Nov. 6 2011 - Updated and edited a whole lot of stuff for the first time since published. More experience and knowledge about Oriana.

- Before the update on this guide, I focused on CDR build. Well I am taking back everything I said back about CDR Orianna, true she is fun with very low CD but whats even more fun is wrecking teams with her auto-attacks. That said the focus of this guide is now less about CDR and having fun with her ball and more about kicking *** with her passive, and of course, her ball.

- I am gonna keep the CDR build for those who are interested but I will highlight the old guide in yellow to emphasize its obsoleteness.

Orianna is a magic caster champion who has a bunch of utility abilities that she could use, making her a possible support champion. Her auto-attacks are empowered by her passive which adds additional magic damage (a percentage of her Ability Power plus a default value) and is enough to wreck in Mid. This is also partly why a few people build her in to a Teem-attack-speedishly-ability-ishly kind of way. Not only that but her main mechanic comes with a large giant ball which she can "Command" to go to places, attack, slow and disrupt enemies while also speeding up and defending allies. Her ball can also be used to face check bushes and farm easily.

The way I see Oriana, she can be built 3 different ways, pure AP damage, a hybrid between attack speed and ability power and also a bottom lane support-caster. Orianna's ultimate is invaluable in team fight when used and timed wisely, not only that but her Protect and Dissonance increases the chance of catching up or escaping from enemies. But enough about Orianna lets get it on with this guide!

I have 2 rune pages for all my casters. One is pure AP runes while the other replaces the flat AP quints with Movement Speed Quints. This is for those special champions that requires you to move a lot, champions like Karthus, Xerath etc. Also I like going Movement Speed Quints + boots level 1 with Orianna because it lets me harass like a boss and also farm at the same time, letting me get my items fairly quick. I usually choose boots at the start of the game if I know the enemy mid doesn't hit hard at level 1 (ie: Malzahar, Swain, Heimerdinger, Cassiopeia etc.) Going back to topic this is my Rune set up:


I don't think there is any need to explain why I choose these runes, it is pretty self explanatory. Other than that I think mentioning Mana Regen Seals can also be used and Movement Speed Quints and Flat AP Quints are interchangable.

Nothing new here, this is your basic 9 - 0 - 21 caster mastery tree.

Skilling Order as seen above.
Passive: Orianna's autoattacks deal additional 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 (+20% of ability power) magic damage every hit, subsequent attacks on the same target within a few seconds will add 15% more damage per hit. This bonus stacks up to three times.

Orianna's Passive is pretty simple, the more AP you have, the more magic damage adds on to your auto attacks (think Wit's End). A good Orianna does not rely only on her ball but also utilizes her auto attacks to harass and make enemies forget about your ball's location.

Q: Orianna commands her ball to fly towards target location, dealing 60 / 100 / 140 / 180 / 220 (+60% of ability power) damage to targets hit but dealing 10% less damage for each additional target hit (minimum 40%). Her ball remains behind at that location afterwards.

Your Bread and butter ability. Max it first for lower cool down and increased damage. Using it does not always require you to hit an enemy but rather position it for your next set of combo.

W: Orianna commands her ball to emit a magnetic pulse, dealing 70 / 115 / 160 / 205 / 250 (+60% of ability power) damage to units around it. Afterwards, the ball leaves a field behind for 3 seconds that speeds up allies and slows enemies for 2 seconds for 20/25/30/35/40% movement speed.


Very nice utility and damage ability built in one. Not only does it let you slow passing enemies but it speeds up you and your allies as well. This ability makes life easier for Orianna and her team by making ganks, and escapes more possible. The AoE damage it comes with is also pretty good.

E:

(Passive): The allied champion the ball is attached to gains 10/15/20/25/30 bonus armor and magic resistance.

(Active): Orianna commands her ball to fly to and attach onto an allied champion, dealing 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+45% of ability power) damage to enemies it passes through and shielding the allied champion 4 seconds for 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 / 240 (+40% of ability power) when it arrives.

Even if you aren't playing support Orianna her shield becomes very useful not only in saving your self and your allies but also in positioning your ball (ie attaching it to your tank/carry to haste them up to initiate/catch escaping teammates).

R:

Active): Orianna commands her ball to emit a shockwave after a short delay, flinging affected enemies in the vicinity into the air a set distance towards, and possibly over, her ball. Deals 150 / 225 / 300 (+70% of ability power) damage.


