Jarvan has the reputation to be a VERY strong tanky DPS. As shown in competitive play (such as the Season 1 Championship), Jarvan proves himself to be a tank that takes a rather long time to kill, as he brings back the pain with his auto-attack and abilities. His initiating power is a force to be reckoned with, containing the ability to knock up to 5 enemies into the air as well as trap them into a relatively small AoE wall.



Although Jarvan has great presence within the lane, I also find Jarvan to be an amazing jungler, utilizing his abilities to temporarily buff himself and debuff his desired target(s). Not only can Jarvan sustain the jungle, but he can remarkably finish the jungle under 4 minutes with the masteries and runes that I use. I do realize that I do not have a large reputation within the League of Legends community, but I have made this guide to inform eager Jarvan players what continues to work for me in ranked solo queue time and time again.



Here are some games that I have participated in prior to making this guide. At first I played a few Normals, then I played them in solo ranked to exhibit just how strong it is in game, and how much of an asset Jarvan is for his team.

Feel free to hate or love as much as you want, just please comment and project your own ideas so Jarvan players and I can benefit if some changes should be made. Also, you may tweak this guide as much as you desire so that it fits your own play style. I apologize in advance if the guide is considered to be long, but I tried to make it as comprehensive to any one reading as possible. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy! =)

• June 23: Guide Polishing.
• July 1: Included elaborate Mid, Late, and Team Fight Chapters.
• July 2: Donated 2 Veteran Scars for Greed and the Mana Regen.
• July 3: Updated the "Runes" and "Masteries" pages to have pictures that correspond to the current Rune and Mastery setup at the top of the page.
• July 20: Changed core items sequence to be more comprehensive.
• August 21: Included Avarice Blade and Youmuu's to the Core and Viable Build sections. Switched 4 AD Marks for 2 AD Quints and the 2 ArP Quints for 4 more ArP Marks (Increased initial AD by 0.7). Included more images in the Item Build Chapter. Updated the Items in the top to correspond to the actual chapter. Updated "The Math of it All" Chapter. Made minor sentence structure changes. BIG UPDATING DAY.
• August 28: Got my first dislike today =( If you do happen to dislike please explain in the comments.
• October 3: Added a new chapter pertaining to Skill Order.
• October 28: Updated Video by Stonewall008! Please watch. Provided notes for Jarvan's skills at it pertains to in game play.

For Jarvan, this Mastery setup will get you through the entire jungle at about 3:55 in game. The 14 points in the Defensive Tree greatly benefits Jarvan's sustainability, which must be looked at VERY cautiously as a jungler. Not all of my junglers use a similar mastery page, but investing about half of your points in the Defensive tree is well worth it, as you barely sacrifice much time if used otherwise. After all, the runes used in this guide take care of aiding in the speed and damage within the jungle.

Smite mastery is a must, reducing CD and giving 5 gold with each summoner use. Personally, I place 3 Points into Resistance, Strength of Spirit, and Hardiness due to the damage reduction that is much more reliable than Evasion and Nimbleness. However, Strength of Spirit is NOT a must mainly because Jarvan doesn't buy many items that increases mana pool, but the little Health Regen makes a slight difference your early jungle sustainability. Mainly, 2 points in Veteran's Scars is the most relevant aspect in this tree, because it makes up for the Health Quintessences that you should not be using to jungle with Jarvan, due to the fact that the ArmorPen Quints make up for the Sunder mastery within the offensive tree. HOWEVER, if you feel like for some reason you can't seem to barely survive the jungle, then invest more points into Veteran's Scars if desired. As it pertains to the Utility Tree; Awareness, Utility Mastery, and Blink of an Eye are a must because you benefit with increased Experience gained, longer buff duration (which is what junglers obtain an abundant amount of times), Greed for a slight gold increase, and shorter Flash CD unless you choose a different summoner spell other than Flash.

