Jarvan IV Build Guide by RealmriderX1

Introducion

Who is Jarvan IV?

Jarvan is a Attack Damage Melee Damage-per-second champion, and his purpose is dishing out some major damage, while still be able to receive some. He is meant to be played as a tanky DPSer, and his abilities are making him a good Crowd-Control-effect's user. His combo is highly CC-ish, and it's very distracting while fighting in teamfights. I use a very specific build, and with it you are going to be a super tank dishing out TON of damage.

If most answers on these questions are YES, then Jarvan IV is a perfect champion for you! He is naturally very tanky, he reaches level 4 easily before 4th minute of the game, he isn't difficult to play, he is very fun to play with, and he is one of the few junglers played on Dreamhack 2011. Jarvan is excelling in combination with absolutely any champion, and therefore as you can predict, these facts make him one of the best League of Legends champions. He is a Jack-of-all-Trades. Overall he's a fantastic champion, and i would highly suggest you trying him out.

Powerful Pro's/Critical Con's

Good ol' Pro's/Con's section. Here, Imma list Jarvan IV's pro's & con's. Of course each champion has some, and therefore Jarvan has them also.

Pro's: + Very unique and versatile champion + A tanky jungler + Has a fair jungle speed + Has his own shield, and a slow in a pack + Good sustain, very durable + Lethal ganker + Good escape mechanism

Con's: - He has very low base Movement Speed - He has a lot of mana problems - Without decent items, his damage is not pleasing

Runes

The Runes section. As soon as you reach level 30, you have 30 rune slots available to place rune stones within. Using runes will make you stronger ingame, and will notably increase your statistics without any other aditional items or masteries. I will now gladly explain the skillset i use for Jarvan IV.



- As my Marks, i enjoy using Flat-Armour penetration runes. With these, I am literally much stronger throughout the whole game. I deal a lot more damage to monster early in the game, and I am much more lethal later, considering that the enemy team surely is gonna buy armour items. Also a good replacement for Armour Penetration runes would be 9 Greater Marks of Might(AD Per-Level) or 9 Greater Marks of Alacrity, which are very effective early in the game.

- As Seals, I preffer using 9 Greater Seals of Resillence, which give me flat armour which we desperately need early in the game. Actually, I don't think it's possible to jungle without these, unless yo' a Warwick, but if you have an idea of how to sucessfully jungle without these, then please tell me. By the way, a viable replacement would be either Flat or 9 Health regen Seals.



- As my Glyphs, I preffer taking either Flat or Per level Magic Resistance runes. These are probably the best choice, because they give us the early/mid to late game tankiness to counter the enemy AP champions which you may encounter while roaming, countering or just going for a gank. I often replace these runes with 9 Greater Glyphs of Alacrity, they are also viable, but if you take these you won't be really as durable as you are supposed to be.



- As Quints, I preffer taking 3 Flat-Attack Damage runes. These are the best option IMO, because they are making me hit harder early in the game, it's just self-explanatory. A viable replacements would be Per-Level Attack Damage, or Flat Armor Penetration ..

Masteries

When playing jungle Jarvan, I enjoy using the 0-21-9 setup. I don't focus on taking damage stuff because I don't feel like I need any aditional damage from masteries as I already have enough of it from my runes.

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I use 21 points in Defensive Mastery Tree. I take a point in Summoner's Resolve for empowered Smite, so I get bonus gold when using it. I spend 3 points in Hardiness for a nice armor bonus, considering that we greatly benefit from it while in the early jungle game. I take two points in Tough Skin so that i block some of the monster damage, which is very helpful IMO. 3 points in Vigor for a precious Health Regeneration bonus. I use 4 points in Durability and one point in Veteran's Scars for a massive early game Health Bonus. Then, a point in Bladed Armor , which makes me reflect more damage. I take 2 points out of 3 in Enlightenment for a nice Cooldown reduction. Then i take 3 points in Honor Guard mastery to reduce the incoming damage. Pretty useful mastery, Finally, a point in Juggernaut for health growth and reducement of CC effects.

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Rest of the points, I spend in Utility Mastery Tree. That way I get some nice bonuses , helping me while playing. I took a point in Summoner's Insight for reduced cooldown on Flash. Then, 3 points in Expanded Mind for a NICE mana bonus, and a point in Improved Recall , for a faster blue-pill. Then i take 3 points in Meditation for 3% Mana regeneration. This mastery is a must have imo, Jarvan IV has a lot of mana problems after the game barely starts, and this enables you to jungle sucessfully, WITHOUT buying a Philosopher's Stone. I spend my last point in Runic Affinity for prolongued buff duration.

