This is my very first guide and I'm going to try to make it the best Orianna guide ever! Now why make a guide on an underplayed champion like Ori? Mainly it's because I'm tired of people thinking I'm trolling when I say I'll play support and then pick Ori. IMO she's not an AP carry like everypony thinks she should be. I've read quite a bit of guides on her and many "AP Carry Ori Guides" state that near the end and during teamfights to "support" the team or move to a "support role"...how is that a carry? Why not just play her as a support the entire time? Okay...I'm getting ahead of myself. Welcome to the guide and let's get started!

Runes are pretty standard if you play any AP champ but I'll explain why I chose each rune.

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration She's an AP Champ so these are a no brainer.

Greater Seal of Replenishment Alright these are the runes that are most up to debate and often switched out for mana regen/per lvl or AP/per lvl. I chose flat mana regen runes because early game is when she is the most mana hungry. If you use your abilites pretty often you will notice that you will OOM pretty quick. She recently got a buff to her mana regen so it's less of a pain but by the time flat mana regen runes stop helping you'll have the proper items to mitigate any mana shortages.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power Why are these better than flat AP runes? Because they are better than flat AP runes by lvl 6.

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power Quints imo are all about playstyle. What works for you? I've seen ppl roll with HP, movement speed, and/or AP. I prefer flat AP.

Masteries are another thing that I feel is completely dependent on playstyle. If you want Ori's Ball to hurt go Offence (O) if you find that you are putting yourself in bad situations and taking lots of dmg often go Defence (D). Most support champs will find themselves going down Utility (U).

I went 9/0/21.

The 9 points in O are pretty standard for AP champs. I did not take a point in Summoner's Wrath because I don't use those spells very often. However, I did experiment using Exhaust as a support spell to help my teammate chase/escape with success for a while. Same with Ghost I used it for increased mobility.

In U let's just take a look at why I didn't choose certain masteries.
Scout I honestly haven't tested this mastery yet. As support part of your responsibilities is intel gathering on enemy movements. Wards win games! They prevent ganks, secure objectives (ie: dragon), and all around limit enemy capabilities.
Greed and Wealth Won't it be sweet to just have all that extra money? I didn't take these masteries because I just favor movement speed and imo enough cash to buy an extra pot wasn't worth it.
Transmutation I honestly wish I had more points for this mastery it would give just that much more staying power in lane and patch up any wounds received in team fights. Again I reasoned it out that I don't buy any spell vamp items and I should be out of harms way most of the time anyway so the spell vamp took a lower priority.
Perseverance Earlier I stated how problematic Ori's mana is early game. This mastery would help shore up any of those problems. I didn't choose this mastery because CDR has just a higher priority for me. Ori shouldn't have issues mid to late game with mana so that mastery only benefits you early game. While CDR will not only help you but your teammates as well.

I've seen all kinds of item build and what you should buy when. Keep in mind that you might not be able to purchase everything in the perfect order. Sometimes you just suck at last hitting today or the opponent is just harassing you to hard or both. Tailor your items to what you need. If you need MR because you are getting nuked to hard get it! If you never build Thornmail but you think it'll help your team kill that fed Master Yi because he has his eye on you every fight...grab it! That being said...this is my "standard" item build for Ori and it usually fits every situation.

I start the match with a Meki Pendant and 2x Health Potion. I use the Meki Pendant to build into Tear of the Goddess asap. Tear of the Goddess is a mandatory item on Ori imo. I tested going Sapphire Crystal and pots but found that I would still go oom to often. Once I've completed Tear of the Goddess I'd go after my boots and boots2. I prefer Ionian Boots of Lucidity but if you are the target of a lot of cc go Mercury's Treads adapt to the enemy. Now I build towards Glacial Shroud. *Warning Tangent Incoming* I started testing this item because someone suggested to me to build towards Morello's Evil Tome. I was getting hammered by an AD champ I can't remember who and was looking at some item alternatives. I noticed that Glacial Shroud gave me armor and cdr so instead of building Fiendish Codex towards Morello's I built Glacial Shroud and decided that Frozen Heart is a more team friendly item. *End Tangent* Once I complete Glacial Shroud I start building towards Rylai's Crystal Scepter it gives you more HP more AP and gives your abilites a slow. I've seen a lot of debate on this item. You already have a slow Command: Dissonance. I prefer it for the simple fact you can seriously help your team chase/escape all the while making yourself that much harder to kill and do just a bit more extra dmg. That concludes your core build.

The rest of the items I build in pretty much the order you see them in above but you can build them in any order that you see adapts with your teams playstyle and enemy tactics.

Abyssal Mask is an awesome item for keeping you alive against heavy AP teams. Also all of your moves are AOE so applying an MR debuff to multiple opponents not only greatly benefits you but your team.

Archangel's Staff might as well get benefit from all those stacks you've put on that Tear of the Goddess

Frozen Heart the cdr is a bit excessive but the armor will help keep you alive if you are being smacked. This item is all about the aoe debuff you help your entire team come out ahead with this item. Grab it earlier if you are against heavy AD team.

Last but in no way least Rabadon's Deathcap. Why do I grab this item last? Why don't I rush this item? Mainly is because I'm the sole person to get benefit from it. It doesn't increase the amount I slow by or how much passive armor my teammate gets. It only helps my team with increasing my dmg and sheild. I build it last but you can build it first if you like. Actually I do go for it early if my team already has an advantage just to keep the snowball going.