These Runes are definitely not your typical Jungle Runes, due to the Mark and 2x Quintessences of Strength. The Runes of Strength are initially used to finish off the small lizards at blue golem, rather than leaving them at 2 to 1 HP for another auto-attack. The reason for a single AD Mark and a pair of AD Quints is because after Patch v1.0.0.120 (Yorick Patch), they nerfed Jarvan's Passive from 10% bonus damage to 8%. Pre-Nerf however, Jarvan's jungle only required 3 Marks of Might to finish off the "blue" lizards. Again, these AD runes are not required to jungle Jarvan, but they absolutely will help with your timing as well as health. Having to invest in more AD runes is not ENTIRELY a bad thing, because Jarvan's Dragon Strike will give you more ArmorPen anyways. As for the Seals, Base Armor makes Jungling less stressful and relatively easier. Glyphs however can really go anyway you want them too. Personally, I run CoolDown Glyphs because they make a difference in Jarvan's Metagame, rather than just his early game. The more Abilities being able to use means more damage, more frequent buff's for yourself and ally's, and also more debuff's for the enemies.



The Runes shown above is the setup I used to run, but now I have come to the conclusion the ones I currently use are obviously better, due to the extra AD I receive in comparison to what I had previously.
However, if you do not have any AD Quints, but instead AD Marks, then going with this setup is entirely alright.

I decided to do the work for you because I thought it would help. These are the statistics that are used to Jungle Jarvan very efficiently at level 1 by just Runes and Masteries not including items:

• + 19 Base Armor
• + 6 Base Magic Resist
• + 1% of Maximum Mana = Health Regen per 5 Seconds
• + Blocks 1.5 Physical Damage
• + 24 Base Health
• + 1 Reduced Dmg From Minions
• + 5.4 Physical Damage Dealt
• + 17 Armor Pen
• + -5.89% CoolDown Reduction
• + 4% Mana and Health Regen
• + 3.33% Reduced Time Spent Dead
• + 5% Experience Gained
• + 3 Mana Per 5 Seconds
• + 30% Increased Buff Duration
• - 15 Seconds On Flash CD
• - 5 Seconds On Smite CD
• + 5 Gold Every Time Smite is used
• + 1 Gold Every 10 Seconds

I find these summoner spells to be the most useful on Jarvan, especially since he is jungling. I run smite for very obvious reasons, and Flash for a number of reasons:

• Flash in League of Legends gives a champion more spontaneous presence than any other spell (with the exception of using Teleport onto a ward).
• If you are ever ganked within your own jungle, you can immediately make a huge range deficit between yourself and your enemies preventing harm especially if used over a wall.
• With Flash, Jarvan now has more or less 3 Flashes; His E+Q Combo and his jump during his ultimate.
• At times, either your E or Q will be on cooldown, which means no "flash" combo. Your flash will temporarily take its place if desired.

If I was not jungling, I may change my mind about using flash and switching it to Ghost. But I find Flash to be much more reliable because it saves lives, and at times quickly ends unsuspecting enemy lives.

First, I would like to say that there is TOO much to love about these spells, as they each have multiple benefits for anyone who happens to be on Jarvan's team. Utilize these correctly at the right moment, and only good things will occur. (These very well displayed GIF's are from the LoL Wiki at http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/League_of_Legends_Wiki )


Jarvan IV exploits his target's opening, dealing 8% of the target's current HP as magic damage. This effect cannot occur on the same target for 6 seconds.



This passive is not as noticed at it should be. It makes last hitting minions very easy whenever you have to hold a lane for an ally. This passive also makes your Jungling quite faster, because the sooner the camps die, the sooner you move on to take further action in jungle or onto a lane.

• The magic damage done doesn't increase with items similar to .
• Martial Cadence magic damage will be blocked by spell shields such as . The target protective buff is still applied and lasts 6 seconds.

Jarvan IV extends his lance, dealing 70/120/170/220/270 (+110% of attack damage) physical damage and lowering the Armor of all enemies in its path by 10/14/18/22/26% for 3 seconds.

If it contacts his standard it will pull Jarvan IV to its location, knocking up enemies in his path.

