Janna is probably the best support in the game. Her escape mechanisms combined with her crowd control, lack of dependence on items, and ability to get her team members out of sticky situations makes her a great member of any team. Learning Janna and getting good with her is probably one of the best things that you can do for you ELO.
Janna is very versatile. She can be either a very offensive, damage dealing support, or she can throw crowd control effects everywhere. it truly depends on your playstyle and personality.

Pro:

Amazing saves
Great harass
Tons of CC
Hands out steroids
Two interrupts
all of her abilities can be used as escape mechanisms.
No reliance on feed


Cons:

Squishy!
Always targeted
Not a carry
Teams usually don't know how to play with her. Many players don't know that her bubble is a steroid or that she has a slow and a passive movement speed buff. this could be a pro, but since you're support this falls in with the cons

For each build, I used Greater Mark of Mana and Greater Quintessence of Ability Power This gives you a nice amount of AP to buff up your skills until you get your kage's lucky pick. Janna does do nice damage early game, so it is helpful to maximize it. For seals and glyphs, it mostly depends on your playstyle. If you harass a lot and spam your spells, it is probably best to use the greater seal of replenishment and the Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power. If you would like to be a bit sturdier you can use the Greater Seal of Armor and Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist. I tend to use more offensive runes because I enjoy the early mana regen and the late game shields, damage and heals. I personally think the first option scales better, but it is all about your playstyle.

Regarless of the playstyle, 9-0-21/8-1-21 is probably the best option. it gives you 10% cooldown reduction right out of the gate, nice gold generation, extra mana regen, and experience steroid, which helps a ton since you'll spend a decent amount of time out of lane to ward. The only difference is whether or not you took heal, since if you did it is definitely in your best interest to get the corresponding mastery. Since season 2 began, the Utility tree has been so under used by most players. I personally really enjoy it. If you want tankier, I guess you could go into the defensive tree, but I don't recommend it. Janna isn't a tank, nor is she an off tank, nor a jungler. So, in my opinion, the defensive tree is not for her.

Heal and Clairvoyance are the two best spells for Janna. Heal is good to help you babysit more effectively and keep your carry safe and clairvoyance since it is an amazing support spell and grants map awareness, to help keep you safe while warding.
Flash can also be viable if you are an addict, but isn't necessary since Janna has loads of escape mechanisms
Clarity is also a good support spell, but I do not see a need for it. If you are new to Janna, and not used to her mana, then it is probably a good spell to use.
Most other summoner spells are very weak on her. If there is a Janna who likes to run surge promote, then I don't know what to say to them.... makes me wanna cry a little just thinking about it.

Passive:

Arguably one of the best passives in the game. It gives your entire team a great edge, keeping them mobile and safe

Q:

Probably what Janna is most famous for. It's is a nice ability, great knock up for interrupts. setting up kills, and harassing. Since this spell is usually used for it's utility, I take one point early and max it last. I have newer Janna players taking this at level 1 for the added harass and saftey of a knock up.

W:


Love my birdie!! The reason you don't need to get boots early game as Janna. The slow is also amazing, and it does a decent chunk of damage to squishy targets. I max this second.

E:

Janna's best ability. This is the reason people love/hate Janna. This sheild saves lives, turrets, and kills things. all in a cute little bubble. Take this first and max it immediately. At level 9 you are giving your carry a bf sword. That is amazing.

R:

Probably one of the most difficult ults to use in the entire game. Using this ult correctly can make or break teamfights. Learning when to use it for the knockback, and when to use it for the heal is something only time can teach. a few tips:

If your strongest carry is ranged, using it for both the knock up and the heal is amazing. it keeps your carry safe and heals them, giving them a huge edge.
Whenver you are getting ganked, throwing them away from you with a quick Q-W-R Combo can save your life.
I a champion on your team, such as or , has a teather on enemy chamions, using your ult is not advised. you want to keeps champs in that kind of position close, otherwise they will gain an edge quickly.
Don't use it unless you do not think your carry can escape safely. There are very few things worse than watching an almost kill walk away because of a heal.
Channeling the heal is nice, but not always necessary.
This ability does knock back minions, so it can be used to defend turrets, along with your bubble
If the enemy team is running away, try to get in front of a straggler and knock them back into your team. this will probably grant you an easy kill.
Monsoon deals no damage. It is completely utility, and cannot be used to finish off champions or wipe out minion waves.

Standard Janna Support:

Core:

Philosopher's stoneKage's lucky pick sight ward

Startin off with the Faerie Charm! one of the best ways to start a game, in my opinion. Lets you get a lot of sight ward, thus giving you a nice upper hand in your lane. The mana regen is also very useful, since early game is where mana is probably the most important. There is no need to really go back as soon as you have enough for your philosopher's stone.

Wait until you have run out of wards, and then go back. buy whatever you can, being sure to pick up at least 2 sight ward in the process.
Boots are not a huge rush item on Janna. is good enough to carry her through the early game for getting back to lane, combined with the experience boost masteries, and harassing properly. Just remember, that you're back to being a slug without boots as soon as you use .

Getting your 3 gold per 5 items is crucial to success in the game. It will allow you to ward constantly and keep up with the rest of your team. Another good buy is an . With the extra gold regen, an oracles will be quickly repaid. Janna also does not die a lot. she is very good at getting away, thus very good at keeping . This could also be an argument for building Mejai's Soulstealer on her, but I have just never found a game where it was useful. I would rather have a utility item than the extra AP.

