Jayce Build Guide by Zylozs

Intro

Hello and welcome to your enemies destruction. In this guide i'm hoping to show you the power of Jayce. You will learn his killing potential and see why he is a true force to reckon with.

I grew up learning that if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't. I don't mind constructive criticism but when you purposely insult something about my guide, i don't appreciate it. Keep your comments clean and helpful, not dirty and hurtful. That counts for votes too. Troll voting is very disrespectful and I don't appreciate it people.

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO POSTED GREAT ADVICE IN THE COMMENTS! 68k VIEWS, WOW! PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE WHEN ABLE TO! :D

THIS GUIDE IS STILL IN PROGRESS. PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND BEFORE MAKING ANY JUDGEMENTS. I WILL BE UPDATING THIS WHEN I SEE FIT ACCORDING TO RECENT PATCHES AND UPDATES TO JAYCE AND HIS PLAYSTYLE OR BUILD

Background

Armed with wit, charm, and his signature transforming hammer, Jayce lives to protect his native Piltover. He rose to prominence as an inventor, one whose magnetic personality and innovative creations brightened the lives of his nation's people. However, his technological marvels also attracted the attention of Piltover's enemies. Viktor, the machine-augmented scientist from Zaun, staged a deadly raid on Jayce's laboratory, barely impeded by the lab's meager security force. Viktor stole designs for an arcane power converter. Jayce feared that Viktor would create weapons of devastating power with the stolen technology. He implored the Piltover government to respond, but the officials were unwilling to support an act of aggression. Refusing to allow his own inventions to threaten the people of Piltover, Jayce decided to strike back against Viktor himself.

Jayce returned to his laboratory and began making preparations for his one-man attack. After an intense period of research, development, and hands-on testing, he emerged. He had created an array of powerful armaments, including his crowning achievement – the versatile, transforming Mercury Hammer. Armed and ready, Jayce began his assault, easily smashing aside Viktor's acolytes as they rushed to stop him. Jayce fought his way into the heart of the lab and confronted Viktor, forcing the Zaunite to flee. After destroying Viktor's prototype weapon, Jayce returned to Piltover where he was hailed as a hero. He reveled in the adoration, but he knew that his actions had provoked the nation's enemies. Now devoted to the defense of his people, Jayce is Piltover's best hope for a bright future.

"Trust me: if we're smart, Piltover can stand strong against any threat. Hey, I'm living proof."
―Jayce

Pros / Cons

Pros: + Hits hard with Q + His E is does percent dmg + Uncatchable! + Huge Killing Potential + Ranged and Melee!

Cons: - Tricky Combos - Focused - New (prone to nerfs) - Hard skill shot with Q & E - Only 2 skins

Summoner Spells

Since Jayce is new, there is still plenty of time to fiddle with summoner spells. However, as with any other champion, he has a default set that works great!

This spell is great to have on any champion simply because of the ability to maneuver through walls or to get closer to your target. Since Jayce has no real escape methods (through walls), it makes a very viable escape tool! (Don't get me wrong, he is hard as **** to catch when running!)

This spell is very nice to have on Jayce because it allows him finishing power when they try to escape or if they have a heal that you want to reduce. I would recommend always having ignite on him.

This spell is a great alternative to Flash because it gives you a slow to keep them at you while you pummel their face in. I would not replace Ignite with this.

I realize the list is very short but Jayce is very new and there is still much to try out with him. Feel free to try out what you enjoy!

Runes

I've heard the argument many times and this is why i'll clarify this straight away. You can build your champion the way YOU want to. This is a guide and is meant to help newer players to the champion and give tips to current players to improve their game.

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This will give you a very nice amount of damage early game. Why would you do this? The answer is simple. You'll hit harder. You will need it.

This gives you a nice bit of armor on your champion to prevent the problem that armor penetration runes give! (go figure). It is also a personal preference. I prefer flat armor seals over armor per level seals because the initial armor is more important (because of early game laning).