Cooldown 10/9/8/7/6 seconds

Cost 45/50/55/60/65 mana

Range 500



The Bread of Jarvan's abilities. I find this ability to be EXTREMELY useful. The temporary Armor Penetration makes it easier for you and your Ally's auto-attacks to do more damage to the enemy. This ability also procs the quick movement that can go through walls to your Demacian Standard if they make contact. Not only that, but any neutral or enemy target will get knocked into the air if in between his Standard and himself (with the exception of Baron and Dragon). The line missle (range at which it extends) is actually a tad longer than it appears. There has been so many occasions at which I would finish of a fleeing enemy with this ability as its range makes it easy to do so. Due to the large damage difference between each level up, you want to max this ability first after investing 2 skill points into Demacian Standard.

• It has a brief channel time (0.2s) upon cast before it activates.
• Dragon Strike's damage and armor reduction will not be blocked by , however the knock-up will.
• The skillshot is able to hit, debuff and knock-up invisible enemy champions, but it won't reveal them.
• It doesn't proc any On-Hit Effects.

Jarvan IV forges a 50/90/130/170/210 (+20/25/30/35/40 health for each nearby enemy champion) health shield for 5 seconds, which slows surrounding enemies by 15/20/25/30/35% for 2 seconds.

Cooldown 20/18/16/14/12 seconds

Cost 75 mana




A great ability especially if used in team fights. The base shield prevents from taking some damage, but during team fights the shield can cap at a 410 damage absorbing shield, which makes killing you all that much more difficult for the enemy. Like Rumble's shield, surrounding enemies are also slowed by a percentage for 2 seconds, making chasing you as well as chasing away from you harder to accomplish. This can also make sustaining in the jungle quite easier, but you really wont use it for that reason in the early levels. Max this ability last for when the team fights are more frequent.

• It is immediately activated upon cast.
• The slow will be fully blocked by .

Passive: Grants Jarvan a bonus 10/13/16/19/22% attack speed and 10/13/16/19/22 armor.

Active: Jarvan IV throws a Demacian flag to a nearby area, dealing magic damage to enemies in the area and granting his passive benefits to nearby allies and again to himself for 8 seconds.

Cooldown 12 seconds

Cost 60 mana




The butter of Jarvan's abilities. This makes Jungling that much easier for any Jarvan player. It does an AoE base damage which can hit every creep in every camp if placed correctly. The bonus attack speed greatly aids your jungle, as does the bonus armor. In combination with his Q he can knock up enemies the air and arrive to his flag. This makes for superb initiation for your allies and will cancel any chargeable ultimate such as 's and 's . But that isn't all; not only does it buff himself, but the passive is also given to nearby allys. Put 2 Points into this by level 4, then max it out after your Q.

• Demacian Standard reveals Fog of War around it for the duration similarly to a .
• Because the standard is considered a unit, projectiles like 's and 's will contact and affect it, therefore protecting any other units behind it from such abilities.
• The standard can be selected to Teleport to.
• It is immediately activated upon cast, but there will be very brief delay (0.2s) before the standard hits the ground.
• The standard damage will be blocked by spell shields, breaking them in the process.

Jarvan IV heroically leaps at an enemy champion, dealing 200/325/450 (+150 of attack damage) physical damage and creating an arena of impassable terrain around them for 3.5 seconds.

Activate again to collapse the wall.

Cooldown 120/105/90 seconds

Cost 100/125/150 mana

Range 600



This is what makes Jarvan the Prince and total Bad-A of Demacia. Like his E+Q Combo, this is also a BODACIOUS initiation ability. Any champion that does not have a flash-like ability let alone flash will be unable to escape Jarvan for a duration that is longer than any stun. You can trap as many people that can fit in this crater. However, if an ally is fleeing towards you, it is in your best interest NOT to ult them inside with you and an enemy. I can guarantee that every time this occurs, your ally will QQ about it whether its in chat or not, because more often than not, he/she WILL die.

Buuuuuuut!-If used correctly, someone will get auto-attacked to death by Jarvan's huge... "Sword". Oh, and the base damage is also nice =) Max whenever it is up.

