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Jax, Like the old times (the old Jax)

Jax, Like the old times (the old Jax)

Updated on May 21, 2011
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Flodgaard Build Guide By Flodgaard 8 4 37,021 Views 8 Comments
8 4 37,021 Views 8 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Flodgaard Build Guide By Flodgaard Updated on May 21, 2011
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Introduction

Hello guys (and girls?!),

This is my guide about Jax, who been really nerfed in the patch where Riot removed dodge from Phantom Dancer. Since that, ppl stopped playing Jax as a dodging high-damage output dealer. Now ppl prefer to play him Hextech Gunblade(hybrid) and AP. Thats wrong. Jax should be played like a DPS'er, only with some adjustment, like Guinsoo's Rageblade. I play Jax that way.
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Dodge

In League of Legends, there are only one dodge item. The 850 coint shoe, Ninja Tabi, which gives u 12% dodge chance and 25 armor.
There is also only two types of dodge runes i LoL (9xSeal dodge and 3xQuintessence dodge (11,25% dodge)).
If u got the masterie Evasion in rank 4, u will have 2% dodge chance.
Last, there is only four heroes in all League of Legends, that master dodge as a passive or spell. One of them is Udyr's Bridge Between, which gives u 3% dodge (can be stacked three times = 9%] in five seconds. The other one is Sivir's Fleet of Foot which gives u 10/15/20/25% dodge while moving. Another one is Nidalee's Aspect Of The Cougar, which adds 10% dodge in Cougar. The last one is Jax Counter Strike, which will give u 10/12/14/16/18% dodge. Jax, is luckily, much more better as dodge champion than Udyr, Sivir and Nidallee, because his dodge spell will always work. That means, u have a adventage that no other champion got: U can go dodge, and win on it!

Allright guys. I tested how much dodge Jax will get IN GAME. Lets take it from the start:

I start the game with my 11.25% runes in dodge and 2% dodge from masteries. A total of 13.25%. But ingame it wont give me that amount. Instead i only have 12%.

Then i buy Ninja Tabi, who should give me 12% dodge. Instead of giving me the 12%, it give me 11%. So after the runes, masteries and shoes, we on 23%.

The last opportunity to get some more dodge, is our Counter-Strike spell. It should give me 10/12/14/16/18%, but lets see. I upgraded my CS spell, and my dodge output was raised from 23% to 31%. Again we got cheated. This time for 2%.
Then i upgraded to rank 2, but i only got 1% extra. Cheated again. We on 32% now.
Luckily, in rank 3, it was raised with that amount it should be raised with. First time. We got that 2% and now we on 34% dodge.
In rank 4 we sadly got 1% again. 35% now.
The last rank of our CS spell, we got 2%. Second time we got what we were promised. Our destination ends on 37% dodge.

Just a quick summation. Runes and masteries: 12% (1.25% missing) - 23% (1% missing) - 31%/32%/34%/35%/37% (4% missing). We should end up on 43.25% dodge, but we dont. So guys, we missing 6.25% dodge. My explanation to this, is following:

Dodge stacks, but not additively!

For instance, if you have 20% dodge and 10% dodge, then you actually end up with about 28% total, or something like that.

When Jax have Guinsoos and his ulti stacks maxed out, the Phantom Dancer completed and in lvl 18 he will have over 2.5 in attack speed. Also when your Infinity Edge is done, your crit chance will be 50%. In defense we have 37% dodge to protect us with. This will make Jax deadly to meet in 1v1 situations, also in 1v2.


Try to imagine Jax against a other champion. First at all u hit him with 2.0 in second, then u will crit more than once every second. The enemie champ will try to damage u, but u will dodge 41,25% of his attacks. U can also stun him every time he gets dodged.

This is the main reason ppl have to fear u when they meet u.
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Pros / Cons

Pros:
+ Great harraser
+ Super combo striker
+ Strong combos
+ Nice crit late game
+ High dmg output
+ Easy to handle
+ Good in 2v1 situations
+ Superb farmer mid-late game
+ Works fine as a hybrid
+ Nice balance overall

Cons:
- Item Depentant
- Needs control
- Squishy late game
- Weak for CC's (but we got our ulti?;))
- Expensive to complete build
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Skills

Equipment Mastery: Jax's prowess with weapons and armor increase his fortitude as he gains equipment. Jax gains 3 health per point of Attack Damage and 2 health per point of Ability Power received from items.

This passive will make Jax more hard to kill, espiacilly when he uses ulti. It will also make Jax a very good allround type. U can both go AP and still have a lot of life, but u can also choose the AD, and get even more life. In early game i always wanna choose AP, but make sure that u can upgrade that AP item to a AD item. Like Guinsoos Rageblade. This is the main reason for ppl to choose Guinsoos. Guinsoos give AP and AD = A lot more health to Jax and much easier to surive team fights. Generaly, a super passive for a champion like Jax.

Leap Strike: Jax leaps towards a target. If it's an enemy, he attacks it and deals an additional 50 / 75 / 100 / 125 / 150 (+70% of ability power) magic damage.