This ultimate, even with the somewhat short radius range is still pretty awesome. Not only does it have low cool down but it saves you and your team from numerous situations:
-Carry getting focused? Press R;
-Getting ganked? "Command: Dissonance" then "Command: Shockwave" to stop enemies from getting to you;
-Ganking bot but the target flashes? Press R! I don't know if it is a glitch or not but sometimes if you press it at the right time it pulls the flasher right back where he started.
-Finally, my favorite way to use this ultimate is by attaching it to tanks and other AoE ultimate champs and enhancing their ultimate making sure everyone stays in their circle ( Fiddlestick/ Nunu & Willump/ Galio). Also good for disrupting enemy Ultimates ( Katarina/ Malzahar).

CORE BUILD

:
Okay so no matter what the situation is, as long as you are playing Orianna you need to have these two items: ] and .

**Whether Rod of Ages comes first or last is up to you but I like to build my Catalyst the protector first then quickly rush my Rabadon's Deathcap followed by Sheen from there I examine whether or not I need more health or damage. If I need more health I buy a Giant's Belt for my Rylai's Crystal Scepter then finish my Lich Bane and Rod of Ages. Most of the time though I simply rush Rabadon's Deathcap and Lich Bane

For the boots:

There are only two boots to consider, either Sorcerer's Shoes or Ionian Boots of Lucidity. I usually get the former and only use Ionian Boots of Lucidity when I use my Movement Speed + Mana Regen Rune set up.

Starting the game:
There are 2 ways to start your game with and it all depends on whether you think you could handle your mid counter-part.

You think you can harass while farming mid like a boss? Start with and 3 . If you are doing well and even got a kill you might as well rush straight into our core build, yep go get your Needlessly Large Rod on! However if starting with boots prove difficult to you you might want to buy a Doran's Ring or two then slowly build into your Cataclyst the protector


If you think you will have a hard time, start your game with a your next run back to the shop should either be your boots or, if you are still having a hard time, a Philosopher's Stone. Trust me A philo can really help you out specially if you are having a hard time farming all that creeps. Also lets you lane a little bit longer.

*MID GAME*
I usually find myself having either 2 Doran's Ring and a Rabadon's Deathcap or a Doran's Ring, Philosopher's Stone and a Rod of Ages when mid game comes around. Whichever the case you are on, you simply need to start focusing on your next item which is either a Lich Bane or a Rabadon's Deathcap. Once you have those two items it is pretty much a done deal, Orianna should be doing some serious damage to anyone, fed or not.

**ITEMS to be considered**
Once you have your core build it is up to you what your remaining items should be. This is just some of the few I usually consider or build upon finishing my core build:

, Provides slow, survivability and 80 ability power? That is a steal.

Getting focused a lot? Buy this magic hourglass!

When you want to get more out of your auto-attack passive.

When enemies are getting magic resists.

Those are pretty much what I always use from. Other situational Items are:

Perfect during midgame when you find yourself getting annoyed at their not-yet-fed-but-still-hits-hard ap carry. I don't recommend getting it if the enemy AP carry is already fed and already hits like a truck.

If you are in a difficult spot and need a defensive item.

I'm pretty sure there are other items you can use but that is all the important ones that comes to mind.

**THE ATTACK SPEED ABILITY POWER**

Okay well, I know I did a second Orianna Build which includes Malady and Wit's End however, I truly only use attack speed with Orianna if I want to mix things up. No certain enemies or situation that calls for attack speed Orianna. It is very fun and rewarding to play but I don't guarantee your chances of owning or winning to increase with it. Also Attack speed won't mean a thing to Orianna if you don't build the proper mix of AP and Attack Speed items, that said if you really want to try it out, simply build a Rod of Ages and then Malady followed by Wit's End then your core build.

**Everything past this chapter except for the skills are obsolete but I choose not to delete them in case someone wants to try my original CDR build**

Ah the item building part. Building CDR Orianna isnt that hard really. Just remember to put together items that will give you total amount of 40% CDR, heck you can do that with out runes or masteries with Morellio's Evil Tome and Nashor's Tooth alone, however we dont just want that 40% max CDR, we want it so that our items mix well together.

Core Build:
Your build all the time should at least have those 3 elements.