Honorable Mentions
Fiendish Codex
Catalyst the Protector
Moonflair Spellblade

All above items are awesome and deserve a mention. As item builds go if you like to be more offensive switch out Glacial Shroud with Fiendish Codex then build it into Deathfire Grasp or Morello's Evil Tome. Catalyst the Protector is awesome early game and you can then build it into Rod of Ages or Banshee's Veil. I feel that Moonflair Spellblade is underated. If you have already built Ionian Boots of Lucidity and later are getting cc'd often Moonflair Spellblade will save you and provide you with some AP also.

Command: Shockwave > Command: Attack > Command: Dissonance > Command: Protect

Now you may be asking, "Why lvl Command: Protect last, aren't you playing support?"

True and I have tested it with a higher priority. In my experience I have found it just works better for me to max it last.

BUT!

My first three lvls are a point in Q, point in W then a point in E. I recommend grabing a point in Command: Protect no later than lvl 3. It greatly increases the surviabilty of you and your teammate.

Things to remember about your skills others probably don't know about:

The Ball gives you vision use Command: Attack to check brush.
Command: Dissonance gives a speed buff AND a speed debuff.
Command: Dissonance's aoe sticks around for a couple of seconds.
Command: Protect DOES dmg
Command: Protect moves The Ball around faster than Command: Attack
Command: Protect gives passive armor and MR

I always choose Flash and something else.

Flash even with it's recent nerf is still stupid powerful.

I usually go with Clairvoyance but since I play a lot of 5v5 non-ranked Draft I've found myself leaning towards Promote more and more. CV is awesome and will save lives and secure objectives. The thing is with CV it gets better the higher skill level you play at. I've found Promote is always good. Face it the game isn't about kills it's about how you are better at pushing towards the enemy nexus. In my xp since Promote has been out I find that I've been applying more pressure with Promote and helping my team take towers faster.

Summoner Spells are player preference if you find that you do better with Exhaust and Heal by all means play that way.

Now that we are past the technical hooey about why I pick this and why I do that lets get to the real meat and potatoes of HOW TO PLAY. The thing is I can't tell you EXACTLY how to play to make you an awesome Ori player. Only xp and practice will make you awesome. I can however teach you some tips and tricks that I use to support my team and stay alive.

Alright originally I wanted to have screenshots detailing what I'm talking about because frankly a picture is worth a thousand words. Sadly I can't figure out how to take screens of my games. So I'll do my best to illustrate what I'm talking about with only words.

You can be farther from The Ball than you can throw it.
Your Q does less damage the more targets it runs through. A handy trick is throwing The Ball behind your opponent and everytime you give ground to smack them with it from behind. This way the harder they push the more you can punish them. If they don't push then move The Ball with your Q side to side in the lane when harassing. Pay attention how far The Ball is away from you. It can be used to your advanatage and it can also mess up your combos. Countless times I have whiffed an Ulti because I moved back to far and teleported The Ball to me.

Scout in brush and over walls.
The Ball moves through terrain. Use it to scout and scout often. Never face check the brush. Have the ball move in first to give you vision. Keep in mind that The Ball doesn't give you complete vision of the brush just a small area of the brush. Use The Ball to scout over walls as well. On that note if you have a teammate on the other side of a wall chasing/escaping you can assist by throwing your ball over the wall with either your Q or E and using your W to speed them up and slow the enemy down.

Playing with The Ball is better with friends.
Part of what makes Orianna unique as well as difficult to play is that all her skills originate not from her person but from The Ball. Sometimes it can get confusing to keep track of The Ball, your teammates, and the enemy. Mitigate this by shielding a teammate and let them carry the ball for you. It is easier to keep track of your tank then it is to keep track of your tank and The Ball. I prefer for a melee champ to hold The Ball. The Ball gives them armor and MR and you can help them chase/escape with your W. Furthermore, if your teammate is engaged with the enemy and holding The Ball you can use Q to attack and the travel time is much shorter because they are in melee range. Standard Ori combo smack them with Q then W then E returns to you or your teammate.

Mobility: You speed up, They slow down.
Once you have enough mana/mana regen you can safely spam your W for mobility. Orianna is a pretty slow champion but she has The Ball to help her run around and save her friends. The same goes for your teammates. Help them move around the map faster by attaching The Ball to them with E and spam W to help them move around or chase or escape. I like to run behind my teammate and spam W and the W aoe sticks around long enough for you to get the speed buff as well. Keep in mind who is holding The Ball you give anyone holding the ball an aoe slow. Don't let the enemy get away!

Pushing and Pulling: Fun with Shockwaves.
Just like how you can use your W to slow your enemies so they can't get away you can use your Ulti to do the same thing. You have The Ball attached to a teammate and just before they get out of range of your chasing teammate you Ulti them pulling them back in range of your teammate. Save your teammates with shockwave also. You see a teammate fleeing from a losing battle and she is being chased. Send The Ball to protect her with E then smack the enemy with Q or just go straight for the Q let the enemy pass The Ball and before they get out of range pull them back with your Ulti then use W to slow that enemy even more thus saving your teammate. This move can be used on an entire team to escape because all your moves are aoe.

Lastly, Kill stealing MAY happen...I'm not saying KS as much as possible but you'll find that it is easy to do if you play Orianna this way. Good luck have fun! If you have a postive or negative response or any questions please leave a comment. Thanx!