Is AD Kennen Viable?

The simple answer is yes. To expand on that he has higher base and scaling stats then most if not all ranged carries (minus range for champions such as Tristana, Caitlyn, and Kog'Maw). Additionally he would be or is the only ranged carry who does not use mana. He has a very reliable stun and lots of natural defense.

AD Carries Have AD Ratios On Skills Though!

This is true. I will cover his ratios compared to other carries to prove he can stand up to them even there. He also has a 0.80 AD Ratio on his W every 5th attack which adds up to an additional 16% AD at all times on his auto attacks.

Isn't AP Better?

I'm not here to tell you AD is better than AP and anybody bringing up that argument should be ignored. Comparing two different roles is useless, you need to compare it to the role you're trying to fill. In this case you need to compare AD Kennen to other AD Carries, Graves, Vayne, and Sivir.

What Advantages Are There For Playing AD Kennen?

Well other AD Carries of course have their uses. Kennen is a rather safe AD Carry in my opinion. He has an on command escape which you can abuse considering you don't need to spam energy to deal damage. You have on command stuns whenever you need them. The main thing though is Kennen's Ultimate makes him incredibly safe. If the enemy team manages to engage on you then you can pop your ultimate to provide the CC you need to get out alive. It's a defensive skill instead of a damaging skill.

But He's Half Magic!

This is both good and bad. If you have another AD on your team it's very good because it forces them to build extra magic resist meaning you deal more auto attack damage. If you're the only physical though it can severely cut down on your damage. Much in the same way it effects IE Kog'Maw. Not horribly but you can feel it.

How Does Kennen Do Against Other AD?

He does quite well actually. His W is basically all he needs to completely wreck other AD Carries. He has very good damage and amazing harass. His harass is also his CC though and he never runs out of mana. He can out harass any other carry.

What About Long Ranged Carries?

Cait? She'll be annoying yes. That range is a pain. Once you land a good auto with W proc up you'll way out harass her damage and if you have a support who isn't afk it can't be hard to kill her with your amazing harass. Either way past laning phase you became the better carry.

What About Skillshot Champs Like Ezreal?

No problem! If they land a skillshot you land your W, W Proc, and Q and you stun them and then you auto attack them and in the end your damage output is way higher. If they try to just auto attack you you have the advantage because you aren't all skillshots.

I Still Don't Believe


This is a quote directly from Ego Ignaxio's Kennen Guide

"No, AD Kennen doesn't compare overall to AP I feel. AD Kennen is far too squishy and needs to be in low range to actually take advantage of Kennen's kit which is not good for an AD champion. A proper AP build can do thousands and thousands more damage in a teamfight. AP also has more utility in his kit with rylai's and hourglass.

Also when facing against an AP Kennen if you're going AD you're just going to die instantly in teamfights and not be able to do anything. It's way too susceptible to burst and the superiority of AP really shows in a mirror match with different builds like that

AS Kennen is just bad because his stuns have diminishing returns and only last for 1 second."

He is completely right here. I will not lie. He's comparing AD Kennen to AP Kennen though and assuming they'll be in the same game. AP Kennen is the stronger Kennen build but AD Kennen is the stronger Ranged Carry against most, if not all, other ranged carries. The argument is not AP Vs. AD Kennen, it's AD Kennen Vs. Every Other AD Carry.

When putting AD Kennen against another carry he has higher base stats, high base skill damages, a solid escape, the best CC, amazing harass, and more. The math is later but this is true. Don't compare AD and AP. Compare AD to other AD.

Details

This page is the preferred page. While you may be building AD Kennen it does not change the fact he has four skills that deal magic damage. You take a standard AD Carry page taking crit and all that good stuff and then you place four points in CDR and one in Magic Penetration so you get some Double Penetration Kennen action (but who would Ego share with?). You place the final points in defense for the armor and the improve summoner for either Heal or Cleanse.

Details

This page skips the Magic Penetration and only uses Physical Penetration (I would assume Ego prefers this). There's no real advantage to it beside the fact that you get a bit of extra survivability. I think it's more then worth it to take the Magic Penetration and CDR but as you are an AD Carry you can go ahead and run this page to be a bit safer and focus more around physical damage... I guess... it just hurts your damage but gives you more tank.