However if you think you can do so much better, here is an alternative build for the PROs
Note that this build requires that you fill up the meija soul stealer to maximize your 40% CDR, I suggest constantly getting the blue buff while you havent achieve this. I would only recommend this build if you are already good with Orianna cause this build is more complicated as it not just rely on the ball but also on Orianna's auto attacks hence why lich bane + Nashor's Tooth. Some serious multi tasking and a balance between right clicking and skill shotting will make this build work. That is why I say for advanced users only.

Another build that is AP Heavy and CDR, same as above but less auto attacking.
orReally expensive, the items revolve around the arch angel and the 3% max mana to AP converter.

Other CDR items and combos:

**If you are lacking the CDR runes then I would suggest getting Sorcerrer's Boots instead of the CDR boots for extra penetration, then build Nashor's Tooth afterwards before any major AP items.
Morelio's Evil Tome: Why get it? because +75 AP with mana regen and 20%CDR at such a low price IS A STEAL! It is a must have, the core, the heart of our build.

or
Nashor's Tooth: Some people may want to synchronize the ball with Orianna, or auto attack with the ball and this is where I recommend it as an alternative for the evil tome. They both have mana regen, Cool down slightly better than the Evil tome, plus it has 50% + attack speed, however it only gives 55 AP thats why I prefer evil tome over it. This item is good in combination with the item Malady, however if you ask me, that build is leaning on towards DPS/AD with a little touch of AP.

Other Notable Items:
Meija Soul Stealer Its for advance users or if you are confident that you are gonna dominate the whole game. I would recommend it only if you have gotten yourself 3 kills in the first 15 mins.
Arch angel staff, when you find that you are always going B for running out of mana, I would recommend getting this INSTEAD of the Rod of Ages. The good thing about that is you will almost always never run out of mana towards end game, the bad side is you wont have the bonus HP that Rod of Ages have to offer. You could get Arch angel together with the Rods of Ages and Lich Bane to stack the mana effect, however that is costly.
RoA: One of my favorite items for casters, good amount of boost in HP, Mana and AP, im sold. You can even try building a RoA first and then your CDR items, works fine giving you more survivability, mana and that AP boost you need at first.
: Crystal Scepter ahhh, I recommend this as your 5th item, slows enemy? Decent AP boost AND huge HP boost? good deal right here.
the Rabadumdumdums, people's favorite. I like to build it after I complete my core build. Works better with my Meija Soul Stealer, Nashor's Tooth, Lich Bane Build. Actually, it works in ANY build, so build it after youre core.

Other items Situation Dependent:Void Staff: when you are facing an AP heavy team or when you see a lot of magic resist items going on in the other team.
Malady: Pair it up with your Nashor's Tooth and they synchroize well.
Will of the ancients: CDR means more times to use your ability, more chance to use your ability means more chance to hit the enemy with your spell which means if you have a spell vamp, you would get healed! Not recommended as an end game item.
Banshee's Veil: For those times you know, when you keep getting stunned and your enemies are all AP.
Lich Bane: Go with it when you see an AP heavy team.
Mercury Threads: Same as the last three.
Frozen Heart: More mana, 99 armor AND 20% CDR and slows enemies by 20%? good defensive CDR alternative item.

When starting a game I suggest sticking to buying the Meiki first for that mana regen. However you can also start with the blue mana crystal and built it straight to Rods of the Ages, or if, like I mentioned before, you feel that you are PRO, start with the amplifying tome and build it to meija soul stealer right away.

In this section Ill try to describe how I play with the ball.

Before Anything else, LOCATION is everything. If you like Math or trigonometry or anything like that then you might love Orianna. Positioning, timing, location is a BIG THING when playing Orianna. And by positioning im not just talking about you and the ball, im talking about you, the ball, and everyone else including allies and enemies.

Utility Moves: Moves that are useful outside of battle.

Lighting: Use your ball wisely, use it like a free ward when enemies are not around and you want to check a bush. Also you can leave your ball in the bush while you are busy tearing down that turret to alert you of any incoming ganks, works well in Bot.

Outside the walls: You can use your ball to run with you on the other side of the wall not just outside your base but in the jungle, not only as extended line of sight but also to catch Junglers and whatnot also great way to avoid ganks. Do this when enemies are MIA.

Offensive Plays and Combos:

**** Important Note: I've played against several Orianna and I seem to come off as the better doppelganger for one reason, They always go out of range of their ball and it recalls to them or they call it back with E most of the time. DONT DO THIS. At least not all the time. USE YOUR BALLS CURRENT POSITION LEAVE IT WHERE IT IS AND DONT GO OUT OF RANGE. That is my only requirement before you read further on. Like I said the position of the ball relative to your position, the enemies position and another teammates position IS VERY IMPORTANT. So constantly recalling it to your back makes it useless. That is why, I repeat, It is better to leave your ball where it last hit and plan your next attack based on that. This way its easier to hit multiple opponents and sometimes they forget that you can move your ball and they would go near it etc.

Basic Back and forth: Q - E - Q. From where you stand, with the ball on you, Q straight past the enemy, E back and Q again past him again rinse and repeat.

Endless QQ - Q - pause - Q - pause - Q. Once you hit that 2.4 max CD for your Q, you can choose to just constantly move it, hide in a bush and just keep moving it like you are writing your name or something this will annoy enemies a lot. Also When doing this, dont just aim towards your enemy, Aim to go past them or plan your next attack by planning ahead where to put your Q. Only land your Q on your opponent if you are ready to go for the kill when they are half hp this will lead to:

Q - W - R - Q - E - Q. The finisher. If you do this right, most squishies will die before you even get to the second Q. Best to use on team fights not recommended using on a single target unless you really wanna finish that person off.

Q - ORIANNA - Q enemy: the long catapult first things first, you infront of you, you run towards your opponent, your opponent will not see the ball cause you left it where his screen wont see it, use this to your advantage, when he stops or is stationary q to him and the ball will come rushing towards him from what seems like nowhere, only works the first time or maybe when your enemies are just plain absent minded.

If the ball is near the enemy and you havent touched it in quite sometime: W - Q - E - Q - R - W. Assuming your R is not on cool down. Another alternative would be to W, Q towards the enemy, run opposite the enemy, E, then Q again. Keep in mind that using Orianna requires a lot of moving not just of your ball but also your self.

Basic Combo: Q - E - Q - W: Kind of like the first combo but you finish it with the Disonance, if you are confident too you should run towards them and start auto attacking.

The moving Ball: When Side laning, you should attach your ball to your partner specially if he is a tank or a melee, then just watch from the bush, far but not too far that the ball will come back to you. Stay close. Now, you can see how effective this is cause a moving ball is better than a stationary ball, always on the move, always changing position. Based on this we have:

Passing the ball: E back and forth between you and your laning partner and strike with Q and W towards the enemies when you can.

Gee Tanks: use E on your Tank, communicate with them that after you use your Ultimate they should use theirs. Works REALLLY good with AoE Ulti tanks like Amumu, Nunu and just AoE Ulti in general like Fiddle, this will lower their chance of getting away from the said ulti and if you Use W after you R, they would also be slowed. A well timed E- R- W can easily win your team team fights.

Side Qing : Kind a like the endless Q but instead of moving randomly your ball you just keep moving it from one side of your enemy to the other side of him. Also effective in wiping out vertically alined minnions.

Defensive Moves:
If you see enemies coming towars you throw your ball half way at them so that by the time it gets there, the enemies meet it. Use W to slow them, call it back by running away and use W as soon as you can. Helps you escape.

When you get caught, W RIGHT AWAY! Effectively Slowing enemies and hasting yourself, leave your ball there and R as you run away, remember that with our build your R should be on every 45 seconds or something so not a big wait time.

When you see a team mate trying to run away E to them then W to help them escape and recall the ball and W again to your self while near the said team mate to ensure escape.

WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN BEING CHASED:
Just one thing really, dont Q towards their current position because while you are running, they are running so chances are by the time your ball lands to their location, they have already caught up with you, so just use W.

With that said, W can also be effectively used to chase enemies using
W and Q alone. Q towards the enemy W, even if you miss your W when you walk thru it it gives you speed boost, keep doing this and youll eventually catch up with them.

There are a lot more room for plays and techniques but its easier to just show it than explain it cause most of the techniques I use requires leaving the ball auto attacking, using the ball etc. etc. etc.

Will work more on this part of the guide.

Thank you for taking your time and reading my guide. I will really appreciate comments and votes, even if they are negative as long as you voice out why! :)