Having trouble getting the hang of Janna.

FistOfSharkiesha·Feb 3, 2015·3 votes·985 views

I've only used Janna a few times, and while my K/D/A is usually decent when I do use her, I feel I'm not helping enough. As Karma, Annie, or Morganna support I can feed my ADC and no matter how bad my ADC is I almost always pull more weight than the enemy support. Janna isn't bad, proven by her statistics, but she's just so far away from what I'm used to. I feel absolutely useless as Janna if my ADC is crap, which I get a lot of in normal blind pick. With a good team, Janna can stack soulstealer. With a bad team, Janna may as well not be playing at all. With other champions I actually stand a chance in a 1v1 and I can easily pick off low hp enemies.

So my question is how do I carry my ADC as Janna?

15 Comments

The PaulrusFeb 3, 20153 votes

Normal blind pick in yoloqueue sucks for supports regardless. But I used to play Janna a good amount, so a few tips that might help you.

Use her spells in conjunction to help the adc. You need them to engage with you. Knock them up with your Q after your adc starts AAing them. This will buy the adc a couple of extra attacks. When they start to retreat, use W to slow their ADC's escape, this paired with your speed boost will help you and your adc run their adc down. Depending on your mana situation and how much time has elapsed, your Q may be up again too. Then use your E to buff your ADC's AD to help them finish the job.
Defensively, remember that your shield can be used on turrets and it can be very beneficial to do so if you're holding lane while your carry is dead/recalling to buy.
Your ult is not only a heal but a knockback as well. Stay close to your carry and use it to help save them from assassins who blink in.
Captain Boots, a must have for Janna if your team is ahead, imo. 15% MS speed boost for all nearby teammates (passive + captain) allows insane chase potential and aids in snowballing.
Janna's Q can really ruin enemy jungle's ganks (especially Lee Sin's mexican jumping bean stuff) as well as saving your carry from chasing ADC/Supp. Try to keep it off CD as much as possible.
Big fan of on Janna. Now your shields buff your carry's AD and gives them an AS boost. This is great for sieging.

There's probably a lot more I can remember if I think about it, but this is a good generic start.

FistOfSharkieshaFeb 3, 20151 votes

Very good advice, thank you. Yeah I never really noticed how hard it is to support in solo que until I started using default support characters. As Mage/Support I was in control of a lot more damage and wasn't completely reliant on the ADC so I didn't have as much of a problem. ADCs in solo que are retarded. It's my least favorite role but I might start doing it just so we have a decent one for a change.

The PaulrusFeb 3, 20151 votes

{quoted}

Very good advice, thank you. Yeah I never really noticed how hard it is to support in solo que until I started using default support characters. As Mage/Support I was in control of a lot more damage and wasn't completely reliant on the ADC so I didn't have as much of a problem. ADCs in solo que are retarded. It's my least favorite role but I might start doing it just so we have a decent one for a change.

Honestly, just go teambuilder. Might take a little longer to get into a game, but you'll have your pick of the litter with your ADCs. Personally, I always avoid any match with an ADC that's using any ADC that doesn't synergize with the support I've picked (for example, a Kalista when I've picked Janna). You might have 5 minutes more to start a match, but at least then you aren't wasting 30-40 minutes in a game with a crap teamcomp.

GaleWinUnleashedFeb 3, 20151 votes

5 second queue time if you queue as Janna support. I speak from experience here =P

GaleWinUnleashedFeb 3, 20151 votes

Janna with item 3504 has perfect synergy with Lucian's ult. Each shot will do more damage, and there will be more of them overall.

AnomalousChimeraFeb 3, 20151 votes

If you want to dominate lanes as Janna, then you're playing the wrong champion. The point of playing Janna is to survive the lane and outscale the enemy support in utility/survivability (through speed/peel), which results in you being more valuable to your team than the other one.

