jax, and the hybrid play style that he has.

So let's get started on this guide. What is Jax exactly? He is one of the absolute best bruisers in the game, excelling in both the lane and the jungle. However; this guide will only cover the laning aspect of Jax.

So, if you're interested in a high damage, high mobility and super tanky Champion that dominates, read on! Also, there's a tiny music video that you should play right after you carry a game with Jax. :D

Update: Sunday July 29th, 2012!
Includes:
-New set of Runes
-Small item changes
-Mastery changes

Pros and Cons of Jax

spaaaaaaace

Pros + Good damage + Huge burst + Tanky + Amazing in all stats + Amazingly fun to play + Hits both Magic and Physical damage

space

space

Cons - Weak early game - Early game full combo = Mana killer - Focused in teamfights - Squishier than S1 Jax

Summoner Spells

The Summoner Spells that I use all the time are:



In my opinion, Jax doesn't need Flash because of Leap Strike + Sight Ward. Also, when you Flash and the enemy does too, there's still a gap, while if you use Ghost you can still catch up.




I swear, this is my favourite Spell in this entire game. It's like an Ultimate to me. Remember, if you think you can kill your enemy, pop Ignite first, because of your Summoner's Wrath , you get 5 bonus AD and AP. Start your combo, and boom they should be dead if they're at low HP.


Optional Summoner Spells:



You can never go wrong with Flash, just don't Face Flash, too many top 5 fails. XD Also with the new S3 update Flash has an even longer cooldown so... I don't really prefer it but E - Flash is too good.



This spell can completely shut down an enemy's burst. Great for 1 vs 1.




Eh... In my opinion, not worth it, but Heal baits OP.




Jax gets focused hard in team fights. Get this if you think you'll need it. Get it especially if your enemy has hard CC. (Assuming that you're playing Ranked/Draft)




Good Spell for getting around or getting back to your lane.


DO. NOT. GET.



Nope. You're not the support.




Your burst is good enough, along with your attack speed, no need for this. BUT DON'T WORRY GUISE Guinsoo's Rageblade HAS A SURGE EFFECT AT 50% HP. YAY. And this spell doesn't exist anymore.




Don't get a Summoner Spell that's to be used when you're dead. Unless you're getting Teleport with it. Then it's k. =3




Not too many Mana problems, no need for this because you should BE LAST HITTING MINIONS.




This Spell will make your Minions push the lane. You don't want that because you'll get less farm while your enemies will get more farm. BUT DON'T WORRY GUYS Banner of Command CAN PROMOTE. This spell's gone.



This is really... Meh... Two seconds isn't much, even though it blocks out Ignite for about 2 ticks you could still get killed by it. Also, having Ignite over this spell lets you have more kill potential.



Sure, Jax can jungle, but for this guide, it's a solo top one, so don't get it.

Runes

Greater Mark of Attack Damage(9): Lots of AD is great for last hitting and your Leap Strike runs off AD too!

Greater Seal of Armor(9): Most solo top lanes are attack damage based, so getting Armor Seals is the best choice if you're solo top.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist(9): Magic Resist on Jax is amazing when you're jumping into a cluster of enemies and they're using all their spells on you. The chances of facing an AP top isn't too high, and even if you do, they do pretty low damage early game, so MR per level is a much better choice than flat MR. Thanks to Phil Collins for suggesting this!

Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage(2): More damage for last hitting and everything.

Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed(1): I get this because the extra MS is really helpful, with Mercury Treads you get 401 MS and I've always hated less than 400 MS.



The Runes that I use are made for early tankiness and damage. These Runes will make sure that you can fight against any solo top lane, whether your enemy is an attack damage or an Ability Power Champion.

Masteries

Getting both the armor and magic penetration in the Mastery Tree allows you to have the most amount of damage dealt from both your AP skills and your normal AD attacks. Since 2% attack speed isn't much, investing those two points to do four more damage to minions are a lot more worth it. This is especially true when you don't have enough attack damage and are pushed to your turret. Running deep into the Offense tree ensures that you can do the most amount of damage. The defense Masteries are for the early tankiness of course, along with HP per level scaling so you can be tanky throughout the game. With good natural armor per level and thanks to the Magic Resist per level Runes, you'll have a good amount of resists.

ALTERNATIVELY:

If your team does not have enough tankiness, or your opponent just does way too much, damage, running a different set of Masteries will be highly beneficial.

This lets you be super tanky, but since Jax has ****tons of damage anyways, you can still do a good amount of damage. I actually like running these Masteries at times since you just never die. The enemy ADR will do less damage, and even less so with the crit damage reduction. Oh and Safeguard will just allow you to take less punishment from turret diving! ^^

Skill Sequence and Skill Explanation

Leap Strike at level 1 for damage and jumping to my Minions or Sight Wards if I'm in trouble. I take Counter Strike at level 2 because I've been ganked multiple times at level 2, and this saved me each time. I max Empower and Leap Strike as often as I can to maximize my damage, getting Grandmaster's Might whenever I can, obviously.