Whenever your gold begins to get out of hand, is usually a good time to start actually building items. Always try to keep at least 1 item slot open for wards.
The Items I build into the end game are pretty standard support items. The build will vary depending upon the team you are playing against. However, I'd say that more than half of the games where I play as Janna, I typically don't get much further than my 3 GP5 and boots. Rylai's Crystal Scepter is a great buy on her, and I would get it regardless of the team. it makes your tornado slow and even more of a slow on if they are heavy AP, then go for items such as Force of Nature and Banshee's Veil . if they are heavy ad then Frozen Heart and Thornmail are your best friend. Otherwise, shoot for a balance between the two.
I do like the new Locket of the Iron Solari. I haven't used it much, but it's really cool and great for support. Since Janna is usually in the middle of her team, this is a great buy on her.
This Janna is the one that I play the most. It is also the most difficult because of the lack of items early game and the dependence on your team. This build is much better if you know your team members, or at least know your laning partner. This is also your best bet for ranked, since it best fills the role of support

Aggro Support Janna:

Core:

sight ward
These are for the days when you wanna throw birds at people faces and throw caution to the wind. This Janna is more for supporting through dominance, and not necessarily through crowd control This Janna is much better for Solo Que, since you do not need to rely on your team as much.
The build starts the same as the standard support Janna build, so the choice can be made during the game which route you need to take to get results. Shurleya's Reverie and Rylai's Crystal Scepter as still staple Items on her. but Will of the Ancients, Morello's Evil Tome, and Zhonya's Hourglass will give the nice damage, utility, and shielding necessary to carry a team to victory as support.

**Caveat emptor**

Janna cannot carry if your team is a bunch of idiots. Regardless of the team you face, if there is a 21/3/5 staring you down, very few items can stop him if there isn't good teamwork.

Beginner Janna:

Core:

sight ward
Now, if you have never played support in your life, or have never played Janna, then we need a much more defensive build for you. She is very squishy. and that is difficult to get used to unless you play or . She has the lowest armor in the game and her abilites are difficult to use properly. Thus sustainability is key for you. Not much will be able to kill you with a Frozen Heart and a Banshee's Veil. that makes it pretty easy to support like a boss.

For laning assignments. try to go with a ranged AD carry such as or . They will be able to hit your knocked up targets and benefit from your shield. and are also good laning choices since they are AD and do have the ability to hit your knocked up targets. Having synergy in a lane together can make or break the late game.
As Janna, your goal is not to get farm. Eye of the Storm is the best choice for level 1 since it gives your carry and extra 14 attack damage, and can prevent being first blood, especially with the combination of If you are a new Janna player, timing your bubble will not be one of the skills you possess. Thus the safer choice is if unsure what to take, ask your carry. They probably know their own playstyle well enough to know if they want a bubble or a knock up. Whenever you are comfortable with then tell your carry before they go past your turrets what you chose. many Janna players take tornado first, so the bubble may take them by surprise.
If your carry is doing a good job last hitting, then your main focus is to throw your behind the minion wave to stop the other team's carry from feeding. This is a key part of support. the easier it is for your carry to feed, the better they will perform in the late game. If your carry is struggling with last hitting, then can help give them an edge, especially if you hit the caster minions with your The bushes are a great place for you to stay. they keep you safe from enemy ganks on the other side of the lane, and give you some cover while you harass.
To ward the river from jungler ganks, go through the tri bush next to your turret and come back around. It is a safe path, away from the enemy team in your lane, so that they don't see the ward. If they are hugging their turret, then placing it straight from your lane is perfectly acceptable.

Once the lanes start to break apart, it is time to ward everything. You should almost never leave the base without at least 5 wards in your inventory. Clairvoyance can keep you safe while warding key areas such as and Unless you are warding, try to stay close to your AD carry. it is where the both of you are the most safe.
For teamfights, your positioning is in the middle of your team. this is the best way to heal without disrupting the fight, and reach everyone with your and your + combo.

Warding is pivotal to being a good support. There are key places to ward at different points in the game. Warding through the river, by dragon and by your brush should be constant through the early game. As the game wears on, observe where they tend to be hiding, and ward it. Don't be afraid to use your clairvoyance to check areas before you ward. Much better than face checking to find a singed, teemo, and vayne waiting for you. I have a map with come common areas to ward against. this may not be where you need to ward, but they are good places to start.

Early Game:

Mid-Late Game:

Red-Necessary to ward
Green-Nice ward spots regardless of how the game is going
Blue-Good wards while on the defensive
Orange-Good wards while on the offensive

Vision Ward are not usually worth your buy. I typically just get an oracle's elixer and hunt for wards at important points that way, but if they have a or someone else with stealth, then Vision Ward are probably your best bet

I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep visibility up on both sides of the map. Once you have your 3 GP5 items and Ionian Boots of Lucidity , you should never leave the base with less than 5 sight wards in your inventory. Try to go back whenever you have placed all of your wards, especially if there is only farming going on.

[icon=oracle's elixir can save your entire team. Even if the enemy team has no stealth capabilities, it is still a great item to get.

Play Video This is a good example of baiting, or tempting your opponent to come out when you have a gank set up. Since Janna can support herself, she is great at staying in a lane by herself, which will make it easy to set up ganks.

Play Video An example of how tempting it can be to follow a Janna and a low-life cait under turret. Cait did make that possible with her slow, but it was definitely a team effort and I was the lucky one that got the kill. Trust me I was very confused.
Play Video An example of a different use of Janna's ult. This was used purely for the knock up to keep Xin in range and Vayne away. He is very good and I am blessed to be able to lane with him.
Play Video I believe this video sums up how to maximize Janna's saving power and lane control. In the video, I used her slow, bubble and ult in both intended ways. And her ability to make people very mad :)

3/26/12: Added video Section

3/28/12: Redid the Warding section. Covered it much to hastily and I feel this is one of the most important aspects of playing Janna, or support in general

Janna is a great support and I think everyone should give her a try :)
Please let me know what you guys think in the comment box below!