[Champion] Kennen

Introduction
Kennen is an AP semicarry with extreme utility. He excels in 1v1 and small fights while still providing great utility (the ability to stun a whole team over and over) in large teamfights. He has an extremely strong early and mid game, tapers off a bit late game due to poor scaling (and other reasons). Overall if you enjoy playing an annoying break-dancing cunning disruptive electric ferret, Kennen is the champion for you.

Strengths:
- Excels in small fights being able to stun multiple targets multiple times within a short period of time
- Skillset allows for a mixed AoE teamfight style as well as a kiting playstyle. This allows him to fit seamlessly into different team comps
- Great mobility making him difficult to gank (also allows him to perform ganks and counterganks much quicker)

Weaknesses:
- Scaling not as good as some of the other AP carries
- Damage is not front loaded (not a huge “burst” champ) however energy pool doesn't allow constant spamming for consistent DPS lategame (you can offset this by buying Energy Regen/18 seals and having blue, but Blue is better saved for mana intensive AP carries). Also because of the energy system, it's not great to spec for CDR since you won't have the energy to spam spells.
- Must get within melee range for his ult to be effective. Ult is also random and might not always hit the target you want it to hit in a large fight

I think Kennen is an underused champ who can perform very well in most team comps. Kennen really fell out of favor after the Zhonya breakup. While most AP carries got stronger because of the Deathcap, Kennen got weaker because his primary item was split into two. He essentially needed 2-3 of his “core” big items to become the force he used to be with just one item (this meant he hit his stride later in the game, but of course he doesn't scale as well as the game goes on). On top of that, solo lane matchups switched from ranged AD carries to sustain tank dps/AP carries who can clear waves really fast. Kennen used to be extremely dominant in lane but now there are many matchups where he breaks even (of course this is also because stronger AP carries were introduced and old AP carries were buffed). Due to his poor damage scaling, he also wasn't exactly fit to fight tanky teams as the sole AP carry (think old Annie). However that's all in the past, nowadays with the dual AP carry metagame I feel that Kennen can fit into team comps a lot better. Teams can afford to have a main magic damage dealer as well as a heavy utility nuker (eg: Gragas, Alistar, Zilean) who still does very respectable damage.

Skills
Mark of the Storm (Passive): Kennen's abilities add Marks of the Storm to opponents which last for 8 seconds. An opponent is stunned for 1 second upon receiving 3 Marks of the Storm. Also, Kennen receives 25 energy. The stun has a diminished effect if applied more than once within 7 seconds.

Note: I'm not sure how “diminished” the stun becomes. If someone knows they can tell me and I'll add it here.

Thundering Shuriken (Active): Kennen throws a fast moving shuriken towards a location, causing damage and adding a Mark of the Storm to any opponent that it hits.
Range: 900
Cost: 65 / 60 / 55 / 50 / 45 energy
Cooldown: 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 seconds
Magic Damage: 75 / 115 / 155 / 195 / 235 (+0.75 per ability power)

Notes: Its the range is actually slightly greater than its targeting circle. I would say its effective range is around 1000 (not that the number means anything). This comes in handy the most when it's too dangerous to get close to the creep wave to last hit.

Electrical Surge (Passive): Every 5 attacks, Kennen deals extra magic damage equal to a percentage of his attack damage and adds a Mark of the Storm to his target.
Magic Damage: 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80% of his attack damage

(Active): Surges electricity through all nearby targets afflicted by Mark of the Storm, dealing magic damage and adding another mark.
Cost: 45 energy
Radius: 800
Cooldown: 14 / 12 / 10 / 8 / 6 seconds
Magic Damage: 65 / 95 / 125 / 155 / 185 (+0.55 per ability power)

Note: You CANNOT one shot (ranged) creep waves with EW combo until this is at least level 4 and you have a good amount of AP (like a NLR). If maxing Q first, this means you'll need to be at least level 12 before you can 1 shot waves. If you want to focus on farming, max this first.

Another note: the active of W will hit targets inside bushes (if they already have a mark obviously) and lightning effect will show you where the target is (so you can line up a Q for example). The active of W will also hit invisible opponents (so will Q of course). No one can escape, bahahahhaha!

