Janna has always been one of the most interesting off-meta mid laners and off-meta top laners in League of Legends.
Her supportive kit makes her an effective champion in any role, regardless of her items. But Janna also has a powerful AP build that lets you carry games!
AP Janna is all about setting up hard-hitting tornados and annoying enemies with slows (W).
She actually does decent damage and can even one-shot squishy enemies, especially when she gets ahead.
If you’ve never tried AP Janna before, I’m happy to help you out. In this post, I’ll go over the most important points when playing AP Janna so you can have success even in your first game.
I’ll talk about the AP Janna runes and items, so you’re all covered.
Let’s begin!
Is AP Janna Viable in League of Legends?
It’s not strange to play AP Janna in LoL because she has only AP ratios in her kit and she only deals magic damage. The AP build increases her overall damage as well as her shields and heals.
And so, AP Janna is a viable playstyle and can even be a great counter pick in certain matchups.
Of course, AP Janna will never do as much damage as LeBlanc, for example, no matter her items.
However, AP Janna’s carry potential is far bigger than that of AP Senna or AP Thresh, so it’s an interesting off-meta build even as a support.
AP Janna is an awesome way to have fun in LoL, especially in modes like ARAM, URF, and ARURF. But the build is decent no matter which mode and the role you go for, so you can often carry games with it.
One thing I want to clarify here is that Janna’s AP scalings aren’t too impressive. She only has two damaging abilities that have AP ratios, and that’s that!
However, the items and runes I’m going to explain later all work to enhance Janna’s damage and give her as much damage as possible. So, you don’t necessarily feel like the champion has a low amount of damage overall.
That said, let’s get into more detail about the runes and items and you’ll see what I mean.
AP Janna Build – Runes
- Arcane Comet
- Manaflow Band
- Transcendence
- Scorch
- Bone Plating
- Revitalize
Arcane Comet
Starting with the keystone, Arcane Comet is the best one you can go for. It offers the biggest advantages early on and sets you up for a great mid game.
Arcane Comet allows you to deal bonus adaptive damage to your target when you hit them with an ability.
The rune has a perfect synergy with Janna’s W because it slows down the target enough so they can’t escape the Comet.
Janna’s W is a point-click damaging spell on a very short cooldown. And together with Arcane Comet, it allows you to dominate your lane opponent.
All you need to do is spam your W as often as possible and you’ll annoy your enemy.
Manaflow Band
Manaflow Band is another rune that synergizes with Janna’s W but also with Arcane Comet. What it does is that it increases your mana by 25 when you hit an enemy champion with an ability.
And when you collect 250 mana, it permanently increases your mana regeneration.
What’s really cool about Manaflow Band is that it has the same cooldown as Arcane Comet early on. And so, you can activate both Arcane Comet and Manaflow Band with a single cast of your W.
Just monitor their cooldowns above your champion’s portrait.
Read Also: Full AP Leona Build Guide for LoL
Transcendence
Transcendence is a critical rune for AP Janna when it comes to late game team fights. This is because, besides the 10 bonus ability haste in the early game, Transcendence can also refresh your basic abilities.
This happens when you score a champion takedown, but only 20% of the cooldown is reset. However, with multiple champion takedowns, you can quickly reset your abilities.
I already mentioned that Janna has only her Q and W for dealing damage, so you need these abilities always available.
Scorch
Scorch is a great rune that improves your early game too.
Every 10 seconds, Scorch lets you burn your target for additional damage when you hit them with an ability. This can be useful for securing more champion takedowns, so make sure you pick it up.
Read Also: AP Braum Build Guide
Bone Plating
Bone Plating is an important rune for AP Janna, especially if you play her in a solo lane. After all, this is a squishy champion and you need this rune for early game defensiveness!
What Bone Plating does is that it reduces the damage when the enemy first hits you. This effect lasts for up to 3 spells or attacks which is enough for you to not get one shot.
