Jayce is the highest skill cap top laner with unmatched poke-to-burst combo potential. Learn the Cannon→Hammer form combo: E+Q gate in Cannon for poke, then swap to Hammer for W+Q+E burst in melee. Master form swapping frequency.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Hextech Capacitor
Passive
When Jayce swaps weapons he gains Move Speed for a short duration.
Q
To the Skies! / Shock Blast
Shock Blast / To the Skies — Cannon: skillshot that speeds through acceleration gate; Hammer: knockback leap
Hammer Stance: Leaps to an enemy dealing physical damage and slowing enemies.Cannon Stance: Fires an orb of electricity that detonates upon hitting an enemy (or reaching the end of its path) dealing physical damage to all enemies hit.
CD: 16/14/12/10/8/6 · Cost: 40
Fire Q through E gate in Cannon form — gate-accelerated Q travels faster and deals 40% bonus damage.
W
Lightning Field / Hyper Charge
Hyper Charge / Lightning Field — Cannon: triple fast autos; Hammer: passive mana regen + AoE damage
Hammer Stance: Passive: Restores Mana per strike. Active: Creates a field of lightning damaging nearby enemies for several seconds.Cannon Stance: Gains a burst of energy, increasing Attack Speed to maximum for several attacks.
CD: 10 · Cost: 40
Cannon W gives 3 rapid auto attacks — use W before Q for an empowered auto then gate combo.
E
Thundering Blow / Acceleration Gate
Acceleration Gate / Thundering Blow — Cannon: speed gate that accelerates Q; Hammer: melee knockback
Hammer Stance: Deals magic damage to an enemy and knocks them back a short distance.Cannon Stance: Deploys an Acceleration Gate increasing the Move Speed of all allied champions who pass through it. If Shock Blast is fired through the gate the missile speed, range, and damage will increase.
CD: 20/18/16/14/12/10 · Cost: 55
Hammer E knockback pushes enemies away — combine with wall to prevent escapes.
R
Mercury Cannon / Mercury Hammer
Mercury Cannon / Mercury Hammer — Transform between forms (no cooldown on transform)
Hammer Stance: Transforms the Mercury Hammer into the Mercury Cannon gaining new abilities and increased range. The first attack in this form reduces the target's Armor and Magic Resist.Cannon Stance: Transforms the Mercury Cannon into the Mercury Hammer gaining new abilities and increasing Armor and Magic Resist. The first attack in this form deals additional magic damage.
CD: 6 · Cost: 0
Transform frequently — swap forms every time a key cooldown is available in either form for maximum DPS.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q for maximum poke and burst damage. Then W for attack speed and damage, last E.
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Itemization
Recommended Builds
Starter
Doran's Blade
AD and lifesteal for aggressive early form-swap trading patterns.
450g
Core
Trinity Force
Spellblade procs on every form swap and Q/W use — constant uptime given Jayce's high ability usage.
3333g
Black Cleaver
HP, CDR, and armor shred stacks with both Cannon and Hammer Q abilities.
3000g
Sterak's Gage
Shield for when enemies dive Jayce after he commits to Hammer form melee range.
3100g
Situational
Guardian Angel
Revive insurance for aggressive melee dives in Hammer form.
3200g
Maw of Malmortius
Magic shield vs AP comps. AD continues the Cannon Q poke pattern.
2800g
Eclipse
Lethality burst combo with Cannon Q — assassin build for squishy team compositions.
3100g
Trinity Force is your identity — every form swap and spell cast procs Spellblade. Rush it first regardless of matchup.
Runes
Precision Primary
Conqueror
Stacks with every ability in both forms — sustained fights rapidly reach full stacks for healing.
Triumph
Kill heals for extended fight scenarios where Jayce goes deep in Hammer form.
Legend: Alacrity
Attack speed for Cannon W triple-shot and Hammer form auto-weaving between form swaps.
Last Stand
Jayce at low HP in Hammer form still has Hammer E knockback for safe exit — Last Stand rewards the aggressive play.
Sorcery Secondary
Manaflow Band
Jayce burns mana quickly with both forms — Manaflow solves early laning mana constraints.
Transcendence
CDR on kills keeps Cannon Q and Hammer Q on short cooldowns for back-to-back combo windows.
Shards
Attack Damage · Armor · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Jayce
01
Early Game
Early Phase
- Cannon: E gate, then Q through gate for empowered bolt poke.
- W triple-shot for wave clear and trading.