Lightning Rush (Active): Kennen gains his base movement speed again as a flat movement speed bonus, as well as increased Armor and Magic Resistance, and the ability to pass through units for four seconds, but he is unable to attack. Lightning Rush deals magic damage and adds a Mark of the Storm to any hostile unit he passes through; deals half damage to minions.
Cost: 100/95/90/85/80 energy
(Kennen is refunded 40 energy if he passes through an enemy while using this spell, but can only gain this effect once)
Cooldown: 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 seconds
Magic Damage: 85 / 125 / 165 / 205 / 245 (+0.6 per ability power)
Armor & Magic Resist: 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50

Notes: Pressing E again will take you out of the “DBZ” state. Keep in mind that you CANNOT attack while in Lightning Rush. If you have a W proc up you must press E again to get out of Lightning Rush in order to autoattack (or else you'll end up moving around like an idiot, I'm sure the first time anyone played Kennen this has happened them). This is helpful in laning when you have a W proc up you can E through creeps, cancel E, auto + W for some cheap and easy harassment against weaker laners.

Another note: When using this in a teamfight make damn sure you pass through something to get 40 energy back, 100 energy kills your energy pool and you won't be able to use your other spells as much. Keep this in mind before you try to initiate a fight by DBZing through some people (and end up getting kited like an idiot without passing through anyone).

Slicing Maelstrom(Active): Kennen summons a magical storm that deals magic damage to a random enemy champion near Kennen every few seconds. The storm hits several times, increasing with level, and cannot hit the same target more than 3 times. A Mark of the Storm is applied to enemies each time they are hit.
Cost: 50 / 45 / 40 energy
Cooldown: 120 seconds
Radius: 550 (estimate)
Magic Damage: 80 / 145 / 210 (+0.4 per ability power) (per bolt)
Number of Bolts: 6 / 10 / 15
Time Between Bolts: 0.5 / 0.4 / 0.33 seconds

Note: The time it takes for Kennen's ultimate to hit the same champion is actually DOUBLE the time stated in the tooltip. This means it will take 1.0/0.8/0.66 seconds for a lightning bolt to strike a target previous to its last bolt. What's important about this is that you cannot keep a target stun-locked with just your ultimate (eg: you have 2 marks on someone, you can't just flash+ult in to get the stun and then get the next 2 bolts off before the stun wears off, they WILL be able to flash out). If you want to keep someone stunlocked, you must have at least 2 other skills off cooldown to successfully re-stun someone before they can move.

Another note: this ultimate is HEAVILY dependent on level with respect to how many people it can stun. At level 1 or 2 it cannot stun a whole team, in fact if you get really unlucky it might not stun anyone at all (in a full 5v5 teamfight)! Take note of key targets and make sure you either premark them or have Q and W up to stun them during the ult.

Skill Progression
QWQEQR; R > Q > W > E
Alternate: R > W > Q > E
Notes: It's possible to start at level 1 with W against lanes you know you'll be able to autoattack harass (melee usually). Q is infinitely better for level 1 fights though. Against a weak laner, it's often better to take E at level 3 to really start zoning/harassing them.

Nowadays a lot of champions clear waves so fast it's difficult to harass them (eg: Malz/Brand/Orianna/so many AP heros I can't count); there are also ones who hit a critical stage where you start doing no damage to them and they just out-sustain you (eg: Udyr/Mord/WW). It's more effective to max W before Q in these situations (where you may not be able to harass effectively). What this will do is make it farm-off, you can spam E->W to clear the wave all day and put pressure on their tower. Maxing W first will also give you more heal off of your E->W combo when you buy revolver and will give you more opportunity to roam and gank as well (or steal your jungler's wraiths).

Summoners
Flash + Ghost/Ignite/Exhaust/Teleport
Flash is mandatory on a caster that depends on positioning, it will circumvent the possibility of being kited with E on. Ignite is the standard on all AP carries that go mid, it will help out in a 1v1 burst duel against other AP carries. Ghost is for overall mobility during teamfights and chasing people/keeping them in your ult (better to have ghost during your ult in teamfights than burn your E and 100 energy in the process). Exhaust is great for AP carries that get in the thick of things. Teleport is for dragon control, ganks, and counter ganks (usually if you're top lane).

Personally I've tested out all combinations, and I still feel like Flash/Ghost is the best multipurpose combo for Kennen. Ghost is really useful for teamfights and for a kiting champion. I never felt like I've gotten any extra kills with Ignite that I wouldn't have gotten already (usually it's because you stunned them into oblivion 1v1). If you're not sure you can win 1v1, it's better to just not fight at all (if you get jumped, Ignite is probably not going to help you win a 1v1 fight and your opponent will most likely have it as well).

