So, you want to kick some *** with the Prince of Demacia? Well, look no further than this here guide. The best place for the Prince is alone, far from the reaches of mid lane or bottom lane, all by himself in top lane. his goal is not the destruction of his enemy, nor even his turret, though these are indeed steps on the path he must take... His true goal is the piece that holds his enemies together... The reason for his summoning... The all-powerful Nexus, and it shall be his to destroy... No one takes the glory of victory away from Jarvan IV.

This is my first guide, though I'm not really a newbie. I watch a lot of streams, read a lot of guides, and play very often

I'm not going to lie and tell you I'm the greatest, because I know I'm not. I made the mistake of jumping into ranked play before I was truly ready, and I've risen about 300 points in solo queue in the past three months, and I'm still climbing. The turn around point was finding what I was good at, then just plain playing more often. I play a lot of blitz and evelynn, among other things, jarvan is my favorite champion.

Recently I picked up Jarvan IV and fell in love with his kit. I've done so well with him, in fact, that I decided to write this guide. I took a lot of my own knowledge, some advice, and research done from other builds.

With all that said, this is a guide intended for all levels of play on Summoner's Rift.

I choose 23/3/4 because i tell you why i choose 23 because yes are buddy jarvan is a tank most of the time but he does need some damage guys or girls or something else but ay he does need damage and with this build you can be a tank/off tank the 3 is for as you possibly thought by now where's the magic resist what if you fighting a caster well since jarvan starts with more magic resist the extra little boost why just put you over the top and make you impossible to kill (not for real though don't go turret diving at level one) and the 4 in utility is for mana jarvan gets low real fast.

IgniteI've very recently taken to running Ignite on a lot of my solo top champions because of the lane dominance it helps to gain. You can be a lot more aggressive and secure more kills early game (when and if) your jungler ganks, or even without your jungler depending on if he hats you or not. Because of this, it's become a standard for me fairly often. Though, if you team already has a lot of Ignites, consider taking something else.


Ghost Since Jarvan has a built in ability than functions like Flash, he doesn't always require Flash. This allows him to take Ghost for the boost in chasing someone down. It can also be used as a last resort to quickly return to your tower if necessary if you don't have Teleport or your Teleport is down.


Flash I used to run Ghost, but I've found with the movespeed I have, flashing in and then doing my knock up combo from a distance has become a lot more effective. You have the surprise aspect. Also, it's 100% easier to escape ganks on top with a well timed flash. Ghost just isn't as effective at that. However, that's not to say Ghost isn't useful, because it certainly is. I have just changed personal preference, and thus am reflecting that in my build.


Exhaust In recent weeks I've picked up using Exhaust over other secondary summoner spells as it allows our big boy J4 to repeatedly punch someone in the face with his spear. It also makes your opponent do less damage to you and weakens them, so all in all, you can often get a lot more damage out of this than Ignite. Always consider who your solo top opponent is going to be when deciding between the two.


Teleport I used to feel this is (almost) mandatory among those who wish to take the position of top. Unless there is an explicit reason you need to take something else, this should always be a part of a solo top's arsenal. I have started to try out Ignite instead and have found that I often will be able to secure a kill and then push the lane out, followed by recalling and simply walking back with standard boots. This spell is no longer mandatory in my mind, but still a huge asset to your team. I would still recommend considering taking it.

this is going to be a short paragraph be it's not hard to get farm with this champion since jarvan's passive as long as you use this build you can get farm relatively easy all you have to do is wait for a creep to get under half health and you can one hit it

I usually try and keep my Demacian Standard on the ground at all times to maximize the time my team is benefiting from its bonus. It's also smart to try and knock up as many enemies in one lunge, because that can be just the setup your team needs to burst half of their team to 0 HP. It's also good to stick your Dragon Strike through as many tanky enemies as possible, which will make it easier for your AD carry to shred them to pieces.

In teamfights you need to try and pick apart their team and separate them from each other. If you can get a carry alone, you should usually be able to kill them 1v1. With Cataclysm you can usually single someone out and pick them off. You can also use it to capture several enemies together for some nice AoE damage out of one of your friends. It also can be used to save a low-HP teammate from a chasing enemy.

In any case, you must always keep in mind that Cataclysm can also screw over your teammates. Unless it will be in your favor, never trap a teammate inside of your ultimate. They will be very, very unhappy with you.

Martial Cadence - This is basically your last hitting tool in lane. It does 6/8/10% of the target's current health in physical damage, capping at a maximum of 400 on your first hit on a target. This effect won't proc again on the same target for another 6 seconds. Helps out your last hitting in lane, and is remarkably good for harass - if the enemy gets too close, give them a quick Dragon Strike and Martial Cadence for some serious hurt. It's also worthy to note that it now procs with life steal, which is quite nice.


- Dragon Strike - Get this ability at level one for some good harass for the first few levels if you’re tanking. However, since I level my E first, eventually that will become the better harass tool. However, once leveled it will do considerable damage, and the armor reduction that it causes is definitely not to be underestimated. However, if you’re doing offtank it's better to level this first, as it provides stronger offense and better harass.



- Golden Aegis - A good shield ability with some interesting utilities. The slow can help you save teammates and yourself and help you catch an opponent. While the damage shield seems underwhelming at first sight, it is decent when fully leveled, and when used around a group of enemies, it will shield for even more.



- Demacian Standard - Your key ability when doing full tank. I level this first when tanking to get the passive AS and Armor, but it will also do some decent harass damage when you drop it. The aura is great and will help your teammates in anything from teamfights to taking down towers. This combined with Dragon Strike to create the flag pull will be your key skill and is what you should always be practicing. More information on utilities for this in the Unique Skills chapter.



- Cataclysm - A very powerful ulti that takes skill to learn when to use. Usually, if your opponent has a blink type ability (ie Tryndamere's Spinning Slash), they can get right through the ulti, or if they have flash they may use that to get away as well. Keep tabs on such abilities when considering whether or not to slam someone's face in. In addition, it is a great ganking tool and can really catch someone by surprise. Can also be used to trap enemies in so you and your team can get out of a bad situation.

He can hold top lane for a very long time by himself if he has to.

He can farm relatively safely.

Isn't very susceptible to ganks.

Has above average ganking ability.

His passive makes for above average burst damage, even without offensive items.

Every one of his skills adds some form of utility to the team.

He can build almost full tank and still be very lethal.

He is one of the most versatile champions in the game, able to fit into any team composition
and fulfill a variety of roles.

Though not the point of this guide, he can jungle fairly effectively.

all his skins are awesome including his defalt

I hope my guide is well-received and useful to those of you who wish to try your hand at solo top Jarvan IV.

Please vote, comment, and share with your friends. I will try and respond to everyone who comments on my guide to provide guidance on any questions or comments about the build.

Good luck and thanks for reading!