Jax Build Guide by CruzeDbruzer

Introduction

Hello my fellow summoners,CruzerDBruzer here with a Jax Top Lane Guide,I'm not really Cruiser the Bruiser though.Note that this guide is not targeted for new players,this guide is aimed to improve players who already know the basics of this game and Jax plus some of the basic acronyms in league of legends would also be encountered so if you're a new player my advice is to learn some more before revisiting this guide.

Which stats are we looking for?

AD - AD is okay with Jax but I suggest not going overkill with it with items such as The Bloodthirster and
Infinity Edge because jax benefits much more from other items being Blade of the Ruined King and Trinity Force,try not to build items around AD like building a Last Whisper and Phantom Dancer or something of the category cause if you build like that you give no room for tank items which Jax needs.

AP - AP is a rather situational stat on Jax,sure you get AP from Trinity Force but you don't buy it for the AP itself,it comes with a lot of other stats and passives.If you want to have fun with some AP Jax go ahead and do it but mind you it's not as good/viable as playing Jax as an Off Tank but go ahead if you want to troll some.

Attack Speed - Attack Speed is pretty good on Jax as it lets you proc the passive component of Grandmaster's Might more often but similar to AD don't overkill it,as Jax needs some items slots for tank items and he has a huge attack speed steroid already in his passive,getting attack speed helps in gaining stacks of it but don't go too far.

Health,Armor and Magic Resist - These 3 stats are what makes Tanks beefy,The health is backed up with resistances for physical and magic damage to be off lest effect on the health itseld,note that each point in armor and magic resist increase you effective health against physical and magical damage respectively.Effective Physical health is the amount of physical damage it takes for you to die use this formula for effective physical health.
Effective Physical Health = Health + Health*( armor/100 ),for example you have 2000 health and 100 armor,your effective physical health is doubled as in 2000 + 2000*( 100/100 ) = 4000,with effective magical health simply replace armor with magic resistance.Note that resistances work better if you have sustain as your enemies need to go through them again as you sustain your health back up and health would be the best option against champions who have innate penetration and huge amounts of true damage like Darius since resistances cannot reduce true damage.

Crit - Jax doesn't really want crit as mentioned above it makes you lack item slots for tank items and you not surviving to deal damage is equivalent to wasting it.

Lifesteal/Spell Vamp - Both are decent stats on Jax but Jax definitely benefits more from lifesteal since he needs to also auto attack to get healed by the spell vamp from his Empower and the passive component of Grandmaster's Might,an item such as Hextech Gunblade is a great item on Jax however is just simply outclassed by Blade of the Ruined King because bork's damage is definitely higher than that of Gunblade's in both the passive and active plus the acive of Blade of the Ruined King is simply stronger in terms of chasing and escaping,you can get Hextech Gunblade if you wish to get more resistances out of Grandmaster's Might and more sustain though.

Health/Mana regeneration - Jax doesn't really buy any items with these stats unless you count Crystalline Flask,overall not useful on Jax as his slight mana issues is already gone when you're able to buy something like Manamune,his health regeneration mostly comes from lifesteal/spellvamp.

Mana - Although Muramana is a rather strong pick on Jax as it's passive proc applies to his Empower and
Grandmaster's Might's passive component meaning he can proc Muramana up to 3 times in a single auto attack,it's just not reliable early game since Jax doesn't really benefit from the mana and mana regeneration from Tear of the Goddess much.

CDR - Cooldown Reduction is a situational stat where if you find yourself in a team composition where you'd want to max Leap Strike and Counter Strike before Empower since your team already provides enough damage then it's a decent stat.

Runes

Always take flat AD on Jax,it helps you last hit,clear the jungle faster and hit harder in general,it's a lot better than some of the other viable choices but if you do choose to get other types of Marks you should be confident enough to last hit without these.

Armor seals are the best choices of seals on Jax as they give him some beefiness against physical damage,some might argue with flat health seals and they are also good but Jax typically has some sustain in his items making armor more efficient.Feel free to mix some flat health seals if you wish.

Flat magic resistance Glyphs are the best options here,not only because it protects you from magic damage but Jax doesn't benefit much from taking any offensive stats from Glyphs,Scaling magic resist Glyphs are also good options if you are against AD or jungling.