Masteries
There are two sets of masteries that I think are viable on Kennen (I would say the same two sets are viable on all manaless AP casters like Vlad or Katarina):

9/0/21: Standard manaless AP caster (don't take any of the mana regen masteries obviously)
9/21/0: Gives Kennen a little extra tank in him (don't pick up strength of spirit obviously) and of course gives you Nimblesness. Downside is longer summoner cooldowns and slower movespeed.

I used to use 9/0/21 always, however I've recently been using 9/21/0 as well, it's a trade-off between summoner cooldown+movespeed vs tankiness+nimbleness, choose your own preference. I noticed that the extra defense is definitely noticeable (and the faster summoner cooldown is definitely noticeable as well).

Runes
I will list what I think is viable then I'll list what I personally use
Marks: Mpen – standard, I guess AP/level can work too but I feel like Kennen needs that early game strength from Mpen.
Seals: AP/level, HP/level, Energy regen/level, Dodge (if running 21 defense for nimbleness procs) – personally I use AP/level because I don't have the IP to shell out for Energy regen/level. Energy regen/level will give you +10 Energy/second at level 18 (basically like a blue buff, blue gives you +15 Energy/second) and it will allow you to spam a little more late game. I feel like a legit Kennen player should shell out the IP for Energy regen runes (but they are 820 a pop...)
Glyphs: AP/level, Flat MR, MR/level – personally I use the standard AP/level, Flat MR will help you against some of the AP carries early game.
Quints: Flat AP, Mspd, Flat HP, Mpen – I personally use Flat AP quints, feel free to use whatever you feel is necessary (if you like running 21 defense, maybe a movespeed quint or two would be useful).

Items
Starting: Boots+3pots (or 4 if you wait in fountain for a bit). It's possible to start with Doran's shield as well (make sure you have 21 utility if you want to start with Doran's).

I feel like against in a matchup where the other person has skillshots, it's definitely wise to start with boots+pots. If you're scared to be bursted down (against Annie lane or Malz lane), having that extra HP from Doran's will really help.

Core:
Hextech Revolver/ Sorc boots or Merc treads/ Zhonya or Deathcap or Rylai

Kennen doesn't have the option to buy Catalyst or Philostone so Hextech Revolver is the next best option (basically mandatory on all manaless AP champions for lane sustain).

Zhonya vs Deathcap vs Rylai first depends on your playstyle, your team, and your opponents. I like flat out rushing a Deathcap if your team has good AoE initiation spells already (eg: Amumu + Annie + Sona on your team? Why bother to Zhonya first just rush Deathcap). If your team has a good teamfight comp but is dependent on you going in early, it's better to go Zhonya first (eg: Ashe initiate with Fiddle + Orianna on your team? You probably need to go in to set them up). Rylai is a great item if you don't plan on playing AoE teamfight-centric (eg: Kite + Heal team comp). It allows you to play Kennen like a kiting beast and it'll help you clean up any stragglers after teamfights.

I used to always rush Rylai with Kennen (way back in the day when Zhonya was still a ring), but I feel like my playstyle is the glass cannon DBZ-jump-in-AoE-teamfight playstyle and I started to rush Zhonya first (and I got a lot more wins as a result). Nowadays I alternate between going Zhonya or Deathcap first after Hextech. I think it's completely up to personal preference what big item you get first so play a couple games and test out different builds to see what you're most comfortable with.

Luxury:
Will of the Ancients (Gunblade for the lols)/ Zhonya or Deathcap or Rylai (whichever two you didn't buy earlier)/ Void Staff (100% necessary once they start stacking MR)/ Quicksilver Sash (very useful item)/ Abyssal

These should be self-explanatory. If you really don't know what you want to get, just finish up WotA, finish the triple combination of Deathcap/Zhonya/Rylai and top it off with a Void Staff.

Notes: I was told the "best" Kennen actually rushes WotA first.

Laning
Goals:
- Farm up enough gold for Hextech Revolver and Sorc Boots (split into 2 trips usually)

That's really the only goal I have in lane. If you're facing a weak lane opponent, obviously you want to very aggressive early on, don't be afraid to spam Q since energy is free and you'll regen it in no time (blow EWQ if you must). If you're facing a strong lane opponent, focus on your own farm. Luckily Kennen is excellent at farming at tower since his abilities are based off of energy (and he has multiple abilities to deal damage).

