Kennen Build Guide by Hugenjpana

Introduction

Hey everyone, this is my first guide so Please be nice!

Kennen: The Heart of the Tempest

Acronyms

Acronyms:
TS --- Thunder Shuriken
ES --- Eletrical Surge
LR --- Lightning Rush
Ult -- Slicing Maelstrom/Ultimate

Pros / Cons

PROS:
Very Good Harasser
Very good at in and out damage
Carry (even though Riot doesn't mention it)
AoE Stuns

CONS:
Squishy and can be killed easily
Can be CC'd easily
They will start focusing you after they see the damage you do.

Masteries

Masteries:
I like to go with a pretty standard 9/21/0 Build for Kennen, you will see most people going 9/0/21, but I believe Kennen excels a-lot from the Defense Tree. It gives you that little bit of survivability that really helps him a-lot.

Runes

Runes:
What can I say, Magic Pen is Amazing for Kennen

Greater Seal of Vitality The health per level will give you a-lot more benefit then straight health (past level 5) and Kennen needs all the survivability he can get

The ability power per level will also grant you a-lot more benefit then straight Ability Power (past level 5). Just helping him put out alot more damage, The only other blue rune i could see being decent is CDR, but it seems like a waste to me.

I've Tried Flat health, CDR, Magic Pen and Flat ability power Quints. I feel that 3 of these bad boys are AWESOME for early game, gives you that flat 15~AP that will help immensely for getting first blood. If you dont have the Flat Ability Power quints, your second best bet would be Magic Pen.

Summoner Spells

Summoner Spells:
Ghost, what can I say, its an amazing summoner spell, Use for any situation, Running away from a gank, chasing, getting out of tower range, Anything. I get it on almost every champion I use.
Amazing for Kennen, He doesn't have much (if any) survivability so being able to get out of those stuns or cc's can be HUGE for Kennen.

OR

Flash is a overall good spell, but it is very situational. It will save your life if you are close to a wall and can blink over it, but if your in a lane, Ghost will be better if you know what your doing.

OR

Ignite is always nice for the extra damage and the 50% healing reduction, also a good pick, but it just seems to be less important on Kennen to me.

Skill Sequence

Ability Sequence:
Some people will Max out First, Others will max out first, so you ask, which is better? Well, in my eyes.. Neither! Yes, both of them are very good abilities and both have their very strong uses, But i believe its best to level both up at a pretty steady rate. Think of it this way, no one is perfect, no one will hit 100% of the time with . I find by level 7, if you have level 3 TS, level 2 ES, Level 1 LS, and your ult, people WILL die, because you have a steady amount of damage from every ability rather than a 300 damage ability and 2 70 damage abilities. It sounds strange, and you won't see many Kennen's doing it, all I have to say is; TRY IT before you bash it.

Fight Rotation

Remember, All fights start/end differently so dont do this rotation EVERY TIME, but it is a good starting point if your not sure of how exactly how to play kennen. :)

Fight Rotation 1v1/2v2 Lane
Harass with till their at about 3/4th to 1/2 health. When you see them overextend for a split second you will want to into them. Try and get a little bit behind them if possible, so you can get an extra 1 or 2 auto attacks off. Use by now they should have 2 or 3 marks of the storm on them. despite what people say and you may think, right now is the BEST time to use your Ult . Throw another at them (it should be off cool-down by now), rinse and repeat.

Team Work

Team Fights:
Open up with a Try and run threw/by all the enemies so they all get marks of the storm. Use a to get your 2nd mark on them, and do some very strong damage. Throw one then Blow your Ult and start using your abilities as the Cool-downs are up. Depending on how many people you hit with your ult/AoE abilities, they should be dying by now, Kennen is AMAZING for team fights, so when you learn to maximize him in team fight situations, you will make the enemies fear kennen! :)

When Do you initiate? HERE!

Things to remember when initiating::
1. How much energy do you have?
2. Is your next auto attack going to apply a Mark of the Storm?
3. How many Marks of the Storm does your target currently have on them.

These 3 things are really going to make or break if you get a kill or not, if you start to initiate with 70 energy, you wont kill anyone because your auto attack isn't THAT strong. I have noticed, ALOT of people dont see the power of your *Next* auto attack applying mark of the storm. Its an extra 30-80 damage, and your already 1/3rd of a way to a stun! You should always try and initiate when your next attack will add a mark of the storm.

Core Items

Core Item Build:



Who Wouldn't want Options?!
Or

Or

if your fighting a lot of tanks and can not seem to kill them, this will help a bit, but I would get it as last resort.