I love this setup because it really makes me shine throughout the whole game. I am durable enough to survive ganks, jungle invasions, and also I'm also much more utilized. I never tried other mastery setups, and I don't think you should try as well.

Summoner Spells

Each champion has two summoner spells you pick in Champion Select. In the text below, I will explain about Jarvan IV's best choices, as well as fair and the bad ones.

These three are obviously, the best choices for Jarvan. I often use Ghost instead of Flash, but having Flash is sometimes crucial so nevermind, taking any of these is alright.





Smite is a pretty self-explanatory spell. It makes you jungle much faster, and with it you have like 50% more jungle control. You can steal the enemy buffs, AKA counter jungle, you have Baron & Dragon control, and simply without having Smite, you aren't a jungler, just a roamer and a consta-ganker. Therefore, this spell is a MUST-HAVE 100%. Do not attempt to jungle without Smite unless you're a Warwick. Eventhough, you still can't do as well with it.





Ghost is the spell, equally good as Flash which I take in case the enemy team has runners and kiters. Why take Ghost over Flash? Well, you can easily catch up with fleeing champions, which often happens, and Jarvan IV needs movement speed to catch up his enemies with Cataclysm. Overall, a very good spell to have.





Flash is, no doubts, the best spell in League of Legends at the moments, and currently it's the metagame on every champion. You can use it to jump over a wall, your ultimate, catch up with your targets, and simply you can use it for a whole lot of things. I take this if I play normal games, but if I go a ranked game, then it's Ghost.

These four spells are also viable, although I still preffer Flash & Ghost over each of them. But if you are sure in taking some of these, then go on, feel free to do it.





Ignite is a fair spell, but it's not that needed and necessary on Jarvan IV. It can often secure a kill during a gank, but it has a long cooldown, and a jungler doesn't need something like Ignite that much, because every jungler needs a utility spell to chase/flee/invade with. Ignite is not a very good choice.





Best spell possible to take on a laning Jarvan IV along with Flash. Although it's one of the best spells in the game, I do NOT take it when jungling. I used it when i was new to playing Jarvan, but then i realized that Ghost is a much better spell and therefore, Exhaust isn't really good, but it's viable.





Taking Cleanse is also a viable idea, but still not so good as primary spells. Why? Well, you won't really need something like it because you already get tanky enough to survive some Crowd Control Effects, especially later in the game. If you are a new Jarvan player, then go on and take this ability.




The rest of the spells are those I don't see benefitial. Therefore, you shouldn't consider taking any of them.

Skillset: Primary stuff & Details

In this section, i will list & explain some stuff about Jarvan IV's skillset. He has a lovely couple of abilities which you are gonna love.

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Martial Cadence (Passive): This is Jarvan IV's passive ability. Its a nice little thing to have. What does it do? Jarvan's 1st basic attack on a target will deal a certain percentage of their health, 6% til' level 6, 8% til level 11, and 10% after you supr*** level 16. The maximum damage you can deal with this ability caps at 400. The cooldown on this passive lasts for 6 seconds, but the cooldown will count only on a target that has been affected by Martial Cadence in the last 6 seconds. Additionally, you can hit multiple targets, but the cooldown on every target you have hit will count down particulary. Overall a good passive ability, which lets you burn through the jungle.

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Dragon strike (Q): This is Jarvan IV's 1st ability. When activated, apparently, Jarvan "extends" his spear, and he deals damage to all enemy units in a line, while reducing their armour for 10 / 14 / 18 / 22 / 26%. If the lance encounters Jarvan's Demacian Standard flag, then it immediately pulls him towards it, and while on it's way, it deals damage and knocks up units he passes through. This ability is a nice tool, fantastic when jungling in combination with passive buffs you get from your E. Cooldown lasts for 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 seconds, and using it costs 45 / 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 mana.

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Golden Aegis (W): This is Jarvan's second ability. On activation, Jarvan gains a shield, slowing each surrounding enemy unit for 2 seconds, and the shield grows stronger with the each enemy around him. This ability is so much useful in jungle, i absolutely adore it. It absorbs a fair amount of damage you should be supposed to, but thankfully, Riot gave Jarvan this ability. The cooldown lasts for 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 seconds, and using this ability costs 65 mana. Shield Strength is equal to 50 / 90 / 130 / 170 / 210 points per level.

