League of Legends Jarvan Guide

This is the ultimate guide to Jarvan IV, The Exemplar of Demacia with full tips, tricks, builds, runes, masteries, summoner spell guides, item builds and more. You'll learn how to play Jarvan like a pro in League of Legends and maybe even get that pentakill you're looking for. Enjoy!

This guide is by JuiceItUp (2000 Rating on Solo Queue Ladder, #60 on ladder).

They say that you can tell a lot about a man by the way he carries himself. Of course, if he’s heavily armored and toting around a gigantic spear, that might say something about him, too. It is my pleasure to introduce to you Jarvan IV, the Exemplar of Demacia, a man whose attire may tempt you to harbor some preconceived notions about his personality. Just remember that looks aren’t everything. This gentleman is also the Crown Prince of Demacia and a real class act.

Welcome to the Jarvan Champion Spotlight, summoners! Finally completing the five-piece Demacian brigade, Jarvan is ready to take the Fields of Justice by storm. Don’t believe me? Let the video prove it to you!

Jarvan Base Stats

Damage 50 (+3.4 / per level)

Health 420 (+90 / per level)

Mana 235 (+30 / per level)

Move Speed 315

Armor 14 (+3 / per level)

Spell Block 30 (+1.25 / per level)

Health Regen 1.4 (+0.14 / per level)

Mana Regen 1.2 (+0.09 / per level)

Jarvan Abilities:

Dragon Strike: Jarvan IV's spear extends through his opponent, dealing physical damage and lowering their armor by a percentage. If this ability is cast on the Demacian flag, it will pull Jarvan through to his Standard, knocking up all enemies in his path.

This is a good damage ability but should be maxed last, as his other abilities are superior. It's knock-up when used with the Standard is a great source of CC. Added to his ultimate, Jarvan gets two gap-closing and CC spells. Very nice indeed! These 2 gap-closers and CC's make him a great resource in team fights, skirmishes, and chases and they make it very easy to get away when in the jungle.

Golden Aegis: Jarvan IV calls upon the ancient kings of Demacia to shield him from harm and slow surrounding enemies.

This is Jarvan's version of shield / AOE slow. Very powerful. Max it second, after Demacian Standard if going tank spec. If going damage dealer, max Dragon Strike first.

Demacian Standard: Passive: Grants Jarvan bonus attack speed and armor. Active: Throws a Demacian flag, dealing physical damage and granting passive benefits to nearby allies.

This is Jarvan's bread and butter skill. It's buff to allows is amazing and when used with Dragon Strike, creates a gap-closer/knock-up CC that is excellent.

Cataclysm (Ultimate): Jarvan IV heroically leaps at his target, dealing physical damage and creating a circle of terrain around them for a few seconds.

This is a great CC and gap-closer. It will isolate an enemy target (or multiple, depending on their positioning and who you aim for) inside a circle of rock. They can flash out of it, but if they don't have flash or another gap-closer they're pretty much stuck. for 3 seconds, making them an easy kill especially if you have ranged carries on your team.

Learning when and how to use Jarvan's Ultimate in team fights will wini games for you. Use it to isolate key enemies, protect allies, and so on. It's best used against champions that don't have flash/a move that lets them get out of it (Yi's alpha strike, Janna's ultimate (doesn't let her get out, but knocks enemies out, ezreal's e, etc.)

Martial Cadence (Passive): Jarvan IV exploits his target's opening, dealing a percentage of the target's current HP as magic damage. This effect cannot occur on the same target for several seconds.

This is a great passive that increases Jarvan's damage. Should you constantly switch targets in combat to make better use of his passive? Probably not, but maybe depending on the fight. Focus the carries first and you win.

How to Build Jarvan.

So I know you're thinking, ok Jarvan sounds awesome. So how do I build Jarvan?

The answer is simple: Damage, Tank, and more Damage.

Jarvan is an excellent tank but he puts out MASSIVE damage and scales very well. Because of his two CC's and gap-closers, his shield, and passive / ability based damage output, Jarvan is a perfect tank AND because of his overpowered damage output from his passive and buffs, Jarvan is a great damage dealer and carry. Jarvan should almost always be built as a mix of damage / tank. I recommend getting tank items such as Banshee's Veil and Frozen Mallet and Hexdrinker. Why?

1) Because he will be chasing heavily with his gap-closers

2) Because his Standard ally buff only works when he's alive (if you go all-out dps, you won't live long enough to benefit your allies in late-game team fights)

3) Because his Ultimate and Dragon Strike charge will put him very close to the enemy and he will be focused constantly. It's very hard to survive that much focus without tanky gear.

So what items do I buy for Jarvan?

If you're going Tank spec, Get:

Doran's Shield

Mercury's Treads

Banshee's Veil

Randuin's Omen

Hexdrinker

Frozen Mallet

If you're going to jungle with Jarvan, which is very easy to do, then get:

Wriggler's Lantern

Mercury's Treads

Banshee's Veil

Sunfire Cape

Randuin's Omen

Other great Jarvan Items:

Frozen Mallet (makes it almost impossible for anyone to get away or kite Jarvan)

Bread and Butter Jarvan DPS Build:

When laning:

Doran's Shield

Mercury's Treads

Phage > Frozen Mallet

Ghostblade

Hexdrinker

Banshee's Veil

Last Whisper

Other great items include Atma's Impaler and Wriggler's Lantern. Stark's is also good depending on your team comp.

Jarvan Skins:

Jarvan Skins include

Commando Jarvan

Dragon Slayer Jarvan

Ok so a lot of you have been asking, "How do I jungle with Jarvan??" Answer: EASILY!

Ok, buy cloth armor and 5 health pots.

Start at blue golem. Have your teammates first hit golem and damage it a bit so it aggroes them and not you. Then just continue clearing the jungle as you would with udyr from blue to red and ending on mini golems. Then you will be level 4 and able to gank.

Your spec and runes should be normal jungle spec/runes. 11/9/10 masteries with attack speed runes.

Ganking with Jarvan is VERY EASY with red buff. Enjoy jungle Jarvan!

This is what your Match History should look like with Jarvan IV, The Exemplar of Demacia for he is Overpowered!

Lore:

As the royal family of Demacia for centuries, members of the Lightshield line have spent their lives waging war against any who opposed Demacian ethics. It is said that every Lightshield is born with anti-Noxian sentiment in his blood. Jarvan IV is no exception, even though he is the first Lightshield born to the age of the League of Legends. As his forefathers had before him, he led Demacian troops into bloody engagements with Noxian forces, and on many occasions he has bled alongside wounded allies and fallen comrades. In his most crushing defeat, he was outmaneuvered and captured by a Noxian battalion under the command of Jericho Swain. This mistake nearly cost him his life at the hands of Urgot, but he was rescued by the Dauntless Vanguard, an elite Demacian strike force led by Jarvan's childhood companion, Garen.

Those close to him believed that his capture changed him. Xin Zhao was quoted as saying: "His eyes never seemed to look at you, only through you to something he could not look away from." One day, without warning, Jarvan IV handpicked a squad of Demacian soldiers and left Demacia, vowing to find "atonement"....

Fore more Jarvan Lore, visit the League of Legends Website.