What About Defense or Utility?

You want to deal lots and lots of damage so nothing beats out 21 in offense. Past that you can do whatever you want.

Details

The above page is the preferred page. AD Kennen has lots of base attack damage but a slow attack animation. Some attack speed runes help speed this up and make last hitting a lot better. It's not just for last hitting though, you also benefit greatly from it with his W. It allows you to apply the debuff more and deal more damage which you will understand why it's amazing as you read deeper. Attack Speed is the way to go.

Details

Now this page takes Attack Damage instead. The downside is actually harder last hitting and less lane "presence". The up side is you have better trades with enemy champions. Basically how it works is you have a lot of presence in lane with constant stuns and the ability to zone (you'll learn more later) but with this page if they engage on you you can just fight them and win because of slightly higher damage. I personally prefer attack speed.

Running Attack Speed Reds and AD Quints can give a nicer balance. I could suggest this page to players who want to get the hang of him first.

Armor Yellows because you're laning against auto attacking champions.
Magic Resist Blues because of supports and so the enemy mid lane can't turret dive you.

Where's Armor Penetration?

Well I threw it in the trash because it makes last hitting harder for minor increases in damage dealt.

What About Energy Regen?

Aha, aha, aha! Energy Regen is a waste going AD, your damage is from auto attacks, energy is just for the utility you get from your passive and E.

RequiredWhy?

Honestly, not running flash is just dumb. It has so much utility for escaping and positioning, especially as a squishy AD Carry. Not running it is like suicide. It's like asking that Renekton to charge straight to you. Flash lets you go over walls, over ultimates, over creep blocks, etc. It allows you to live when you're sure to die.

Suggested SecondaryOROR
Why Cleanse?

Cleanse is used like flash. You use it to get out of sticky situations. At the same time though Cleanse can be used offensively. It removes stuff like Exhaust allowing you to continue pushing out damage. It's a safe pick in any game.

Why Heal?

Heal just provides absurd amounts of raw survivability. It's better you run it then your support and then you have your support take exhaust. You get maximum heal that way. Basically, just think of it like having another half your health bar as squishy ol' kenny.

Why Exhaust?

While most of the time you take heal and support grabs Exhaust but sometimes your support will be a complete ****ing douchebag and you have to take it yourself to keep that pesky graves from murdering you in lane. Take it against heavy physical damage champions to either get them off you or kill them.

What About The Others?

I'd consider Ignite and Surge Viable choices but not compared to what I already listed. Sorry bros.

Passive: Mark of the Storm

Kennen's abilities add Marks of the Storm to opponents. Upon receiving 3 Marks of Storm, an opponent is stunned and Kennen receives 25 energy.

Marks of storm last 8 seconds on the target.

Explanation:

What Does It Do?
If you land three spells in a row (W passive and W casted count as 1 each, ult can hit 3 times) the enemy is stunned for a short duration and you get energy back.

How Can I Use This?
During laning you can zone enemies out by getting two stacks then threatening a third with Q. It will make them miss creeps. If they decide to just take the damage you get free harass and basically win your lane. Past laning this keeps enemies off you, you can stun them on command and escape. It's also used to keep enemies from running with mass spammed stuns.

Any Tips?
If you can always keep at least one stack of it on an enemy then you can basically control everything they do. You can zone them, harass them, even kill them. Keeping one stack up is godlike.
Q: Thundering Shuriken

Throws a shuriken that damages the first enemy it hits for 75 / 115 / 155 / 195 / 235 (+75% of ability power) magic damage and adds a Mark of the Storm.

Cost 65 / 60 / 55 / 50 / 45 energy
Range 1050

Explanation:

What Does This Do?
This is a long ranged, fast skillshot. As AD Kennen this is mostly just used to stun enemies and zone them in lane.

How Can I Use This?
If you have two stacks of your passive on an enemy you can use it to zone them or stun them to get some auto attack damage in. Past laning though you use this to poke enemies before fights and stun enemies while you're focusing them.