- Transform to Hammer: Q knockback leap onto enemy, W Lightning Field autos, E knockback to disengage.
- Repeat every time cooldowns reset.
02
Mid Game
Mid Phase
- Your form swap combo is your primary kill pattern — E+Q gate, swap to Hammer, Q leap in, W+E knockback.
- This prevents enemies from retaliating before you're back in Cannon range.
- Trinity Force spike is when you start 1v1-ing most champions.
03
Late Game
Late Phase
- In teamfights, poke in Cannon from outside fight, then swap to Hammer to burst the carry in melee.
- Hammer E knockback keeps you safe after the melee burst.
- Your dual-range kit makes you impossible to itemize against.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Jayce
Jayce's teamfight shifts between Cannon poke pressure and Hammer burst dives. Poke from Cannon range, then transform to Hammer for a burst combo on the carry, then knockback disengage back to Cannon.
1
Cannon Phase — Poke and Gate
Fight opener
01
E gate in Cannon toward the enemy cluster — position the gate for maximum bolt velocity.
02
Q through the gate for empowered 140% damage bolt on their carry or grouped enemies.
03
W triple-shot while the gate is up — three rapid autos force enemy repositioning.
Never transform to Hammer form before poking in Cannon — losing ranged poke positioning wastes your primary zone control tool.
2
Transform — Hammer Burst Dive
Melee follow-up
01
Transform to Hammer when a carry is low HP from Cannon poke.
02
Q leap onto the carry — Hammer Q knockback displaces them from their team.
03
W Lightning Field active for AoE melee damage, then E knockback to disengage safely.
3
Cleanup — Transform Back to Cannon
Poke cleanup
01
Transform back to Cannon after Hammer E knockback lands you at safe range.
02
Gate+Q poke any remaining low-HP targets from safe distance.
03
W triple-shot cleanup on immobile or CC'd remaining enemies.
The transform itself has no cooldown — swap forms as frequently as possible to reset Spellblade procs and access both form ability sets simultaneously.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Jayce.
Basic
Q through E gate always
gate-empowered Q deals 140% damage. Never fire Q without gate in Cannon.
Intermediate
Transform to Hammer after Cannon poke
the switch gives Spellblade proc for immediate W+Q burst.
Intermediate
Hammer E knockback is your safety tool
use it to exit melee range after the burst window.
Advanced
W triple-shot in Cannon procs three Spellblade sta
W triple-shot in Cannon procs three Spellblade stacks if you transform mid-W.
Basic
Manaflow Band is required
Jayce burns through mana extremely fast with dual-form spam.
Intermediate
Conqueror stacks across both forms
don't reset it by disengaging during stacks.
Advanced
Learn to position the E gate between you and the e
Learn to position the E gate between you and the enemy so your Q travels through it automatically.
Advanced
Post-Trinity Force, Jayce beats almost every top l
Post-Trinity Force, Jayce beats almost every top laner in a 1v1 with the full form-swap combo.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Jayce is countered by tanky champions who can survive his poke pattern and gap-closers who can reach him before he can disengage with Hammer E knockback.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Irelia's Q dashes through Jayce's gate while it's up. Her E stun interrupts Hammer burst combos. Full stacks Irelia beats Jayce in extended melee.
Poke Irelia in Cannon when she doesn't have passive stacks. Don't commit to Hammer when her passive is active.
Garen's E spin destroys Jayce's Hammer form burst window — the spin starts faster than Jayce can disengage. His silence stops Q cast.
Primarily play Cannon poke vs Garen. Hammer E knockback out if he E's near you.
Camille's E hookshot gap closes faster than Jayce can Hammer E knockback. Her true damage in trades beats Jayce's burst windows.
Bait Camille's E hookshot before committing to Hammer form. Without E, she can't close the gap quickly enough.
Wins Against
Cannon Q poke breaks Malphite's passive shield endlessly. He has no mobility to close the gap against Jayce's ranged harassment.
Gate+Q poke every shield charge. Malphite's passive charges too slowly to sustain against gate-empowered bolts.
Cannon Q range completely denies Nasus stacking. He has no answer to gate-empowered poke from safe distance.
Q harass every stack attempt. Nasus's Wither and Cripple don't stop Cannon Q from landing safely.
Sion's Q charge is interruptible by Cannon Q knockdown. His slow movement makes him an easy target for gate+Q empowered poke.
Cannon Q interrupts Sion's Q charge animation every time. Gate+Q poke freely — his mobility is too low to close the gap.