Jarvan Solo Top

Masteries

21/09/00

With the advent of the revamped mastery trees I was forced to re-evaluate my choice of masteries. After some deliberation and testing, I chose to run these 21/09/00 masteries. Sustainability is still key to my Jarvan playstyle, however, the new masteries allow for about the same amount of sustainability through the health regen in the defensive tree, the lifesteal in the offensive tree, and the mana regen runes. The new masteries really shine at making my sustainable offtank Jarvan dish out a lot more damage than before.

Runes

Greater Mark of Desolation These are pretty straightforward. From the beginning of the game, ArP runes are going to make an AD champ do more damage. It's scientific fact. However, if you're choosing to level up  Dragon Strike faster than  Demacian Standard, you might be better suited for something else, like flat armor or even attack speed.  Greater Seal of Clarity I originally ran flat Armor runes (which aren't a bad substitute) but switched over to mana regeneration runes because Jarvan has some serious mana problems throughout the course of the game, and you shouldn't be itemizing for mana. Going Mana Regen per level helped cover that weakness and made holding solo top a much more pleasurable experience for me. I can see the potential in HP per level yellows too, so you could use those if you're less spammy than me in your Jarvan playing.

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Greater Glyph of Shielding Another pretty straightforward pick. These runes give a decent amount of magic resistance, which gives you more leeway in taking on some more offensive items if you feel you can do without the extra survivability. Flat CDR blues are an acceptable substitute, but it will make you less tanky.  Greater Quintessence of Swiftness This is mainly personal preference, as there our several other quints that could be useful. I find the extra movespeed makes tracking down, knocking up, and steamrolling carries that much easier, which often times is Jarvan's main priority. Suitable replacements would be Armor Pen, flat HP, or maybe even flat AD (which would benefit from maxing  Dragon Strike first). It's also been suggested to me that Flat HP Regen Quintessences work well, which seems very solid in theory, especially with the purpose of this guide. Those would be another acceptable substitute.

Summoner Spells

Ignite I'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 your jungler ganks, and sometimes without your jungler. 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).

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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 seen better personal results), 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 solo 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. If you don't already have one, I would still recommend considering taking it. It, for one, allows you to recall and pick up your  Heart of Gold &  Philopher's Stone combo when you have the gold and return instantly, thus maximizing your gold income. If you somehow die, you can return to your tower (hopefully) before it is lost. This also allows you to roam elsewhere for a gank and safely return if your lane is getting pushed too hard.

Skill Sequence

I usually level in the order given in the table on the top of the guide.

As usual, take  Cataclysm at levels 6, 11, and 16 when it become available.  Dragon Strike is maxed before anything else to increase your damage output. I used to run Standard over this, but since the masteries change, this build's change from 00/09/21 to 21/09/00, and the even older changing of his passive to deal physical damage instead of magic damage, this is just fairly superior to Standard's early game.  Golden Aegis and  Demacian Standard are maxed almost evenly to scale into mid and late game. Neither of them really demands to be maxed before the other, so I keep them pretty even. You can max your shield earlier if you're getting harassed a lot, or max  Demacian Standard earlier if you're able to bully your lane a lot or even if you need the armor bonus versus an AD top. Honestly, with Jarvan, it's kind of a jack of all trades thing. Pick what fits the situation, there is no cut and dry law for this section.

Typical Builds

      
Recommended build 1 sequence.

      
Recommended build 2 sequence.

The first build is my usual build. It focuses on being tanky, yet threatening, as well maximizing the purchase of  Atma's Impaler to raise survivability and still build upon Jarvan's damage output. It does very well in almost any game, as it has enough of a mix of resistances to deal with any problems, as well as dish out enough to damage to give reason to be focused. A tank that you can safely ignore is a bad tank.

The second build is what I resort to when I'm worried about being CC'd too much, plus it's also smart to get if their AP carry is getting kind of fed earlier.. Taking an early  Banshee's Veil will keep you alive for a long time, plus the prior  Catalyst the Protector will help quite a bit around mid-game, especially those mid-fight level ups that can be a life-saver. Besides that, it's very similar to my usual build.

Starting Items

Boots of Speed In the past I always ran Pendant + one pot, always, but recently I've been doing boots and three pots to be more aggressive in top lane and be able to return faster. If you have TP, this probably is unnecessary and you can run the other starting set, but don't disregard the advantages of being really fast and having cheap sustain due to pots. It allows you to play super aggressive and possibly win your lane. Choose wisely.   Regrowth Pendant This item is often necessary for that sustainability solo top requires. With this you can safely venture off into your laning opponent's harassment to gather last hits and gold, then return and regenerate any lost HP. It also builds into the lovely gold fabricating  Philopher's Stone, which you need to get as early as possible.