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Demacian Standard (E): This is Jarvan IV's third normal ability. Passively, it increases Jarvan's attack speed for 10 / 13 / 16 / 19 / 22%, and it increases Jarvan's armor for 10 / 13 / 16 / 19 / 22 points per level. When activated, Jarvan throws a flag to a nearby area, dealing minor magic damage. The flag lasts for eight seconds, and while it does, the passive effect will convert into an aura granting the allied champions it's bonuses. The cooldowns lasts 13 seconds, and it costs 55 mana. This ability is just great. It's a perfect scouting tool, it gives you a great passive buff, and the most important, this ability is crucial for your combo. This ability is targetable by teleport, and the aura range is 1200 points long.

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Cataclysm (Ulti, R): This is Jarvan IV's ultimate. It's one of the best ganking tools in the whole game IMO. On activation, Jarvan will hit the target of his with such a force that he will literally deform the ground, and literally create an arena of ground, trapping each unit(both enemy & allied) in it. This ability deals 200 / 325 / 450 (+1.5 per bonus attack damage), the cooldown lasts 120 / 105 / 90 seconds, and using this ability costs 100 / 125 / 150 mana. Jarvan can destroy the ring of terrain by activating the ability again. Cataclysm's ring of terrain can be crossed in the same ways as other walls with Flash, blinks or dashes. Because Jarvan to jumps to a target, not to a location, he will jump great distances if the target uses Flash or Teleport at the right moment. This ultimate is great. It makes your post-level 6 ganks literally lethal, so it's barely possible that your target can escape you. Just be sure to carefully aim with it.

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Ability Sequence

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I preffer maxing Jarvan IV's abilities in a very specific way. I take a point in Demacian Standard at level one for the Attack Speed passive boost which is sweet, and for the much needed, great armour buff. I take a point in Dragon Strike so i can perform my combo at level 2, maybe go for a gank etc. I take another point in Demacian Standard at level 3, and then i keep maxing it til' level 9 where i max it out. Then i keep taking points in Dragon Strikes, and i max that ability by level 13. Finally i max out my ultimate, of which i take points at levels 6, 11 and 16. I max Golden Aegis by level 18, and i obviously max it last.


You can try reverting the ability sequence, and max it in order that you max Golden Aegis first, Demacian Standard second, Cataclysm and Dragon Strike last, although i do NOT suggest you doing that. IMO,E>Q>W>R is the best sequence available, because i practically get damage, and lots of armour and attack speed.

Item Build: Core Items

In this section, we'll be discussing about must-have items, the core items for Jarvan IV. What are the core items? -Core items are those items that make you work properly, that are your statistic core, and without them you literally can't work well.

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Wriggle's Lantern is your 1st core item. This is a 1st must-have item, because it's so crucial and basically you can't jungle sucessfully without it unless you're a Nunu or Fiddlesticks. Wriggle's Lantern gives you 30 Armour, which mean you get sustain from it. It gives you 12% Lifesteal, which is basically more sustain. You get a unique passive, you have 20% chance to deal 425 magic damage to a minion/monster. Plus, you get a free constant ward source from it. It's worth every single gold point, so you want to buy this item.

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Mercury's Treads are the best boots available for Jarvan IV along with Ninja Tabi, but that's very situational. Treads provide you with early game much-needed Magic Resistance(25), and they give you 35 Tenacity points. Basically whenever you take these boots, you'll be much more resistant to all disabling effects(snares,slows,stuns..) and considering you're playing a jungler(who's task is to gank constantly and help his teammates), these boots are the best choice possible. I highly preffer taking Mercury's Treads over any other boots.

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Trinity Force is an absolute 100% must-have item. Trinity Forfce(Triforce) will comprehensively boost your stats. 1st of all, you get some basic stats, 30 Attack Damage, 30 Ability Power, 30% Attack Speed, 15% Crit. strike chance, 250 Health & Mana and 12% Movement Speed. Seems fair. 2nd, you get 25% chance to slow your target for 35% on a basic attack as a unique passive, which is also very pleasing. But the real thing comes after you get Sheen. Each time you use an ability, ( Golden Aegis), your next attack will deal 150% ADDITIONALY of your base attack damage. Which basically means you'll roflstomp your targets. This item is worth every gold point, so please always buy this item regardless of the situation you're in.

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Item Build: Offensive Items

In this section, we'll be discussing about Offensive items to buy on Jarvan IV, and i will explain the purpose of each item listed.

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The Brutalizer: I take this item early in the game, especially if im dominating over the enemy jungler. It gives me 25 Attack Damage, which sincerely isn't much, but the armor penetration from it is just amazing, plus 15% cooldown reduction. Great item overall, and it's convertable into Youmuu's Ghostblade later on.

