Kennen Build Guide by tehAsian

Introduction

Welcome to my Dominion Guide, featuring Kennen. I recently decided I wouldn't ever do 5v5 blind picks in SR anymore because of the trolls and feeders, so I discovered that Dominion was a good alternative. Plus, you can carry easier :p

Anyway, the best way to learn how to do something well is teach it, so here I go :3

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Kennen is a mid tier pick in Dominion. When Dominion was first released, Kennen was thought to be S Tier through his high mobility. Unfortunately, the high mobility hindered his fighting abilities and often left me with no fighting power after reaching destinations.

Therefore, I focused Kennen on Defending role, or being a Taker while trying to mitigate his high energy cost on E through items.

Runes

The only Runes you really want are:

Movespeed Quints.

This help a LOT in capping points, and just mobility in general. Other Runes of choice would be:

Magic Penetration Marks. All of our damage is magical, this gives us the edge in dealing damage.
Magic Resist Per Level. Because you level so fast, flat runes don't benefit as much as per level ones.
AP/Level. Gives a GREAT boost later on.
greater seal of vitalityHealth Per Level Same as above.
AP/Level. Iunno, never tried these, but it's pretty good :p

Summoner Spells

Options:
Ignite to finish off people. I don't use this because Dominion is about capping points, and kills aren't as important.

Exhaust is strong if no one on your team takes it, and you notice a Tryndamere on the other team.

Garrison is recommended if you REALLY need it to cap or defend points.


Cleanse if you have trouble with CC, or the other team is just CC heavy.


Revive at first seems good, but then I noticed you could only use it one time per game. Lol.

Masteries

Take whatever the hell you want :p

On the Defender build, I prioritize Defense and Movespeed.

On the Taker build I prioritize on damage. Pretty simple.

Defender Kennen

Kennen is, imo, a #1 pick for defending points. The resistances from his E, combined with high AoE damage and tankiness through items, make him perfect for defending points for a long amount of time against multiple enemies at once. However, he can do very little other than defending with this build, so pick this role wisely.

Items

As a Defender, it's you're job to stay at one point and constantly interrupt anyone who tries to capture it.

Kennen is a strong defender because of two things: He is somewhat naturally tanky, allowing him to handle multiple champions at once, and he has high AoE damage.

Being tanky is self-explanatory. You want to be able to survive for as long as possible.

Having high AoE damage assists in pushing. Minions in Dominion cap points pretty damn fast, but with Kennen's AoE, he can quickly clear oncoming waves and denying easy captures.

Because of the above points, I build Kennen with Aura or AoE related items. The synergy is just too good to pass up.
Start with Mercury's Treads. They give tenacity and Magic Resist, and a good amount of movespeed.


Next, go for some health. I take these two items because later they build into Randuin's Omen and I don't feel like building a catalyst the protector. You can build the Catalyst if you have the money for it, though.


What I tend to notice is that once you get Rabadon, combined with the Crystal Scar's Aura, your damage SKYROCKETS. It's absolutely insane. This is a must.


I build into Odyn's Veil right after Rabadon. This grants good resistances and good AoE burst in a fight, while having the passive make me VERY tanky against mages like LeBlanc.


These two items have synergy with each other as well as synergy with Kennen. With these, your tankiness goes WAY up and you have a debuff Aura and Zhonya's active to stall while defending points.


I finish my build with Randuin's Omen. Honestly, games shouldn't last this long, so I don't think this is necessary, but hey, if your team is getting wrecked by 'right click' champions, don't hesitate to get this. Plus, it builds off your HoG.
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Skill Sequence

Priorities:

> > >

Take R over W over E over Q. You want to be able to clear minion waves quickly and get the bonus reistances from E. Also, AoE damage is important in a teamfight. Even if you aren't buying damage items, Kennen's ult does significant damage and can disrupt the other team very often.

Skill Rotation:

Always, always, always, ALWAYS open with E. You WILL have an easier time surviving with the extra resists. After tagging everyone with E, hit W to add a second Mark of the Storm. NOW, if you need a clutch stun, Q. If not, R THEN Q. Use any item Actives after. Or before, w/e.
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Being a defender is the role I feel Kennen is best at in dominion. He can handle many champions at once because of the tankiness I put into my items, and can hold them off with a TON of CC for a very long time.

Taker Kennen

I don't really like playing Kennen as a mobility based Taker, because there were always problems.

The first problem I encountered was that to get where you want, you need Lightning Rush. Lightning Rush costs a LOT of energy, so constantly wasting it left me with no energy to fight, leading to a ton of deaths and no captured points.

The second problem was that I didn't have enough Taking power, and whenever I DID get enough, I was too squishy.

Fortunately, both these problems can be fixed with a Lich Bane xD How?

• Lich Bane provides movespeed, so you can get where you want faster.
• Lich Bane provides a mini nuke that Kennen can fully utilize because of his low cooldowns.
• After using Lightning Rush, I could throw the mini-nuke to immediately engage in combat instead of waiting for my energy to regenerate, which was taking huge tolls at my time.
• It makes your burst scary. As hell.

Overall, I believe adding in a Lich Bane can make Kennen fulfill the Taker role pretty well.
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Items

I start with Sorcerer's Shoes to get a good damage boost at the beginning of the game. It also gives a good movespeed boost at the beginning of the game to get to top/mid/bot faster.

My next items are Giant's Belt for the survivability and Rabadon's Deathcap for the damage.

I get Lich Bane because of already stated reasons and because the synergy with Rabadon's Deathcap is too good to pass up.

These items again! From now, you shouldn't be able to be solo'd, except by those hard dpsers like Master Yi or Tryndamere.

I finish by turning my Giant's Belt into Rylai.
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Skill Sequence

I max Q first, then W, then E. E should mostly be used for mobility purposes, but DO NOT SPAM IT. Always have enough energy left for 2 Qs and a W so you can at least stun and run.

Q > W > AA should be your main source of damage once you get Lich Bane.

Skill Rotation

Again, ALWAYS initiate with E. But be sure to hit something too, lol :p
Then W for a second mark, and AA if you have the 5th proc up. This combo should (almost) ALWAYS net you a kill against squishies, and put serious hurt on even tankier people.
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Gameplay

Kennen can go either TOP or BOT. Where you go is basically preference, or if someone on your team wants bot.

But always remember:

If you are Taking Points, it's ok to go alone, but do it like a NINJA, meaning don't get caught alone or you WILL die.

If you are defending points, STAY there unless there is absolutely no threat that it will be captured.

Summary

Thanks for reading my quick Kennen Dominion guide!

I was originally going to put this in my ranked SR guide, but then I was like NAH and decided to make it separate. Also, I got bored xD

Remember to TRY it before you criticize (unless you have a REALLY good reason) and have fun!

Change Log

3/7/12
Published guide
Made change log and fixed minor coding problems.