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Health Potion Helps in case you happen to take a lot of harassment at once, possibly from an early gank, as well as provide early game sustain for top lane. It's always important to spend excess starting gold on a potion or two, or three, because you never know if you might need them. You probably will.

Core Items

Mercury's Treads A CC'd Jarvan is a useless Jarvan, so lowering any slows, stuns, etc. with Tenacity is very important. The Magic Resistance that it gives is important too. Every team will have some form of CC or AP caster, so there isn't any real reason to sub this out for  Ninja Tabi. Especially since  Demacian Standard gives you Armor as you level it up. A well-rounded Jarvan is a strong Jarvan.   Trinity Force This is your bread and butter. Everything it does is useful. The AD and Attack Speed it gives adds to your damage output, the AP helps your  Demacian Standard's landing damage, the Critical Chance synergizes with  Atma's Impaler if you build it, and it gives HP and Mana. The Movement Speed helps chance down champions and initiate fights, and then the slow proc keeps them in your range. Not to mention the 150% damage boost will occur fairly often because Jarvan's skills have low cooldowns. This item does everything, much like the Bad*** Prince of Demacia himself.

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Randuin's Omen This item builds off of  Heart of Gold, so some of it is already paid for. The active effect synergizes pretty awesomely with  Golden Aegis, it gives a **** ton of HP, Armor, and even some HP Regeneration. It also gives CDR and has both an Attack Speed debuff and a Movement Speed debuff. This makes it impossible to kite a pissed off Jarvan.   Atma's Impaler This item makes Jarvan IV even more of a kickass Tanky DPS threat. The Armor it gives is great for the price, plus the Critical Chance stacks with  Trinity Force, and the passive synergizes well with almost all of Jarvan's other common survivability items, thus giving him even more damage potential with minimal effort. This item is so good, I consider it core on Jarvan IV. Even without a lot of HP, this item gives good damage for the price, so it's situationally viable at many points in a match. The true trick is choosing when to take it based on the opposing team.

Preferred Items

Force of Nature This makes Jarvan even more of a speeding semi-truck of death. I pick this instead of  Banshee's Veil whenever I don't need to worry about being CC'd, which is most games, since I always have  Mercury's Treads and a gap-closer with my knockup slows are not an issue and most teams will save their stuns for other targets. Most importantly, this time gives a **** ton of MR, HP Regen, and even a Movespeed bonus. Nothing about this is a bad purchase.   Aegis of the Legion This item synergizes so mind-blowingly well with  Demacian Standard it's not even funny. The aura boost to your teammates can even make squishies tanky enough to hold their own. It gives HP, Armor, and Magic Resistance, all things Jarvan loves, and even a little bit of extra damage. Everything about it is sexy. However, you may want to consider getting something else if your team's support is going to pick this up. It's usefulness is lessened if there's more than one on the team, that's just a waste.  Aegis of the Legion is great, but it's not worth the gold if your team already has one. Be sure to negotiate with your Support if they're going to pick it up or not. I will say, though, that when you have  Demacian Standard on the ground with this item you are giving your teammates a whopping 34 ARMOR. Wowza.

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Banshee's Veil Being CC'd is sometimes a curse of Jarvan, as he's a terrifying sight to the enemy, so he gets stunned or slowed almost instantly in a fight. A  Banshee's Veil can prevent this. It also gives HP and Mana, which synergizes with a possible  Atma's Impaler and helps aid Jarvan's mana-hunger, respectively.   Sunfire Cape Picking up the old cape of suns is a great substitute for some of the defensive armor items you could take. It synergizes really well with  Atma's Impalerand allows you to deal some great AoE damage, especially to a team with low MR squishy champions.

