How to win the jungle race as Jarvan IV against Xin Zhao · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Read from Jarvan IV's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Xin Zhao.
| Stage | Read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Clear | Respect Xin Zhao | Three Talon Strike's knock-up plus passive healing wins the first buff-pit duel, and Jarvan IV has no clean answer to it at the first buff — the W challenge into Three Talon Strike knock-up chains you down before you can answer. Respect the river bushes and disengage before the third Q hit lands, and give up your opening camps rather than the kill. |
| Level 2 Skirmish | Respect Xin Zhao | The window on the second camp belongs to Xin Zhao: Wind Becomes Lightning (W) challenge poke starts trades they finish for free. Your own line is real — the E-Q knock-up gives a clean engage-disengage trade most kits can't answer — but it arrives second here. Respect the river bushes and disengage before the third Q hit lands, then refuse the level-2 skirmish. |
| Level 3 Route | Respect Xin Zhao | At level 3 this window belongs to Xin Zhao: the full knock-up combo with W slow is among the top three level-3 duels, and the W challenge into Three Talon Strike knock-up chains you down before you can answer. Respect the river bushes and disengage before the third Q hit lands. Give up the level-3 river fight and bank tempo on the opposite side of the map. |
| Levels 4-5 Macro | Respect Xin Zhao — Path Opposite | You lose the 4-5 duel. He dives lanes through 4-5, since Audacious Charge into the knock-up needs no setup at all — so let them have that half of the map and cash the other half faster. |
| Level 6 Breakpoint | Respect Xin's R | Xin Zhao wins the breakpoint outright — Crescent Guard makes the 1v1 literal, and Crescent Guard isolates you from your team and wins the resulting 1v1. Fight him with numbers before the R cast or poke the duel down from range, then trade objectives cross-map until your items land. |
| First Item Spike | Sundered Sky / Eclipse | Completing your core item triggers a massive damage, health, and burst multiplier that completely overpowers traditional brawlers or isolated targets. Xin Zhao's first item is a sharp jump — the knock-up combo goes from a strong trade to a kill on most junglers. |
| 2+ Items Scaling | Jarvan IV Favoured at Full Build | Two items on, the edge is yours. The one thing to plan around is that he isolates one target with Crescent Guard and wins the 1v1 he just created — take that away and the fight is a formality. |
Start your clear at the Red Buff camp utilizing your E attack speed and passive to maximize early clear speed. Xin Zhao clears fast and heals off Determination, so he reaches three healthy and looking for the first fight.
Ranked by the race windows in Jarvan IV's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.
The full Jarvan IV vs Xin Zhao report continues with scuttle & dragon rules, invade windows and safety boundaries, the top-side objective fight, macro rotations and the win condition — plus the live enemy-jungle tracker that shows their start, clear and gank timers in game.
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Xin Zhao pressures 5 of the 7 windows in this race — survive the early game and scale into your windows.
Not exactly — Xin Zhao pressures 5 of the 7 windows, so Jarvan IV is playing catch-up and has to lean on the map.
Playing the other side? Xin Zhao vs Jarvan IV guide →
All Jarvan IV jungle matchups →
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