3/3/11- Guide created
3/3/11- Minor spelling fixes, added another screenshot, added common item opinions.
3/5/11- Added revised statement about the Pull Combo

As the royal family of Demacia for centuries, members of the Lightshield line have spent their lives waging war against any who opposed Demacian ethics. It is said that every Lightshield is born with anti-Noxian sentiment in his blood. Jarvan IV is no exception, even though he is the first Lightshield born to the age of League of Legends. As his forefathers had before him, he led Demacian troops into bloody engagements with Noxian forces, and on many occasions he has bled alongside wounded allies and fallen comrades. In his most crushing defeat, he was outmaneuvered and captured by a Noxian battalion under the command of Jericho Swain. This mistake nearly cost him his life at the hands of Urgot, but he was rescued by the Dauntless Vanguard, an elite Demacian strike force led by Jarvan's childhood companion, Garen.

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 fellow summoner, and welcome to my very first League of Legends champion guide! This guide will be focusing on building Jarvan as a damage dealing disruptor. I know what you're thinking: "Jarvan is a support tank! Building him as damage is foolish and won't benefit the team!". Allow me to convince you otherwise.

The next 3 matches I played

Pros
Great passive
Deceptively strong
Incredible synergy with other melee characters
Can prevent enemies from escaping, or stop an enemy chasing a teammate


Cons
Not very mana efficient
Very item dependent
Ultimate can get allies killed if used carelessly

Flash: Simply put, Flash is the best escape/initiate spell in the game and I always feel at a disadvantage without it at my disposal.
Exhaust: Exhaust is a more versatile spell than it gets credit for. Chasing an enemy? Exhaust. Getting chased? Exhaust. Squishy getting stomped by a Tryndamere or Master Yi? Exhaust. You don't have to use it on people who are running, it will severely cripple any auto-attacker for the duration.

Other Summoner Spells to Consider

Cleanse: Any champion without a solid escape mechanism can benefit greatly from this.
Ghost: Amazing escape/chase spell. I personally prefer Flash but Ghost will not treat you wrong.
Clarity: Clarity is good if you intend on poking early, I don't feel that Jarvan has mana issues later in the game so I don't choose this.
Heal: Sometimes getting that Heal in can get you over the hump in a fight. Gives you added lane longevity.

Greater Quintessence of Desolation - Armor Penetration or Health: I prefer Armor Penetration in this slot over Health, but sometimes the extra bit of Health can keep you alive!
greater mark of desolation- Armor Penetration: Armor Penetration is Jarvan's best damage stat, it will synergize extremely well with Dragon Strike and your item build.
- Dodge: Since Jarvan's mana issues are generally no longer an issue late game, I don't recommend Mana Regen here. Dodge is the best survivability stat out there and will help you more than you may imagine.
- Magic Resist: Magic Resist can help alleviate some of the squish factor early on, and will never treat you wrong. You can also use MR per Level here if you want more survivability late game.

- Martial Cadence:(Passive)Jarvan IV's first attack on his target deals 10% of the target's current health as bonus magic damage, this caps at 400 damage. This effect cannot occur on the same target for 6 seconds.

Fantastic Passive. Switch targets on minion waves to get some nice mileage in the early game. If a melee character gets to close to you then give them a nice WHACK and this passive will leave em' hurting for sure! You may also switch targets frequently during team fights to get a lot of damage from the passive, but I don't recommend that

- Dragon Strike:Jarvan IV extends his lance through his opponent, dealing 70 / 120 / 170 / 220 / 270 (+1.10 per bonus attack damage) physical damage and lowering their armor by 10 / 14 / 18 / 22 / 26% for 3 seconds. If its lance contacts his standard it will pull Jarvan IV to its location, knocking up all enemies in his path.

Your poke, your knockup, your armor penetration, your damage. This move is the source of nearly everything you provide for your team. I max it second.

- Golden Aegis:Jarvan IV forges a shield protecting him 50 / 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 (+20/25/30/35/40 per nearby enemy champion) damage for 5 seconds and applying a 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 35% slow to surrounding enemies upon activation. The shield adds more mitigation for every enemy champion nearby when activating.

Not a bad spell. It doesn't absorb a lot of damage and it primarily used for the slow effect. I max this last.

- Demacian Standard:(Passive): Grants Jarvan 10 / 14 / 18 / 22 / 26% bonus attack speed and 10 / 14 / 18 / 22 / 26 armor.

(Active): Jarvan IV throws a Demacian flag to a nearby area, dealing 60 / 110 / 160 / 210 / 260 (+0.80 per ability power) magic damage to enemies in the area and granting his passive benefits to nearby allies and again to himself for 8 seconds.

Fantastic passive benefit, throwing the standard gives you the bonus again! This is the first part of your pull combo and may also be used as a poke/ward. Max this first.

- Cataclysm:Jarvan IV heroically leaps to an enemy champion, dealing 200 / 350 / 500 (+1.50 per bonus attack damage) physical damage and creating a circle of impassable terrain around them for a 3.5 second duration. Jarvan IV can destroy the area by activating it again. Champions can still leave or enter the area by using teleport abilities.

This is the spell that will have your enemies screaming "JARRRRRRVAAAANNNNNNNNN". Prevent an enemy from escaping. Stop and enemy from chasing a teammate. Does solid damage so may also be used just for the nuke effect. Careful positioning is required.

- Ionian Boots of Lucidity: CDR? Not Attack Speed? Jarvan is not your standard auto-attacker. He will not prevail in a fight like a Tryndamere can on auto-attacks alone. You need to keep your Dragon Strike up as much as possible as well as your Demacian Standard.

