PRE-GAMERunes Summoner Spells

ORIANNAAbilities Skill Sequence Items Pros / Cons

GAMEPLAYEarly Game Mid Game Teamfights Zoning Enemies

PROS + Very useful passive which makes laning easier + Great comeback potential if behind + Extremely fun to play + One of the easier champs to CS with + Easy to push a lane and wave clear + Has burst and DPS damage in extended fights

CONS - Immobile and lacks a real escape - Very high skill cap - Can be difficult to keep track of your ball - Weak to assassins and champs with gap closers - Heavy on mana - Missing your ultimate in teamfight :(

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Summon Aery: Is a strong pick for Orianna. It deals additional damage to a champion that you damage and will also strengthen your shield when you cast it on an ally. Aery lingers on the target for 2 second before flying back to you, and cannot be sent out again until she returns to you. Aery is initially very slow, but gradually accelerates, and can be picked up by moving near her.

Manaflow Band: Every 15 seconds, hitting an enemy champion with an ability permanently increases your maximum mana by 25, up to 250 mana.. After reaching 250 bonus mana, it will restore 1% of your missing mana every 5 seconds. It's not an extreme amount of mana refunded but a 'LOT' of Orianna players really struggle to keep her mana reserves up when trying to play her effectively.

Transcendence: Gain 10% cooldown reduction at level 10. Each percent of CDR exceeding the CDR limit is converted to an adaptive bonus of 1.2 Attack Damage or 2 Ability Power. CDR is great to have on Orianna as it will allow you to cycle your spells sooner and also have your Command: Shockwave up more often.

Scorch: I recommend taking Scorch which will add a little bit of bonus magic damage on your next hit every 10 seconds. Your other option here is Gathering Storm where every 10 Minutes you gain AP or AD, adaptive. As the game progresses you will gain some extra AP to help burst down carries in skirmishes and team fights. Either of these runes will be fine.

Magical Footwear: You get free Slightly Magical Boots at 12 mins, but you cannot buy boots before then. For each takedown you acquire the boots 45 seconds sooner. Slightly Magical Boots grant you an additional +10 Movement Speed. Take care with this rune if you are against a skill-shot champion and you struggle to avoid them as you cannot purchase boots before the 12 minute mark. Perfect Timing is the other option here and can be just as useful.

Cosmic Insight: +5% CDR | +5% Max CDR | +5% Summoner Spell CDR | +5% Item CDR. Cooldwon Reduction is always a plus on any champion and Orianna is no exception to this. I like to have Flash and Ability's around as much as possible which makes this rune a solid choice.

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Flash is a very useful spell on Orianna. Orianna has no real escape so not taking it can leave you in trouble. Having Flash gives you some extra safety in lane, extra safety from the enemy jungler & also allows you to make riskier plays and engages. I generally take Flash + Ghost in 90% of games.

Teleport will enable you to pressure other lanes, especially bot lane. Just remind your bot lane to ward in the brushes. It will also enable you to recall and get back to lane quickly (without missing CS) if you want to spend your gold or should you have died. It is also useful into match-ups that roam a lot or have global ultimates, Twisted Fate, Kassadin. Talon, Taliyah, Aurelion Sol etc...

Barrier is a solid option for Orianna if you're playing against assassins like Fizz, Talon, Zed. Combine Barrier with your shield and you can negate massive amounts of their all-in burst and survive.

Cleanse I don't often take it but it can be useful when you're playing against heavy CC team comps or an enemy that has hard CC, Annie, Ashe, Thresh, Leona or Lulu etc... Be careful if they have multiple champions with CC though because even if you Cleanse one ability, you can still be hit by the others. (Note: Cleanse will NOT work against Malzahar ultimate, Warwick ultimate, Skarner ultimate, Tahm Kench Devour or Urgot Fear Beyond Death due to them being 'suppression's')

Ignite offers extra lane pressure but I rarely take it in Orianna games. I find that defensive spells offer me the most when I play her as they add to her overall kit.

Exhaust can be a go-to item for playing against AD Assassins such as Zed or Talon. It's not a favorite of mine but definitely an option.

It will offer you some extra mobility which will allow you to roam more efficiently, dodge skill shots easier, escape potential ganks and engage. It's a great spell for chasing enemies down and it will also allow you to better position in team-fights. Although it's not as strong since the changes in patch 7.2 Ghost is still a viable choice on Orianna.

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Doran's Ring is a great item to start with and I take it first in 95% of my Orianna games. It gives you some ability power, health and some useful mana regeneration.

