League of Legends S12: Jayce Top Build Guide

From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Jayce in the toplane in League of Legends.

Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.

That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.

Runes

Core Items

Eclipse

3100 Gold

Manamune

2900 Gold

Build

Eclipse is a solid all-round item for Jayce, with damage, Lethality, and plenty of Armor Penetration. The passive will also proc often, for even more damage.

Manamune helps sustain Jayce in terms of ability costs and mana, and is particulary effective once it becomes Muramana.

Other good items include Serylda's Grudge, Youmoo's Ghostblade, and Serpent's Fang.

Starting Item & Boots

Refillable Potion

150 Gold

Long Sword

350 Gold

Ionian Boots of Lucidity

950 Gold

Skill Order

While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Jayce skill priority is:

R > Q > W > E

Summoner Spells

These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Jayce in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.

Gameplay

Jayce is a solid bruiser capable of dealing both ranged and melee damage, and as such is great at poking an enemy and then going all-in for burst damage. However, he is mana-thirsty, hence building Manamune. 

• Level 1 - Take Q - To the Skies! / Shock Blast, so you have a gap closer and a ranged poke.
• Level 2 - Take E - Thundering Blow / Acceleration Gate, for a grab and move speed buff.
• First Back - Build towards Eclipse with a Serrated Dirk, or get your boots.

Tips & Tricks

• Launch Shock Blast in front of an Acceleration Gate to surprise your opponents.
• You can push an opponent through a wall with Thundering Blow, then follow up with To the Skies! to isolate the target, kill them, and escape. This technique also works on monsters like the Blue Sentinel.
• The Lightning Field passive restores mana with auto-attacks, when in Mercury Hammer form.
• You can use Hyper Charge then switch to Mercury Hammer form, without losing the attack speed buff.
• Placing Acceleration Gate speeds up Shock Blast.
• Don't hesitate to alternate forms, especially when freezing your opponent, so that you can recover mana effectively.