Tips from starfries on laning:

How 2 harass with Kennen: Get your W passive up (the autoattack modifier). If the enemy doesn't have a snare, then just charge at them with E. The instant you touch them with E, cancel E, hit them with autoattack + W for the stun, and then Q them in the face while stunned. Back away to the side (NOT through minions) while throwing autoattacks. The reason you do this is because they have one mark of the storm on them from your Q. If they try to chase after you, then you can proc another W passive and Q them for another stun. If they don't, then just toss a Q at them as they run and go back to last hitting.
If they have a snare, it's a lot harder since you can't proc the E. You can still E through their minions, hit them with W passive + W active, Q them for stun and run away, but it's not as effective a trade.

Teamfights
Main roles: secondary initiation, counter initiator, clean-up

Kennen's main teamfight utility is his ult; he's also great when the fight starts dying down because he can chase off stragglers and kite around the remaining opponents. Everyone knows how to blow all their summoners and jump in with ult on/activate Zhonya. However, it's important to know your role on your team to best master the timing of your ult. If your team has better initiation (and your team ideally should because people can just flash out of your ult if you initiate with it) let that person go in first before you jump in (don't activate E and charge in thinking you're invincible).

When you jump in and Ult, try not to activate Zhonya right away unless you know you'll immediately get focused. Of course sometimes that's dumb to say because someone might have an instant cc for you, in that case it's probably better just to Zhonya right away to make sure you'll be safe. When you have QSS, you can try to bait CCs by using QSS->Zhonya. I try to Q and W before I activate Zhonya to maximize the number of marks I can get and for cooldown purposes. I also try to keep track of marks on a high priority target so I can focus the rest of my marks on them after Zhonya. Saving E for after your ultimate is useful because you'll still have a strong mobility spell to either get out or get an important stun in (another reason why Ghost is so important).

TLDR Guide:
Early game (4.0/5): Lane dominator, can win or equal out most lanes.
Mid game (4.5/5): Excellent damage/CC and great ganker/counter ganker
Late game (3.5/5): Damage tapers off, still provides strong utility in the form of CC
Preferred lane: Mid or Top solo
Skills: QWQEQR R>Q>W>E (easy lane) or R>W>Q>E (difficult lane)
Summoners: Flash + Ghost/Ignite/Teleport (top lane)
Masteries: 9/0/21 or 9/21/0
Runes: Red/Yellow/Blue/Quint – Mpen/AP per level/AP per level/Flat AP
Items: Boots+3 pots -> Hextech Revolver -> Deathcap/Zhonya/Rylai -> Void/WotA/Abyssal

+ Show Spoiler [Patch History] +

V1.0.0.123

Thundering Shuriken ability power ratio increased to .75 from .66
Lightning Rush
Energy cost adjusted to 100/95/90/85/80 from 100 at all levels
Ability power ratio increased to .6 from .55

V1.0.0.109:

Mark of the Storm Mark of the Storm duration reduced to 8 seconds from 12.
Electrical Surge Electrical Surge range decreased to 800 from 825.

V1.0.0.101:

Lightning Rush Lightning Rush is no longer castable while disabled.

V1.0.0.99:

Electrical Surge Electrical Surge ability power ratio increased to 0.55 from 0.45.
Lightning Rush Lightning Rush.
Energy cost reduced to 100 from 110.
It now provides 10/20/30/40/50 magic resistance and armor for 4 seconds.
Slicing Maelstrom Slicing Maelstrom:
Ability power ratio increased to 0.4 from 0.33.
Maximum number of bolts increased to 6/10/15 from 6/8/10, it still retains the cap of 3 hits per target.
Removed the cap of applying only 1 Mark of the Storm Mark of the Storm per target.
Mark of the Storm Mark of the Storm stun duration reduced to 1 second from 1.25. Mark of the Storm has a diminished stun effect if applied more than once within seven seconds.

V1.0.0.82: Added.

