Jax Build Guide by foREVer122809

Welcome

paingus in my buttpaingus in my buttpaingus in my buttpaingus in my butt

Introduction

paingusHello, this is foREVer122809 on the NA servers bringing you a Jax guide. I love playing Jax and I hope I can help you find the right build for you so you can focus on the gameplay instead of what item you are buying next. This guide will focus on Jax’s strengths while making him an effective damage dealer that can soak up some damage. I made this guide because I wanted to offer an alternative build compared to a lot of others.




As you may have noticed, I stated that Jax is commonly under estimated. This is both a pain and a blessing. You might be aware that poor Jax here is among the most changed and reworked champions of the game. Because of the fact that people see his name in a large amount of patch notes they are in the mindset that he has been nerfed to nothing (kind of like Evelynn) when he is still a very strong champion with an absolutely ridiculous kit. People who DO under estimate the mighty Jax let their guard down a little bit more, offering a perfect opportunity to teach them a lesson.

Skills

Jax’s consecutive attacks passively increase his attack speed and stacks up to six times.
This passive is very nice to have, especially for team fights. As a built in mini- Guinsoo's Rageblade , once you have full stacks you can really start to devastate with the passive of Grandmaster's Might . You may want to keep in mind that this is not too important in lane, so DO NOT constantly auto-attack minions, especially when you are solo top.

Jax leaps to target ally or enemy, dealing physical damage.
This ability is a great utility for Jax. It is perfect for chasing, escaping, and overall mobility. It can be great for initiating a fight or getting to the enemy AD carry after a tank initiates the team fight.

spaaaaaaaaaaaaace
Jax charges his weapon with energy, dealing bonus magic damage on the next hit.
This is my favorite ability on Jax. It’s basically like Nasus’s Siphoning Strike (except that it isn’t quite as good). This ability coupled with a Sheen and the third hit from Grandmaster's Might does absolutely insanely devastating damage. Use this ability to farm and don’t forget to use it in fights!!

Jax dodges all incoming basic attacks and then counter attacks by stunning nearby enemies.
This is what makes Jax… well, Jax. Proper use of this truly separates good Jax players from the best. I can’t tell you how much it pains me to see people misusing this ability, especially because the cool down is somewhat long. This is what makes Jax an amazing duelist and an amazing AD carry eliminator. You dodge all basic attacks for 1.5 seconds or so and do damage to people around you as well as stun them, and you do more damage the more attacks you dodge. But don’t use this immediately, because if you save it you can really pull off some clutch plays.


Every third basic attack does bonus magic damage. Also, this ability can be activated to increase Jax's armor and magic resist.
I love love LOVE this ability! The passive coupled with the active really make Jax a great champion. Not only is it great for team fights, but don't be afraid to use this for small 1v1 fights, you'd be surprised by how a small armor and magic resist bonus can save you.

Summoner Spells

This is fairly standard amongst most champions. Some people argue that his Leap Strike is a good replacement for Flash, considering that you can ward jump (will explain later). I don’t necessarily think so, because Leap Strike has a medium-short cool down and there have been several times where I needed to escape, so Flash was just enough. Leap Strike is still a great escape mechanism, but it just shouldn’t be relied on.

Teleport is great to have. You usually will be solo top as Jax and teleport is a usual must for getting to lane. It can also be used for ganking, which is a feature of teleport that is largely ignored. And one of the most common things its used for, is backdooring and split pushing. Jax is great at this because of his great escapes and ability to deplete minion waves quickly.
This spell won't be too useful for you, and flash will give better chasing/escaping capabilities. It's viable but not fully recommended.
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This spell in itself is slightly under powered, being such a light slow that lasts for a short time and has a long cooldown. If you were to choose between this and ghost, just take ghost.
SPAAAACE!!
This is pretty viable for the players out there who like to play very offensively. In draft/ranked pick if the enemy top laner is someone like Dr. Mundo or Volibear, you'll definitely want to take this over flash. Just make sure to always have wards to ward jump (explained in Tips, Tricks, and Techniques).
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Cleanse is a majorly underrated summoner spell that not very many people use. Heavy CC and disruption is very popular in this meta, and cleanse is made specifically to counter it. If you see an enemy team with Leona, Amumu, Ashe, Kennen, and Taric, you might want to consider cleanse.

Runes

Greater Mark of Attack Damage I chose flat attack damage that is equivalent to a Doran’s Blade. I also am using this rune page to play Akali, so my set up may not be the best but it is great and works for me.

Greater Seal of Armor I go for flat armor here because most games in the current meta have an AD bruiser/offtank top.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist This is another fairly simple one, the magic resist per level is great to have in any situation.

Greater Quintessence of Health I like to get health Quints over most others because I personally feel that they are the most useful and offer the best bonus.

Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage I only get one Quint for flat AD, so I have bonus attack damage above 10.

All in all, this is only MY rune page. It really is up to the user considering how runes can cost a lot of IP. So please, do use whichever runes you would like.

