by Hecameme

[2.1] Jax Guide - Who's next? - a Jax Jungle Guide

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Perfectionist World Cultural Heritage
Patch 2.1
March 14, 2021 22:28
Jungle

Who's next? - a Jax Jungle Guide

Jax top is a prominent pick, but rarely you get to see Jax jungle. This opportunity shouldn't be missed out on - with the AD meta of today, Jax can easily ram through the ranks and help you climb, at least from Low to Mid elo. Hop on, I'll teach you how!

Jax Build

Best Build Guide for Jax

Starting Items
Long Sword
Vampiric Scepter
Core Items
Blade of the Ruined King
Trinity Force
Hextech Gunblade
Boot choices
Mercury's Treads
Plated Steelcaps
Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Gluttonous Greaves
Quicksilver Enchant
Teleport Enchant
Survive burst
Sterak's Gage
Maw of Malmortius
Death's Dance
Guardian Angel
Stasis Enchant
Defensive choices
Spirit Visage
Randuin's Omen
Thornmail
Black Cleaver
Adaptive Helm
AP choices
Nashor's Tooth
Infinity Orb
Lich Bane
Rylai's Crystal Scepter

Item Build Description

Additional information on the items

Starters

When Jax first starts, it's good to take on the first core item - Blade of the Ruined KingBlade of the Ruined King . So naturally, a long sword would be good for the damage boost. After that, sustain is definitely better than simply more attack speed, since Jax has a passive that gives you just that over time, so take a Scepter next. 

Core Items

Once you ease into the game, you will need to think about your item choices. The three best items for Jax help him out-DPS his opponent by tons, as well as sustain him in long fights where he thrives. Those items are Blade of the Ruined KingBlade of the Ruined King , Trinity ForceTrinity Force & Hextech GunbladeHextech Gunblade .

Boot Choices

Jax mainly relies on surviving through extended fights, meaning he will need to have some points on defensiveness. Choose between Mercury's TreadsMercury's Treads and [Ninja Tabi] according to your enemy team's composition - Ninjas against AD and Treads against AP and CC. If you are far ahead and are getting fed, you can consider buying Ionian Boots of LucidityIonian Boots of Lucidity instead for bonus Ability Haste. Gluttonous GreavesGluttonous Greaves are also a choice, and though it's very rare and often not as reliable, it might work in certain situations where sustain is necessary. For the enchantments, if you're ahead, pick up [Teleport] for easier navigation, and if you're behind, pick up a [Quicksilver] to decrease CC. 

Surviving burst

There are a bunch of champions out there who can put you in a difficult position by bursting you down before you can ramp up your DPS. To patch up this little weakness, certain items can help Jax endure bursty situations and retaliate heavily. Items like Death's DanceDeath's Dance can help Jax slow down burst damage and give him a chance to gain HP back with physical vamp, while items like Guardian AngelGuardian Angel give you a second chance at a fight after the enemy wastes all its burst potential on your first, granting Jax comeback power. Items like Sterak's GageSterak's Gage & Maw of MalmortiusMaw of Malmortius can grant you a shield once experiencing a bunch of damage in a short period of time, Sterak for AD and Maw for AP, so build accordingly. Additionally, you can disregard the other boot enchantments and pick up [Stasis] to give you even more survival potential. 

Defensive Choices

While Jax is a damage-oriented champion, he can be killed with the right assets. The following items can help decrease the chances of enemies getting easy picks on you. If AD is what's bothering you, ThornmailThornmail & Randuin's OmenRanduin's Omen can help you out, with Thornmail being generally good at decreasing Autoattack efficiency as well as reducing healing, and Randuin's Omen being useful to eliminate Crit advantage. If AP is what bothers you, consider picking up Spirit VisageSpirit Visage and Adaptive HelmAdaptive Helm . While both items help resist magic damage, Spirit Visage can also increase healing from all your sustain items, and Adaptive Helm can reduce incoming damage from repeating sources - a perfect item against champions like Akali, Amumu and Aurelion Sol. Additionally, you can pick up Black CleaverBlack Cleaver for the bonus Max HP and extra armor shred for your attacks. 

AP Choices

The good thing about Jax is that he is a Hybrid Champion - one that deals both Physical and Magic damage. To utilize this trait of his would be to unlock maximum damage potential. Choices to increase AP potential would be Nashor's ToothNashor's Tooth  which helps him gain more attack speed and have his attacks deal bonus magic damage, Infinity OrbInfinity Orb to make use of low health champions and synergize with the TriumphTriumph rune, Lich BaneLich Bane to gain magic damage and use the Sheen effect which is very useful in combination with his 2nd skill, and even Rylai's Crystal ScepterRylai's Crystal Scepter to give your attacks a bit of a slow effect to help you chase down enemies.

