Hello!

I've been a MOBAFire lurker for awhile now and have been using guides on this site ever since I started playing League of Legends. Although I am not ranked (I started playing just before the start of summer '13), I have played Janna almost exclusively to level 30 and thereafter. I have received many compliments for my Janna plays from high elo ADC/Support mains alike and wish to give back to the community that helped me get on my feet in this game :)

this for the entire duration of the game.)

I don't take a point into Scout because personally, I never needed it in S3 and I don't see the need to get it now. I know some people like to get it and it's a nice place to put a point into, but I prefer Meditation into Strength of Spirit because of Janna's mana costs.

However, I decided to max out Intelligence instead of Expanded Mind as CDR is extremely helpful on Janna. It allows you to kite the enemy team on your tail very effectively as you can throw out 'nados and shield yourself for days.

Another possible mastery tree is this;


It's quite similar to the typical 1/13/16 support page that was popular in s3. It provides a nice balance between defense and gold income.

This page synergises well with the whole idea of playing a defensive, safe Janna. Flat armor and flat MR is always a nice stat to take. Health quints so you can eat damage for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Janna is pretty squishy so this is a viable rune page to use.

Flash: // I always take flash on every champion I play except for some like Udyr and Hecarim to name a few. It provides an escape, allows you to blink across walls, juke the enemies, all that fun stuff so you can hide and recall in a bush to safety.

Exhaust: // I take this 99% of the time. Reduces MS/AD/AS, you can treat it as yet another form of peel or chasing tool to add to Janna's kit. Absolutely necessary if the enemy team has a hypercarry like Vayne or Zed, Kha'Zix

Ignite: // 1% of the time when I don't take Exhaust, I take Ignite instead. This happens when I feel like I have enough lady balls to go into a game without exhaust #yoloswag420blazeit or if the enemy doesn't have anyone worth exhausting.

• Tailwind: // Although not as strong as in S3 where it was a global passive, Tailwind is still a strong passive for you and your lane partner (and allies within 800 range). Movement Speed is always good!
  
  
• Howling Gale (Q): // Also affectionately known as her 'Nado, this is Janna's quintessential ability. It can be used as an engage/disengage/wave clear tool. The longer you let the skill channel, the further it travels, however in most cases when engaging/disengaging, you channel it immediately (double tap Q) because you're using it for its knock-up and not the actual damage.
  
  Howling Gale can also be used to interrupt certain gap closing and channeling skills like Leona's Zenith Blade and Katarina's Death Lotus mid animation.
  
  
• Zephyr (W): // It's passive provides Janna with more MS and allows her to move through units (yay no creep blocking!) as long as it's not on cool down. Use this skill to chase an enemy down, or to run away from a single target enemy. However if you're being chased by multiple enemies, DO NOT cast Zephyr on an enemy in an attempt to slow one down as you need the passive to get away safely.
  
  
• Eye of the Storm (E): // Shields! I have a lady b*ner for shields, hence why I insist on buying Locket of the Iron Solari as well. Besides absorbing damage, the shield also provides an ally with extra AD which is super useful during laning phase (especially last hitting) and skirmishes. I also can't count the number of times the shield has saved my teammates (and myself) from Ignite's ticks.
  
  
• Monsoon (R): // An AOE knockback and a heal (as long as it's still being channeled), a good ulti can turn the tides of a bad teamfight. However, a bad ulti can throw the game away for example accidentally knocking the enemies into the middle of your team, knocking their 10% health team away into safety. Besides Janna Q being great for cancelling Leona's E, her ult is great for peeling and disengaging away from a Kennen or Fiddlesticks ult.
  
  
  Remember, when in trouble;
  
  

Always take 2 points into your shield (E) before taking a point into your slow (W). This allows you to duel better in lane and protect your ADC.

When going in for a kill, it's easier to land your Howling Gale if you can Zephyr them first and AA in between. Try and keep your ADC shielded so he gets more AD and is shielded from poke. Exhaust or Ignite if necessary.

For instance, if they have a Blitzcrank who landed his grab and they try to engage under or near your turret;

1. If blitz pulls me, I'll E myself, walk a bit in front of him, R so it knocks him back, into turret range, Q, so he can't walk away, exhaust the ADC, and keep AA'ing him. Dead blitz!

2. If blitz pulls my ADC, I'll shield the carry, R their ADC away, Q > AA > W > AA > Exhaust/ Ignite the blitz. Dead blitz!