Boots will help you to dodge skill-shots and make it a bit easier to position in the early laning phase. Consider starting Boots against enemies with ranged skill-shots like Lux, Syndra, Morgana, Nidalee etc...

Dark Seal can be taken if you are confident that you 'will win' the lane and want to start snowballing quickly. Only take this as your starting item if you are sure that the enemy laner is not going to get a kill on you. I DO NOT recommend taking this as a starting item but thought it was worth a mention as some players seem to like it.

Cloth Armor can be purchased first if you are playing against an AD champion. It's a part of the Seeker's Armguard which means you will be able to pick it up faster. Remember, you do not need to finish Seeker's Armguard into a Zhonya's Hourglass right away. I do not necessarily recommend this as a starting item but it can certainly be worth considering.

Sorcerer's Shoes: Standard boots pick, you just cant go wrong with having the extra damage notably if the enemy team has stacked magic resist. You can consider these your go-to boots and simply default pick them in any game.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity: Give you some CDR, movement speed and some extra cooldown on your summoner spells, including Flash. It can be very useful to have your Flash up more often when playing Orianna due to her immobility. Choose yourself whether having the summoner spell CDR will over the course of a game allow you to dish out more damage to the enemy team than having the extra penetration from Sorcerer's Shoes. For sure though, try out the Ionian Boots of Lucidity if you prefer the extra cooldown on your summoner spells, they wont give you any flat damage or defensive stats though.

Mercury's Treads: These are an option if the enemy team consists of multiple AP Champions, especially if they have lots of hard CC. They increase your movement speed and reduce CC effects (Stuns, Roots, etc..)

Ninja Tabi: will be helpful if you are playing with a difficult AD matchup or if the enemy team is heavy on attack damage. They become even more viable if the enemy team has multiple auto attack champions. You will lack some damage by not having Sorcerer's Shoes but the extra defensive stats in the right game can go a long way to helping you survive after using your burst combo to blow up an enemy carry, particularly as a game progresses.

Luden's Tempest has decent flat Ability Power which will give you some extra burst. It's passive 'Haste' gives you and extra 10% Cooldown Reduction and it's passive 'Echo' will help you to wave clear. You also get a healthy amount of mana too +600 Mana. This is a core item on Orianna

Seraph's Embrace is a solid item to pick on Orianna. It offers a whopping +1400 mana when fully stacked, decent ability power and a shield that if combined with your (E) Command: Protect and a Barrier makes you almost unkillable. It can take a long time to get the Tear of the Goddess stacked though. The extra 20% CDR is definitely worth noting as this will bring your spells around quiet a bit more often.

Morellonomicon is a perfect item to help you shut down 'healing champions' such as Swain, Dr. Mundo, Maokai, Soraka, Garen, Vladimir etc.. It also gives you some flat magic penetration from it's Oblivion Orb component which will help you to delete squishy targets!

Rabadon's Deathcap When you just need some more raw ability power, this is a great item. It will give you +120 Ability Power and increases your total Ability Power by +40%. It's a great pick up as a second last or last item on Orianna.

Spellbinder gives a decent amount of flat AP and a 10% movement speed increase. Remember, Orianna is a very immobile champion and she benefits greatly by any additional movement speed. You will gain a charge on this item every time an ally or enemy uses an ability up to 100 charges which can then be activated to gain an additional '1-100' movement speed boost & ability power increase for 4 seconds. I am not a fan of this item on Orianna but have simply included it here for some players that may want to try it.

Void Staff It is always great to have the some extra Magic Penetration and this item is a solid item to pick up on Orianna, even if the enemy is not stacking Magic Reesist.

Liandry's Torment can be taken if the enemy team consists of high health tanks. The extra health will help you out when in extended fights and this item synergizes really well with Rylai's Crystal Scepter.

Zhonya's Hourglass has a great active that can save you countless times throughout a game. It's a great defensive option against AD heavy teams or assassins and it can be useful to rush if you are struggling a lot against a Zed or Talon etc.. You also receive 10% Cooldown Reduction from this item.

Banshee's Veil Gives you +75 Ability Power, +60 Magic Resist and 10% Cooldown Reduction. It's passive grants a spell shield that blocks the next enemy ability. It refreshes after no damage is taken from enemy champions for 40 seconds. It is an excellent item for when you're matched against an AP heavy team.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter In general I love this item as it offers lots of health, utility from it's slow and some ability power. Synergizes really well with Liandry's Torment. Helps you to stick to a slippery enemies such as Ahri and chase them down if need be. Also, allows you to kite melee champs. It can be a viable item depending on a particular game.