• Enemies can use blink, dash or jump abilities to move over the ring.
• Given that Jarvan leaps to the target, not to a location, Jarvan will leap great distances if the target teleports or blinks at just the right moment.
• Jarvan will be channeling while leaping to the target so it can be stopped by CC. The channel will be very brief depending on the distance to the target.
• Cataclysm will break spell shields. Jarvan will leap to the target, but there won't be any damage and the ring of terrain won't be created. This has been confirmed as of patch V1.0.0.116.
• Casting while an enemy Jarvan IV is midair will cage you at the place where you flashed to, but Jarvan will jump to where you were standing before flash.
• Cataclysm ring doesn't count as impenetrable terrain, so it won't proc Heroic Charge's or Condemn's conditional stuns.

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This skill order is the most optimal route to abide by when utilizing this build. The early 2 Points in Demacian Standard give you the extra armor as well as attack speed to make your jungle faster and more efficient. By the 5th level you want to max our your Dragon Strike to give you the maximum damage out of all of your spells specifically for ganking (besides Jarvan's Ultimate), which is why you want to invest your points into your Cataclysm whenever possible. Afterwards, max out your Demacian Standard to give the temporary buffs not only to yourself but also to your teammates when the team fights begin to become more frequent. Thus leaving us with Golden Aegis to max out last.

With that being said, your priorities should be exactly as followed (With the exception of the first 4 levels):

> > >

A very common starting item build for most junglers starting at blue buff. The extra armor in addition to Demacian Standard will make you take less damage from minions. However, with this build you must buy all 5 Health Potions. If someone leashes blue for you, at times you'll be able to finish off the jungle only using 4 Health Potions, giving you the option to set up a gank using the last Health Pot, or (more often than not) go back and save some money instead of buying another Health Pot.



( + / ) OR +



Most of the time, you want to use those buffs to your advantage to possibly gank and pick up a kill. But if an ally is extensively pushing a lane without caution, then you might as well should keep jungling instead of waiting in a bush leaching experience from your ally's. If you are planning to gank, pick up some boots of speed and either 2 Health Pots and a ward or simply 2 wards if you are confident with your health after a gank or in jungle once again. Your best option if there is absolutely no ganking opportunity is to pick up that Vamp Scepter for some lifesteal that you will build into a Wriggle's anyways.



'S



Because of Jarvan's and most Demacian's initiation power, Mercury Treads are a must unless they have ABSOLUTELY no CC whatsoever, so grab Merc Treads, the Tenacity and Magic Resist helps fend off enemy CC. Because you are the Jungler, Wriggles will help in grabbing any jungle and quickly killing a huge objective such as Dragon and Baron. Not only will you have the Madred's Proc, but the free ward helps in surveillance as well. I find grabbing HoG early will get you a slight gold advantage, also because it builds into Randuin's anyways, so you wont waste your money. The same concept applies to an Avarice Blade, which usually will be built into a Youmuu's for a higher damage output during teamfights. I get Randuin's for Jarvan because he is the center of attention. Even if the enemy team is not focusing you, you can use this to slow all enemy Attack Speeds that are in the radius of its active. It is also useful for chasing down people who just used ghost, or even get away from the enemies. Also, because you play this game you want to win, which is WHY you always get wards. They can kill off an unsuspecting enemy straggler in the jungle if they are nearby a ward with no allys to back them up.







All of these items are very good in their own way depending on the scenario.

• Tri-Force is a superb all around item for Jarvan to obatain, making him tankier, faster, and stronger.

• If you ever decide to get Atma's because the enemy team is AD heavy and because you feel like you lack damage, investing in a Warmogs will also make that Atma's a more useful item due to the great synergy they obtain together.

• Youmuu's is a great item for more burst during a team fight. I usually will get this, especially since I got an Avarice Blade to build it into. More often than not, I will get Youmuu's when it gets into the depths of late game, so that I can focus on obtaining those high tank + damage output items that will make me more dominant during the duration of the game, and so I can get a LOT more money from the Gold Passive.