I always use this ability as my first, fighting against enemies. But its also a very good escape ability. At lvl 1, i go up in this abilitie. I do this, because i get the surprise moment first, and i can easy jump away with it. Sometimes, if the cooldown not ruin it, i use it to last hit.

Empower: Jax charges his weapon with energy, causing his next attack to deal 75/110/145/180/215 (+40% ap and 40% bonus ad) bonus magic damage.

This ablitie is Jax main abilitie in early game. With this and your Q abilitie, they make one of the game strongest double-abilitie combo. Usually i try to stay in the back with this abilitie, and just jump into it and run out fast.

Counter Strike: Passive: Increases Jax's dodge chance by 10 / 12 / 14 / 16 / 18%.
Active: Jax stuns surrounding enemies for 1 second and deals 80 / 100 / 120 / 140 / 160 (+60% of ability power) magic damage to them.
Usable only within 7 seconds of dodging an attack.

This abilitie is why ppl go dodge with Jax. Just imagine ppl trying to hit u all the time, but they cant, thanks to this abilitie. Wtf a abilitie im just saying.

Relentless Assault: (passive) Jax's basic attacks increase his attack speed by 6 / 10 / 14% for a short duration, and hitting the same unit 2 consecutive times enhances Jax's next attack for 140 / 170 / 210 (+70% of ability power) bonus magic damage. Attack speed stacks up to 10 times.
(active) Grants 20/35/50 + Jax's dodge percent in bonus magic resistance for a short time upon activation.

I really like its passive. Thats why i prefer to go AD with Jax. U will get more attack speed, as more damage u got. This will make Jax a true fast hitter and also dmg alot at the same time. Thats a nice passive. His active is also good in defensive situations. Often i will w8 until i have to run, before i activate it. Because its passive will be ruined, if i activate it in a fight. Still, its a nice activate to have when u are going in defensive mode.
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Summoner Spells

Exhaust: This spell is very OP to have with Jax. First of all, this summoner spell will always help u getting away from enemies, and fighting agaisnt them. Second, u can always use this skill, when enemies are trying to escape from u. Third, in 1v2 situations, u maybe have to take a guy out until u have killed his teammate, thats why u use exhaust.

Flash: That spell will save your *** so many times, that u cant count it on both hands.


Other choices:

Ignite: Often u will see ppl try to escape from u, then u just use your ignite spell, and that will do the job finished. But 90% of the times ppl will try to escpae, u can always catch them with your Leap Strike.

Ghost: Like i said before, ppl will try to escape, just catch them with ghost. Ofc is also a great escape tool, but Phantom Dancer and Leap Strike will give the nescarry boost to escape enemies.

Cleanse: Good skill for escaping and to set your ulti up (if u maybe are silenced or something like that). Cleanse is also very good because the enemy team will focuse u late game, because u have the highest damage output on your team. But still, i only think that tanks (or Tryndamere) should use cleanse.


Useless summoner spells:

Teleport: I've seen alot of jax ppl there used teleport to him, and thats is just wrong! The first or second item ppl get will jax, is very close to always be boots. So u will be fast at start. Later on u will get Phantom Dancer, which will make u even more faster. Jax will also reg some of his missing health with his dorans shield.

Clarity:
Some ppl means that Clarity is a must need for Jax, because he is very mana dependent. Maybe hes skills uses mana, but they all (except his ulti) only cost 60-65 mana. That is a very small amount of mana, for a hero like jax. At level 18, Jax will have 725 mana, which means that u can use all of your normal abilities up to 4 times.
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Masteries

Im rolling the 21-9-0 style. Its very easy. CD reduction is better to have than attack rate (attack speed) and Archaic Knowledge to dmg more with spells. More dodge from masteries is always welcome.

Plain and simple.
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Runes

Greater Mark of Desolation x9: ArP runes are superb for melee heroes. Im sure that ArP rune is the best Mark rune u can get to AD heroes like Jax.
Greater Seal of Evasion x9: In this guide, i focus on what i mean is one of Jax two main abilities, dodge. So its pretty obvious that i choose dodge as Seal runes.
Greater Glyph of Magic Resist x9: This is the tricky rune. If u use Jax ulti, it will give u 20/35/50 in magic resistance + your dodge percent in bonus magic resistance. That means u excatly can go magic resistance with Jax, and be succesfull with it. I defiently mean, that if u have an abilitie there give u some kind of bonus, then u should always try to bonus that bonus. In this case, its magic resistance there is the bonus. Therefore i mean u should bonus your magic resistance, with even more magic resistance.
Greater Quintessence of Evasion x3: I've have already explained why i choose dodge rune, so i hope i dont need to do it again.
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Items

Core:



Start item: I pick Doran's Shield in the start of game, because of the health reg and health. Jax will need health reg to stay on lane, and also health, so he will not die quickly. The armor is just a bonus to u.

1st item: ....will be shoes, ofc. Ninja Tabi is the natural and recommended shoe for Jax. As Jax, u need dodge as hell, if u play him as dodge. ;)

2nd item: I defiently mean, that Jax need to get one AP item when he reaches lvl 9. This will make his Empower spell damage alot more, and scare the **** out of your enemies. Therefore i pick Guinsoo's Rageblade, while first buying Blasting Wand in lvl 6-9, and upgrade it to Guinsoos right after.

