Jarvan IV Build Guide by ngi94

Introduction

Although not very popular, Jarvan is one of the strongest jungler IMO. Jarvan has decent clear speed and great ganking ability. He is extremely versatile in terms of team roles. He can be a pure tank or a bruiser according to the composition.

I have been playing jungle Jarvan since season one and I have found some success. The jungle nerf in season two is great bonus to jungle Jarvan. Now, he can perform greatly in the jungle and ganking with the DEMACIA yell.

Pros and Cons

SPACE

SPACE

Pros +decent clear speed +great ganking ability +strong early game +AWESOME ULTIMATE +distance closing +great passive

SPACE

SPACE

Cons +reliant on early game +mana dependent +misuse of ultimate might give away kills

Summoner Spells

I run on jungle Jarvan.

Running Smite is mandatory on junglers.

You can choose your second summoner spell according to personal preferences.
Viable choices:

• Exhaust I find it more useful as the movement speed reduction helps ganking and the AD reduction limits dps from enemy's adc in late game team fights
• Ghost Since Jarvan already has strong gap closing ability, you can run Ghost to boost your long distance chasing/escaping ability. It helps with ganking too.
• Flash Who says gap closing ability can be too much? Run flash and combo Demacian Standard Dragon Strike Flash Cataclysm. DAT distance.

Masteries

I run a 9/21/0 mastery on jungle jarvan

The 9 points in offense gives jarvan bonus AD,AS and Armpen, increasing jarvan's jungle speed and ganking ability.
Note: Summoner's Wrath is mandatory if you run Exhaust or Ghost, otherwise add the point to Butcher

The 21 points in defense tree gives jarvan extra protection and sustain in jungle and team fights
I don't run Initiator or Enlightenment for jarvan as I believe jarvan already has strong gap closing ability. Jarvan mainly relies on auto attack in clearing his jungle so cdr isn't useful either.
On the other hand running Indomitable and Vigor greatly boosts Jarvan early game survivability in the jungle.

Runes

Pretty standard runes for a bruiser jungler.

9x Greater Mark of Desolation combined with your mastery basicly provide you with all the armpen you need, unless you are focusing tanks. It also allows you to deal true damage on most of the jungle creeps.

9x Greater Seal of Armor give you the protection in early game exchange and creeps' auto attack.

9x Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist are essential for protection against mages. I personally prefer scaling MR but flat MR works fine too.

3x Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage provide you the bonus AD to boost jungle speed and ganking ability.

Skills

Passive: Martial Cadence

This passive provides a little bit of extra burst damage, but it isn't significant as it only scales on your enemy's CURRENT HP. Nevertheless, it gives you extra damage in jungling.


Q: Dragon Strike

This is no doubt an extremely strong skill. It provides great CC when combined with your standard, great AOE damage as it is on a 1.1 AD scaling, and it shreds a quarter of the enemy's armor when maxed. All these wonderful features packed in one skill.


W: Golden Aegis

This skill is extremely useful in mid to late game team fights. It provides a shield and slow to nearby enemies.


E: Demacian Standard

Another amazing skill of Jarvan. Like Dragon Strike, this skill has a list of features.
It provides CC when combined with dragon strike, decent AOE damage, AOE ally armor bonus, AOE ally attack speed bonus and vision. The vision and aura both extremely beneficil to team fights.


R: Cataclysm

This is one of the most unique ultimate. The damage is great and it is a strong initiator/ gap closer. If the enemy doesn't have flash, your ultimate will basically trap him for 3.5seconds.

However, when misused, this ultimate will give away free kills. If you know the enemy champion has flash or abilities similar to flash, don't Cataclysm on him unless it's a sure kill.

In addition, when your ally is being chased, Cataclysm onto the enemy is NOT a wise choice because it's very likely that you would also trapping your ally. You can only try to knock the enemy up or slowing him with your Golden Aegis.

Skill Sequence

R>E>Q>W
Upgrade your ultimate Cataclysm whenever possible. Max Golden Aegis last as it is only useful in mid to late game team fights.

I max Demacian Standard over Dragon Strike because

• The armor and attack speed from Demacian Standard increases your jungling ability
• The attack speed from Demacian Standard procs well with Wriggle's Lantern
• The aura from Demacian Standard for allies gives your team more dragon control
• Since most junglers are AD, the armor from Demacian Standard will give you more dueling power
• The armor shred from Dragon Strike is insignificant in early game
• Dragon Strike provides no defensive stats but the damage it dealt is only slightly higher than Demacian Standard in early game

The Demacian Standard Dragon Strike (E-Q) Combo

The Demacian Standard Dragon Strike (E-Q) Combo is one of the greatest combo in the game. First, land your Demacian Standard then Dragon Strike towards it. Jarvan will be pulled towards the standard and knocking up enemy in his path. It deals AOE damage, provides crowd control and provides mobility. It can be used both offensively and defensively.

Ganking:
To maximize the chance of success in a gank, you should wait in the bush until your enemy over extend. Then, try to land your E-Q combo. The enemy champion won't be standing still when your are coming in for a gank. Thus, When you are aiming to knock up your enemy with the E-Q combo, try to place your Demacian Standard half a step ahead of him then immediately hit your Dragon Strike to maximize the damage.