- The Brutalizer: The Brutalizer gives you bonuses in key stats. Attack Damage, Armor Penetration, Cooldown Reduction. You will start really hurting your enemies. You will also be at 28% CDR. As an example, 28% CDR will take 3.36 seconds off of your Demacian Standard.

- The Black Cleaver: This is Jarvan's item. No other item will provide as much synergy with Jarvan as this. You gain a very respectable amount of Attack Damage and Attack Speed. The passive is tremendous and when combined with the rest of my build will leave even a tank's armor crumbling!

- Phantom Dancer: Now is the time to start padding your Attack Speed and gaining Critical Strike! Not to mention some nice movement speed!

- Infinity Edge: 90% of your games will not reach this point, if they do you will want more Attack Damage and Critical Strike. Infinity Edge is the way to go. Destroy and Prosper!

- Youmuu's Ghostblade: 95% of your games will not reach this. If you have the gold it is about time you take that Brutalizer and turn it into something special!

Opinions on Common Jarvan Items

- Wriggle's Lantern: Dropping the Brutalizer in place of a Wriggle's Lantern is an acceptable strategy for those taking constant punishment. I advise using CDR glyphs in this case. You will lower your damage output in favor of less recalls, good trade-off? Up to you!

-Mercury's Treads: If you want to use Mercury's Treads, I recommend swapping the Magic Resist Glyphs for CDR Per Level, and upgrading the Brutalizer into a Ghostblade before building a Phantom Dancer.

- Trinity Force: This is an interesting one I've been seeing frequently. It isn't a bad item on Jarvan, but it is VERY expensive to work into a build. I'd recommend putting this in place of the Phantom Dancer if you wanted it in there.

- Stark's Fervor:Great overall item with tons of useful stats. Again, it would be best fit in place of the Phantom Dancer.

- Frozen Mallet: Very common item on Jarvan. The HP and Passive bonus are nice, but the damage is pitiful. I wouldn't replace the Phantom Dancer with this item, but simply take its place in the build order and then proceed to build a Phantom Dancer, a Stark's Fervor, or for a more tanky direction, a Guardian Angel.

- The Bloodthirster: Not a bad item by any means and will give you some more survivability, but relies on you being able to stay alive to get your gold's worth as their generally isn't much farm going on later in the game. Yet another item I'd suggest putting in place of the Phantom Dancer. (Man this Phantom Dancer must feel pretty expendable by now). It would go well with Wriggle's Lantern.

- Atma's Impaler:I do NOT recommend getting this item in a DPS build. You get 40 damage for every 2,000 HP. Not worth it.

- Manamune: I do NOT recommend getting a Manamune. Jarvan's mana issues are resolved after mid game and you will never max this out.

Playing Jarvan requires some good timing as well as common sense. Here I will discuss some common issues I see with Jarvan and share some of my personal play style.

Some information about using the pull combo as an escape: I originally stated in my guide that using the pull combo as an escape tool was a bad idea, this was before I had known about casting Dragon Strike as your Standard was in mid-air. So I did some testing. The time difference between using your pull combo and running a short distance was a 0.5 second advantage for the pull combo. Provided you don't wait for your Standard to hit the ground.

Initiating a large scale team battle: BAD

I know it's tempting to pull yourself into a group of enemies but don't do it. Always wait for your tank to go in first, then line yourself up a nice pull that will knock up the most enemies. Don't wait forever though, think fast and if you can't knock up multiple enemies then knock up your teams focus target!Initiating a small fight in the lane is fine! You are fairly durable with your shield, runes and the passive benefit of your standard. It is still best to wait for a teammate to initiate ahead of you. Wait for them to go in, then as soon as your enemy starts attacking knock them up in the air and ruin their initial rotation!

Scoring Team-Kills with your ultimate: VERY BAD

Please, use your ultimate carefully. Know when it is best not to use it. Know when it is okay to trap a teammate without putting them in harm's way. Cancel the wall if you are going to be sending a friend to their doom! Never trap a squishy. Don't use it exclusively on fleeing enemies. Use this in combination with friendly ultimates! Forcing somebody to eat Katarina or Fiddlestick's ultimate is one of the best ways to utilize Cataclysm. Not to mention it is hilarious.

Throwing Demacian Standard when attacking a tower: GOOD

Seriously. I see too many Jarvan's neglecting to use this to help burst down towers. Don't forget it.

Using Demacian Standard as a ward: GOOD

Do you have that sinking feeling somebody is in a bush waiting for you to come closer so they can get a quick gank? Throw the standard into a bush! It provides sight! Watch them run away in shame at their failed gank attempt.

Knowing when to trap an enemy and not yourself: GOOD

This is my favorite way to use Cataclysm. In a situation where you have low hp and will certainly die if forced to stay next to your enemy for 3.5 seconds? Run in, Ultimate one or more enemies and then immediately Flash out. Congratulations, you are now the cruel warden of your own personal prison cell!

Jarvan is in my opinion, one of the most entertaining and balanced champions RIOT has released yet. He doesn't feel overpowered, he doesn't feel underpowered and can fit the Tank and DPS role adequately. By no means is my guide meant to be the only way Jarvan is supposed to be played, this is just my personal preference. Hopefully it will become yours too. If you like it share it with a friend : )

Thank you for reading my very first guide! Please vote and comment! (After playing the build of course!)

Happy LoL'ing.