Rod of Ages is a great item throughout laning phase and I personally like to have plenty of health in late game. A solid choice if you need the extra health to survive enemy burst or are going to be playing passive. This item will leave you feeling a little under-powered though, especially until the 10mins of stacking are up. A very situational item that I would try to avoid if at all possible.

Athene's Unholy Grail 'can' be a viable option if you are behind or are really sruggling against a particular match-up. Although it doesn't offer much AP, this is not the reason for picking it up. It offers some MR, Mana Regen among other defensive stats (healing with your shield) and 10% CDR.

Abyssal Mask is not an ideal item to purchase on Orianna but in if the enemy team consists of multiple AP champions it can possibly become an option. It will offer you some survivability should an enemy AP assassin try to burst you down. It's more viable against melee AP Assassins like Fizz, Diana, Akali etc.. as they will have to be in the range of it's aura when they try to burst you down.

Guardian Angel can be a viable option (but probably not recommended) if you're ahead in a game and doing really well. It will offer you some extra AD (which we don't really need), Armour and an extra life should you get bursted down in a teamfight. It has a very high cooldown though and is pretty much useless for you when it's not up.

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Orianna's autoattack deals additional magic damage. This damage increases the more Orianna attacks the same target. Not only will this make last-hitting creeps easier but it's such a strong passive against enemy champions too so be sure to abuse it when possible.

Orianna commands her Ball to fire toward a target location, dealing magic damage to targets along the way (deals less damage to subsequent targets). Her Ball remains at the target location after. Orianna commands her Ball to shoot toward a target location, dealing 60/90/120/150/180 (+50% Ability Power) magic damage to targets along the way. However, it deals 10% less damage for each unit it hits (Minimum 40%).Her Ball remains behind at the target location afterwards. You will want to take (Q) first in almost every game, the exception being if the enemy team has strong ranged champions like Syndra or your're not confident in a certain match-up. In this case you should take (E) first. Command: Attack offers you zoning potential, wave clear and poke.

Orianna commands the Ball to release a pulse of energy, dealing magic damage around it. This leaves a field behind that speeds up allies and slows enemies. Orianna commands her Ball to release an electric pulse, dealing 60/105/150/195/240 (+70% Ability Power) magic damage to nearby enemies.The pulse leaves behind an energy field for 3 seconds, lowering enemy Movement Speed by 20/25/30/35/40% and increasing ally Movement Speed by 20/25/30/35/40% for 2 seconds. This effect diminishes over time. Don't underestimate the damage this will put out during skirmishes or teamfights, a well placed (Q)+(W) can really chunk an enemy carry's health bar. It can also help you to move around the map quicker, assuming you have the mana regen to use it.

Orianna commands her Ball to attach to an allied champion, shielding them and dealing magic damage to any enemies it passes through on the way. Additionally, the Ball grants additional Armor and Magic Resist to the champion it is attached to. Passive: The Ball adds 10/15/20/25/30 Armor and Magic Resist to the allied champion it is attached to. Active: Orianna commands her ball to fly to and attach onto an allied champion, dealing 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+30% of ability power) damage to enemies it passes through and shielding the allied champion 2.5 seconds for 60/100/140/180/220(+50% of ability power) when it arrives. If the ally dies while holding the ball, it drops to the ground. This is such a useful shield, not only can you use it on yourself but you can aslo use it on your teammates. If you or a teammate going to take a lot of damage simply pop the ball onto them or yourself as needed. It can also be used for extra damage and will proc Thunderlord's Decree if it passes through an enemy on it's way back from a (Q)+(W) combo.

Orianna commands her Ball to unleash a shockwave, dealing magic damage and launching nearby enemies towards the Ball after a short delay. Orianna commands her Ball to unleash a shockwave after a brief delay, dealing 200/275/350 (+80% Ability Power) magic damage to nearby enemies and flinging them into the air a set distance in the direction of the Ball. This ultimate is one of the most useful team-fighting ults in the game. Try your best to not waste it as Orianna becomes a lot less scary without it. If you die before the cast is completed, the spell will not take effect.

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Level 1: Early laning, pre 6 is where you want to concentrate on farming creeps. Depending on what champion you are laning against, it may be possible to use this time to zone and bully them off their farm also. Immobile champions with short range are easily bullied and zoned, for example Annie. You will generally put your first point into Command: Attack but if you are up against a difficult lane it is fine to take Command: Protect first some defense. Most importantly you will want to CS as much as possible.

You have a strong, safe laning phase and your passive makes early trades worth attempting as you can easily soak up some damage with your Command: Protect. You have a strong AA especially when it begins to stack up on an enemy with multiple hits and you should try to use this to your advantage.