• Bloodthirster is a great item especially if your team is already tanky enough and lacks AD.

• If their AD carries are owning your team (Attack Speed Champions such as Jax and Vayne) then the wisest investment would be into a Frozen Heart.

• If your team has many auto attackers, Stark's would benefit them greatly.

• Get Banshees if the CC is evident and strong. However, most of the time I find myself getting a FoN because the movement speed and health regen is godly especially with Warmogs and Atma's.

• If your team depends on you to make a move during a team fight(which they usually should), then a Quicksilver-Sash would be the best item choice you can take, being a rather underrated item itself. When you immediately get out of huge CC, the enemy team will not expect it.

This is probably the most generic jungling route in game, as it is exhibited by many junglers. There is only several Champions that can clear the jungle under 4 minutes, Jarvan being one of them. This makes for more ganks, that will most likely occur before the enemy jungler, which ultimately gives you the upper hand. Be sure to get your flag to hit every creep per camp so knocking them up with your Q will be easier and will delay the creeps' auto-attacks. Furthermore, if you are able to do the E+Q combo through walls, jungling will be slightly faster, however landing your flag onto all creeps without having vision takes some practice overtime.




Although this is not my video, I am obliged to give full credit to Stonewall008! He is a great player especially as it pertains to jungling.

By this time, you should be focused on aiding your fellow teammates who are still in lane, and ganking more or less trying to pick up a kill whenever the opportunity is quite evident. This does not mean to just gank a lane with 5 enemies hitting your turret by yourself. Be aware of your limits, and the current position of your ally's as it regards to your mini map. As the jungler if an ally requires help, it would be in your best interest to do so. Utilize your Wriggle's effectively and don't be afraid to purchase wards whenever you are at the spawning pool. Knowing where the enemy is makes traveling through the map much safer, as well as much picking off stragglers/invaders easier.

This will occur at the same time the laning phase has ran its duration. You should have most your core build and then 1 situational item as it pertains to the enemy team. If you already have a very sturdy tank, invest in more AD items over Tanky. If you are expected to tank and soak up damage, then do the opposite. (As stated previously, Tri-Force is a great item that fulfills in the production of both roles.) Always help give buffs to the people on your team who would greatly benefit from it, such as giving Anivia blue buff or Vayne red buff. Team fights will be present an abundant amount of times here, so stick with your team.

This is where Jarvan shines. Because you have great initiation abilities, you are expected do use those wisely, effectively, and timely. The more people you knock up, the better. However, do not go all "willy-nilly" and jump in the whole enemy team unless your teammates are willing to commit and do so as well. Remember, take advantage if the enemy team is not together like you are, because more often than not, if you have more people to engage in a team fight, you will more than likely be the victors.

Within a team fight, be sure to do nothing but these 2 things:

• Take out the enemy carries as soon as possible before they greatly harm your team.
• Disrupt the enemy assassins from killing off your hard-hitting carries.

As a tank, the second option would be the better thing to accomplish because your carries should be doing more damage than you, which is why you should keep them alive.

As more of a DPS however, both options are very viable, but it is your job to go through with whichever 1 would benefit your odds.



I will state this again because it WILL save your teammates and they will be very appreciative for your ability to scope out and disrupt those strong abilites. With your Q+E combo, you can disable very harmful ultimates such as 's or 's . This will make those champions less of a threat to your teammates, and change the tide of a team fight in your favor.

Unfortunately, I do not have the ability record the full video, so if you want to see a game that goes down to the wire, that is decided by the fate of Jungle Jarvan, than this is the Video for you.

• http://www.leaguereplays.com/replays/match/74371/

I really hope that this guide was very easy to comprehend, as I spent quite some time attempting to make it. I find this to be a great build for Jarvan as it pertains to his jungle, or even his base laning build. I have played Jarvan for a good amount of time in order to make a guide that will benefit players whether they do good in game or not. Criticize all you want, just make sure it's in the commnents =) Thanks for reading!