Not Updated For Current Season
This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page
x
x

Did this guide help you? If so please give them a vote or leave a comment.
You can even win prizes by doing so!
Vote
Comment
I liked this Guide

I didn't like this Guide




Your votes and comments encourage our guide authors to continue
creating helpful guides for the League of Legends community.
Spells:
Exhaust
Ghost
Ability Order
Martial Cadence (PASSIVE)
Jarvan IV Passive Ability
Introduction

Masteries (Important Ones to Take)
Cripple: Make your
Exhaust even better
Haste: Makes your
Ghost more effective since you are a very slow champion
Summoner Spells to Take
Exhaust
Exhaust is one of the best spells to run on a tank. You can slow enemies for a kill, protect your carries from their carries/anti-carries, or slow them to run away. All around, it is just the best.
Ghost
Ghost is the other skill you should run on
Jarvan IV. Since he is so slow until you pick up some movement speed, Ghost will let you chase or run effectively.
Situational Summoner Spells
Flash
If you are a Flash pro, then you can probably make this work (especially against those annoying champions with their own flash/built in flash). However, I prefer ghost because
Jarvan IV is a slow champion and really benefits from the speed boost.
Ignite
If you would prefer a more offensive role or better lane dominance (or the have pesky healing characters like
Soraka or
Swain), run Ignite.
Telelport
If you prefer Teleport over Exhaust or Ghost, or you think you need it for a solo lane or such, go ahead and use it.
Cleanse
Cleanse is a great spell for melee DPS/tanky DPS/tanks, but I find the other two better options. However, if you prefer cleanse, then use it!
Heal
Heck if you can make this spell work, then by all means take it. (just seems like you have better options IMO)
Fortify
Even though you probably shouldn't be the one running this spell, sometimes circumstances call for sacrifice.
Cripple: Make your

Haste: Makes your

Summoner Spells to Take

Exhaust is one of the best spells to run on a tank. You can slow enemies for a kill, protect your carries from their carries/anti-carries, or slow them to run away. All around, it is just the best.

Ghost is the other skill you should run on

Situational Summoner Spells

If you are a Flash pro, then you can probably make this work (especially against those annoying champions with their own flash/built in flash). However, I prefer ghost because


If you would prefer a more offensive role or better lane dominance (or the have pesky healing characters like



If you prefer Teleport over Exhaust or Ghost, or you think you need it for a solo lane or such, go ahead and use it.

Cleanse is a great spell for melee DPS/tanky DPS/tanks, but I find the other two better options. However, if you prefer cleanse, then use it!

Heck if you can make this spell work, then by all means take it. (just seems like you have better options IMO)

Even though you probably shouldn't be the one running this spell, sometimes circumstances call for sacrifice.
Runes to Take
9x Greater Mark of Desolation Greater Mark of Desolation-Running these will allow to you to deal a ton of damage if you strike them
9x

-Running these is important in making up for your lack of early game armor
9x

-Running these is important in making up for your lack of early game magic resist
3x

-These will help you with your slowness early game, and since they scale off total movement speed, they get better as the game goes on.
These runes will increase your lane staying power while also giving you massive damage
Other Choices
9x

Greater Seal of Eveasion/Greater Seal of Fortitude
For increasing your dodge chances or adding more health to your small starting health pool
9x


Greater Glyph of Focus/Greater Glyph of Celerity
Cooldown reduction to spam your abilities even more, allowing you to better dominate the lane and support your team
3x