This gives you a good foot in the door for those AP casters out there. Since they don't really hurt until late game, you wont need the flat glyphs as much as the magic resist per level glyphs. This is also preference.

These quintessences continue with the marks, giving you a ton of damage at level 1.

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This gives you the survivability you need when soloing top (over the damage quints). The extra added health will definitely come in handy!

Masteries

I use standard AD masteries. They work well on Jayce and I see no reason to change them. I invest 21 points in the offense tree and 9 points in the defense tree.

Skills

Jayce is interesting. He gets his ultimate at level 1 and is able to rank it up to 4. He is the third champion to have access of all his abilities at level 1 (behind Karma and Udyr). Below I have text from the wiki page (link here) with annotations by me in orange.

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Hextech Capacitor (Passive) : Jayce gains 40 movement speed for 1.25 seconds and ignores unit collision each time Transform is cast.

This passive is very useful when it comes to switching forms in combat or when you are trying to run to/from an enemy. Use this to your advantage!

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To the Skies! / Shock Blast (Q) : MAX FIRST

To the Skies (Hammer) -- (Active): Jayce leaps to an enemy, dealing physical damage to his target and to enemies in the area, slowing them for 2 seconds.

Shock Blast (Cannon) -- (Active): Fires an orb of electricity that detonates upon hitting an enemy or reaching the end of its path, dealing magic damage to all enemies in the area of the explosion.

This i believe is a large part of who Jayce is. It is his harassment and his gap closer all in one. It makes for a good farming tool (regardless of which form he is in) and he can use this to really put the hurting on the enemy.

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Lightning Field / Hyper Charge (W) : GRAB A POINT AT 4, MAX LAST

Lightning Field (Hammer) --
(Passive): Jayce regenerates mana each time he strikes an enemy while in Hammer Stance.
(Active): Creates an electric aura, dealing magic damage over 4 seconds to nearby enemies.

Hyper Charge (Cannon) -- (Active): Jayce gains a burst of energy, increasing his attack speed to maximum for 3 attacks. These attacks deal varied damage depending on rank.

This is probably his most useless move early game and one of his best moves late game. You hardly ever get much out of his lightning field because you don't build AP and its just there to help you out (in small amounts). As for his hyper charge, you get a lot of this late game but early game it wont be of much use because you don't invest points in it. Make sure to use this whenever you can in combat (and you can switch back to hammer after activating it to attack super fast with a hammer!).

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Thundering Blow / Acceleration Gate (E) : GRAB A POINT AT 2, MAX SECOND

Thundering Blow (Hammer) -- (Active): Deals magic damage equal to a base amount plus a percentage of the target's maximum health, knocking the target back a short distance. This damage is capped against monsters.

Acceleration Gate (Cannon) -- (Active): Deploys an Acceleration Gate for 4 seconds, increasing the movement speed of all allies who pass through it for 3 seconds. This bonus fades over the duration.
If Shock Blast is fired through the gate, the missile speed and range will be increased, and its damage will increase by 40%.

This is the bread and butter of Jayce. Its his enormous burst damage, his combo move, and his escape/catching mechanism all in one. In hammer form, he can deal massive damage with his attack. It knocks them back and does damage plus a percent of their maximum health (this gets up to 20%!!). In cannon form, he gets his acceleration gate which speeds up him and his team mates (when stepping through it) and it opens up the combo with his Q (just fire the Q through his gate to speed it up, increase its distance, and damage). His E is probably the best thing about him!

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Transform: Mercury Cannon / Transform: Mercury Hammer (Ultimate) : GRAB A POINT AT 6, 11, AND 16

Transform: Mercury Cannon -- (Active): Transforms the Mercury Hammer into the Mercury Cannon, gaining new abilities and ranged attacks.
The next attack in Cannon Stance reduces the enemy's armor and magic resist for 5 seconds.

