Hi there, this is a guide with how to play a very deadly AD Jarvan IV.
Under the strict definition, I will build him as a "bruiser", someone who is great at mixing it up; someone who has the damage output to get the kills, yet the survivability not to go down like a glass cannon. Jarvan is NOT a tank ... at least not a very good one. With this guide and the right amount of aggression you will be able to take just about any champion in a solo fight.

Summoner Spells are often subject to each individual's preference, or how your role fits into your team if you're playing with a pre-made.

Personally, Exhaust and Ghost are my favorites for Jarvan.
While Jarvan does have a slow, its not the best slow in the world and is something you might want to save for when its more needed, so Exhaust can really help slow an enemy to get the kill.

Ghost will help you escape when needed and more often will help you run down and enemy for a kill; also helpful for if you are just outside a team fight that is beginning and you need to get there ASAP.

Flash is fairly interchangeable with Ghost, but as Jarvan your E -> Q combo already provides you with a Flash so it is not necessary.

Pretty self explanatory Runes here.

Marks- Greater Mark of Desolation Armor pen always amazing for AD champs, and is exceptional end-game: just like Jarvan.

Seals - Greater Seal of Vitality : Health is never a bad thing, and this will also play off nicely with Atma's. Gives you survivability in your Ring 'o Death.

Glyphs- Greater Glyph of Magic Resist : Gives you some nice Magic resist against those pesky burst champs like LeBlanc.

Quintessences - Greater Quintessence of Desolation : YAY MORE ARMOR PEN!!!!

First, you will eagerly grab up Demacian Standard (E) This ability can also be used individually to harass and to search bushes, as well as passively buff you and actively buffs you and your allies even more! I will go more into it later.

Your next point will go to Dragon Strike (Q), as it is a solid harass early and it will complete your delicious knockup/getaway combo! This ability hits all enemies within this line, so if you can hit a few minions with the champion, or even several champions with one shot, all the better.

At lvl 3 you will get Golden Aegis (W), gives you some survivability and a slow, two delightful things for anyone.

Further down the progression you will immediately max Demacian Standard for the many good things it does for you (Damage in harassment, the super-useful buff it gives you ...), of course putting points into your fantastic Ult along the way. Next you can max either Golden Aegis or Dragon Strike, depending on whether you feel the need for more survivability or more damage, but I tend to alternate putting points into them along the way to level 18.

As a damage-first champ, Jarvan will build mostly in the Offensive tree.

Cripple makes Exhaust a very worthwhile summoner spell, and the 3 points in Deadliness is self-explanatory. The 4 in Sorcery is nice as it brings back DEMACIAAAA!!! (the ult) rapidly enough and lets you get that nice point in Archaic Knowledge . If you prefer to transfer a few of those points to Alacrity , that works well too. The rest of the tree is pretty standard, as you'll want to make your way to Havoc .

In the Defensive Tree, you are seeking to get to Nimbleness , and I prefer to pick up the armor along the way above the Magic resist, simply for the time during your Ult where you're boxed in with another champ - you need to be sure you'll win in there.

Orange - Item that should be based on your opponents and specifically how good they are doing individually. This build is assuming their killers are AP based, but if say a Pantheon and a Xin Zhao are dominating for them, switch Mercury's Treads to Ninja Tabi and switch Force of Nature to Thornmail.

Doran's Blade - always a good starter item; makes you stronger in your lane early and helps you get off on the right foot.

[*] If you don't like the Doran's Items, a good way to start is the Brawler's Gloves and one Health Potion and one Mana Potion - this works nice as it also provides you a quench to Jarvan's early mana-thirst.


Avarice Blade - A good next item to get, as you will want the Ghostblade ASAP, and the logic for getting this before the Brutalizer is simply the extra gold early.

Youmuu's Ghostblade - Incredible item. Gives you the stats you want, and then gives you and Active that is glorious. As soon as I get it, I make sure to put it in the fourth slot (bottom left) of my items, as that spot makes it very easy for my middle finger to switch from E to press the 4 and activate the Ghostblade. There are 2 main times when you should be activating the Ghostblade:
1. When you've just used your Ult. The amazing thing about Jarvan's Ult is that it boxes you in with your target - and you'd better be damned sure that you're not getting yourself into a deathtrap. The Ghostblade's active will ensure that you will be the one dealing out the deathblow in your Ring 'o Death.
2. When you're fleeing with the enemy hot on your tail. Most people don't think to use it like this, but the Active does increase your movement speed significantly for a few sec and this could be just enough to escape pursuit.

Mercury's Treads - Good boots, provide you with some magic resist and that every so nice CC reducer against guys like Sion.