My Personal Item Ratings

My personal Rating on Items that some people Consider on Kennen, 1 out of ten stars of coarse 1 being lowest 10 being highest

~******~ Not terrible item but i have only gotten them once or twice on kennen, its just that 1 movement doesn't seem that amazing to me on kennen.
~*****~ Good item if you are getting focused or fighting alot of spell carries.
~*******~ This is one of those Controversial items for Kennen, Some people love it and others hate it, I find it DECENT. If you're good at Always keeping yourself busy before/in team fights then it could be pretty decent, just doesnt give enough AP for me to find it super viable for a melt face build.
~*******~ I find this to be an amazing replacement for Majai's if you don't like snowball items.
~******~ Some people believe Spell vamp is amazing for kennen, I don't fully agree with that, but I will say that Spell vamp is Decent for kennen, so i thought 6/10 stars would be an appropriate rating.
~*******~ I haven't had anyone mention this item to me, but after looking at it, it seems like it could actually be pretty decent on kennen. The *on hit to reduce magic resist of target* seems like it could be very helpful for tanks and whatnot, try it out and tell me what you think.
~****~ Another item that a lot of people suggest to me as Kennen. I personally don't think it is a good item at all for him, the Only stats you get out of it that are useful for him are the 50 AP and Cd reduction (arguable). I wouldn't suggest this item.
~*******~ Good if you are fighting Teams that build alot of Magic Resist like Galio/Mord etc.
~*********~ I think this is one of the most overlooked items for Kennen, Yes it has mana/regen on it but who cares? the *100% of ability power on next auto attack after casting* is amazing!! your auto attacks will hit for 500-700 damage depending on how well you do/your item builds



Like I posted, this is MY thoughts on these specific items, and everyone has different opinions. So use my insight as you may :)

Early Game

Early Game:
First off, I am going to start of saying that I believe that Kennen is one of if not the strongest Mid's in the game. I have yet to find a mid that can really give me problems, and I almost always get first blood at level 6. With that being said, Start out with a . Some kennens will start with a Amplifying Tomb, and some people will start with Doran's Ring (worthless imo). The shield will keep you in your lane till ATLEAST level 8, and you should be at least at 1800 gold by that point. Remember to last hit as many minions as possible, and Use your Q to harass/last hit, its on a short CD and it does some good damage. Only recall out if you are getting very low, or you really feel like you might die, Know your enemies abilities, and Calculate how much damage they COULD do to you, dont get overly Cocky, but don't be scared to stay in your lane and last hit/level up.

Mid Game

Mid Game:
By this point you should have your and starting to work on your if you don't already have it. Keep in your lane and keep harassing, around level 11 or 12 you should start team fighting (unless the other team forces you into it earlier)

Late/End Game

Late Game:
You should have your by now, and working on your . around level 15+ you should be trying to setup ganks and really having alot of map awareness and dont get caught 5v1. Kennen is Amazing at minion farming, so when you have a spare 10-15 seconds, you can go clear an entire creep wave and go back to helping your team. Remember to keep harassing if its at a stalemate because your an energy user so use it! Be sure to NOT initiate, you WILL get focused first and die, Kennen is one of the best team fighters in the game (since 3 of his 4 abilities are AoE). Be sure to go in after the tank and start blowing kids up. He is a in and out champ, if you stand in the middle of the fight, you will die, do not try and be a tank.

My *Pro* Tips

Tips:
1. Harass harass harass, I can't say it enough. Kennen is Godlike at it, so why not utilize his key use.
2. You are not a tank. Don't go in first or you will suffer the consequences.
3. Be there for every Team fight, you can be a Huge TF changer.
4. Remember your Role, Kennen is there to Stun, lock down, interrupt, and pick kids off.
5. Look out for people with nasty AoE ability, and make them worthless (nunu's ult, kat's ult, Sona's Auras, etc.)

Final Words and Vids!

Final Words:
Kennen can be VERY nasty if played correctly, give it time, you wont go 22-0 your first game, Learn his abilities, remember to harass (have I said that enough?), and make them suffer for over-extending, and you will be making the team rage like never before!

If you have any questions or concerns, please post them here, and leave any tips you got for me.

Thanks for reading!


12/06/2010 Update: VIDEOS UP!!

Kennen Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx2UJa93XKU

Edits

1/20/11: Added a *My Personal Item Rating* tab to show how I personally feel about certain items for kennen
2/9/11: Changed starting items due to the new price on Dorans Items.

12/12/11: Havent been on in a while, UPDATED :D