If the blitz decides to Flash away, turn and focus the ADC if you can. Generally, you'd want to kill the ADC instead of the support but 1 kill is always better than none and as long as both you and your carry are alive at the end of the skirmish, it's well worth it.

Generally good trades:
+Trading your Ultimates for their Summoner Spells
+Killing their ADC in exchange for you (i.e. trading ADC for Support)
+Disengaging from a 2v3 (i.e. making it out safely from a Jungler gank) in exchange for Ultimates or Summoner spells but not both.
+Forcing the enemy to B (back to base to heal)

Early Game

When you start the game, you have 3 options to start with;

1. Full consumable - You start 2x Stealth Ward, 1x Vision Ward, 2x Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation, 2x Mana Potion and a Stealth Ward.

For this path, you forgo a gold income item in exchange for maximum vision control. I usually do this when they have a strong early ganking Jungler. I'd want to have maximum vision of bot lane to keep my ADC and I safe at all times.

2 & 3. Gold income + Consumables - You have a choice of 3 gold income items however I feel that Frostfang into Frost Queen's Claim is not worth it as the active on Frost Queen's Claim falls off late game, so I opt not to take this build path. That leaves us with Ancient Coin and Relic Shield.

Ancient Coin builds into Talisman of Ascension and gives CDR, GP10 and Health/Mana regen. Talisman's item active is also great for catching up to/getting away from enemies. The regen allows you to sustain better in drawn out team fights and CDR allows you to throw out shields and 'nados more often.

Relic Shield builds into Face of the Mountain and gives CDR, Health and Health regen. I personally like this item better than Talisman of Ascension mainly because I like building health and getting slightly tanky (omnomnom damage). Plus the item active is nice to put on your initiator in team fights!

Note: The only thing about Relic Shield that doesn't work on Janna (and ranged champions) is the Execute (hitting a minion below 251 health one-shots it). If you last hit the creep, the nearest ally still gets healed and receives the gold + 10 extra bounty. So the item does still work.

Mid-Late/Core items

Ruby Sightstone is still core on supports. Once you get it or even a Sightstone at the very least, switch out your Stealth Ward for a Sweeping Lens. Always carry a Vision Ward with you and ward objectives (Baron/Dragon) or be ready to drop it in lane when you're fighting stealth champs e.g. Vayne, Kha'Zix, Evelynn etc.

I also love Ionian Boots of Lucidity on my supports because of the CDR. CDR means your skills will come up from cooldown faster and are more spammable (I plead guilty to being a button masher). Mobility Boots is another option as you'll be able to ward/deward quickly. I also like to rush Enchantment: Homeguard so I can base and get back to lane/team fights lickety split!

I personally enjoy building health on supports and would happily buy a Locket of the Iron Solari (plus I love shields! Shield shield shield!). Then depending on the enemy team comp (or who's more of a threat), I'd build Banshee's Veil or Randuin's Omen.

For AP items, I'd get a Rabadon's Deathcap or Lich Bane if we're really ahead, otherwise a Zhonya's Hourglass so I can survive team fights/burst damage.

Other optional items;

Mikael's Blessing - The passive mana regen on a mana hungry champ like Janna is always nice to get but not really a core item. The item active is quite nice though to quickly cleanse your carry off of debuffs. I like to grab this if I'm against a Fiddlesticks.

Twin Shadows - This item is not a bad choice since there's a ward limit per player now. Sometimes you might find yourselves in a long drawn team fight and after you disengage/base/heal, the wards have timed out. The active lets you move through the jungle safely, revealing and slowing the nearest 2 enemies, so you can re-ward without worrying.

Frozen Heart - For that moment when the enemy team has a ton of AD and AA based champs. Flat armor is always a nice stat, and of course CDR and Mana.

Guardian Angel - If you have 5 items with nothing else to build, why not!

I personally think that Janna outclasses almost all the popular supports because she provides great peel and protects her carry very well. The only supports that she has a problem with are supports with sustain e.g. Sona and Nami because Janna has no heal or long-range poke e.g. Lulu and Zyra because her AA range is pretty short. Janna works well with virtually every ADC so I won't put up an ADC match up.

That's the end of my guide! Please leave me a comment, upvote/downvote and criticism! I am still looking to improve my Janna gameplay so I'm very much open to critique and a difference in opinion.

If you're new to supporting, I do suggest picking up Janna. She's a pretty safe pick against most supports and is easy to learn and handle! Plus her synergy with ADCs is unmatched.

Credits to jhoijhoi for her editing/BBCode template for which without it this guide would be a massive wall of text and nothing more.

~Kayst.

Changelog

29th November '13 - Published guide