Known for her insane scaling, Jinx is a hyper-carry that every ADC main should have in their arsenal. Even when she’s not considered in the meta, her potential to carry games is unparalleled. This comprehensive guide will cover everything you need to know to master Jinx, from the right build and best support partners to essential combos, mechanics, and strategies for different phases of the game.

Building Jinx: Runes and Items

A crucial aspect of mastering any champion is understanding their optimal build. Even with perfect gameplay, if your build is suboptimal, you won’t be able to carry as effectively as you should. As of the current meta, the best runes for Jinx are Lethal Tempo, Presence of Mind, Legend: Bloodline, Coup de Grace, Absolute Focus, and Gathering Storm. Lethal Tempo allows Jinx to exceed the attack speed limit, Presence of Mind restores mana on takedowns, and Legend: Bloodline provides lifesteal, which is crucial for sustain in fights. Coup de Grace deals more damage to low-health enemies, while Absolute Focus and Gathering Storm increase your AD, the latter scaling throughout the game.

In some situations, you might want to run Cut Down over Coup de Grace, especially if the enemy team has two or more tanky front liners. This rune increases your damage to champions with more maximum health than you, making it easier for you to take down tanks.

For your items, start with Doran’s Blade for the early AD, health, and lifesteal. Then, build into Stormrazor for the burst damage and movement speed, followed by Berserker’s Greaves for the attack speed. Your Mythic item should always be Infinity Edge for the critical strike damage. After that, build into either Runaan’s Hurricane for multi-target damage or Rapid Fire Cannon for increased range and burst. Your next two items will typically be Bloodthirster for lifesteal and shield, and Lord Dominik’s Regards for armor penetration. If your team lacks Grievous Wounds, consider building Mortal Reminder instead.

Best Support Partners for Jinx

Jinx, like all ADCs, heavily relies on her support in the bot lane. While she pairs well with various champions, Thresh stands out as the best partner for Jinx. Thresh’s ability to chain CC opponents means he can both secure kills and provide peel in team fights. His Lantern is particularly useful for Jinx, an immobile champion, as it can bail her out of dangerous situations, saving her from certain death.

Other good support partners include Lulu and Annie. Lulu’s kit synergizes well with Jinx, providing her with bonus attack speed, shields, and peel. Annie, on the other hand, offers a good amount of trading potential in lane, especially post-6, and her CC and movement speed boost can be invaluable in fights.

Jinx Specific Mechanics and Combos

While Jinx’s kit primarily revolves around right-clicking foes and positioning well, there are a few specific mechanics and combos that can significantly enhance your gameplay. For instance, Jinx’s first attack after swapping from her minigun, Pow-Pow, to her rocket launcher, Fish Bones, benefits from her attack speed stacks from using the minigun. This mechanic allows you to maximize your DPS by switching between her weapons based on the situation.

Jinx’s W, Zap!, has a long cast time, but it scales with attack speed. Therefore, if you have max Lethal Tempo stacks or you’re Excited (Jinx’s passive), you can cast it much smoother in fights. Alternatively, you can use the W-Flash combo to break out of the animation lock, allowing you to surprise your enemies with a sudden burst of damage.

Another important mechanic to note is that Jinx’s ultimate, Super Mega Death Rocket!, deals more damage the further it flies. However, it doesn’t need to travel half the map to reach its maximum damage. In fact, it reaches max damage at exactly the end of Zap!’s range. So, if an enemy is just at the tip of Zap!’s range, you can use a Zap!-R-Flash-Auto combo to finish them off in a chase.

Game Plan: Early Game to Late Game

As a hyper carry, Jinx’s primary objective is scaling. She spikes decently at two items and significantly at three, so your main goal in the early game is to farm out the lane and make it to the mid-game in one piece. However, Jinx can also hard win in the right match-ups, so don’t be afraid to play aggressively if the situation allows.

In the early game, wave management is crucial. As an immobile champion, you don’t want to give your opponents a freeze that you can’t break. This would leave you vulnerable to ganks from the enemy jungler and make it difficult for you to farm safely. Avoid mindlessly using Fish Bones to get CS, as the splash damage can inadvertently push the wave, potentially leading to an unfavorable freeze.

When it comes to trading, Jinx excels in extended fights due to her lack of bursty tools. Avoid taking short trades with champions like Lucian or Miss Fortune, who can out-damage you in quick engagements. Instead, look for opportunities to engage in longer fights where you can fully utilize your DPS.

Once you reach the mid-game with two or three items, you’ll start to feel your power ramping up. At this point, you should be able to do well in fights and even start to carry. However, it’s crucial not to let your farm slack once the laning phase ends. Many ADC mains fall behind because they neglect their farm to chase fights. Always prioritize moving to farm when waves are coming to your side and only group up for important fights over objectives.

Wrapping Up

Mastering Jinx involves understanding her optimal build, knowing her best support partners, learning her specific mechanics and combos, and having a solid game plan. With these tips and tricks, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a formidable Jinx player. Remember, the key to success with Jinx, like any hyper-carry, is patience and good positioning. Farm efficiently, scale into the late game, and you’ll find yourself mowing down enemies with ease.