Transform: Mercury Hammer -- (Active): Transforms the Mercury Cannon into the Mercury Hammer, gaining new abilities and bonus armor and magic resist.
The next attack in Hammer Stance deals additional magic damage.

This ultimate is great. He gets it automatically at level 1 and it gives him the option of being Ranged or Melee. It opens up combos, gives movement speed and it increases his killing potential. Switching forms often in combat will give you a huge advantage over your opponent with the buff/debuffs this ability gives.

Combos!

Jayce has a whole arsenal of combos up his sleave. He is able to shoot balls at large ranges and jump over walls. With this section, i'll do my best to explain a wide variety of combos available to Jayce and please note that I might miss some so feel free to tell me what I could add to improve this section!

THIS SECTION IS CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS BUT HAS BEEN RELEASED EARLY TO PROVIDE PLAYERS WITH SOME INFORMATION. SOME INFORMATION IS BETTER THAN NONE! THANKS FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING :)

Make sure you are in Mercury Cannon form. Place your Acceleration Gate (E) in front of you. Fire your Shock Blast (Q) through your Acceleration Gate. This will increase its range, accelerate its speed and increase the damage dealth by 40%.

USE: Harrassment (Primarily), Team Fights, To View Bushes/Buffs


Make sure you are in Mercury Hammer form. Use your To The Skies! (Q) on your enemy (or near the enemy) to slow them and close the gap. Use your Thundering Blow (E) to hit the enemy into your team or away from you/your team.

USE: Positioning the Enemy (Primarily), To Initiate, To Jump Through Walls


Make sure you are in Mercury Cannon form. Activate Hyper Charge (W) and then use Transform: Mercury Hammer (ULTIMATE) to go into hammer form. Attack an enemy before the buff wears off to hit them rapidly with your hammer.

USE: Hammer Time (Primarily), Fun Combo :)

NOTE: VIDEO IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

Laning

THIS SECTION IS CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS

Items

Now we get to the important part, the items. Items give you advantages and advantages get the the kills and hopefully the win. With my Jayce build, you get the best things about Jayce and it lets you show his true colors.

AD GLASS CANNON:

These items start you off well and give you what you need early game to stay ahead. You get two Doran's Blades because they give you a bit of health, lifesteal, and damage which you will need to survive and thrive early on. The boots give you your movement speed to keep up with your opponent/s.


You want to pick up your B. F. Sword as quick as you can after your second Doran's Blade to make sure you don't fall behind in damage. Once you get that, grab your max boots and finish up your The Black Cleaver. Since Jayce does well with a high attack speed, getting this over Last Whisper is highly favorable.


Get yourself a Zeal and finish off your phantom dancer for that great attack speed, movement speed and crit! Pickup a vampiric scepter for the lifesteal because your Doran's Blades are starting to get obsolete.


Grab another B.F. Sword (selling one of your Doran's Blades and make yourself an Infinity Edge. Then you can make a The Bloodthirster and a second The Bloodthirster to finish your build. This last bloodthirster is optional. I would highly recommend situational items over it (or a Phantom Dancer if you chose to grab a Trinity Force over your Phantom Dancer earlier).

OFF TANK SOLO TOP:

x 3
Start off with boots and pots. This will give you the extra movement speed and some pots to survive the early game troubles of solo laning. On your first return, grab a Doran's Blade for the extra damage and health.


On your second (or even first) return back to base, grab a ruby crystal or even a phage if you have the gold. This will give you a good advantage over your opponent and keep them from running when you almost have them. When you get the change, finish up your Mercury's Treads.


Your first complete item will be the Trinity Force. This gives you a lot of good stats as an AD champion, and you will definitely enjoy it. Next you will grab a B. F. Sword for the damage that you are starting to lack, a Vampiric Scepter to keep up with your lifesteal needed to sustain yourself and finally finishing your The Black Cleaver. I prefer making a The Black Cleaver over other items but this is easily replaced with Infinity Edge or perhaps even a Last Whisper (i don't recommend the Last Whisper).