3rd item: Here i pick Infinity Edge. I have heard a lot of ppl say that InfEdge isnt useful for him, escpically because of the price. But i disagree. In late game u will have a hugh amount of attack speed, crit and damage. That means u can kill ppl extremly fast and easy.

4th item: I know dodge on Phantom Dancer is gone (R.I.P.), but that still doesn't make it to a item, Jax won't use. AS and crit are very usefull for the way i play Jax.

5th item: The last item i get in the core, will be Bloodthirster. 100 AD and 25 life steal. Which melee champion dont love that? :)

6th item: Often the game is over when u have to choose a last item, but when it isn't over, start selling your Doran's Shield and look at these items:

Madred's Bloodrazor: In ultra late game, many champs from the enemies team, will have 3000+ HP. This will make them very hard to kill, and annoy your team. Bloodrazors are build to these situations. That's why i most of the time pick it. It also gives a nice bonus of armor, AD and AS.

Guardian Angel: Jax dont have any armor item or magic rest item. Only his Doran's Shield with 8 armor and his magic rest runes. Thats a very small amount of defensive tools. Also in ultra late game, the most OP late game champs like Jax, will also die. So often its a great idea to choose GA, because it will reborn u upon death. Nice!
I believe that GA is the best 6th item u can get to many many many champs in LoL. But Jax is better served with a Bloodrazor imo.

Frozen Mallet: Sometimes Jax really need HP, and what better HP item to jax is there, than FM? 700 HP and 20 AD. Still, HP is not nescary for Jax, so i recomend only to use this in very special cases.

Black Cleaver: Do the enemies have like 2-3 or more champs as heavy armor tanks? Thats why u pick TBC.

Other things:

Elixirs: Make sure when your bag is completely full, to buy some elixires. The most important of the three elixirs, is Elixir of Agility, which raise your crit percent and attack speed. The two other elixirs, can u also buy if u got the money. I would prefer the Elixir of Brilliance, instead of Elixir of Fortitude. I do that, because Fortitude grants health, but Brilliance grants AP, which will be switched to AP and HP, thanks to Jax's passive.

Invisible items: At last, remember to buy Vision Ward or Oracle's Elixir if the enemies team got stealthers. U can buy invisible wards from early game until late game, if u are on lane with a stealther. Dont buy wards in the whole game, if u not on lane with the enemie stealther. Start buying Oracles when u reach late game with your team.
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Skills usage

Jax is a one of the games best harasers, due to his Leap Strike and Empower . Together they make a damage output on 125 in lvl 2 without items. These two spells will damage much more, if u got AP with Jax. I defiently mean, that Jax need to get one AP item before or when he reaches lvl 9. This will make his Empower spell damage alot more, and sometimes make ppl recalling. Thats also explain why i mean u have to focus on Empower until lvl 9. Also when u have shoes, u dodge a lot, so try to dodge a attack (your Counter Strike will be activated) before u jump in. Because when u jump in with your Counter Strike spell activated, u can dodge them when u land and dmg them even more. If u make a mistake, and jump into more enemies u can handle, then use ulti to escape, and maybe try to use Leap Striike (if the cd is refreshed) on a minion to get away.


Early game combo: Activate Empower > Jump with Leap Strike

>



Main Combo: Activate Counter Strike (dodge an attack) > Turn on Empower > Jump with Leap Strike > Stun with Counter Strike > (use Relentless Assault to minimize incoming damage)

Counter Strike > Empower > Leap Strike - Counter Strike > ( Relentless Assault )

~ ~ ~ ~
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Playstyle

Early game:
U start grabbing Doran's Shield and heading for a double lane. Until level 3, u have to be very defensive, so dont head after a first blood early! When u reach level 3, u will start harrassing your enemies, with your W+Q combo. Try also to have a stun ready, so you can stun them just after u jumped on them. Try to stay on lane until u have ulti. Then its okay to port back and get your shoes - and maybe the Blasting Ward for your Guinsoos.

Mid game:
Your mid game starts as soon as u get Guinsoos Rageblade. This is where its going to be fun while playing Jax. Run overall on map, and try to gank EVERYBODY! 75% of the time u will get the kill and money. The last 25% u will get like 200 coins for the ***its. If its possible, try to keep ganking until u have money for B. F. Sword.

Late game:
Late games begin when your Infinity Edge is finished, and your Zeal is bought. This is also here the team fights will start. Be in all the team fights u can, but dont be aggresive. Just wait in the back, to the real fight begins. Jump in and pwn the whole team!


Remember!
When u play Jax, be careful to meet silencers. This will make u unable to use your ulti or summoners spells, which is = dead.
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Finally...

Please leave a comment, and rate the vid. If u give it a thumbs down, i will be very pleased if u commented why.

At the end, i can only say, have fun while playing Jax, and try not to take some bad choises. Especially in team fights. Stay in the back! ;)

Sorry for spelling errors! - Flodgaard
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Jax, Like the old times (the old Jax)

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