Hello & welcome to my J4 guide! I'm Jnewbringspain. I'm a Platinum tier mid/top laner. Mid lane is my best role, with top lane a close 2nd. My account has fluctuated between Plat 1 & Plat 3.



Jarvan IV is typically picked as a jungle champion. I plan to show you how strong he can be as a top laner. This is a mostly damage build with a small amount of tankiness.

Pros + Can cover a ton of ground quickly with E+Q, Flash, and Cataclysm + Amazing 1v1 potential + Potential AoE Knockup + Awesome & unique ultimate + Great passive, deals % damage therefore good against tanks + Fairly easy to learn + Strong early/mid/late game + Easy to farm with + Great engage + Flexible champion. Can go top or jungle

Cons - Cataclysm can unintentionally trap and kill teamates - Golden Aegis isn't a great skill for lane J4 (Way more effective with jungle J4) - E+Q is fairly easy to dodge, and will leave you vulnerable if you miss it - Flash easily gets out of Cataclysm and can leave you far behind. - A bit squishy with this build

Flash Use this Summoner Spell without question. Works fantastic with Cataclysm and his E+Q knockup. Exhaust A very underrated spell. I would actually highly consider using this against a high damage champion like Pantheon, Riven, or Fiora. asdf

Ignite A solid spell to take. You already deal immense damage, but with this you will be even tougher to stop in lane. Teleport Another spell worth consideration depending on your play style. I typically won't take teleport because I focus more on dominating my lane when I play Jarvan IV, so I usually take Ignite or Exhaust.

Greater Mark of Attack Damage - Essential for any AD Top Laner.

Greater Seal of Armor - More often than not, you will be facing another AD champion so I run armor seals.

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist - I take magic resist glyphs because they are one of the best runes you can buy. Helps a lot whether you are in lane against an AP champion, and also will help you to not get demolished in teamfights.

greater quintessence of armor penetration - I get two armor penetration quints mostly for Jarvan IV's passive. It deals % damage so armor penetration goes great with him.

Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage - More damage!

Block - Great mastery versus AD champions Recovery - A little bit of extra HP sustain Unyielding - Awesome mastery reducing damage from anyone Veteran Scars - Extra HP is always nice Juggernaut - More health! asdf sadf asdf asfd asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf sadf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf sadf asdf asdf

Double-Edged Sword - Deals extra damage Fury - Helps a little bit with attack speed Butcher - Helps a bit with farming, but mostly get this so you can get Feast Brute Force - Additional AD per level Feast - Will help you sustain longer as long as you are farming well Martial Mastery - More AD! Executioner - Helps you finish off wounded enemies Warlord - More AD! Devastating Strikes - Extra armor penetration helps with your passive Havoc - Yet again more damage asdf sadf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf

- Doran's Blade is always my starting item when I go top J4. Grab x2 Health Potion of course along with a warding trinket. Damage, health, lifesteal, and cost-efficient. There's nothing to dislike about this item.


- I buy boots when it's convenient. I never upgrade to tier 2 before finishing Ravenous Hydra. I like to build this item as it helps against AD champions, which is more common among top laners. Substitute Mercury's Treads agaist AP, Boots of Swiftness if your enemies are very mobile, or Berserker's Greaves if you want to have fun. sadf sdf asfd sadf safd sadf safd sadf asdf sadf sadf asdf asf

- It might be a bit of a stretch to get this item on your first back considering it costs 1900. This is your goal though. if you can't purchase this on your first back, get a Vampiric Scepter or Pickaxe instead. You want to rush Ravenous Hydra though.




- This is your most important item. If your able to build this item early, you may be able to snowball. It's important to be able to use its active ability though. If you land your E+Q knockup, you can basic attack, hydra active, and another basic attack before they can even start to run. The damage you produce from that quick combo will have your enemy fleeing desperately.


- Additional armor penetration makes this item a must. You're going to want to eventually upgrade to Black Cleaver, but it may take a little while considering how expensive it is.


- BOTRK's passive deal 8% of the targets current health as physical damage on basic attacks. Combine this with your passive and your taking 18% of an enemies' health + basic attack damage in 1 hit. The damage is crazy, plus the attack speed and additional life steal will allow you to duel almost anyone 1 on 1.




- Now it's time to get tanky. Frozen Mallet gives a ton of HP with a little damage and an awesome passive. Fleeing enemies will have a much tougher time running away from you after you get this item.


- At this point in the game you don't want to get blown up by the enemies' mage before you can do anything, so I build this or Banshee's Veil depending on the situation. If your worried about a specific enemies' CC ability like Malzahar's Nether Grasp, then get this item. I'd go banshee if the enemy has a lot of CC in general. You could also get both.