Jax Runes

Best Runes for Jax

Keystone
Conqueror
Conqueror
Domination
Triumph
Triumph
Resolve
Hunter Titan
Hunter Titan
Inspiration
Hunter Genius
Hunter Genius
Keystone
Conqueror
Conqueror
Domination
Hunter Vampirism
Hunter Vampirism
Resolve
Adaptive Carapace
Adaptive Carapace
Inspiration
Mastermind
Mastermind
For Jax, damage and sustain are important. You must allow yourself to thrive in longer fights, because that's where Jax truly shines. Conqueror is a must due to this, thanks to the damage and healing it grants. After that, Triumph is usually good for the execute and heal, but Vampirism is also viable if you need the extra sustain. Hunter Titan is usually the most reliable choice, though Spirit Walker may prove alright sometimes. Hunter Ingenious is normally best, while Mastermind is for pushing.

Skill Order

How to distribute skill points

Relentless Assault
Relentless Assault - Passive
Leap Strike
Leap Strike
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Empower
Empower
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Counter Strike
Counter Strike
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Grandmaster's Might
Grandmaster's Might
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Summoner Spells

When to take which summoners

Smite
Since this is a Jax jungle guide, Smite is a must. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone jungling, eh?
Flash
Flash is an important escape/chase tool. Usually, you will take this as a second spell.
Ignite
Ignite is an option for a second spell due to it's potential to turn duels around. Use this if the enemy team has a Master Yi, Olaf, Mundo and any other champ that can heal and win a duel against you.

Jax Matchups & Counters

Detailed information on how to play matchups and counters

Master Yi
Easy
Master Yi
Vi
Easy
Vi
Xin Zhao
Easy
Xin Zhao
Tryndamere
Easy
Tryndamere
Olaf
Medium
Olaf
Jarvan Iv
Medium
Jarvan Iv
Shyvana
Medium
Shyvana
Graves
Medium
Graves
Dr. Mundo
Medium
Dr. Mundo
Evelynn
Hard
Evelynn
Gragas
Hard
Gragas
Lee Sin
Skill
Lee Sin
Jax
Skill
Jax

Master Yi is absolutely easy; his reliability on basic attacks and vulnerability to CC puts him at a big disadvantage when faces against Jax's 3rd skill. It's easy to out-DPS him when you play your cards right. If your enemy picks Master Yi, don't hesitate even for a minute - pick Jax. 

Jax

Jax Pros/Cons

Jax is an amazing champion to use and abuse during climbing because many people in lower ranks don't exactly know how to deal with him. But, there are many things to keep in mind. 


Pros

+Jax has an advantage in terms of DPS thanks to his passive, which grants him bonus attack speed the longer he attacks. 

+Jax has good gank potential with the combination of his 1st skill and 3rd skill. If you're good, you can time your 1st skill to hop on an enemy just when the stun activates. 

+Jax can sustain himself very easily during extended fights, part of why he shines to brightly. 

+Jax can potentially nullify the power of basic attacks using his 3rd skill, since it allows him to dodge all basic attacks. Some on-hit abilities are also blocked by it. 

+Jax can deal both physical AND magic damage at once, making it very easy to adapt to certain team compositions and certain fed enemies. 


Cons

-After the 3rd skill expires, Jax is very vulnerable to all basic attacks, and it's rather easy to side-step out of the range of the stun. 

-Grievious Wounds badly affect his sustain potential and disable a vital part of his fighting power. 

-Jax is highly vulnerable to CC of all kinds, and most CC abilities go through his 3rd skill (unlike Yasuo's 1st skill in Tornado form, which - surprisingly - can be dodged with Jax's 3rd skill). 

-Jax is weak in short, burst-reliant fights. His damage can only ramp up over time, and he can be killed before he can ramp up the damage. 

Comments
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FraAldemar
3 years ago
thanks man,this guide really helped me,keep up the awesome guides
SilverNova
3 years ago
Oh, also you missed Garen in the matchups.
Hecameme
3 years ago
My discord handle is Hecameme#4014. Yup, that's me!
SilverNova
3 years ago
Poggers! Awesome guide, though you missed explaining the first rune set. You should also use smart replacei n the matchups & pros/cons. All-in-all a solid guide! Cheers!!