Jarvan IV Build Guide by Withdrew123
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Ability Sequence
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The masteries shown here are not yet updated for the current season, the guide author needs to set up the new masteries. As such, they will be different than the masteries you see in-game.
Masteries
1. Introduction/Contents
Lore:
Those close to him believed that his capture changed him. Xin Zhao was quoted as saying: ''His eyes never seemed to look at you, only through you to something he could not look away from.'' One day, without warning, Jarvan IV handpicked a squad of Demacian soldiers and left Demacia, vowing to find ''atonement''. He began by tracking and hunting the most dangerous beasts and bandits he could find in northern Valoran, but he soon tired of such prey. Seeking something that only he understood, he ventured south of the Great Barrier. He wasn't heard from again for nearly two years. After many had assumed the worst, he returned to glorious fanfare on the streets of Demacia. His Demacian plates were adorned with the bones and scales of creatures unknown. His eyes bore the wisdom of someone twice his age. Of the twelve soldiers who had departed with him, only two returned. In a tone as cold and steady as steel, he swore to bring the enemies of Demacia to their knees.
''There is only one truth, and you will find it at the point of my lance.''
- the ''last words'' of Jarvan IV at his failed execution
Hello, Withdrew123 here. As Jarvan VI, you are a great initiator, a viable off-tank, a great damage dealer, and you have quite alot of survivability. I never build Jarvan VI as a total AD/AS or a total tank, either. The reason why is that if he's built as an AD off-tank, that's where he truly shines. He really is one of the best AD off-tank, and the best part, he's fun to play.
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction/Contents
2. Runes and Why I Get Them
3. Masteries, Why Mostly Offence?
4. Items and How I build
5. Skills and Why
6. Summoner Spells
7. Pros/Cons (Mostly Why You SHOULD Play Him, Duh.)
8. Jungling and Why
9. Teams and Who You Should Pick in Premades
10. Minion Farming, Very Important
11. Summary
12. Additional Info!
2. Runes and Why I Get Them
The reason that my marks are so different is because I couldn't decide whether I wanted Damage, AS, or Armor Penetration. So, I decided on all three! These are the best marks I could find, and they work very well for me. You have all the three AD Marks you need, so that's why you should get them too! They are: 
Greater Mark of Attack Speed, Greater Mark of Scaling Attack Damage, Greater Mark of Desolation.
The Greater Seal of Health are just for early game health, trust me, it'll give you alot more survivability in early game. You aren't the tank you want to be in early game unless you farm amazingly or get fed, or of course both.
The Greater Glyph of Vigor I get are for Health Regen, it'll make you be able to stay in a lane early game quite a while.
The Greater Quintessence of Desolation, 
Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage, and Greater Quintessence of Attack Speed are, again, different. I got those for another boost for my Marks, and it makes my game even better.
Sidenote: You can always get other runes, if you find a different rune page better than mine. I'm going to stick to mine though, it works pretty well.
3. Masteries, Why Mostly Offence?
The Masteries I get are 21-9-0. The 9 in defence are always for early game survivability. The 21 in offence are for, of course, damage. I don't get 21 in defence since my runes make my early game go smoothly enough.
4. Items and How I Build
I usually start off with a Doran's Shield, though, if it seems I need more offense than defence, then I'll get Doran's Blade. Then I have a choice between about three boots: Berserker's Greaves if I want some more damage in my build, Mercury's Treads if the other team has lots of CC or has alot of AP Casters, or Ninja Tabi if there are alot of AD Carries. Next I get a quick Phage, starting with a Ruby Crystal first usually. After Phage I get a Giant's Belt and build those items into a Frozen Mallet. Then I get Warden's Mail -> Randuin's Omen, and Catalyst the Protector -> Banshee's Veil. After all that I get a quick Chain Vest and get 
Atma's Impaler for massive bonus attack damage with all my health. Finally I get a high damage item like 
The Bloodthirster, 
Infinity Edge, Tiamat, or The Black Cleaver, depending on your team and the opposing team.
5. Skills and Why
For my first three levels I always get my first three abilities. At times I don't get my Golden Aegis, but that's only if you know you don't need much defence. After that it's just a matter of Dragon Strike and Demacian Standard, and of course get your ulti at 6, 11, and 16.
To use Golden Aegis, you can use it defensively or offensively. If you're running away, then it's a good idea to pop it if they're pretty close to you, since it will give you a damage shield and slow the enemies around you. For Dragon Strike and Demacian Standard, it's all timing. If you want to initiate, CC the whole team, or just harass then just use Demacian Standard close to your enemies, make sure you'll hit them, and use Dragon Strike towards your Demacian Standard, popping them up. If you want to aggresively harass even more, hit them once and it'll hurt them quite a bit because of your passive.
Jarvan's ult is a bit awkward at first use. You lock onto a champion, leap to him/her, and trap them in a small circle for a few seconds. Before you use your ult, though, try to check if the enemy has Flash or an ability close to that. To check for Flash, just press and hold TAB. Possible enemies that will have a jump or flash ability are Jax, Xin Zhao, 
Irelia, Master Yi, and Wukong. Those are just a few possibilities, there are many champions who have an ability to escape. Also, watch out if an ally is close to you and your enemy that you're about to jump, and the ally is low health, don't do it. The enemy will probably be chasing you're ally, and it'll be a kill for a kill, not worth it enough for an ult.
You can also use Flash to escape if you have it. Use your ult, Flash or Demacian Standard/ Dragon Strike out, and leave your enemy helpless in there for a few seconds.
6. Summoner Spells
The Summoner Spells I mostly like are Ignite and Exhaust. Ignite for picking up a first blood or for killing an escaping enemy. Exhaust just for an easy kill. Other viable spells are Flash, Ghost, Teleport, Fortify, or Smite if you're jungling.
7. Pros/Cons (Mostly Why You SHOULD Play Him, Duh)
Pros:
Great Initiator
Quite a few escape abilities
Great Survivability
Amazing Damage Output if built correctly
Good Harass Abilities with Passive and Combos
Not Easy to counter
Cons:
Can easily be squishy if not build right
A bit hard to get used to combos and ult if you're not used to him already
8. Jungling and Why
Personally, I've never been a fan of Jarvan IV. But some people see him as a good jungler, and here's how I can figure that:
Pros:
Knock-up ability
Passive Armor and Attack Speed from Demacian Standard
Shield to block a bit of damage from jungle creeps
Passive is good for extra damage
Cons:
No good "lifesteal" passive or abilities
Definitely not the best jungler, but can still do well
If you do want to jungle with Jarvan IV, then you should start off with a Cloth Armor and 5 Health Potions for runes get health, armor, and damage. For Masteries get the standard jungle masteries, for summoner spells get Smite and Ghost/ Flash/ Ignite/ Exhaust for ganking. For abilities you should pick up Demacian Standard first for the passive ability, get Dragon Strike for the knock-up, and get the shield at level 3. After that it's a matter of maxing Demacian Standard when you can and upgrading the shield when you can't upgrade the Demacian Standard. Get the ult at 6, 11, and 16 of course.
For items, after Cloth armor, get Madred's Razor and then get Wriggle's Lantern. (Set up a free-Wriggle ward at a key place like the river or dragon.) After Wriggle's I would go with Berserker's Greaves, Merc Treads, or Ninja Tabi, Berserker's Greaves if you're still jungling.
After all that just stick to a build you find fitting, if you want to stick with my build, go full AD, or go full tank, that's up to you and your team.
9. Teams and Who You Should Pick in Premades
I would say a great team for Jarvan IV would be Gangplank, Morgana, Miss Fortune, and 
Maokai. If you use your ult and start a teamfight, then Gangplank, Morgana, Miss Fortune, and Maokai could all pop their ults aiming towards your Cataclysm, and guess what that would mean? Four nukes all-together. Even if Miss Fortune and Morgana don't have their ults, they can pop their AoEs.
10. Minion Farming, Very Important
If you don't farm minion/creeps well with Jarvan IV, you won't have too much money, and even though Jarvan IV can easily still initiate and keep the whole other team in one place without items, it's very ideal to be tanky while initiating. To farm minions, you can either use your passive and just knock them down and save your mana/abilities for harassing and killing, or you can use your combo to farm. You can even just use a single use of Dragon Strike or Demacian Standard, extra damage and attack speed will help with farming.
11. Summary
Overall Jarvan IV is, I say, one of the best AD off-tanks there is. There's lots of other ways to go with Jarvan IV, too. But like I said in the beginning, he shines the most when he's AD off-tank.
12. Additional Info!
If you liked this guide, then rate it well and comment. Constructive Criticism helps, so constructively criticize my guide. Now. Or, well, it's your choice. Anyway, thanks for reading if you did, have a good LoLing day with Jarvan IV, the Exemplar of Demacia.
FOR DEMACIAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!
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