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Recommended Items
Spells:
Flash
Ignite
Items
Ability Order
Martial Cadence (PASSIVE)
Jarvan IV Passive Ability
Threats & Synergies
Extreme
Major
Even
Minor
Tiny
None
Low
Ok
Strong
Ideal
Thresh
Can flay you out of your ult and combo, can also jump in your combo.
Ideal
Strong
Ok
Low
None
READ THIS FIRST!
Jarvan IV is a god-tier and the most American support in the game. He uses almost no mana for insane amounts of CC and AoE steroids, and has an ult that goes through spellshields.
IMPORTANT: If your ADC has
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At the moment, if you can master J4 support, you will win games. You will win a lot of them. Quite frankly, he is broken, and was so before the Leona nerfs and the J4 buffs. Enjoy the Freelo while you can, because this Patriot is gonna get nerfed the second anyone plays him at the LCS or worlds. His synergy works with every ADC in the game, and works with even other brawlers (
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The only people so far to say J4 support isn't god tier are the ones who haven't seen it.
America. Now and Forever.
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6/16/2014 Guide created
6/17/2014 Items polished, runes and masteries expanded, matchups created
6/18/2014 Added
Greater Seal of Health to runes list and made runes section look better
6/18/2014 Added Skill Analysis chapter for more clarity on intelligent leveling decisions
6/17/2014 Items polished, runes and masteries expanded, matchups created
6/18/2014 Added
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6/18/2014 Added Skill Analysis chapter for more clarity on intelligent leveling decisions
It all started as a joke
Me(DunkmasterDarius) and Shaeman111 co-run the Youtube channel PentaCrit together. I was complaining about the lack of manly supports in the game (This is before
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I was amazed at how broken he was. I was winning vs Plat/Diamond and not even paying attention. So we tried something a bit more drastic to test it out.
Eventually more and more people wanted to know how it worked, so I posted a guide on my first video description. The players I defeated and played with all started telling their friends, and higher elo people (Challenger/Diamond) started checking it out. Its why that video has like 50x the views any of our other ones do.
AND THE LEGEND OF THE GODLIKE PATRIOT WAS BORN.
God Tier
(These will often beat out other supports if the ADCs are of similar skill.)
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A Tier
(These are solid picks and usually have a very strong and reliable showing)
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B Tier
(These may not be the most reliable(in my opinion), but can often make plays and surprise people)
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C Tier
(If you choose anyone on this list, you had better have a good reason)
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D Tier
(May be reported for trolling, you have been warned)
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Z Tier
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Runes
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[*]
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Other Viable Runes
[*]
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[*] greater quintessence of armor penetration: Great for kill lanes, and all game will make a difference vs their squishies (Your 10% hp passive does physical damage). Combines with your lategame armor shred, a viable option for if you want to do more damage.
[*] greater mark of armor penetration: Same reasons as above, good for your passive, so good for America. Just know you will start the game with less armor if you do this, so you may want to switch
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[*]
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Pros
|
+ Effective at all stages of the game + Has one of the hardest to counter CCs in bot lane + Knockup combo also gives bonus Attack Speed to your ADC and reduces the armor of all hit enemies (and is just over a 10 second cooldown at highest). + Is incredibly tanky and has a incredible shield that slows(Can tank 2-3 turret hits at skill level 3 if you hit 2 enemies) + Can leap over walls for ward coverage + Your flag works as a ward + Your combo goes through everything but knockback and death + Every ADC is Jinx with extra AS from flag at their turret. + Ult is on a low cooldown and works against spellshields + Passive hits for 10% of max HP FROM LEVEL ONE. + ONLY ONE TRUE COUNTER IN ENTIRE GAME ( ![]() |
Cons
|
- Can trap allies in misplaced ults - Relatively hard to master - Passive can occasionally steal kills |
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This does damage. A lot of damage. So much damage you can get kills all game without a single offensive item, mastery, or rune. 10% of max hp all game from your first hit, and the time between procs changes as you level up. Make sure in fights to rotate your target (Unless you're trying to lock someone down) to do maximum damage with this.
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This is where most J4 supports fall flat. Maxing
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That being said, this is his best lategame ability in teamfights other than his ult. 26% armor shred is huge lategame, but that's also why you max it last. You accomplish literally nothing by putting any points in this before you have to (Except at level 2 to enable your combo.)