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Wit's End: This is my favourite offensive item to buy on Jarvan. It's just amazing, it gives 40% Attack Speed, which is GREATLY stacking with your passive Attack Speed buff and Attack Speed from Zeal. You get like 100% additional attack speed, and in the same time you have enough survivability. I would really suggest you to buy this item instead of any other.

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Maw of Malmortius: This is a new item, and i havent test it yet, but it seems like a very strong anti-AP weapon. The things you get from it are Attack Damage and Magic resistance+that super passive, its literally an anti- Kassadin/ Veigar/Other AP nukers' weapon. I'd suggest buying it if the enemy team has a champion similar to those few above. But it's ****ing expensive.

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Last whisper: I take LW when the enemy team stacks enormous amounts of armour, for example if they have Rammus, Amumu or Pantheon. It's a relatively cheap item, worth of buying but as i said it's very situational.

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The Bloodthirster: I wouldn't really suggest you buying TBT, but it can be quite useful if you are absolutely overwhelming the enemy team. Snowballing on a jungler isn't really viable nowadays, but with a fully stacked Bloodthirster, you get 100 Attack Damage+25% Lifesteal. It can stack nicely with Wriggle's Lantern Lifesteal, but overall, this item is.."meh".

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Item Build: Defensive Items

In this section, we'll be discussing about Defensive items to buy on Jarvan IV, as well as about the last item, to replace Philosohper's Stone with.

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Banshee's Veil: This is the best final item to replace Philosopher's Stone with. It gives you everything you actually need. 1st of all, it gives you 350 Health & Mana which is more then welcome. You need health for bulkiness, and Jarvan is mana hungry. You also get 50 magic resistance to close the gap of your build, and when you obtain this item, you'll have approximately 200 armour points and 190 magic resistance. And additionally you get a spell shield which blocks one negative spell each 45 seconds. I repeat, the best item available to end game with.

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Aegis of the legion: This is 2nd of my favourite endgame items for Jarvan IV. It's just great, it gives you Health, Passively AD, Magic Resistance and Armour. What else would you want? It's relatively cheap, so it shouldn't take you too much to buy it. Plus it's an item with aura and therefore it's benefitial for both you and your team. Thanks to GrandmasterD for pointing this out.

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Shurelya's Reverie: This is also one of my favourite endgame items. It's upgradable from Philosopher's Stone, and it's an awesome escape/chasing mechanism. It gives you health, mana & health regen, which we desperately need. I suggest you buying this item if your team already has a fed carry and a tanky top. It synchronizes fantastically with Randuin's Omen, and it's relatively cheap. Great item overall.

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Force of Nature: A fantastic item. It gives you all you'd need if the enemy team relies on their AP carry, and if it's the case that their AP carry is fed. You get a fair amount of Movement Speed which is great, and you get an enormous amount of Health Regen+Magic Resistance. Very self-explanatory. This item is not expensive at all, and therefore it's one of the most viable defensive items to get.

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Frozen Heart: This item is just amazing. In 30% of all games I played, I was buying this item. It will literally obliterate your Mana thirst, and it will make you into a super tank with 99 Armour from it. It's not too cheap considerinng the stats it gives you. It also gives you 20% CDR, and it reduces the Attack Speed of the nearby enemy champions by 20%. Again, this is just an amazing item that will synergize fantastically with your Randuin's Omen and the stats it gives you are extremely welcome.

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Atma's Impaler: This item is also very popular among the current Jarvan pro players including HotshotGG, Dyrus, TheRainMan, The OddOne etc. Buying this item on offtanks is currently metagame, but i still don't list it as my main item. I buy this item if the enemy team has a AD>AP team, but one of their AD champions is highlighting more then others. So, 45 Armour, 18% Critical Chance and that insane passive which converts a certain procent of your HP into AD. Great item eventhough I do not buy it that often.

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Guardian angel: This is the "zero-hour" item, and i buy it if the situation is extraordinary. If i play a ranked game which im apparently losing, then this item is the 1st priority. It gives me both Armour and Magic resistance, plus a new life secured if in case i die. Pretty self explanatory. It's a very cheap item considering it gives you a lot of stuff, but eventhough, I do NOT take it that often.

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Basic Information about Jungle Monsters

Before you even think of jungling, you, of course, need to know the basic information about monsters in jungle. Their purpose, re/spawning time etc. Their respawning period depends of their kind, which means it depends of the monster type. Knowing the respawn time for monsters will enable you to successfully counter-jungle and make your own schedule in a game.

