Jax is an extremely strong solo top champion, new players will find that using him takes a decent amount of thought. I've seen people complain that he takes no skill to play, those people have shown you that you've done your job right in completely destroying their moral. Jax is a burst damage bruiser who can also be built as an off-tank yet will still deal an amazing amount of damage in team fights.

DISCLAIMER: This guide is to show you how I play Jax, it should NOT be taken as a strict need to follow guide.

Before you decide anything please look at how I feel about this champion.

Pros
+ Great farmer
+ Holds his own in a fight
+ Splendid Burst Damage
+ Extremely powerful passive
+ Good at Escape and Utility
+ He's purple

Cons (What Cons? He's Jax. no but seriously.)
- Squishy early game
- Must stay fed with either kills or minions
- Isn't that great versus a tanky team

I choose Attack Damage > Ability Power for Jax's Runes, AD Marks, Armor Seals, Magic Resist Glyphs, and AD Quints. Why do I choose AD over AP? Because as a top you'll be facing other tanks or bruisers that can hold their own in a 1v1 fight, having an AD advantage over them is critical in an early stage. Shutting down your enemy top's farm is game changing, gold from minions adds up. The MR and Armor runes gives you a defensive edge over your enemy as well, that bit of resist or armor can be the difference between surviving that gank or managing to get away from a failed turret dive. As a bonus Jax's Ult scales well with the runes.

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For Top I choose a bruiser build, the lack of defense can be countered by your Ult which gives you more Armor and MR depending on how much AP and AD you have.

Junglers usually need to have a Wriggle's Lantern. However Jax does not need the added passive for the bonus damage to minions, it just adds more of a clear time.

Effective Alternatives

Maw of Malmortius: If you need more MR and a nice shield

Warmog's Armor: For a nice health boost.

Youmuu's Ghostblade: Decent Attack Speed, nice AD, and an amazing active.

Force of Nature: Big bonus of MR, HP Regen, and some movement speed.

Guardian Angel: Armor/MR boost, along with a passive that can turn an entire team fight around.

Black Cleaver: AD, Attack Speed, and a passive similar to Kayle's Holy Fervor but for Armor.

These are just some of the possibilities with Jax, as a hybrid most items can find a use.

For ganking: E, W, Q, Spam W when it is up, R if you're losing or diving or plan to take alot of damage

Laning: Poke with W and E, make sure to catch low hp minions with your E as well.

Team fights: Use E, W, Q their carry or high priority target, and R to survive the fight while killing squishies.

Jungling: E for AOE, W for bonus and Q to jump on the biggest creep.

Leap Strike: Jumps to the chosen target enemy or ALLY, remember to use this as an escape in a tight situation.

Empower: Causes your next hit to deal more damage, this spell has a perfect synergy with Leap Strike use it anytime it is off of it's cool-down.

Counter Strike: Is a delayed stun that doubles as a dodge, use it to prevent the enemy carry from running or even to dodge attacks that would otherwise kill you. It is also effective at pushing the minion waves if you use it right ;)

I choose Flash and Ghost to make up for the lack of movement speed that you have. You can use multiple others, just keep Flash.

Good Choices

Ignite: To finish off that last bit of health or to stop healing.

Exhaust: To catch up and slow your enemy or stall them in a team fight.

Smite: Jungling Obviously.

Surge: I wouldn't recommend it but it would synergize well with Jax giving AP and attack speed.

Bad Choices

Clairvoyance: You're not a support nor will you ever be.

Promote: .....Why even.

Clarity: Don't get me started.

Heal: You don't need it.

Creep Score abbreviated CS is the key to the game, you'll see high ELO players shooting for a high number before a certain time. If you do bad under pressure don't stress about it, just focus on what you're doing and last hit minions. It is incredibly easy to farm once you have a feel for the champion you're using.

I don't personally shoot for any goal for my CS I just get the kills I can and move on to harass my enemy. As Jax you can do both simultaneously, using Counter Strike to harass and to double that with killing minions gives you a two in one bonus, so why not use it to it's best ability?

Getting kills is always good, but never suicide to get a kill. I see it frequently, they dive and die. Diving only useful if you can successfully manage the kill and escape. using Leap Strike to escape a dive rather than start one can save a lot of tower harass, remember your ability's utility and mobility uses, that goes for any champion.

Laning
With Jax I start with Boots and three Health Potions the added mobility early on helps to escape well planned ganks, or to catch a fleeing enemy. Farm as many creeps as you can until around fifteen minutes. By then the "pro player" goal would be around one-hundred CS. However I find a 2v1 top lane more and more common, this will lower your CS but don't give up. Play it safe and stay near your turret to gather what CS you can.

Time your stuns for the most effective ganks or 1v1 brawls. Don't waste it in the beginning of the fight, wait until you suspect a barrage of damage, an AOE ability, or when they try to run. If the enemy if turret diving you kite them around then stun when they get too close to you, this can give you free kills with just one ability.

Your Leap Strike can be used on allied champions, use it over jungle walls/obstacles to escape a failed team fight, an unexpected gank, or even a 1v1 fight you're losing.

Use your Grandmaster-At-Arms's passive to secure the caster minions, attack a melee minion twice then hit a low health/caster minion for efficiency.

Roaming
When your Jungler is busy ganking the bottom lane, messing around in the jungle, or shopping while your lane is pushed, roam around the jungle or gank the middle lane to increase your presence in the game. A Jax should be feared, therefore you need to seem to be everywhere. Even if you only make the mid lane champion flash/ghost/heal etc. it'll cause your mid to have an advantage. Trust me when I say it makes it easier on them.

Jungling
Personally I start at wolves then head to blue buff. I then head to top to see if I can get a free kill or just to scare the enemy's top lane into blowing their summoner spells. Either option gives your top lane an edge. After top head to mid if you have enough health left over gank. If you have less than ideal health head to the wraiths, if you have a critical level of health recall. Grab wards whenever you can, a well warded map can win games. I usually grab a Wriggle's Lantern which is a free ward along with the cost effective stats.

Jax's damage is hard to match, but depending on how you build him will really effect your game. Build too tanky and you won't have enough DPS not enough DPS items and you'll die to fast to make a difference. My build/Setup keeps both objects in mind. Runes and Masteries will make up for the DPS items you have in the Top build, and for low level ganking you're going to need health in the jungling one. Thank you for taking the time to read my guide.


This is not completely finished and is originally a guide made for a close friend of mine, I do not intent in anyway to teach others how to properly beat successful Jax builds. I'm just teaching a friend how to lane effectively, thank you for caring and have a wonderful time with League of Legends. - Damnonable

If you notice any mistakes or think something should be added, please inform me before judging the guide itself. Thanks again.