Thundering Shuriken Thundering Shuriken: Kennen throws a lightning infused shuriken towards a location, damaging the first enemy it hits and adding a Mark of the Storm to them
Electrical Surge Electrical Surge: Kennen passively deals extra damage and adds a Mark of the Storm to opponents every few attacks, and can activate this ability to deal damage to all nearby marked units and add another mark
Lightning Rush Lightning Rush: Kennen transforms into a writhing ball of electricity, receiving a massive energy boost and gaining the ability to move through units. Enemy units he passes through receive damage and gain a Mark of the Storm
Slicing Maelstrom Slicing Maelstrom (Ultimate): Kennen summons an electrical storm around him, casting down lightning bolts to a random enemy champions near him multiple times per second
Mark of the Storm Mark of the Storm (Innate): Kennen's abilities add Marks of the Storm to opponents they hit, which explode at 3 stacks, stunning the opponent and restoring some of Kennen's energy.

Last edit: 2011-08-09 10:32:23

r33k Italy. July 29 2011 03:42. Posts 2462

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As soon as they buff zhonya (couple patches iirc) he's gonna be really good again. Until then he will just be there to remind us that xpecial once was the best AP carry player in the game.

"you are the episotme of ass" HotshotGG

dnastyx United States. July 29 2011 03:48. Posts 1443

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Are you planning to add anything about AD Kennen? Azen Zagenite got to ~1800 playing pretty much only AD Kennen (until Lux came out).

Mogwai United States. July 29 2011 03:50. Posts 8019

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he still plays AD Kennen at over 2K, lololol. AD Kennen so strong.

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Odds Canada. July 29 2011 04:06. Posts 692

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Played with him yesterday, I was pretty surprised ad kennen could do so well.

Skollar.172. Plat level currently. Would love more practice partners, add me, let's play!

Mogwai United States. July 29 2011 04:08. Posts 8019

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it's funny cause it's really strong in the current meta with everyone running AD runes and having stuns to go along with a lanemate.

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starfries Canada. July 29 2011 04:24. Posts 2617

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I use a similar build to Ego Ignaxio (probably who you're thinking of when you say "best" Kennen, also you put RotA instead of WotA). He rushes Will and then Rylai's into Deathcap, usually no Zhonya's.

I think Zhonya's sucks too, and let me explain why. First of all, when you Zhonya's, you don't do any damage. Yes, your ult is ticking, but your ult doesn't do that much damage on its own. If you're just going to run in and ult and let your team clean up, you should just play Amumu.
Second, Zhonya's isn't really useful until level 16. Before that, you can only hit 3 people, and you don't need to be in the very middle of the fight. You can catch them in the edge and run alongside while throwing shurikens and still hit 3 people for the full duration.
Third, you already end up quite tanky with Will, Rylai's, and 50 free armor/mr. You generally won't die until you've stunned everyone anyways, so it's a bit of a waste. If you have to initiate it's a better choice, but again you end up like a poor man's Amumu.

I think the laning section needs a bit more stuff. Kennen's laning is extremely strong, but it's more than just spamming Q.
How 2 harass with Kennen: Get your W passive up (the autoattack modifier). If the enemy doesn't have a snare, then just charge at them with E. The instant you touch them with E, cancel E, hit them with autoattack + W for the stun, and then Q them in the face while stunned. Back away to the side (NOT through minions) while throwing autoattacks. The reason you do this is because they have one mark of the storm on them from your Q. If they try to chase after you, then you can proc another W passive and Q them for another stun. If they don't, then just toss a Q at them as they run and go back to last hitting.
If they have a snare, it's a lot harder since you can't proc the E. You can still E through their minions, hit them with W passive + W active, Q them for stun and run away, but it's not as effective a trade.

Also, you can use your ult to regain energy. Each stun gives you 25 energy, so if you catch a few people you actually gain more energy than it costs. Using it in this way gives you much better DPS than the energy system usually allows.

DJ – do you like ramen, Savior? Savior – not really. Bisu – I eat it often. Flash – I’m a maniac! | Foxer Fighting!

zulu_nation8 China. July 29 2011 04:32. Posts 18697

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is ego ignaxio that dude who plays kennen every normal? He seemed like a really pussy laner

Mogwai United States. July 29 2011 04:41. Posts 8019

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Ego Ignaxio is someone I don't know who's 1600 something. They are not the best Kennen... zzz

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starfries Canada. July 29 2011 04:41. Posts 2617

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yeah he is, although I've only seen him play once so I don't really know how he usually lanes him, I just stole his build l0l

DJ – do you like ramen, Savior? Savior – not really. Bisu – I eat it often. Flash – I’m a maniac! | Foxer Fighting!