Atma's Impaler - Great item for Jarvan as it gives you some armor for survivability and more importantly gives you that nice Health-to-AD perk, and because Jarvan is a fairly healthy boy, this will give you some nice damage.

Frozen Mallet - By this time, your Demacian Standard will be having you hit quite fast, and this will make them slow as you run them down and kill them. And, the health will make you tougher (getting the theme yet? items that give toughness and offense?) and will also feed Atma's for even more damage!

Force of Nature - Gives a ridiculous amount of Magic Resist, making you very tough. Also, one of the greatest things about Jarvan is his ability to fly across a small distance and engage/kill an enemy, so the boost in speed makes you even more lethal. Consider getting before the Frozen Mallet if their AP dmg is just that ridiculous.

Infinity Edge - You often won't get to this point in the game, but if you do, you're gonna sell your Doran's Blade and get this bad boy. It gives you a strong amount of Attack dmg (more than Black Cleaver and base Bloodthirster) and that buff to your critical strikes; this'll make you gobble up the squishies if you weren't already.

In early game situations, you will of course want to harass your opponent. Your Q and E are both fairly straightforward skillshots, and keep in mind that as you level you will have more points in E so it will not only do more damage than your Q, but will also buff you and your allies greatly. Also be careful when using both abilities individually to harass to not accidentally pull yourself into a turret or a bad situation >.<

The thing that makes Jarvan so deadly is, in the end, the knockup combo of E -> Q. This ability allows you to fly across the battlefield, and the quicker and more accurate you become with this combo, the better your games with Jarvan will be.

When beginning the combo, it can be best (if the situation allows) to place your E outside of your range and get your Q ready to fire as Jarvan approaches the spot, because THE INSTANT you see Jarvan reel back to throw the flag, fire off your Q!!! The flag does not need to be established on the ground, if you do them in rapid succession it WILL work and you WILL be quicker and deadlier.

It is always a good policy to throw your flag just slightly behind your target, especially if you are approaching them for a gank. Their instinct as a player will be to back up and retreat a bit, so this way you will still be able to knock them up.

This Combo can also be a livesaver for escaping. It drags you a long distance in flat ground, and if you're in the jungle or the river when imminent death approaches, it works like a long-range flash, and you can jump over cliffs, trees, and even the wall of your own base.

Now, for the triple long range Combo. The triple long range combo? huh???
If there is an enemy that is just so squishy and low health that it makes you salivate a little, but they're hanging out way in the back away from you, you can fly across the ENTIRE screen by using your E -> Q combo, QUICKLY followed by your Ultimate, to completely cross the screen in an instant and trap your low health prey in your Ring o' Death with just you, them, and your Youmuu active!
Play Video Watch here me utilizing my combos to score a triple kill and draw an early surrender!
Sorry its so jerky, I was getting 10 FPS that game partly due to taking the video.

Your ultimate is incredible for ganking; it halts runaways in their place, and allows you to decimate them while inside. However, while it traps enemies in their place, it also can trap your Allies in place. If their half health Garen is right on the heels of your barely-alive Annie, DO NOT ult in some misguided attempt to save her. You will just trap the 3 of you in the ring, and while you'll probably end up killing Garen, it won't be till after he kills Annie - and she will not be happy with you. If you want to save her, just throw your Flag a few paces in front of Garen and then knock him up with Q immedietly followed by W to slow him down.

In a one on one fight, gank-type situation, you will NOT want to lead off with your Ultimate. Your best bet for maximum rapeage will be to open the fight with your rapid fire E -> Q combo, and assuming they're going to try and run, you THEN will use your ultimate. Upon using your ultimate, you should prepare yourself for the vicious dogfight that ensues by popping you W shield and you Ghostblade active. If they're SOMEHOW still alive when the ultimate wears off, your E -> Q combo should be about ready again and you can place the flag in front of them to knock them up again and FINISH THEM.

Keep in mind that your ultimate CAN be escaped by champs that jump, or anyone who has flash. Make special note on the loading screen of which champs have Flash as a summoner spell, of the champions that can escape it with their moves, such as:
- Renekton
- Akali
- Katarina
- LeBlanc
- Shaco
- Shen
- Tristana
- Corki
- Ezreal
-another Jarvan IV
- Tryndamere
-Jax and Master Yi, if there's minions around

There's also a group that can actually knock you OUT of your own ult!
- Tristana (***** made TWO lists!)
- Alistar
- Janna
- Gragas

This list looks like alot, but if you're concerned just try and wait for them to use their escape first. this is another good reason to use your E -> Q combo first, to scare their escape out of them.

This is my first guide, so be nice, and constructive criticism is always Appreciated. If you have any helpful advice or notice I forgot something, please feel free to help out.

This will be a work in progress, and I'm hoping to eventually add some pictures and videos.