I don't understand why you wouldn't take ignite. It gives you so much more in lane and you will have to kite and to kill late game so its not a bad spell.

Should I always start E first, or are there some exceptions depending on the lane opponent?

Really nice guide.

I'm pretty sure this guide would work for ideal situations and team compositions, but overall there seems to be too few options here. I'm an AP mid player who mains Orianna (Gold; I have never lost the lane with her), and have been playing here since pre-level 30.

Some options that I think are vital to being explored:

1. Orianna having a point in Command: Protect at level 1 is usually not ideal, and I believe Command: Attack at level 1 could work better. From experience and from various replays I have seen, Orianna can effectively zone enemy champions at level 1. Positioning your ball on one side of the lane and positioning Orianna on the other could effectively double your zone and still keep in range for autoattacks on minions. Counter-hitting is very powerful with Orianna, and so long as you avoid making bad trades and maximize your zone, Command: Attack should work better. Agreed, Command: Protect guarantees that no one can mess with you at level 1, but Command: Attack just has so much more potential.

2. With the current meta and its nerf, Lich Bane doesn't seem to be an option right now. And also, most of the time it is better to delay Rabadon's Deathcap for a Haunting Guise. Haunting Guise aids you better early on; but more importantly, there is no reason to rush for the passive of Rabadon's Deathcap if your base AP is slightly low.

3. I love how you go for Athene's Unholy Grail as your first main item (I do, too), but I believe you failed to explain why it is important as core (since it's not as obvious as Rabadon's Deathcap or Void Staff). I personally believe it is core because of it's great medley of stats. But more importantly, that Cooldown Reduction helps a lot in terms of pulling off more Q's and being able to correct errors such as a misplaced ball. But as far as I know you do not consider getting extra Cooldown Reduction. Extra CDR is vital in some matchups because it allows Orianna to perform better in sustained fights. If the enemy team has a Dr. Mundo for example and no one on your team is getting Grievous Wounds then Morellonomicon becomes core since you'll be in a sustained fight.

4. Since you're taking W over E (and you didn't even mention to sometimes take extra points in E when your team is falling behind or the enemy team has too many assassins/bursters) you can delay the Alacrity until after Rabadon's Deathcap. The extra speed boost from spamming Command: Dissonance on your way to a lane works better than Enchantment: Alacrity. Of course, this is still all purely situational.

5. In most cases Magic Penetration runes work better for me than Hybrid Penetration runes. I do maximize counter hitting and other methods to get autoattacks in, but still physical damage to magic damage early game goes about 15%:85% (extra damage from autoattacks is still magic damage). Additionally your physical penetration becomes nearly obsolete towards late game (even if you do intend to get extra hits in). Additionally, I personally run 6 flat Magic Resist and 3 Scaling Magic Resist runes because of pure magic penetration marks.

6. Why flat Ability Power over Movement Speed quintessences? Orianna has one of the least base movement speeds of all champions, and getting 3 Movement Speed quintessences is worth much more than Enchantment: Alacrity, proving to be both cost-effective and enabling you to bring in that Rabadon's Deathcap significantly earlier. Lastly, since you're running Doran's and I suggest getting an early Haunting Guise, Mana Regeneration (for more effective farming and a better early game) Seals would work far better than Scaling HP Seals.

All-in-all, I think you have captured what stats to get on Orianna, but mathematically this proves to be not the most efficient way of achieving these stats.

I know, you may just shove away my criticism because hey I'm a Gold-ranked player and you're a Diamond-ranked player. But what I do bring on the table I have gotten from experience, mathematical calculations, and video exposure. I'm Gold, but I only joined relatively recently and I am climbing rather quickly.

Thanks,

Omicron

Glad I could help, friend!

I have tried it out a couple of times and i always get fed, if i play smart. A really good guide! Has improved my overall orianna skills.

I have tried it out a couple of times and i always get fed, if i play smart. A really good guide! Has improved my overall orianna skills.

I have tried it out a couple of times and i always get fed, if i play smart. A really good guide! Has improved my overall orianna skills.

Nice guide! Keep up the good work.

They do deal more damage late-game but I am doing my runes to take full advantage of Orianna's laning powers.

Aren't scaling AP glyphs a lot more beneficial for Ori than Mpen? I know you take them to compensate the Hpen marks but I have a feeling (scaling or flat, regardless) deal a lot more damage.

Ahh didn't feel that way at all, friend. Glad to see people passionate about champions :)