On your way to level 6, be sure to not miss farm as you can get your first item ASAP. Farming is pretty easy for Orianna so be sure to take advantage of this. Remember that roughly (19 CS = 1 Kill) so farming efficiently and out-farming your enemy can give you a massive advantage. You are pretty mana heavy so take care when using your combos to harass the enemy. Be sure to place wards ! At this stage (as with all times) keep an eye out on the minimap and react to help your jungler out if it is needed and possible, but again try to prioritize farming.

Farm, Farm, Farm: A farmed Orianna is equally as effective as a fed orianna and she is so efficient at it. CS is the bread and butter of your gold income so be sure to continue last hitting each minion. By this time you should be close to finishing if not already your first item and you now have your ultimate. Although Orianna is not the strongest champion to gank with, it's still possible to shove out your lane hard and look to roam to another lane or help your jungler out with a pick on the enemy jungler. Try to make use of any advantage you can get from lane also and if possible try to get priority over your lane and help your jungler to secure objectives such as Dragon and Rift Herald

Bot lane is your likely target and use your numbers advantage to try to kill the ADC and Support if possible. You have reasonable mobility due to you Command: Dissonance which will speed you up if the ball is placed on yourself. It requires a lot of mana though so don't overuse it.




OK, so you've managed to make it to mid game. This is the time that players will begin to roam and group up for ambushes, ganks or to secure and objectives (Towers, Dragon, Rift Herald etc..). Large scale Team-fights and smaller skirmishes will begin to occur which will suit you perfectly because Orianna doesn't excel in 1v1 fights. Since taking objectives usually results in a teamfight Orianna can play a big part in these fights. You are not as scary if you don't have your Ultimate up so don't waste it unnecessarily. Victory or Loss of these fights at this stage can sway the outcome of the game.

Orianna has a solid mid game so you need to use this time as best you can. You have the ability to CC the entire enemy team (should they be grouped) and also your damage/burst at this point is not to be underestimated. Remember it's possible to place the ball on an initiator like Nocturne, Amumu, Jarvan IV, Wukong, Vi etc.. within your team and have them bring it to the enemies backline if necessary. Don't forget to continue to farm whenever possible!

Vision control is an crucial part of mid-game and this can definitely turn games to your advantage or destroy a well earned lead. A well placed ward can help you to get picks on the enemy team. You will want to try to keep wards in key areas on the map and at key objectives, make sure you place a Control Ward each time it is found out and be sure to use your Stealth Ward too. Keep farming all the time and roam as much as you can. Do your best to 'never' get caught alone though.

Late game Orianna is all about teamfights. Similar to midgame, teamfights will break out around objectives, only this time a misplayed Command: Shockwave can cost your team the game. You will want to get as much damage as possible out onto the enemy team while at the same time using your abilities to protect your team. Once you have used your Command: Shockwave and your combo has finished you should not begin to peel for and protect whoever on your team requires it. It's highly likely that you or your ADC are the targeted ones but if neither of you are being focused and bursted down at this moment, identify who needs your protection/peel and help to keep the alive.

Your positioning is absolutely crucial because at this point you are pretty immobile and fairly predictable. You are likely to be a 'priority target' for the enemy team so you can't get too close but at the same time you need to be close enough in order to get your damage off. Standing in the fron line yourself is probably not a good idea.. standing behind your front line makes more sense :)




Do to the fact that your ball can dictate where an enemy can & cant go (without either being harassed or dying) Orianna can be considered a 'Control Mage'. Use this to your advantage throughout laning phase and the rest of the game.

It's possible for you to place the ball either within the minion wave or on the enemies side where you can easily (Q)+(W) it onto them for harass. This works exceptionally well against melee champions because they will need to walk up to farm or immobile champions like Annie. It's also possible for you (if you know where the enemy jungler is) to shove an enemy into their turret and keep harassing them with the ball from a distance with as they try to last hit under tower.

To zone enemies late game, the same general tactic applies - Keep the ball out in front of yourself/team in order to dictate where the enemy team can & can't go. Jungle 'choke points' are a great place for an Orianna to flex her strength at zoning, they are also great for team-fights as the enemy team is usually forced to group allowing you to more easily catch multiple of them with your Command: Shockwave.


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Well that's it for my guide to Orianna. I hope you have found it an interesting read and that it might help you to improve, if only just a little. If not that, at least some food for thought, so to speak.

Orianna is one of my favourite (go-to) champions and I hope you enjoy playing her as much as I do.

It's not all about winning/losing guys, at least we get to play the game!


Thanks for stopping by,
FalleN3


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