Now you are nearing the end of your build. You want to grab a Giant's Belt to finish up your Frozen Mallet. This will be amazing on Jayce as an Off Tank. Next you'll finish off your The Bloodthirster that you started earlier and finish off your build with a Guardian Angel. The Guardian Angel is a situational item. This slot is where I would highly recommend switching out the item for situational items to counter the enemy team.

The text above is describing the builds I use. Please take a look in the Chapter below which will explain situational items and good alternatives to items above.

Situational and Alternative Items

There comes a point in time when your build can branch off into what is needed for the game. Once you have completed your first The Bloodthirster, you are free to select what is needed or wanted. But how do we determine what is needed? These kind of items are called situational items.

In the previous Chapter, I have The Bloodthirster as my last item (AD GLASS CANNON) and Guardian Angel as my last item (OFF TANK SOLO TOP). Now these are my situational items (generic ones). Listed below are some good questions to ask yourself about the enemy composition and items that would be great for countering them.

WHAT DOES THE ENEMY TEAM HAVE/WHAT DO I NEED?

• Do they have less than 150 armor? ----> Build what you want (preferably damage) Suggestion: The Bloodthirster
• Do they have more than 150 armor? ----> You are already set! You have a The Black Cleaver!
• Are they AD centered? ----> Build armor Suggestion: Thornmail or Randuin's Omen
• Are they AP centered? ----> Build magic resist Suggestion: Force of Nature or Maw of Malmortius
• Is your health just not enough? ----> Build Health Suggestion: Frozen Mallet or Warmog's Armor
• Do you want to move faster or hit faster? ----> Build movement/attack speed Suggestion: Phantom Dancer or Trinity Force
• Are your CD too long for you? ----> Build Cooldown Reduction Suggestion: Youmuu's Ghostblade
• Are you trying to protect your kill streak? ----> Get a second life! Suggestion: Guardian Angel

Some of the items above are probably not what you would of expected. I'm not surprised because most of you probably watched the champion spotlight and you've probably already seen some builds other people created in-game. But since I want to clarify that this is NOT the only way to do it, I will show some great alternatives to items above!

This item works well on Jayce as with most AD carrys. It gives him a few good stats like health, mana, movement speed, and a slow.

WHY: The Phantom Dancer is great, but some people prefer the stats that the Trinity Force has to offer. There is nothing wrong with this choice. Its all preference.

This item is very underrated and underused. Its a lot better than people give it credit for. Its not just a troll item people! It gives a bit of attack speed and life which are both great on Jayce

WHY: The phantom dancer is brilliant and amazing, but this is a LIGHTNING champion. I mean he is like Thor with his hammer and lightning so why not get a fun item for that?

This is a great item to build for anyone looking for tankyness (whether you are a tank or not). You get a bunch of health, and you also get a bunch of health regen. Both become quite useful late game.

WHY: The Trinity Force already gives you the slow from the phage and they don't stack. You might prefer to replace the extra damage from the Frozen Mallet for the extra health from the Warmog's Armor. This is a viable option, but is preference.

MORE ITEMS WILL BE ADDED IF I SEE MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO CHANGE THE BUILD WITHOUT HAMPERING IT. FEEL FREE TO SUGGEST ITEMS!

Updates

7/11 -- Added new text in skills section to inform players on what skills to max first. Released part of 'Combos' section. Added cool new banners that i made in PS!(68k+ views! thanks for all the support!)
7/10 -- Added Warmog's Armor to alternative items and updated the skills section to include icons for the abilities. (45k+ views! thx!)
7/10 -- Added an Off tank build for Jayce and updated the chapters accordingly. (30k+ views! thx guys!)
7/9 -- guide created!

Concluding Notes

Thanks for reading my guide! This guide should of showed you why Jayce can be a true force to reckon with and hopefully you will go out and show the world who's boss!



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