Before any of you say OMG DPS Kennen, that can't possibly work. Try the build then comment and vote. To be fair DPS Kennen is viable and a whole lot of fun. He has great skills complementing DPS and in my opinion is quite close to AP Kennen level. Of course a lot of people who have not tried this build will rage and flame because they think you are trolling so be aware of that.

DPS over AP

Pros

- More Fun
- Easier to farm
- W Passive gives him a frequent stun
- Good chaser with his E
- Confuses the other team

Cons

- AP slightly better
- Thornmail will shut you down
- Only single target

Marks:

Greater Mark of Desolation
I believe this is the mark to always run. It will give you that extra damage early game and will make minions easier to farm because of less armour.

Extra Attack Speed always nice, however I don't think it's early game bonus is worth it in the late game.

Seals:

Because most champions early game autoattack (even mages) this will help more than armour/lvl.

Personally I find this quite useless because the only time the dodge will proc is when you're up against a wave of minions.

Extra health is always useful. Especially since you only have 1800 at lvl 18.

Glyphs:

Glyphs aren't that important on DPS Kennen. Personally I run flat magic resist for early game spells or flat cooldown reduction. CDR helps more with spamming his W.

Quintessences:

Greater Quintessence of Desolation
If you're running the Amr Pen marks use this.

If you're running the Attk Spd Marks use this.

I use:
- because it helps me and my team catch up and gives a nifty armour reduction if you have the exhaust mastery.
- I use this to get out of tricky situations or just get into a better position for teamfights.

Optional:
- Good for early game in securing the kill and getting FB
[icon=Cleanse size=32 - Helps for CC, because you don't have your Zhonyas to save you anymore
- If you want to BD or to get back to lane if you're getting dominated

You're passive is a key component to DPS Kennen because of constant stunning. A good Kennen should stun person every time they harass and stun the important players on the opposing team.


A big role in AP Kennen as a low cooldown skillshot nuke, but in DPS Kennen this is just a supporting and scouting skill. Thundering Shuriken is usually just used to get the last mark on an enemy or check brushes before entering them. Also in early game this could be used to last hit minions.


This is your bread and butter. This skill is what makes DPS Kennen viable. It is the double mark lead up to your stun and in built sword of the divine. It gives extra damage every 4th attack and basically gives an almost guaranteed stun.


Another key element of DPS Kennen. Because Kennen is quite squishy with this build, this skill will allow you to reposition yourself quickly while doing damage and adding a mark if you are brave enough to go through the enemy. It is a great skill for running and chasing but be wary in using it because of its relatively high cooldown compared to his other skills.


The massive AOE nuking stun that makes the other team rage. No longer think of it as that. Because you don't have your Zhonya's hourglass you can't just flash in ult and press 1. You actually have to think now. Use it for 2 or 3 champs not 5 because it will take longer for the stun to proc. Get this into your heads - THIS IS NO LONGER FOR DAMAGE.

Max your W first because the passive is the whole point of DPS Kennen. It gives him extra damage on every fourth hit and gives him a mark of the storm as well. Max your E next to have shorter cooldowns on it for better chasing. Max Q last because you don't need it. You can start of with either Q or W, but i prefer W because it gives you both a passive and an active and Q isn't that reliable because its a skill shot. Of course lvl R whenever you can.

For harrassing what you want to do is get your W passive ready, then E through the minion wave (hit the champ if you can, but i wouldn't recommend getting too close) autoattack, Q W and they should be stunned if you hit the Q.

For farming its the basic E W combo but try to take on the minions waves by yourself once you have vampiric sceptre because the combo will get the minions low and your own minions might take the last hits.

I usually start off with a and 5x . This gives me good sustainability and allows me to stay in lane longer. On my first recall I upgrade the cloth amour to a Madred's Razor and get my . I upgrade the boots to Beserker's Greaves and build the rest of my items according to how much gold I have on each recall. e.g. get or instead of waiting for B.F. Sword.

Core Items:

- They give a lot of attack speed and a good movement speed bonus, as well as critical strike chance which will make up for the lack of attack damage and dps skills.
- Give massive attack damage and lifesteal once stacked (which is easy for both dps and ap kennen).

Optional:

- Good damage, attack speed and on hit helps a lot.
- A cheap way to get more attack speed
Madreds Bloodrazor - Good early game sustainability and great for farming.
- A good choice if you want lifesteal and spellvamp, while giving a lot of AD and AP. Good for a more hybrid build.
- Good for a hybrid build.
- Good item overall but a bit expensive.

Boots:

Beserker's Greaves - For more attack speed
Mercury Treads - If you're getting CC'd. Most of the time I take this over the beserker's greaves because if Kennen gets CC'd he's dead end story.
- Anti DPS, early game

Defensive:

- For heavy physical team. Good amount of health and health regen as well.
- Anti Carry
- Massive Health Regen and most magic resist from a single item. Nifty movement speed bonus as well.
- Personally, I don't find the passive useful unless you're team is still alive or it's early to mid game. However it gives good defensive stats.

The item build at beginning of the guide is what i recommend is best for full damage and no survivability. It is obviously not the best way to go in game because you will die if the enemies have half a brain to focus you. Mix and match from the items in this chapter and experiment to find a build that works for you.

Try staying at the back of the fight hitting the squishy targets. They should die in a couple of hits. If you have your ult, use it for stuns but try not to use if in the middle, even though you'll hit more the stun will take longer to proc and of course as a squishy you don't want to be targetable by the enemy team.