Revitalize
Revitalize is simply an amazing rune for Janna, especially with this AP build. The rune increases your overall shield and heal power by 5% or 10% on targets (including you) below 40% HP.
Janna’s shield is a low-cooldown ability and it scales with her AP. So combined with Revitalize, Janna can shield herself every couple of seconds and block a lot of damage.
So, Revitalize is a must-have rune!
Read Also: Full AP Karma Build Guide
AP Janna Build – Items
- Sorcerer’s Shoes
- Luden’s Tempest
- Horizon Focus
- Lich Bane
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
- Void Staff
Sorcerer’s Shoes
When it comes to boots, Sorcerer’s Shoes are the best choice for AP Janna. Sorcerer’s Shoes grant enough magic penetration for the early game so they increase your overall damage.
However, sometimes you can swap them up for Ionian Boots of Lucidity, especially if your opponents aren’t building magic resist and they’re typically squishy.
Luden’s Tempest
Luden’s Tempest is the best-performing mythic item for AP Janna. It offers everything that Janna needs, including ability power, ability haste, mana, and mana regeneration.
The cool thing about Luden’s Tempest is that it also increases Janna’s initial hit, either on her tornado or her W. This damage is magic and it scales with her own AP, so it stays relevant until the end of the game.
Luden’s Tempest also makes it easier for Janna to wave clear when she’s a solo laner thanks to its AoE component.
Read Also: Full AP Blitzcrank One-Shot Build
Horizon Focus
Horizon Focus is another item that improves Janna’s initial damage. And since it builds with Hextech Alternator, it deals bonus magic damage and it’s available every 40 seconds.
Besides the beneficial stats, Horizon Focus synergizes perfectly with Janna’s Q. When Janna’s tornado hits an enemy champion from over 700 range, it increases her damage against that target too.
So, she can always follow this up with W or auto-attack for a large burst of damage.
Lich Bane
Lich Bane is the third core item in this AP Janna build. And if you ever feel like you need more damage on this champion, Lich Bane is the answer.
What Lich Bane does is that it empowers your auto-attack to deal bonus magic damage after you use an ability.
You can abuse this effect by approaching an enemy champion, casting W, and quickly auto-attacking. The combined damage of all effects will be huge!
Lich Bane also grants AP and movement speed, two very important stats for Janna.
Rabadon’s Deathcap
Rabadon’s Deathcap is the best ability power item in League of Legends, regardless of the champion you’re playing.
Besides the 120 bonus AP, RA also increases your ability power by 35%. It significantly boosts the power of your damaging spells as well as your heals and shields.
So, always buy it!
Void Staff
And lastly, we have Void Staff! This is your answer in the late game against tanky champions or opponents that have a lot of magic resist.
Void Staff caps your magic penetration and allows you to deal way more damage. It’s a very powerful item, so don’t forget to build it.
However, if your damage is already high, you want to switch it up for a defensive situational item.
Read Also: Full AP Soraka Build Guide
Situational and Optional Items
One of my favorite mythic items in League of Legends is Liandry’s Anguish because it works well on any champion, including AP Janna. It’s a burning item that counters tanks, so build it accordingly.
Similarly, Zhonya’s Hourglass and Banshee’s Veil are great defensives and will get you out of sticky situations. The first one works well against assassins and bursty champions while the other one lets you counter mages.
If you happen to dominate your lane, make sure to buy Mejai’s Soulstealer. It’s a powerful item and can help you close games way faster than normal.
Read Also: Full AP Nami Build Guide
Conclusion
One thing to remember here is that we first max out Janna’s W and then her Q. The reason for this is that Janna’s W is a sure hit (not a skill shot) and does more damage.
Her tornado has more range but the AP ratio is smaller too.
If you want to learn more about AP Janna, I really suggest you watch this YouTube video. It will show you the real power of AP Janna and you can check how you should approach the gameplay.
Good luck and have fun