I take attack speed Quints simply because I like having smooth animations on my auto attacks and I typically like to clear a jungle camp not only at the start of the game but also once in a while to increase my income,these come in handy in clearing them.Flat AD Quints or Penetration Quints may replace this to your liking.

Masteries

Masteries
3/5	1/1	3/5	1/1	1/1

Fury

Butcher

Feast

Brute Force

Feast

Martial Mastery

Masteries
2/5	2/1	1/1	3/5	1/1	3/1	3/5	1/1	1/1	3/	1/

Block

Doran's Shield

Unyielding

Enchanted Armor

Grandmaster's Might

Unyielding

Veteran Scars

Juggernaut

Juggernaut

Hardiness

Resistance

Counter Strike

Reinforced Armor

Evasive

Legendary Guardian

Tenacious

Mercury's Treads

Zephyr

Items

Damage Start This start lets you do the jungle camp level 1 cheese the fastest and provides you with decent sustain with the lifesteal it gives.This item provides you with decent dueling potential and easier last hitting with its stats too.

Defense Start This start can also clear 1 camp at the start of the game,but slower,I only start with this when I'm against someone who has both decent single target poke and has a good chance to beat me in an all in who deals mostly single target damage.

Sustain Start With this start you can clear a jungle camp just as fast as the Doran's Shield start would have,remember to chug the flask charges when you do so to make it safer,start with this if you're against someone with a weak all in but is good at poking.

The reason you should opt for defensive boots is because Jax does not benefit as much from the other boots and defensive boots keep you alive in a fight,and the longer that you're alive,the more you can help your team.

These are the items that a typical Jax would rush,reason being is that both these items give what Jax wants,attack speed some form of damage,powerful trades and chasing power, Blade of the Ruined King is usually taken if you want to sustain against tanky champions who have poke or just tanky champions in general. Trinity Force is bought against champions who are squishy or moderate,Trinity Force provides constant and sustained burst damage.

These two items give Jax a lot of tank stats,These items are bough because Jax needs to be tanky to be able to work,since he needs to dive in to be able to be of use and do damage,the reason you buy Randuin's Omen is for a huge amounts of health and armor and the attack speed slow whenever they hit you,plus the sticking power of the active,the Banshee's Veil is crucial to not get caught and protects you from a lot of spell damage wtih the spell shield,magic resist and health it provides.

Guardian Angel is a common item on Jax,it gives you a second chance,note that reviving after your team lost the fight would usually mean that it's wasted,this item also provides a good amount of armor and magic resist,you would sometimes need to sell this item for something else when the game keeps dragging on even after the revive has been used,after 5 minutes,you may choose to buy it again.

Zephyr is a strong item on Jax due to it giving him good stats,not necessarily needed stats cause it's bough after your main items but it's a good bonus,plus this way you can have Tenacity while you have Ninja Tabi at the same time if certain circumstances are met that you're in need of the Ninja Tabi passive and Tenacity at the same time.

This item is good for the stats it gives and the sustain it provides but the thing is,it's damage is kinda comparable with Blade of the Ruined King but the active is just a lot weaker than that of bork's.Sure you could buy this along with Blade of the Ruined King because their actives don't share the same cool down.Overall this item is okay but it is simply outclassed by Blade of the Ruined King.

This is actually a decent item,it gives a lot of beneficial stats that Jax loves but there's one catch,it doesn't feel very strong because you need to stack it up some and get low before getting a huge bonus from it and without those bonuses this item is just not that good as an item to rush,sure if you want more damage you can buy this but maybe some time after getting your other damage and tank items.

This may seem weird but trust me, The Black Cleaver is a decent item on Jax is you are in need of extra damage.It gives some armor penetration which benefits your Trinity Force and Blade of the Ruined King damage,some CDR and health which Jax makes good use of every stat,what doesn't seem bad about this item on Jax?

I usually upgrade my trinket to this because it gains up to two charges of 3 minute Stealth Wards every minute,this item is just amazing for Jax cause not only does it provide a decent escape for him but it provides him an easy access to wards when he's pushed up/split pushing,overall much better than Oracle's Lens in terms of vision and utility,feel free to take Oracle's Lens if you really need the true sight.

Summoner Spells

& or

Flash is just a great summoner spell to have on any champion, Ghost may be an option but I personally like flash because not only is the movement instant but you can go through walls as a blink,having less chance to fail a wall jump and it will probably net you some kills or keep you alive that Ghost would otherwise not get you.

