This is my Orianna Guide, she is my favorite champion and i play her in ranked (solo or duo queue) and normals a lot. All my friends and sometimes even a lot the people i get queued with say i'm one of the best Orianna's they've ever seen. I carry a good bit and even when i don't i still play a major role in my team with her Ult, shield (amazing with cap and void staff), and warding.

Hope you enjoy, all feedback welcome as long as you vote.

Right now, Orianna isn't considered to be in a good place by many of the top "official" tier makers and a lot of high elo gods don't play her because other they can simply do better with other ap mids like Kennan/Rumble/Queen Morgana/Ahri etc. I haven't made it to high elo using this guide so i certainly don't expect you to.

However. In Normals and 1300-1600 elo i don't lose mid to anyone but Morg (simply because you cannot push a good Morg out of lane or get clutch kills because of that damned shield, ganking her mid is just as hard as ganking Ahri if not harder), and i'm going to do my best to explain to you how to do it.

I ran standard magic pen marks = ball hurts a lot at lvl 3

AP per lvl glyphs = ^

Mana Regen per level seals = I hate using these runes, but Ori is one of the few champions that severly benefits from them all game regardless of whether your getting blue every chance its up. Harass, Harasss, but smart ;)

flat AP quints = Same reason as first 2. Make that harass worth it.

Self explantory really, but whatever:

Standard AP path on Offensive to maximize damage

Mana Regen path and MOVEMENT SPEED in utility. I cannot stress how important move speed is for Orianna early game against Champs like Ahri, Xerath, Kennan etc.

1. To me the boots 3 hp are essential for that early game sustain in lane and being swift and concrete when dodging and harass.

2. Always Rush ROA with catalyst first, with the runes you don't need damage at this stage if you can harass right ( i will explain my harass methods below ). Catalyst --> blasting Wand --> Finish always.

3. Grab your Sorc Shoes, by this point you will be able to kill any mid with 2 successful uninterrupted q's followed by full combo w/ignite (if necessary). Even if they have a catalyst.

4. Death Cap, preferably starting with needlessly large rod (such a baus name) then Blasting Wand. Remember to keep farming and stay in lane until called for Dragon, buffs, or if one lane is under heavy fire. Always Cs. Its so easy with Orianna her auto attacks are absolutely amazing.

5. At this point you may think you have enough ap for the moment and want to get some defense. Well if your getting owned for some reason (even when i get owned which is rare, i never a miss staying or beating my opponent at cs) maybe start your Guardian Angel at this point.

6. Get Void staff, now you will be a machine. Orianna's ap ratios are boss, you will be able to siege towers shield ad carries and tanks, and your ult will literally turn the tide of a fight with ease.

7. Grab sheen then finish Lich bane or finish GA if needed first. Lich bane makes your already strong auto attack hurt even more and the ap is nice :).

Grab boots 3 hp and immediatedly go to your Junglers adjacent blue bush and put your ball in the other on the river. Always do this, always. Leashing your jungle is the most important early game strategy out there. Help dps wolves then leash blue or even leash when they ask if they start red.

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I once ungled Mao for an Ahri, i grabbed wraiths at 1:40 (other maos know what i'm talking about) and proceeded to go to blue and the Ahri told me i wasn't there or fast enough to do blue so she wouldnt leash and told me to go "**** myself". So i carried her.
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Harass:

Start csing; don't extend, just last hit and look for openings. Always keep your ball in between their casters and their melee minions on closer to one side of the river. Stay on the opposite side of the river and just cs, when you do Q always go for the opponent, not minions. Even with regen mana its not worth using abilities to farm, this is self explanatory... but you'd be surprised.

For me, what separates Orianna from other Ap carries is her ability to keep moving while still counter harassing, this is overpowered imo and why i win my lane with her so much.

-Work on your timing and know when opponent is going in for harass

Common harasses you can counter easily
-Morgan Q
-Ahri Q or E
-Kennan Q
-Brand W

When they go to use them simply move out of the way like the good player you are, trust me eventually you play this game long enough that 90% of the time you can see a an ability coming if your really paying attention to their movements. When they use it send the ball at em for a Q then W if you have the mana.

I dont always W when i Q, sometimes its more efficient to just Q and Q and Q and only use W when you have the mana for it. (like over half)

Once you get your ult its just a matter of time before you can get a kill if you play your cards right. Some mids are stubborn and will stay even after you get em to half or 1/3 hp. Get that Q off and deliver that ultimate THEN W

Things to remember:

-Never W before you ult, they can still flash and a lot of times this results in a wasted ult (trust me i've done this a million times and it makes me want to QQ)
- When you wanna go for the finisher, make sure when you Q to postion your ult that your the balls range isn't at its maximum to hit the target, they will simply get hit and be out of range. Always make sure you have the headway on that range so they wont be able to get out of it.

Read those two things i said again, they are what separates good Oris from rotten ones.

Late Game:

As always, never be seen without your team, always cs with vision, keep baron/dragon warded after 25 minutes always. If your teammates aren't as cool or as good as you, do it yourself. What am i saying, you know this stuff people.

Team Fights:

Stay behind your tanks bla bla bla.
Anyway...

Never use your ult to initiate unless absolutely necessary, try and save it for when they clump up or your carries get cc'd or to buy time. I know these situations won't always be ideal, but it honestly is the most efficient time to use it. As always shield your carries and go for the q slow combo on theirs. Late game team fights don't last long enough. They are TEAM fights for a reason and all you can really do is communicate with your team and hope for the best and most opportune moment.

There have been tons of posts on the League forum calling for buffs for Orianna since the major nerfs she received. Honestly, after playing her so much over the last half a year i think she is balanced now. Sure us Orianna players can always reminesce about the days of god poking and constant harass, but now i believe Riot has given us a challenge to refine our skill at this awesome champion and do the same thing pre nerf just with more caution. Shes currently tier 3 on a few major tier lists, but i'd take her anyday over just about every other mid besides morgana and kennen.

Be frugal with your mana, counter harass at every opportunity and time your dps burst and ult cc in team fights well and enjoy this beautiful and unique champion for what she is, because i don't see a lot of those coming out anymore.

Also, i'm not sure how to upload match history on here so i can prove i'm a baus in ranked with her, i will as soon as i find out.