ArC_man United States. July 29 2011 05:02. Posts 2354

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If someone wants to write something about AD Kennen, I can add it in there. Personally I don't know shit about it other than you just go the standard AD build (I know Salce recommends it on TT as well).

On July 29 2011 04:24 starfries wrote:
I use a similar build to Ego Ignaxio (probably who you're thinking of when you say "best" Kennen, also you put RotA instead of WotA). He rushes Will and then Rylai's into Deathcap, usually no Zhonya's.

I think Zhonya's sucks too, and let me explain why. First of all, when you Zhonya's, you don't do any damage. Yes, your ult is ticking, but your ult doesn't do that much damage on its own. If you're just going to run in and ult and let your team clean up, you should just play Amumu.
Second, Zhonya's isn't really useful until level 16. Before that, you can only hit 3 people, and you don't need to be in the very middle of the fight. You can catch them in the edge and run alongside while throwing shurikens and still hit 3 people for the full duration.
Third, you already end up quite tanky with Will, Rylai's, and 50 free armor/mr. You generally won't die until you've stunned everyone anyways, so it's a bit of a waste. If you have to initiate it's a better choice, but again you end up like a poor man's Amumu.

Sure you can't cast anything while you use Zhonya, that's why I recommended casting spells and then using Zhonya so you can maximize your cooldowns (since cooldowns of W and Q are longer than Zhonya activation). You can do this up until a point late in the game where you'd just instantly melt if you don't immediately Zhonya.

Like I said, the build is completely up to the player. Maybe your style fits better with kiting using Rylai, personally I like the glass cannon style better. When you complete that Zhonya or Deathcap mid game you can wreck a whole team by yourself, something (non AP) Amumu can't possible hope to do. The style is more akin to Karthas than Amumu, I'm not trying to initiate with Kennen (unless our team comp is so bad that I'm forced to), I jump in after initiation and blow everything up mid game while I still do ridiculous damage. Kennen's ult is actually his best scaling skill (+1.2 AP scaling since it ticks 3 times per champion). Landing the perfect ult and then using Zhonya is my favorite part of using Kennen and I wanted to reflect that in my guide.

I think the laning section needs a bit more stuff. Kennen's laning is extremely strong, but it's more than just spamming Q.
How 2 harass with Kennen: Get your W passive up (the autoattack modifier). If the enemy doesn't have a snare, then just charge at them with E. The instant you touch them with E, cancel E, hit them with autoattack + W for the stun, and then Q them in the face while stunned. Back away to the side (NOT through minions) while throwing autoattacks. The reason you do this is because they have one mark of the storm on them from your Q. If they try to chase after you, then you can proc another W passive and Q them for another stun. If they don't, then just toss a Q at them as they run and go back to last hitting.
If they have a snare, it's a lot harder since you can't proc the E. You can still E through their minions, hit them with W passive + W active, Q them for stun and run away, but it's not as effective a trade.

Thanks, I'll add this. I figured a lot of stuff was explained in my notes about the skills but I guess it's more complete if I have it all in the laning section as well.

Edit: Anyone know how I can resize the picture so it looks better? =(

Last edit: 2011-07-29 05:03:53

dnastyx United States. July 29 2011 08:06. Posts 1443

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Edit: Anyone know how I can resize the picture so it looks better? =(

It automatically resizes if you have the option enabled under your TL profile.

Therealdevil Netherlands. July 29 2011 20:45. Posts 596

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I don't remember going WotA first, I went Hextech sometimes but not WotA. Rylai is still the best thing ever though, unless you plan on laning for the first 25~ mins.

:3

Last edit: 2011-07-29 20:45:46

NeoIllusions United States. July 29 2011 21:31. Posts 18093

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On July 29 2011 04:41 Mogwai wrote:
Ego Ignaxio is someone I don't know who's 1600 something. They are not the best Kennen... zzz

Hmm, I beg to differ. He may play like a pussy but he is everything you would want in an ally Kennen. Who plays a better AP Kennen (outside of the elite players, eg Salce)?

On July 29 2011 20:45 mercurial wrote:
I don't remember going WotA first, I went Hextech sometimes but not WotA. Rylai is still the best thing ever though, unless you plan on laning for the first 25~ mins.

:3

Nah. Unless you need the health, WotA is a much better first item imo. You get the same AP + insane spell vamp, for 1K less gold. You can whittle away your solo enemy easily and forever lane. Rylai's second for sure but I think you can delay the HP for a while.