This is one of the biggest reasons I love using Jax. This skill is a great gap closer and can be used as an amazing escape skill, assuming that you have a Sight Ward (As Jax, carry at least 1 or 2 all the time).

This skill has an EXTREMELY low cooldown. It increases the damage of your next attack, and resets your auto attack timer. A great way to use this is with Grandmaster's Might. Normal Attack x 2, Empower then on your 3rd hit, your Grandmaster's Might will kick in along with your Sheen if you have one.

This is your one and only crowd control. Hit this before using Leap Strike, then hit E again to stun your enemy. It's an AoE stun, so it's really nice in a team fight. In 1 vs 1 situations where people use auto attacks, this is amazing.

On every 3rd strike, this skill does massive Magic Damage. This is why I play Jax as a hybrid. On your 3rd strike, hit Empower so that you can do even more damage along with your Sheen proc.

Items

Now then, I'll just start with the items that you should finalize with.

These items maximize your damage potential in both the Ability Power and Attack Damage aspects, while giving you the tankiness that you need. Mercury's Treads are amazing on Jax because in a team fight, people love using CC on Jax. Guinsoo's Rageblade, Hextech Gunblade (Or Blade of the Ruined King, and Trinity Force are items that are a must on Jax. The passive on Guinsoo's Rageblade is absolutely amazing on Jax thanks to his passive, Relentless Assault. With the Season 3 update, Guinsoo's Rageblade now grants attack speed, lifesteal, and spellvamp, making you a monster when you're below 50% HP. All these stats benefit Jax, and the passive has a very low cooldown, and lasts as long as you're in combat. Jax skills run off both AD and AP, so Hextech Gunblade gives spell vamp, lifesteal, Ability Power, Attack Damage, and even a unique active that is ranged and can slow your opponent. However, since Blade of the Ruined King is ridiculously powerful now with the % max HP active with attack speed, damage, and lifesteal, you may want to turn to this instead. Guardian Angel is just an amazing item. Get a second chance to kill your enemies and you get a bunch of armor and magic resist as well. The last item that I get is Warmog's Armor, however, getting this item early may be beneficial because people love to focus Jax.

Note: An early Hexdrinker is good against an AP top lane.

Optional/Situational Items

: Oh dear... what was Riot thinking when they buffed this thing. It has attack speed, life steal, damage, and an active that hits % Max HP. Get this, especially if your opponents have a lot of HP.

: This item's actually really good on Jax, and I used to use it more than Blade of the Ruined King, but since BotRK now has attack speed and a % Max HP active, I prefer it over this item. However, every time you hit an enemy Champion, the cooldown for the active goes down by 3, and since Jax autoattacks a lot, along with using his other skills, the cd can be reset a few times during a teamfight. Not bad not bad, expensive though.

: If your enemies don't have too much cc, you can run this, generally top lanes will be AD bruisers, this blocks a lot of their damage.

: This item is great for its attack speed and the Magic Resist that it gives, along with the bonus magic damage it does.

: This item's good, gives crit and damage. The damage is good since you have a lot of natural HP.

: This item is simply amazing. Armor, chance of slow when someone attacks you, and an active AoE slow. If you need the extra tankiness because they're bursting you down, get this.

: I love this item, but I normally don't get it because I don't initiate, I let my team do that then I go wreck the enemy.

: This is a great item to get if they have heavy AP damage. OH WAIT THIS IS REMOVED, NUUUUUUUUUUU. :(

: Good item. TANKTANKTANKTANK. I normally play with a group of friends so I don't get this since they know how to initiate first.

Tips & Tricks

Just some tips and tricks that I always follow to make sure I can escape and get kills.

-Always, ALWAYS carry around at least 1-2 Sight Wards. They've saved me from certain death situations all the time.

-When taking Baron Nashor while you're on the purple side, put one behind the wall and one in the Baron Nashor pit. Once you kill Baron, jump over the wall to safety. Purple > Blue.

-Use your Hextech Gunblade, seriously. I keep seeing people who buy it and then forget to use its active. Use it.

-Instead of hitting Empower then Leap Strike to the enemy, use your Leap Strike, normal attack for the Sheen proc when you have it, then hit Empower. E - Q - Normal Attack - W.

-DO NOT INITIATE. That's not your job, let your tanks do it then you go in and kill the rest.

Just an extra video of how Leap Strike is so helpful:
(unknown embed type)

Scores

Just gonna leave some scores here. Here's my own, following this guide/build:



That leave... My first leave ever. :( My 582nd game is where my record ended. D: Internet died for 2 minutes, I reconnect and the enemies surrender. WAAAIIIIII.

Conclusion

Well, that's the end of my Jax guide for now. I'll be updating it more often when I can. This guide isn't incredibly in-depth but it shows the most important aspects of Jax. I would like to say thanks a lot to jhoijhoi for the BBcoding for this guide. And now, follow this build, and at the end of it, you'll be playing this song:

Made by AoD, featuring CLG. :D