Jarvan IV is an amazing balanced bruiser who can deal a lot of damage while staying healthy through most of a fight. His exceptional attributes can be very dangerous during any team fight. With this build, I hope you can realize Jarvan's underestimated potential.

The spells that are run are :

: Exhaust is a great spell to use both early and late game. It really enhances Jarvan's laning potential and escaping potential. Using the slow of the exhaust helps him gain more cc. Adding to that, it can help lower the damage of someone on the enemy team.

: Teleport is one of my favourite spells because it is so useful in Summoner's Rift as it is a large map. It ensures experience and helps you recover hp and mana if you are low. Adding to that it helps you travel around the map faster.

For runes, I chose to perk up Jarvan's base stats somewhat equally.

For marks I went with Greater Mark of Desolation. Since almost all of Jarvan's damage comes from his melee skill and basic attacks, armor penetration is an obvious choice. Some players find that attack damage runes would be more beneficial, but remember, they are not as effective late game. The extra amour penetration will also allow you to buy more damage items.

For seals, I decided on Greater Seal of Replenishment mainly for lane durability and for harassment. As most melee characters are very hungry for mana early game, mana regeneration seemed like a good solution to that. Although the amount of mana does not seem to replenish a lot, it makes a huge difference in lane. As Jarvan, you will be able to harass much more with your "Q" and "E" skills.

For glyphs, I chose Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction for a more formidable offense. You may wonder why I chose flat cooldown reduction rather than cooldown per level. The reason for this is simple. As Jarvan, your skills already have a decent cooldown and getting a better cooldown early game is more beneficial. The only time I use cooldown per level is if I am playing as a caster.

For quints, I would get Greater Quintessence of Health. Jarvan is not very tanky early game and to compensate for that, I bought these runes. The extra 76 health is very effective early game and gives you much more survivability. Early game is just as important as late game.

For masteries, I use a standard 21-0-9 build simply because I play Jarvan offensively. I take improved Exhaust and Teleport along with health and mana regeneration and damage.

At the beginning of the game, start out with a Doran's Shield. It gives decent early game armor, health and health regeneration. Perfect for early game survivability.

Here is the early game core build:



As stated before, starting off with a Doran's Shield gives lane survivability. After, I suggest getting Boots. If you farm correctly, you should be able to afford a Phage or a Giant's Belt at the same time. The Phage and Giant's Belt are to be immediately build into a Frozen Mallet. Frozen Mallet is a good early item for Jarvan because it gives extra CC along with health and damage. Afterwords, you have a choice of finishing Mercury's Treads. The tenacity and magic resistance helps Jarvan reduce enemy CC and gives him the bonus of magic resistance. Adding to that, other boots don't work that well with Jarvan.

Mid game core build:



During mid-game, you want to focus mostly on Jarvan's damage output as you have already build some durability with the Frozen Mallet and pre-game. By buying a Banshee's Veil after a Frozen Mallet it makes you nearly impossible to kill until late game. The massive amount of health and magic resistance builds on Jarvan's base stat weaknesses. The passive on Banshee's Veil is also great as you can initiate fights without worrying about taking a lot of damage. Now you may be wondering why I chose an Infinity Edge and a Phantom Dancer. These two items work perfectly in sync. The damage and passive from the Infinity Edge along with the attack speed and critical chance from the Phantom Dancer turns Jarvan into a DPS Glass Cannon when used with his "E" skill. With around 2.5k health and almost 200 damage attacking over once per second, you have already become a hybrid DPS.

Late game core build:



Sometimes Phantom Dancer can be completed late game. With that much power, it would seem that you are perfect. But you can be improved. With that much damage at such a high rate, it is only natural to get some life steal items. This is why Bloodthirster should be next on your list. It is very easy to get stacks and provides a good amount of lifesteal that is satisfying with your health. With your damage output, the lifesteal will also be very effective.

Final Core Build: