Orianna is, simply, the most versatile caster in the game. She has ridiculous cc (crowd control), ridiculous burst damage, even more ridiculous sustained damage, ridiculous zoning power, a ridiculous ability to push, ridiculous support power, and "sharp things." But she is also the most difficult champion to pick up in the game, even more so than Leblanc: and a million times harder to master.

This guide is only an introduction. It is, however, a very COMPREHENSIVE introduction. Like many guides, nothing in here is set in stone. Feel free to make any changes you see fit, but if you would be so kind tell me what you changed in the comments to help me improve this guide.

Pros:
- Excellent damage output, both burst and sustained
- Lots of cc
- Amazing juker
- Very, very good zoner
- Fantastic mid and late game
- Incredibly fun to play
- Hardest caster to master (more fun!!!)

Cons:
- SQUISHY
- Very very very very very mana-hungry
- Difficult to pick up
- Hardest caster to master (I wanted to say it again anyways, for the rhyme, but missing your ult is frustrating and happens a lot with Orianna)

Marks: Orianna has a strong game throughout, but an especially strong early game. This is why the flat magic penetration bonus provided by 9x Greater Mark of Magic Penetration is valuable.

Seals: She has constant mana problems. I use Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration to help solve these, but Greater Seal of Replenishment also works well. Another factor is the cost: Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration is cheaper.

Glyphs: Orianna desperately needs CDR. It improves her game soooooo much. For glyphs, Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction or Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction are really her only two options. It just depends on which you prefer. I use Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction because it is cheaper.

Quintessences: Early game especially, Orianna is SQUISHY. Thankfully, Greater Quintessence of Health solves this problem. You can use three of these if you want, or you can mix in other runes such as Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed, Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration, or Greater Quintessence of Ability Power. I went with 2x Greater Quintessence of Health and 1x Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed because Orianna is a pretty slow champ when she doesn't have the mana for her W.

I find that a 9/0/21 build usually works well with her. She NEEDS the utility tree for mana regen and CDR, and I like the 15% mag pen given to her by the 9 points in the offense tree. If you want to, take a point out of Expanded Mind or Awareness and put it in the other one, Teleport is essential to Orianna. She is a very slow champ, even with a Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed, and you want to be present for every team fight because the mobility, DPS and cc you bring to your team is invaluable. I say mobility because of Command: Dissonance, whose speed modifier can make or break teamfights.

As for your other spell, you can use whatever you want. I prefer Clairvoyance, but Flash, Ignite, Ghost, Heal and Fortify all work very well. Just don't take Clarity, because you shouldn't need it. Oh - and if you thought for even one a second about taking Rally, you should die lonely in a fire.

Orianna's bread and butter is her Q, Command: Attack. You will need to be moving your ball around constantly, and Command: Attack is how you do this. You want to max it out first. Next comes her W, Command: Dissonance, to increase the slow and the help with farming, and last comes her E, Command: Protect.

Another viable option is to max out Command: Protect second, after Command: Attack, while still grabbing a rank of Command: Dissonance early game. I wouldn't recommend this, because you sacrifice a lot of your mid-game damage, but it works.

Early game:



Mid Game:



Late Game:



Tips

--- Your Q can be used to check brushes. Do this. With Orianna, you should never have to facecheck.
--- But if for some reason you do have to facecheck, use your E on yourself (alt + E) before doing so.
--- In a teamfight, use your E to protect your carry. She (I'm assuming that it's Ashe) will love you for it.
--- Don't forget that your E does damage on the way back. If you want to save mana while farming, Q>E is the way to go (rather than Q>W).
--- Q>W>E is a very powerful combo, but a very hard one to land unless you have a Rylai's. If you do have a Rylai's, however, it becomes your standard combo and your enemies will hate you for the near-permanent slow you dish out.
--- It almost always a good idea to hide your ball in a bush, then use it to surprise enemies while you stay in cover.
--- Your W can be self-casted to speed yourself up. Use this when teleport is on cooldown and you need to get someone. Also use it when pushing, because it speeds up minions as well.

Items with Orianna are surprisingly easy to choose because she really only has one viable early-game build. After that, well, a lot of items work on her. It's just up to personal preference.

The build above is only a sample build. The only part you really need to take seriously is the beginning: you pretty much have to start with a Meki Pendant and build it into a Tear of the Goddess. Oh - and don't forget the Health Pots!

After my Tear, I usually buy level one boots ( Boots). From there I usually build the Tear into an Archangel's Staff, for a big boost in AP and mana regen, and finish up my boots. Many boots work well on Orianna. I prefer Ionian Boots of Lucidity but I often go with Sorceror's Shoes, or even Mobility Boots.

So now we have two finished items: an Archangel's Staff and some type of boots. Your mana and speed problems are just about solved, and from the bonus AP hit like a truck with your abilities. I see two different routes from here: CASTER and DPS.

Caster:

You shall have noticed that your health is a little lacking at this point. There are two items that can solve this: Rod of Ages or Rylai's Crystal Scepter. The reason I say or is because you will be only getting one and not both. This is because they are expensive items, and as soon as you finish one you need to immediately save up for a Rabadon's Deathcap.

Now, after you finish your Rabadon's Deathcap, your build branches out even further. Anything is good on you! I like to go with a Nashor's Tooth or a Lich's Bane, to maximize the effects of my passive and to help me push, but it doesn't matter all too much what you choose. Some of the better choices are Morello's Evil Tome, for the CDR, Void Staff, for the magic penetration, or Abyssal Mask for the crazy increase in damage and MR it gives you. Other items are situational, depending on their team comp: e.g. Zhonya's Hourglass, Banshee's Veil. You might even want a Rod of Ages.

Complete build:

Archangel's Staff
Upgraded boots
Rod of Ages/ Rylai's Crystal Scepter
Rabadon's Deathcap
Void Staff/Situational
Morello's Evil Tome/Situational

IMPORTANT!!!

If you get a Nashor's Tooth (%25 CDR) or a Morello's Evil Tome (20% CDR), you will not need Ionian Boots of Lucidity (15%) and will have reached or be very very close to the CDR cap of 40$ already. In that case I recommend Sorcerer's Shoes, Mobility Boots, Boots of Swiftness or even Berserker's Greaves.


DPS.

You could also call this build AS, but that wouldn't be entirely accurate. A pure AS Orianna kinda sucks: to build off of your passive, Clockwork Windup, you NEED AP. And lots of it. But you also need AS and survivability.

The build looks pretty similar at first. You beging by rushing a Tear of the Goddess, getting level one boots, finishing an Archangel's Staff, and upgrading your boots (either Sorcerer's Shoes or Mobility Boots for this build). Afterwards you want a Rylai's Crystal Scepter - not a Rod of Ages.

It should now be approaching late-game, and you should have around 200 AP from your Rylai's and your Archangel's. You are probably tired of the really expensive items. So instead of saving up for that very very very expensive Rabadon's, you will save for the much more affordable Guinsoo's Rageblade.

But why that item? Orianna doesn't need AD!

Because its passive synergizes amazingly well with you. You should be constantly spamming spells, your Q especially, and therefore you should be at eight stacks on your Rageblade nearly permanently. This will give 32% bonus AS and 48 bonus AP, which is not to be laughed at.

Next, because you're lacking CDR and need more AS, you want a Nashor's Tooth. The AP it gives, 55, is handy, but the AS it gives, 50%, is even more so. This brings you up to 90% bonus AS and around