FistOfSharkieshaFeb 3, 20151 votes

And even when I do that I feel useless as Janna. I understand the role of support, I'm just saying Janna relies far too much on her team to be useful. I guess Janna is just irredeemable with a shitty team unlike some supports.

LigerzzFeb 3, 20151 votes

Janna is more of a passive protector than aggressive support. She uses her abilities to either engage, peel, protect, and disengage. She is not a damage dealer, but more of a guardian angel for her ADC and team. She goes well with any ADC, and contributes to her team by splitting them up, and allowing her team to better focus on the primary targets during team fights. She requires more focus and timing, far more than some supports out there, except maybe thresh and nami. She is supposed to make it easier for her fellow lane partner to grab kills with her great peels, heavy CC and protection and buffs.

She is a great play maker :3

FistOfSharkieshaFeb 3, 20151 votes

I understand all of this. I really think it's just that normal blind pick is impossibly awful. Your teammates don't ward, don't have any map awareness, will run in alone 1v3 but back out when its 3v2. It's just a support's worst nightmare.

SmokingPuffinFeb 3, 20151 votes

Most important thing to realize about Janna is that she can actually pressure super hard in lane. Take AD runes, shield yourself, and you can right click many opponents right out of lane. Don't be afraid to take W level 2 and pressure with E auto W auto auto if you get a pokeable target.

Also, remember that your Q disrupts most engages easily. For example, Janna can poke Leona with no fear, because Leona E is always countered by Janna Q. Right click her mercilessly, zone her out of the brush, things are much simpler for you.

At level 6, look for opportunities to flash R and split the opposing carry and support. If you can knock one back and the other toward your adc, it's usually an easy kill.

Kitten of EvilFeb 3, 20151 votes

You don't. Janna, like most pure supports, cannot do anything unless her team is somewhat decent. You can sort of carry with Lux, Morgana, Karma, or Zyra, but with Janna it's impossible. Don't get me wrong, she's a great support and a good Janna is a great addition to the team (best disengage of any champion, arguably), but solo queue is risky unless you can carry if necessary.

SleepyLionCubFeb 3, 20151 votes

Janna is weird because she does by far the least damage of any champion in the game. You can have 500 ap, and you'll l your full combo still does about half the damage of an adc's autoattack.

ShogunaiFeb 3, 20151 votes

No matter how much I try to main other roles, Support seems to be where I end up. Playing Janna is relatively easy to feed your ADC. In lane phase you have to make use of your Q for knock ups as well as knowing when and when not to throw your shield on your ADC to give a little boost on their damage. You can also use her W for slowing if the enemy ADC is on the run. You can also counter lane ganks with her Q and peel for your carry. Teamfights is where Janna excels. Her ulti can change the tide of a fight especially if your team is losing an you need a full disengage or if your team is ahead an need a slight health boost. Also she can use a wide variety of items which would make her a lot more of a hassle for your opponent.

Hope this helps and good luck with future games with Janna.

GaleWinUnleashedFeb 3, 20151 votes

As an avid Janna player myself, you're basically screwed if your ADC plays poorly. You can maybe save them from their own stupidity a few times, but it's not enough if they don't work with you. You're not a damage threat on your own, unlike the high-pressure supports you appear to be fond of.

And then you get those players that synergize perfectly with you. Nothing is wasted, they capitalize perfectly on your tornadoes and shields, and the enemy bot lane has next to no chance once you take the smallest lead.

But that's the point. You have to get a lead on them before Janna can really start to be effective in an offensive capacity.

Janna excels at stopping her allies from being killed. As a tradeoff, however, she is not great at playing offensively unless your team has at least equal damage output. Focus on keeping your allies alive, and watch them tear your enemies apart for you.

Only Play DariusFeb 3, 20151 votes

Just ditch Janna. Squishy, does no damage regardless of how you build her, and you would have to be blind to get caught by a whirlwind, especially after the latest patch.

And her ult is pretty much Soraka's, except Soraka's can work anywhere from the map.

Never in my life seen a Janna do well.