A Guide to Janna for Mains or Auto-Filled Supports
A guide to playing Janna for auto-filled or Support mains that include basic tips, advanced tips, and a sample build.
Janna is a Champion everyone should know no matter your rank, whether you are a Support main or the "unlucky" auto-filled Support. Currently, Janna is viewed as one of the top, if not the top, Support champions. Even with nerfs to popular\build items, her kit will keep her relevant at all elo-levels. She is also viable to play into most team compositions and into any Support the enemy team should choose.
Basic Tips
1) If leashing for your Jungler, shield them! You should be able to shield them twice while leashing. Save them health and possibly even their Smite.
2) Push for level 2. This is a tip for every Support really. When you first come to lane, you will want to auto-attack the minions your ADC and minion wave are not attacking. Your ADC should be able to easily last hit the 9 minions it takes to level both of you up. This will give you both your shield and tornado (Q), making it a safe lane. Pushing for level 2 is especially necessary if laning against an "all-in" support like Blitzcrank or Leona.
3) Early in the game you will want to play passive and safe. Janna is a champion that scales linearly as the game progresses and can be a great late-game champion. Unlike most champions, she does not have a big powerspike after reaching a certain level (i.e. Leona at levels 2/6) or obtaining a certain item (i.e. Death's Dance on Draven). Understanding how she scales is important to be able to master her!
4) Gank Mid-lane after your first recall. This is a strategy many Janna mains in higher elos use with success. This is a good time, as it also allows you to ward the river/Drake pit. Remember, roaming as a Support is an art in and of itself and takes practice! For more on how to roam as a Support, see thisguide.
5) Use your tornado (Q) as a safe warding technique. Charge your Q into a bush or blind spot. The knockup should allow a safe timeframe to ward the bush or facecheck it if necessary.
6) Your tornado (Q) does not have to be always cast towards the enemy. For example, if running away, cast your Q towards the direction you are running. Wait your enemies to walk over it before activating it again. Most players will expect the tornado to come at them and move to avoid it. Further, many chase down people in a linear fashion and will not expect the tornado to come towards them after they have passed it. Use this to your advantage to escape!
7) Janna's ultimate can be used in a similar manner as Vayne's Condemn. If an enemy champion hits terrain during Janna's ultimate cast, they will be stunned against the wall until the normal duration of the knockback would end if the champion did not hit any terrain. You still want to make sure you are casting it at good time to take advantage of the heal.
8) Shielding the turret not only protects it from damage, but also gives it extra damage.
Advanced Janna Techniques
1) Timing your tornado (Q) is important. First, it can disrupt the "dash" part of Leona's Zenith Blade or Thresh's Hook. This not only takes practice, but knowing how to play other Support champions and their kits. If setting up for a Jungler gank, use your slow (W) first. This will give your Jungler time to close the gap and will give you a better chance for landing your tornado. Further, let's say you are laning with an ADC that has a form of hard CC. If your ADC lands their CC, follow up with your tornado to chain CC the enemy champion (if you are an ADC reading this, try to do the same if Janna lands her tornado). Timing Janna's tornado takes some practice. As a reminder, it does use a decent amount of mana, so try to not use it as a "poking" ability.
2) Flash-Ult (R) can be a great tool to turn a team fight or disrupt the enemy team by using the knockback part of the ultimate. This should ONLY be done with someone well practiced as a Janna and Support main. It not only takes a great deal of time to master, but if done incorrectly, can lead to your death, the loss of any kills (pushing the enemy team to safety), and the loss of your valuable Flash. If mastered, one can push the enemy bot lane into your turret, push the enemy bot lane back into a gank from your Jungler, or split up the enemy carries from the rest of their team. It can even be used to tower dive an isolated ADC, as it can help tank a turret. For this, auto the enemy to get the turret aggro, shield yourself, then use Janna's ult to CC the enemy into the wall and heal yourself and your teammates.
3) Other Ultimate Combos:
- If you cast W (the slow) and then cast your Ultimate (R), your W will not hit until after the target is knocked back.
- You can keep a target in place if you Q someone as they are being knocked back from your Ultimate.
Sample Build
With the current Support item state, the above is a great Janna build. Other items that can be built include Athene's Unholy Grail, Mikael's Crucible, and Knight's Vow. The in-game path can vary by game. To start off, buy Ancient Coin and three Health Pots. If playing a against another "safe" lane Support Champion (i.e. Soraka, i.e. not Blitzcrank) you can purchase a Rejuvenation Bead instead of Health Pots. At first back, upgrading Ancient Coin is a must with the amount of gold it currently is giving. You will then want to build Ardent Censer as quickly as possible. If you can get away with it, buy it before Sightstone. This requires communicating with your team and ADC to let them know to play a little safer and help in warding the river from ganks. Using control wards effectively helps! Eye of the Oasis should be the second purchase after Ardent Censer. Please note that there are possible nerfs coming, which could change the purchase order.
Boots can also be changed, depending on the enemy team composition and personal preference. Ninja Tabi and Mercury's Treads can be built if the enemy team is heavily AD or AP. Janna's W has a movement speed passive, which coupled with Ancient Coin's quest passive, means that Janna does not need to finish her boots early on in the game. This allows for a faster purchase of Ardent Censer (and can shorten the time without Sightstone if skipped for Ardent Censer). Some are even choosing to not purchase tier one boots until after Ardent Censer and Eye of the Oasis is complete. This takes knowledge of proper positioning of Janna and should not be done if an Auto-filled Support.
Remember that the goal as a Support is to keep your carries alive. Janna is perfect for this!
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