Other Viable Items

Guardian Angel A little obvious. If you find you're dying too much, this is a great solution. Often I take this if the game goes longer than an hour, as that 70 second death timer can sink a game if you make the mistake of dying this late in the game. The Armor and MR it gives are great anyways.   Wit's End I don't usually see other Jarvans take this, but I find it pretty useful in caster heavy games. If I don't have to be a dedicated tank in a caster heavy game, I often take this after  Trinity Force to add to my damage output, but keep my anti-magic tankyness, especially since it's so cheap. This is truly an under appreciated item.   Madred's Bloodrazor If the other team is very, very tanky, I'll take instead of  Trinity Force to become a fairly effective tank slayer. It gives decent Armor as well. The problem with this item is I find  Trinity Force to almost always be more useful, and both are very expensive items.   Last Whisper Is their team REALLY Armor heavy? Are you the only one who can safely get in range to eliminate these foes, or at least get them low enough to drop to your AD carry? Pick up a  Last Whisper and watch as that impenetrable  Rammusgets penetrated! Err...

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Infinity Edge Is your AD carry slacking and you don't need to be as tanky as usual? Are you somehow really rich when you recall? Consider picking up an IE. With this beast of an item, coupled with a  Trinity Force, Jarvan instantly becomes the biggest threat on the map. Seriously, the damage potential is insane. Usually, however, this isn't a very realistic goal. It's definitely a luxury item. Once you've picked up this item, you should be able to kill anyone unlucky enough to get caught in your  Cataclysm.   Wriggle's Lantern This is practically a required item on a jungle Jarvan, but is a suitable pick for solo top as well. I sometimes take it because that lifesteal can keep me at full HP for long amounts of time, and even help me win 1v1 fights. I've become used to it from playing solo top Teemo. This makes Jarvan even more of a beastly pusher than usual. Usually it's better to fill a slot with something else, but don't overlook the potential of this item, as it gives some Armor too. The free ward is pretty sweet too.   Youmuu's Ghostblade The AD, Critical Chance, Armor Pen, and CDR are all great additions to the damaging, but tanky,  Atma's Impalerstyle build, adding even more Critical Chance. The active can help you melt down almost anyone in a matter of seconds. If you don't need to be too tanky, this luxury item could net a Jarvan a lot of kills.

Laning Phase

Jarvan IV is a top tier solo top. He's able to take on 1v2 lane fairly well if the enemy forgoes a jungler, but he's an unmovable menace 1v1 at top lane. With the setup this guide offers, you should be able to hold top lane and farm to your hearts content for long periods of time, pushing the lane when appropriate. With your Heart of Gold &  Philopher's Stone combination, you should be able to farm from in front of your tower and gather large amounts of gold, and all while being at near-full strength. Left to his own devices, Jarvan IV will eventually force his opponent to recall, maybe even slay them, and will probably take the tower.

Your main focus for the first few levels should be last hitting minions with  Demacian Standard and your autoattacks. You should try to land your spear on your opponent when possible, but don't forget about your farm. If you aren't farming at solo top, you're blowing one of your primary jobs.

Around level five you should start hitting your opponent with your spear, sometimes knocking him up with Dragon Strike and an autoattack or two, then backing off. At some point he will probably be around half health and maybe low mana, while you should be at near-full strength with all of your sustainability. This is a primary opportunity for your jungler to come in for a gank. Hell, you might even be able to drop a Cataclysm on them and take them out yourself. Whichever the case, play it smart.

Once you have dropped the tower, you should start roaming a little bit and helping where needed, always returning to keep your lane pushed. Constant pressure should be on top lane at all times, because it might allow you to force a 5v4 teamfight on the other half of the map when one of the enemy team members has to safe top from a large minion wave.

Teamfights

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.

Tips n' Tricks

• I usually try to first recall at 1190 gold so I can pick up my  Heart of Gold &  Philosopher's Stone combination, which can also be done at 1540 gold if I want to pick up a pair of  Boots of Speed. I only do this if my  Teleport is up or if I can return before my lane is pushed to its tower. Hell, you can even do it immediately at 365 gold to pick up  Philosopher's Stone right away and maximize your early game sustainability.
•  Flash and other blinks are  Cataclysm arch-enemies. Be sure to keep tabs on champions who may or may not have some form of blink ready to cast. Make note of how recently they have used their blink ability or Flash so you can attack accordingly.
• It seems champions can sometimes  Ghost out of  Cataclysm. Keep that in mind when preparing to use your ultimate on a victim.
• Sometimes you can time  Cataclysm right so that you'll follow someone who is blinking away. If you feel you can predict their movements, don't hesitate to "DEMMMAACIAAAAA!!!" on their face.
• While you can accidentally trap unwilling friends in your  Cataclysm, you can also save them from pursuing enemies. Just drop your ultimate on a chasing foe, drop  Golden Aegis so they're slowed, and then use your knock-up combo to escape your own cage, thus leaving the enemy alone in there for another second or two.