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Always max this first. Always. In lane, I cannot tell you how many kills this has gotten my ADCs. Its a shield, its a slow, its everything a support dreams of. AND its cooldown decreases with rank so get that lame argument out of my house. Its literally the best earlygame ability you could ask for, and lategame it can help win teamfights with its slow. In combination with your combo, at level 3 you can start denying farm and bullying the enemy out of lane. Maxing W first allows you to not only slow the people you didn't knock up, but slow those that you did, allowing for chain CC and letting you and your ADC absolutely wreck the enemy bot lane with barely any consequences. Whats that? You focus down J4, who just knocked you up and slowed you? Too bad I have a crazy strong shield and you both just took 10% of your hp MINIMUM. Whats that? J4 can do this every 10-13 seconds for barely over 100 mana? And it stays that much until you start leveling
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You get this first? Why? Free vision to scout bushes, 10 armor, 10 AS, and ability to offer some help to your ADC level 1 with AS. You max this second. Why? More armor, more AS, ability to get objectives faster as a team, more damage from your combo, and all keeping the same mana cost. People underestimate that a proper J4 support in a lane with a decent ADC can sustain for ages. Getting Dragon?Drop a flag. Need help with Baron? Drop a flag. Taking turrets? Drop a flag. Seriously, I cant count the number of times the enemy bot roamed mid, and we proceeded to take 2-3 turrets simply due to the pushing power this skill has. Just drop flags whenever your team needs the AS, or when doing your combo. Your flag belongs everywhere, because everywhere belongs to America.
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This is either your best or worst move. You need to practice J4 enough to know
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EDIT: I should not have to explain why maxing percentage armor shred is bad earlygame, and sustain/objectives are good. Earlygame your armor shred only takes out 1-3 more armor per level, while lategame it takes 6-8(minimum). This is why you don't max Q until lategame, while you max W (sustain/bullying in lane) and E (armor/gives AS to all nearby allies for objectives) first. Q maxing is good for every other role, but not support.
This is why J4 is broken as a support. He isn't made to be one per se, he just happens to fill the role amazingly. You want to get your E first for that sweet, tasty 10 armor and AS. You then want to grab your Q level 2 for super easy first bloods (with a coordinated lane partner).
Hitting 3 is when this s**t gets patriotic as f**k. You now have a 90 health shield that slows by 15%. Combo this with your flag to hit both of the enemies (or just the most open one). As you level up you need to prioritize the shield.Because it has no scaling ratio, the base values are stupid high, especially in a lane versus 2 people. After your W, prioritize E for extra armor and AS for taking turrets faster. Lastly, Q, for that lategame armor shred amazingness.
Play passively early on, but know you are MUCH tankier than most of the supports in the game. Even at 1, your flag can act as a low mana-cost ward, and can scout bushes. You want to ward river as much as possible, and if you are unlucky enough to get camped, use the knockup>slow combo to ensure your ADC gets out scot free (And you normally will as well).
Farm with your Captain America shield passive, and as soon as possible rush a Targon's.
This is when you really start showing off capitalism.
Work hard, get paid hard, until you get 800 gold for a
Sightstone. If you want, you can rush a boots before the Sightstone, but make sure you also invest in a
Vision Ward. Once you get a Sightstone, switch your ward trinket for a Sweeper, which will help you make the other support's life hell. After all, only America should be allowed to spy on terrorists, not vice-versa.
Win your lane (alternatively stick with your ADC if for some reason you actually manage to lose against anyone but
Thresh.) and move around warding and helping your team. You have incredible mobility and a metric f**kton of CC. You can launch yourself over walls to engage, escape, or quickly moving around their jungle to WARD. As Jarvan, you have a unique ability as a support that allows you to easily, efficently, and safely ward/de-ward enemy territory, especially the jungle.
Move into lategame and keep building tanky. Once teamfights begin, your job is to be the American you are, and once your allies are ready launch yourself head-first into the enemy carries with your ult, and don't forget if they flash or get out, you can cancel the walls with another activation of your ult. Make the best use of your passive by hitting each enemy in turn to do maximum damage, and use items such as Face of the Mountain and
Locket of the Iron Solari to keep yourself alive, although because of your massive amounts of armor and MR, that wont be very hard.
Best of luck! I will expand this guide with matchups and ward locations at a later date!
Oh. And even if you arent from America, STAY AMERICAN.
Farm with your Captain America shield passive, and as soon as possible rush a Targon's.
This is when you really start showing off capitalism.
Work hard, get paid hard, until you get 800 gold for a
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Win your lane (alternatively stick with your ADC if for some reason you actually manage to lose against anyone but
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Move into lategame and keep building tanky. Once teamfights begin, your job is to be the American you are, and once your allies are ready launch yourself head-first into the enemy carries with your ult, and don't forget if they flash or get out, you can cancel the walls with another activation of your ult. Make the best use of your passive by hitting each enemy in turn to do maximum damage, and use items such as Face of the Mountain and
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Best of luck! I will expand this guide with matchups and ward locations at a later date!
Oh. And even if you arent from America, STAY AMERICAN.
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