If it is a sure kill, right after you land your combo, immediately Cataclysm onto him then auto attack. Otherwise, just auto attack until he flashes away, then just Cataclysm onto him and secure the kill.

Another trick you could use is directly Cataclysm onto an escaping enemy champion that has flash. He would probably flash out of your Cataclysm. You could then press R again to disable your Cataclysm and land your E-Q combo on him to secure the kill. Since he is running away, his route is very predictable so you can easily land your combo.

Initiation:
As a tank/bruiser, you should be initiating team fights. Try to catch the squishies that are out of position and land your E-Q combo so your team can burst him down. If you miss your target with Demacian Standard, don't continue your combo because you will end up diving in the enemy team without CCing anyone.

Team fights:
Try to land your E-Q combo onto as many enemy as possible, so you can knock them all up.
If the enemy is scattered around just land your E-Q combo on the enemy's ad carry and try to burst him down with your team.
If the enemy's bruiser and assassins are trying to zone out/kill your team's ad carry, you can land your E-Q combo to disrupt their attempt and protect your ad carry.

Escape:
When escaping, your E-Q combo basically acts like a flash but with a larger distance. Thus, you can E-Q combo through walls.

Items

For most of the time, start with Vampiric Scepter.
If you are wary of counter jungling or invasion, start Cloth Armor+ Health Potionx5
First back: Boots of Speed+components of Madred's Razors+ sight ward

Afterwards: Wriggle's Lantern, Heart of Gold,( Mercury's Treads/ Ninja Tabi), Phage (in order)

If you are the sole tank/bruiser, build Warmog's Armor, Atma's Impaler, Force of Nature, Trinity Force (in order)

If you aren't the sole tank/bruiser, build Aegis of the Legion, Wit's End, Frozen Mallet, Atma's Impaler (in order)

Everytime you go back to buy, remember to buy 1-2 sight ward. If you are winning, buy Oracle's Elixir to gain more wards control. Stepping into mid and late game, you should get Elixir of Fortitude.

If your game is still going on, change Wriggle's Lantern into Madred's Bloodrazor/ The Bloodthirster for extra damage or Randuin's Omen/ Guardian Angel for extra tankiness.
Replace Aegis of the Legion by Randuin's Omen/ Warmog's Armor

Most important, Elixir of Fortitude Elixir of Brilliance Elixir of Agility Elixir of Fortitude Elixir of Brilliance Elixir of Agility Elixir of Fortitude Elixir of Brilliance Elixir of Agility Elixir of Fortitude Elixir of Brilliance Elixir of Agility Elixir of Fortitude Elixir of Brilliance Elixir of Agility :D

Early game and Jungling

In early game, you focus on jungling and ganking.
I tend to go a safe route when jungling because jarvan doesn't have the fastest jungling speed and the ability to one-on-one dueling.
My route:

1. Start at wolves. Ask your teammates' help to kill them
2. Proceed to Ancient Golems(blue). Ask your teammates for a leash. Use Smite to finish it off
3. Wraith's camp
4. Go back to wolves. They should spawn when you return.
5. Lizard's Camp(red). Your smite should be up so use it.
6. Wraith's Camp

You should be at level 4, which is pretty big. Since you have red and have at least a point in each skill, you should be looking for a gank. You should be able to get your enemy to flash if you can't kill him. If all lanes are fully pushed, clear your jungle and return back to base to buy.

Continue clearing your jungle and look for ganks. Remember to ward your own jungle to prevent counter jungling, ward the enemy's jungle to keep track of their junglers movement or ward dragon. When buffs are up, give blue buff to mid and take red your own.

When the enemy jungler is ganking and you are on the opposite side of the map, try to invade their jungle. Take the big creeps and leave the small ones.

If you have a successful gank in bottom, try to also get dragon with your team.

When your blue buff ends and you have your Madred's Razors/ Wriggle's Lantern, don't use your skills to clear jungle because you will easily run out of mana. Without his skills, Jarvan can't contribute in team fights.

Mid Game

Keep the jungle warded and keep track of timers of buffs and dragon. Try to work with your teammates to get the objectives, ie turrets, buffs, dragon, baron, etc.

As team fights are more frequent, you have to be aware of the minimap and aid your teammates. Try to participate in every team fights and win them so you can snowball to victory.

Late Game

As laning phase ends, late game kicks in. You have to stick with your team and play more cautiously. You have to play wisely. Initiate team fights that are favorable to your teams, ie catching squishies out of position or 5v4, 5v3, etc. Make decision at your team's interest.

Generally speaking, when the enemy's ad carry is out of position, killing him at all cost is the best decision. On the other hand when the enemy's bruisers and assassins are too strong, you should aim at giving the best protection to your ad carry. Still, every game and every fight is different. During team fights, you have to make the split second decision.

Summary

Jarvan is a very strong jungler and it's fun playing him.

I hope that my guide could spark your interest and Jarvan would be a more popular jungler.