Items

These are the 2 different options for starting items, and I would only suggest a Doran’s Shield if you are going to be laning against a tough AD champion with high harass, as it offers the best defenses and sustain possible in those situations. Otherwise, grab the Boots of Speed and 3 Health Potions. I usually end up using the latter. These items are your core items, meaning that you should be able to get them every game. Berserker’s Greaves synergise very well with Jax’s Grandmster’s Might. It also allows for a greater amount of DPS in fights. The Hextech Gunblade is great because the spell vampirism and life steal (as well as the damage and amazing active) add so much more to Jax. Trinity Force is absolutely amazing, and hould never be overlooked. With these last 3 items I wanted to emphasive damage output while offering more defense and survivability. Jax is absolutely wonderful, but he is a big target in team fights. These items will allow you to stay alive longer and hopefully chase down a few stragglers after your team wins the fight over Nashor ;)
Never ever think that these 2 boot options aren’t great. Berserker’s Greaves may be ideal for damage, but sometimes you don’t need the small attack speed boost. These two items can seriously save you life in a pinch. They are both really great and shouldn't be overlooked. I can not stress how good these two pairs of boots can be for you. This item isn’t ideal, but still is good on Jax. I would only suggest this if the enemy team is composed mainly of off-tanks and bruisers that are stacking massive mountains of health, which, sadly enough, is a very popular trend. Ahh, the so very famous Jax with Guinsoo's combo. I see this item in almost every guide for Jax out there. And honestly, this item isn't too great for him. It is a pure damage-only item, that takes a while to charge up and is slightly costy. Okay, now that I am done trash talking it, let's talk about how good it is. The reason a lot of Jax players get this is because of one thing: SYNERGY! It gives you perfect bonuses for Jax. The increasing attack speed and ability power can make Jax an insanely powerful killer. So why not make this a core item? Because it's somewhat unreliable. In order to get the full bang for your buck, you're going to need to get 8 straight attacks/spell uses. In team fights, there will always be a lot of CC flying around and insanity will occur. It is very easy to lose your stacks, thus trumping your ability to kill.

Laning and Playstyle

Jax has an interesting progression through out the game, and unlike most other champions, he gets a LOT stronger later in a game. Although this is true, there are still some things you may want to be careful about while playing.

Early game is rather boring and quite terrible for Jax, so the main focus for early game is farm. You will have to try your best to last hit while avoiding harass from your opponent. Also, notice how I said last hit. It is imperative that you do not push the lane and that you do not auto attack minions. This is the biggest mistake some top laners make, and is a quite fatal mistake as well. You may occasionally go on the offensive, but only do so for a short time and go back to farming.


I consider mid game to have started by the time you buy your Hextech Gunblade. At this point you can act more aggressive than before, but being careful and thoughtful in your actions. Most people should be wandering around the map occasionally at this point, but I would recommend staying in your lane and getting farm.


By the time late game rolls around, you should be starting to build your final three items. A few team fights have been fought, but a lot more are soon to come. At this time if there isn’t a major team fight about to erupt you should be attempting to back door as much as possible. If you can, coordinate with you team to split push. Split pushing is when your team all go in one lane and shove it to a tower while you quietly destroy towers in another lane. Your role in team fights is to find the squishiest of the enemies and destroy them as quickly as possible. This should be the support and AD carry. Then move on to the AP carry, and finishing with with the tanks/bruisers that remain.

Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

In this section, I will be going over some fundamentals and advanced tips for being a Grandmaster at Arms.

• Ward Jumping- Ward jumping is a somewhat advanced but insanely useful technique used to escape, chase, etc. Essentially, ward jumping is when you have either a Wriggle's Lantern or Sight Ward and place it some distance ahead of you. After placing a ward in range of your Leap Strike, leap to it. You will instantly move to the location of the ward, making a clean getaway.
  Here's an example of what I am talking about:
• Harassing in lane- Harassment at top lane is crucial in order to succeed. Frequently harassing your enemy will zone them (push them away from the minions, denying exp), make them fear you, and of course get their hp low enough for a gank to turn into a successful kill. The most common harass is to turn on Empower and then Leap Strike to them and quickly running away. This should be done frequently, but make sure to manage your mana and not do it constantly in order to maintain a good mana pool. If you notice that you are taking quit a bit of damage yourself, turn on Counter Strike before you jump, and stun the opponent the second you land for a clean getaway.

Closing

Special Thanks

Change Log

May 7, 2012

• Guide added to Mobafire
• Changed Frozen Mallet to Warmog's Armor

May 19, 2012

• Moved Warmog's Armor in front of Atma's Impaler
• Added Tips, Tricks, and Techniques chapter
• Added Guinsoo's Rageblade, Frozen Mallet, and Rylai's Crystal Scepter to optional items
• Completely revamped Summoner Spells, Items, Closing, Special Thanks, and Skills.