Last edit: 2011-07-29 21:37:13

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Therealdevil Netherlands. July 29 2011 21:50. Posts 596

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On July 29 2011 21:31 NeoIllusions wrote:

Show nested quote +

Hmm, I beg to differ. He may play like a pussy but he is everything you would want in an ally Kennen. Who plays a better AP Kennen (outside of the elite players, eg Salce)?

Show nested quote +

Real Kennen's barely lane after lvl 8/9 :/

It'd be stupid to waste your early/mid game domination by thinking you need WotA for sustain when a Hextech is enough because you shouldn't be laning that much anymore.

Btw, I mained Kennen and used him to carry me up to 1900 before he got nerfed. :3
And I can tell you with certainty that when you go Rylai before Hextech/WotA you'll feel so much stronger because Kennen's shuriken is so spammable and lets you keep them in your stun range for so much longer. And you actually do need the HP.

Juicyfruit Canada. July 30 2011 00:27. Posts 3477

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The game as it is now basically means you have no choice but to stay in lane anyways. Top and bot river are always going to be warded so there's really no ganking either. You can go annoy the enemy jungler but really, winning your lane is the most reliable way of forcing a teamplay.

Do not hate me because I am better than you. There are people better than me as well; go hate them.

Mogwai United States. July 30 2011 00:57. Posts 8019

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On July 29 2011 21:31 NeoIllusions wrote:

Show nested quote +

Hmm, I beg to differ. He may play like a pussy but he is everything you would want in an ally Kennen. Who plays a better AP Kennen (outside of the elite players, eg Salce)?

Azen, Salce, Elementz, Xpecial

why do you want to exclude elite players again? I'm confused

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MoonBear July 30 2011 02:41. Posts 7667

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According to Ego, when Kennen uses his ult there is an invisible line that runs anticlockwise around him. As the line sweeps around in a circle, it applies Marks of the Storm to the champions it sweeps around. In a 1v1 situation, that means if you run clockwise around your target quickly (say, with Ghost) the line will repeatedly sweep across the poor chap and you can stun-lock him down.

／人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕ 人＼ A dream. Do you have one that has cursed you like that? Or maybe... a wish?

EgoIgnaxio August 03 2011 16:55. Posts 2

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On July 30 2011 02:41 MoonBear wrote:
According to Ego, when Kennen uses his ult there is an invisible line that runs anticlockwise around him. As the line sweeps around in a circle, it applies Marks of the Storm to the champions it sweeps around. In a 1v1 situation, that means if you run clockwise around your target quickly (say, with Ghost) the line will repeatedly sweep across the poor chap and you can stun-lock him down.

That won't work in a 1v1 situation because it only hits a max number of times per second, the number is also delayed when against a single target but that small timer decreases with rank. It can be used to instantly focus a target in a large scale teamfight though if you can get the timing right, so you can get it to say hit the same target 3 times instead of it randomly hitting a tankier, less threatening champ over and over (since it only strikes 6 times at rank 1) when you first get your ultimate.

As for rushing WotA.. it's something I only recently started doing. You should still have Rylai's as well by 22 minutes at the very latest. I'm posting from my phone right now so I won't go in depth but I talk about why in my guide on solomid.

As for wether or not I'm the "best" Kennen player, I'd put in the argument that I've still played him over twice as much as anyone in the game by quite a margin. Even if solo queue elo was the end all determination of skill (I understand that numbers are probably the only thing people care about on a website like this) the fact would still remain that I've enough experience to know a thing or two about Kennen. I play with these "elite" players all the time and many could vouch for me.

Over half the Kennen porn on the internet is because of my behest, I think that's as much credibility as one could hope to attain.

As for me being a "1600 player", I'd bring up the fact that I got my friends account (shot coplifting, I got a name change on it to ego Lgnaxio) to a higher elo than my main account in a matter of days with a 94% win rate over 45 games, primarily with just Kennen and Annie in 39 of the games. The only games I lost were from people intentionally throwing the game, in one case surrendering a still easy victory. I just lose motivation around 1650 because I don't care for draft mode and would rather just play games with friends instead of solo queue ranked since that's what the game is about to me.

Last edit: 2011-08-03 17:18:50

NeoIllusions United States. August 03 2011 17:30. Posts 18093

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lol, hai Ego
Amused that you found this guide.

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