- If the enemy team is really AD heavy, this is probably a better choice over Sunfire Aegis given the extra armor and health.asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asd fasd fasdf sad fasd fasd fsa dfas dfas dfsa df asdf dasf asd fas fdsa f

- I pick this item up if I'm having issues against an AD lane opponent and still need more damage. asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf sadf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asd fasdf sadf sadf asdf sadf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf

- If the enemy has a lot of crowd control, you might consider picking up this item along the way. Every stat it gives will be helpful to you. Obviously you don't want to build this if you already picked up Mercury's Treads. asdf sadf sadf sadf asdf a asdf sadf asdf sadf asdf asdf asd fsdf

- I barely build this item because I feel other items go better with the build, but if you just need to get tankier in general this is another option.asdf sadf sadf sadf sadf sdaf sd fsadf sadf sdf asdf asdf sadf sadf sadf sadf sdaf asdf

- Another option for an AP/CC heavy team. The extra health is also a big plus. sadf sadf asdf asdf asdf asdf asfd asdf asdf asdf asdf sadf asdf sadf sadf asfd asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf a asdf asdf sadf asdf asd fasdf asdf asdf asdf asdf sadf asdf sfd

- Here's another magic resist option. Grab this item if you need magic resist, but still want more damage.

Spoiler: Click to view Vladimir has arguably the worst level 1 in the game. He is also terrible against gap-closers. As a Vladimir player myself, I can tell you that this matchup sucks. Jarvan IV does a lot of damage early so Vladimir really shouldn't have a chance in this matchup. You should be 2-0 without a gank before he even reaches level 6.

This section is short because farming with Jarvan IV is so easy. He has a very fluent basic attack. If you are getting harassed too much and can't walk up to a minion to last hit it, Dragon Strike can be a good alternative. Once you get Ravenous Hydra, farming takes no skill at all. You can clear entire waves in seconds.




How you solo lane with Jarvan IV depends a lot on whether or not your enemy is ranged or melee. Jarvan IV doesn't have a big disadvantage against ranged champions like you'd think because he has such a long range gap-closer. Still, melee champions are usually preferred.



Against melee champions you want to focus on landing your Dragon Strike followed by a basic attack. Wait for your enemy to go in for a minion kill and punish him for it. I try not to use E+Q unless I'm confident I will get a kill, or at least force the enemy to return to base. The reason is because if you E+Q too often, you will find yourself out of mana rather quickly. Poke with Dragon Strike if your opponent is being passive.



Against ranged champions, your playstyle will differ a little bit. You won't often be able to get in to basic attack. You will have to be very accurate with your Dragon Strike. Choose carefully when to use it. Farming becomes a little bit more difficult against ranged. If you can't poke the enemy, just use Dragon Strike to farm instead. Wait for a gank, and take advantage when the opportunity presents itself. Just remember that ranged champions are almost always more squishy, so if you are certain you can hit them with your E+Q combo, go for it.



If you are winning your lane hard and have kills and top turret down, feel free to roam a lot. Jarvan IV is more of a pure jungler and has excellent ganking potential.




Your role in teamfights is to jump on the enemies' most fed carry and mess them up as much as possible. If you can, use Cataclysm before using your E+Q combo. There are two reasons for this.




Keep in mind that since this is mostly a damage build, you do not want to be the one to engage the enemies first. You will get blown up and die before you are useful.



If you are late to a fight and there are a few enemies low on health, Jarvan IV is great at cleaning this up. As said before, you cover a ton of range between E+Q, Flash, and Cataclysm, so you should be able to catch 1-2 left over enemies.



Make sure you use Golden Aegis when you are surrounded by enemies. The shield is more effective based on how many opponents are around you, so you want to get the most out of it.



When killing turrets/dragon/baron, make sure you throw down Demacian Standard for the extra attack speed. It buffs you and any teamates around it.




One thing I cannot stress enough, do not use your E+Q combo too much. If you miss it, you leave yourself very vulnerable to your opponent. One reason I don't use it unless I'm pretty sure I get a kill is because junglers will often wait for you to use it before moving in. If you use it and don't get the kill and the jungler comes, you are either dead, or have to waste a flash. Use it only when the opportunity is there!!!


As I mentioned in the team fights, you want to jump into fights with Cataclysm first if possible. You can E+Q out of your wall while knocking up the enemies inside on your way out. I will post videos on various ways this is used.




Even though Jarvan IV is typically used as a jungler, he can do just as well top lane. He can ruin team fights for the enemy if played correctly and dominate an opponent in lane. I trust you found this guide useful, thank you for taking the time to read through it!

+Top Lane Shen +Mid/Top Vladimir

+Mid Veigar +AP Mid Ezreal