OR

Teleport if you plan on doing a jungle camp at level 1,more map pressure and better late game pressure, Ignite if you are feeling like you can use it to win lane really hard without the the level 1 jungle cheese,you want to have a higher kill potential top lane,or you're just against a champion who has powerful regeneration,lifesteal or spellvamp like Swain, dr.mundo or something of the sort.

Jungle Cheese

By jungle cheese I mean you do a jungle camp at level 1,typically the Raptors ( the camp with 4 monsters ) since your jungler would take a lot of damage from them if he wants to do it early,also for the sake of your jungler as he/she gets higher in levels the camp will probable respawn after he's bough his jungle item.Then after you have cleared the jungle camp you back and Teleport back to lane full health and with some extra potions and/or wards at the cost of your Teleport and a few minions ( which gives less experience ).

Be advised that there are 3 things to consider if you want to do it,if one of these 3 things is not met,do not do it.The first one of course is if you got your Counter Strike and you are sure that you have done this before in a custom game and you will not die to them and the second one is if you either feel that their top laner can put you at a huge disadvantage if they push the lane hard and is capable of doing so,a fine example of such a champion who can do this is a experienced Tryndamere who can have a full fury bar after quickly pushing a wave with his Spinning Slash and crit cheese you to win lane.The third one is pretty obvious,if the enemy suspects that you'll be able to do it and interrupts you,dealing enough damage to you to die if you try the camp or they'll try to steal it from you which is unusual,putting you in either a disadvantage or making you unable to do the camp without being really late to lane.

Okay so for example you go in a custom game with a buddy and try it out with your choice of runes and masteries and attempt to kill a jungle camp at level 1,say you successfully did it,have your buddy be in the enemy team and tell him to lane at top normally without telling him what you're about to do,if you were able to back and Teleport back into lane without having an experience disadvantage meaning you did it fast enough then you're good to do it in a normal/ranked game,but be sure to ward for your safety.

Using Jax's kit to it's full potential

Trading is an act of dealing damage to your opponent in exchange of taking some damage of your own,while harassing is dealing free damage to them,meaning that you deal damage to them without taking any yourself,these often lead to one winning lane in terms of cs and/or health.

Things to remember as to how you can win trades or not waste mana for no reason.

• Empower applies the damage on your next auto attack or your Leap Strike
  
• Empower is an auto attack reset,meaning that if you cast this ability after barely hitting an auto attack without waiting for the animation to finish,you instantly attack them again with the empowered auto attack,dealing damage faster and stacking up your Relentless Assault faster.
  
• Although Leap Strike can apply Empower's bonus damage upon landing and Leap Strike's damage cannot be negated by interrupting Jax mid-jump,this can only be in your favor if you don't have the time to use Empower for an auto attack reset,in such cases that you are tower diving and you want to take 1 tower hit less and your enemy can be killed by an Empowered Leap Strike immediately.
  
• Counter Strike is a powerful ability in trades if used properly,note that you can reactivate it after a second has passed to end the effect and stun your enemies immediately,knowing when to reactivate this may be crucial in winning or losing a duel.
• Counter Strike does not only dodge auto attacks but it also reduces area of effect damage.
  
• Using Counter Strike too early will discourage enemies from fighting you making you waste mana if not careful.
  
• Knowing your enemies abilities is crucial,for example,a Tryndamere walks up to you to auto attack you,you activate Counter Strike and trade an auto attack,he then spins into a bush wasting your Counter Strike and mana after hitting you with the damage component of his Spinning Slash,making you lose the trade.
  
• After getting a point in Grandmaster's Might,try to charge up 2 auto attacks and then proceeding to walk up to your opponent and bop em with it along with Empower,use Empower as an auto attack reset if possible.
  
• Not that Spell Shields can block the damage of Leap Strike,this may seem small but if you activate Empower to do the bonus damage on Leap Strike,the spell shield will block all the damage from both Leap Strike and Empower.

Changelog

MM / DD / YYYY

03 / 28 / 2015 : Guide Published

Closure

If you're reading this,thank you so much for sticking around till the end,hope you have fun playing the game and have a nice day!

By the way if you guys find any errors that I made feel free to tell me about it in the comments,any suggestions or questions will be considered,once again thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day!