Any Tips?
It's not hard to hit as AD Kennen, just learn to land it. If you can hit every single one your CC (Utility) becomes very good.
W: Electrical Surge

Passive: Every 5 attacks, Kennen deals magic damage equal to 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80% of his attack damage and adds a Mark of the Storm to his target.

Active: Surges electricity through all nearby targets afflicted by Mark of the Storm, dealing 65 / 95 / 125 / 155 / 185 (+45% of ability power) magic damage and adding another mark.

Cost 45 energy
Range 800

Explanation:

What Does This Do?
On every fifth auto attack you will deal damage equal to 40-80% of your auto attack damage and apply one stack of your passive. You can also cast it on an enemy with one or two stacks of your passive on them to apply another and deal damage.

How Can I Use This?
This is your main skill. You want to last hit until the passive on it is up then hit your enemy and cast W to apply two stacks. You can then zone them or deal lots of damage with Q and auto attacks. Do this several times to win your lane. Past laning you just use it whenever you need CC. Auto attack for damage and stuns. W for stuns.

Any Tips?
Don't be stingy. Go ahead and spam it to mass stun your enemy and/or deal lots of damage. It makes you win lanes.
E: Lightning Rush

Kennen moves very fast and gains the ability to pass through units, dealing 85 / 125 / 165 / 205 / 245 (+60% of ability power) magic damage and adding a Mark of the Storm to any hostile unit he passes through.

Kennen is refunded 40 energy if he passes through an enemy while using this spell, but can only gain this effect once. Lightning Rush deals half damage to minions.

Cost 100/95/90/85/80 energy

Explanation:

What Does This Do?
This makes you double your movement speed to be able to move really fast. It also gives free defense and if you hit an enemy it applies one stack of your passive.

How Can I Use This?
This skill is used purely as an escape. If you need to run press it to get out. Sometimes you will use it offensively but only for a kill that you're sure you can get using it. Try to have it up for emergencies.

Any Tips?
If you hit E again you cancel it. Don't waste it either, please.
R: Slicing Maelstrom

Summons a magical storm that deals 80 / 145 / 210 (+33% of ability power) magic damage to a random enemy champion near Kennen every 0.5 seconds. This storm attacks up to 6 / 8 / 10 times and cannot hit the same target more than 3 times.

A Mark of the Storm is applied to enemies on the first bolt they are hit by.

Cost 40 energy

Explanation:

What Does This Do?
This skill summons a circle of lightning around you and any enemy who steps in it takes damage and marks of the storm (passive).

How Can I Use This?
Use this purely defense. The damage is neglectable being AD but the on-command AoE CC is not. If you're being focused pop this and run away, or kill them. Use it completely defensively though... or for stuns. Don't use it for damage.

Any Tips?
Even in big team fights you want to save this for when somebody turns on you. You can't just run in and use it, you will die.

Boots:OROR
Why Zerker's?

They're the main choice if you need damage.

Why Mercury's Treads?

They're the main choice if you need CC Reduction.

Why Ninja Tabi?

They're godlike for trading enemy AD Carries but give you less damage later.

Offensive Items:
Why Infinity Edge?

It provides the highest damage of any item in the game on auto attacks. You always want one of these.

Why Bloodthirster?

This provides less pure raw damage but gives a lot of sustain. Replace wriggle's with it late-game and build in a more passive lane.

Why Last Whisper?

Last Whisper is basically core because you will need armor penetration, enemies always build armor.

Why Phantom Dancer?

Phantom Dancer gives you a huge boost in damage combined with some attack damage. With Infinity Edge is makes ridiculous damage and with Bloodthirster it gives you massive sustain.

Defensive Items:
Why Quicksilver Sash?

This is your main defensive item. You have so much built in defense that you can use this so you don't get CCed before you can do it. It's also cheap.

Guardian Angel

This is your second choice. It's not as strong as QSS but it provides solid armor and magic resist and a little bit of extra survivability with the passive revive.

Other
Why Wriggle's?

It gives lots of cheap, early survivability and sustain as well as damage and a ward. A strong rush on Kennen.

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