Greater Quintessence of Fortitude/Greater Quintessence of Desolation
Also for more early game health (see seals above) or early game damage.
Jarvan is a great melee DPS offtank. As such, your goal in the lane is to maintain dominance from level 1. While this may not always be the case due to your lane opponents, such as
Sona, the ultimate poker, you should strive to complement your lane partner or demolish your opponent.
First Two
Start with a
Regrowth Pendant to complement your high starting mitigation (from runes and masteries). This will allow you to keep laning past most lane opponents. The
Mana Potion is to allow you to counter-harass and stay in the lane, as in doing so you will deplete your small mana pool rather quickly.
Next Three
philosopher's stonephilosopher's stone
Mercury's Treads are needed on Jarvan IV since he is the engager. Turn
Regrowth Pendant into a philosopher's stone, and get a second philoshoper's stone for the gold/10s and health and mana regeneration. Since you pack a high amount of mitigation already (from your runes, masteries,
Mercury's Treads, and
Demacian Standard passive), you can afford to go health and mana regeneration. Also, the mana regeneration will allow you to use your abilities far more often, enabling you to better support your team.
THE CORNERSTONE!
Why
Trinity Force you ask? Well, for several important reasons.
Sheen first to help with your mana problems and to be able to hit hard after a well-used dash. After that, move on to
Zeal for the movement speed since
Jarvan IV is a very slow champion. Wrap up the combination with
Phage, and then finish
Trinity Force.
Tank Time
Now you are ready to move on to the tank items. I usually start with
Warmog's Armor because with your tankiness mid game, I find it more effective to get health to expand your effective health instead of more mitigation. However, adapt the item order to your game. If they are magic heavy, work for
Banshee's Veil first. If they are attack damage heavy, get
Frozen Heart. Why no
Sunfire Aegis or
Randuin's Omen you ask? These items are more for your true tanks, who lack damage. Plus, Randuin's is not as viable as it once was due to the armor, health, and CD reduction nerfs. However, if the situation calls for it, you can always trade the
Atma's Impaler for
Randuin's Omen,
Force of Nature, or
Sunfire Aegis. In addition, I find that the 99 armor and 20% CD reduction from
Frozen Heart is much more useful than the 450 health and 35 magic dmg/s from Sunfire or the 8% CD reduction, 75 armor, and 300 health from
Randuin's Omen.

First Two


Start with a


Next Three





THE CORNERSTONE!




Why

-
1. You get health and mana
2. You get movement speed
3. You get a slow (even more CC!)
4. Most importantly, you get an awesome passive!





Tank Time




Now you are ready to move on to the tank items. I usually start with
















A great passive, it outputs a lot of damage early game and synergizes well with




The very first ability to level. It is the cornerstone of the champion that is





**You can also use it or the dash combo to farm creep, but that is discouraged until you have sufficient mana regeneration.

The second ability in your bread-and-butter combination. The armor and attack speed are a nice bonus, but you really don't need the bonuses due to the tankiness from your masteries and runes. As such, just get one level of









Start leveling at level 4. You need








Probably


1. Whenever you are about to kill an enemy champion in your lane
2. The enemy is fleeing and you need to quickly close
3. Your team is coming to help/gank and you need to keep your opponent there
4. To start a team fight
5. To keep the enemy tanks/carries away in a team fight
6. To save your teammates
7. Most importantly, to hear Jarvan IV yell "DEMACIA!"
Remember, use

**Try to save using your





Starting Team fights and Using your Ultimate
Since you are a great engage tank, ENGAGE ENGAGE ENGAGE. Make sure to dash in to the enemy team to knock them all up and start the team fight, or
Cataclysm to give your team a chance to catch up and start team fighting. (you can even dash into a
Cataclysm if that is what it takes to hold the enemy team in place) Use
Cataclysm at an appropriate time, such as to isolate carries at the beginning of the fight or to catch fleeing enemies. If you have teammates like
Karthus or
Miss Fortune, use your ult to hold enemy champions in place for
Lay Waste or
Bullet Time respectively. You can also use
Cataclysm to hold enemies in tower range for a tower dive kill or to finish off enemies when they are low health.
Team Fighting
REMEMBER, it is OK to die! Your job is to use your
Demacian Standard >
Dragon Strike combination on CD to knock up the enemy team and do damage. The combo is especially useful to slow down the enemy team's tanks, protect your carries from their team (you can knock up champions mid ability such as
Shen's
Shadow Dash or
Vayne's
Tumble), or to jump to the enemy carries in the back to focus them. The dash will also activate
Trinity Force's passive so you can deal some significant damage during the fight, but you should use dash to protect your carries instead of to deal damage if given the chance to use it multiple times. (that means knocking up their carries or tanks depending on your team's positioning) Just follow team fighting basics as
Jarvan IV and you should do fine.
Since you are a great engage tank, ENGAGE ENGAGE ENGAGE. Make sure to dash in to the enemy team to knock them all up and start the team fight, or








Team Fighting
REMEMBER, it is OK to die! Your job is to use your








You must be logged in to comment. Please login or register.