Jungle Route

The jungle route i preffer using is the classic offensive jungle route. Jungling this way is very effective and i think it's the fastest way to clear the jungle. With this route, you are enabled to gank suceffully at level 2 or 3 and still get enough gold to buy boots & 3 potions. This route is the fastest way to level 4, i usually reach it at the end of the third minute.

Ganking

Ganking with Jarvan IV is very easy in my opinion. I mean that it doesn't require any special skill or some special abilities. There is one main combo, and I will explain how to use it. 1st of all, let's all together give a look to the video below. I think that watching this video before explaining would help much more then just lyrically write random stuff.

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So, everyone, you could all notice that the player in the video did NOT immediately use Demacian Standard+ Dragon Strike combo. Why?
- Well, 1st of all, timing. Make your ally approach the target 1st. Then go out of the bush, and make your opponent see you. He will most probably USE his Flash/ Ghost/ Exhaust. When he does, then it's the real time to use the Demacian Standard+ Dragon Strike combo. You'll knock up your target and basically make space for your ally and you'll most likely kill the target. It's simple, really.

Warding

(NOTE: CREDITS GO TO APOTHEOSIS)

Warding is way too over looked by many teams. I'm going to show you how to ward correctly, or at least how my team and I ward. The ward possibilities are obviously endless for 5s. These are the primary areas that you and your team will be warding each and every game.

Order of priority; Use Sight Ward and Vision Ward where necessary:


Baron/Dragon Wards:
However you decide to set these up with your team, whether it be orderly among the team or supports only buy wards, make sure these are always laid out! Baron and Dragon are what we're primarily keeping an eye on here. Early in the match it's not as important obviously, however, you still need to know whether top, mid, or bot will be set up for a gank when enemy laners/junglers are wandering about. These early kills can help the enemy sculpt the rest of the match and land a victory. We don't want to be allowing the enemy to kill either Baron or Dragon. That's a good chunk of gold that will distribute among their team, not to mention Baron's handy buff. Again, don't overlook these wards!

Note: I would recommend using Vision Ward for these locations, especially Baron mid-late game. If not Vision Ward, then make sure someone, usually the tank, has Oracle's Elixir for discovering enemy wards.

Self Privacy Wards:
There's orange points at top, mid, and bot hiding locations. I would hope that your entire team would try to ward the areas entitled to them. These wards are not entirely important, however, they are lifesavers. Junglers and wandering laners will use these bushes to set up for early kills. If you're pushing your lane, then it would be a good idea to ward the bush(s) that is closet to you.

Team Privacy Wards:
These are crucial wards to put out when the match can go either way by eliminating possible ambushes when pushing minions or entering your own jungle.

Game Changing Wards:
Of course all of the wards posted on the map are capable of changing the outcome of a game, but these wards are placed in a location that both teams will always drift by. Reasons to go through the wards (for both teams): Getting to Baron and dragon, changing lanes, shifting from allied jungle to the enemy's jungle (either by self or team) to steal mobs/buffs, shifting as a team to gank the enemy team, etc. If you just have a ward on either Baron and/or dragon, you can still miss the enemy slipping by into your jungle never knowing it. This allows enemies to set up ganks. Therefore, these wards change the outcome of a game because you know whats coming.

Invading Wards:
I thought it was appropriate to name these wards in this manner because you can enter their bushes knowing whether they're there or not before you attempt to set up a gank. The enemy usually walks through these bushes hoping to freely enter their jungle for experience/gold and/or buffs.

Buff Wards:
Monitor your's and enemy's buffs with these wards. Good to set in your own jungle if they start playing dirty and snatching buffs early game from your jungle. These wards are primarily for the junglers of each team.

Closing Words

Well, everyone, i hope you enjoyed this pity guide of mine. I put a whole LOT of effort in it, so I'd like if you could give me some feedback, depending on how well you did with my guide. Please, if you are going to downvote then please explain it well so i can fix the problem. I hope that you found this guide useful, and if you did feel free to send me a shot

-Sincerely, RealmriderX1 from his room in the corner across the bed

Special Thanks

In this section, I'd like to say thanks to certain people:

• Jai, for being so helpful in every mean
• Koksei, for solving out the discussion about early game items
• CombatJack1 for pointing out some nice facts
• Moonedge, for being the 1st person who pointed out that I'm buying Wit's End too late
• Fulundry, for some great point-outs
• Infecious Lepar for reviewing my guide, and pointing out it's cons