How to play Ornn, for all the whiners out there.

So, champ releases are always iffy. Back when Illaoi and Camille launched, I wrote threads on how to play against them. This time, I'm goinna do something different, and explain how to play a champ, so that people can stop calling Ornn weak, so Riot doesn't break him and make him pick / ban or nerf him into the ground afterwards, like my favorite champ Poppy.

As of writing this post, I have 25 games on Ornn (in ranked), with a 56% winrate and a 4.4:1 KDA. I may not be an expert on him just yet, but I know how to play him well enough that I have decent stats on him.

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So let's get down it it, yeah?

First off, playing Ornn requires a certain mindset: You are not a carry champ. You can't really 1v1 anyone past mid game (I mean, you can, but you do very low damage, so they can't have any sustain), and you do about as much damage as a Nautilus (which is to say, not a lot). So, do not expect to hard carry your team. Instead, you play like a very offensive support, and enable your team. You hold the enemy team still and soak up skillshots for your team.

If you can accept that, then read on. If not, Ornn is not the champ for you.

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Passive: Ornn's passive is a double passive.

One half of it lets your team upgrade certain items (IE, BC, Triforce, Locket, Redemption, Deathcap, Abyssal, Sunfire) into slightly better versions. The unique effects of the items don't change, but the stats go up. For example, on Abyssal, you get an additional 35 MR and 200 health. Simple enough.

The second half (and one of the best things about Ornn, imo) lets you set down wherever you are and forge items (excluding consumables like potions and wards), rather than backing and buying them from the store. You still spend the same amount of gold, and the item is the same functionality, but you can do it anywhere on the map. Once you buy an item, its stats are added to whatever you have (so, if you're low on health, buy a Ruby Crystal and you'll gain 150 health (same thing with mana and a sapphire crystal)).

So, let's say you're jungling. You just cleared your jungle, and you have gold to buy a smite item. Top is looking like an easy gank, so you upgrade to blue smite right there in your jungle, and run into top lane with a nice slow, getting you an easy kill or flash.

Or let's say you're laning, and you're against someone that's poking you a lot. You could just plop down and build a Doran's Shield or some armor / MR, and laugh at their poke.

Now, there is a catch though: If you're taking champ damage, you can't forge items. And once you start forging an item, you can't cancel it or move your map. So keep that in mind, as it takes ~3s to forge an item.

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Q: You shoot out a line that slows people by a varying amount based on rank, and then spawns a pillar of lava that acts as terrain.

On its own, this ability is a bit lackluster. But, when combined with your other abilities, it's great. So I'll talk about those interactions later.

Some bits about his Q though: If you shoot it through minions, the line that spawns the pillar will go the full length. But if you hit a champion, the pillar will spawn right behind the first champ hit, and the damaging line will stop as well.

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W: This one is your bread and butter. When you push W, Ornn will breathe fire and take a couple steps in the direction your mouse is facing (aim it like you would aim Nid's kitty jump), and does magic damage based on their health. At the end, Ornn shoots a little fireball that applies the Brittle effect, which makes the next CC last 30% longer (think of it like negative tenacity) and deal % max health damage in bonus magic damage -- this fireball applies even if you missed your entire W. That last hit is the important part. CC includes knock ups, knockbacks, stuns, roots, polymorphs, etc.

Now, when Ornn is breathing fire, you gain a little shield that lasts a second or two afterwards for a good chunk of your max health, so abuse that. Secondly, and this part is important, while Ornn is breathing fire, you are unstoppable. Meaning CC can't effect you. If Blitz grabs you, or Vayne Es you, or Rammus runs into you, or Ali Qs, you will not move. If the CC has a duration, like a root or a stun, then it will take effect once you stop breathing fire, but the initial hit won't stop you.

While your Brittle effect does increase the duration of CC, you can also make use of it even without having any CC available. If you auto a champ, minion or monster with the Brittle status on them (as Ornn), you knock them back a bit (if able to) and do the extra % health damage while consuming the Brittle status.

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E: Your second most important ability. When you push E, you charge in a direction, dealing minor damage. If you collide with terrain (natural or player made) you create a giant shockwave that does even more damage and knocks everything around you up.

So, remember how I was saying your Q is amazing with your other abilities? Well, here's how: You start a trade or a gank by pushing W and applying brittle, and then shoot your Q through them. Since they're slowed by your Q, walk up and auto them, knocking them back, and then E into your pillar that just spawned, and you'll deal half of someone's health early game.

For teamfights, just throw your Q into the middle of the enemy team, and ram it. You'll catch at least one or two people while doing this, and then the rest of your team can follow up and win the teamfight. Don't rely on your W to go into teamfights, since people will dodge it. Rather, wait until the fight is going strong to start using your W, so that people will get caught by that last hit, allowing you to dish out more damage and CC.

A tip for Ornn's E: If you ram into player-made terrain, you will destroy it (yes, even your pillar) in the shockwave. Anivia's wall in your way? Just break it down. Taliyah ulted your team? Just blow a hole through it and let your team through.

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R: Ornn's ult is super cool and fun to use, but it doesn't do a lot of damage on its own. It's a great way to start a teamfight though! When you first push R, you create a ram that runs at you in a line. Anyone the ram runs over is slowed and has the Brittle effect applied to them. While the ram is running, you can recast the ability and dash a short distance in any direction -- if you hit the ram with this dash, it will go rocketing away in the direction you're going and knock everyone in a line up and reapply the Brittle status while doing minor damage.

CC will prevent you from using the recast on your R, so make sure you have a clear shot. Even if you run into a wall while recasting, the ram will still go flying if Ornn is still in his charge animation when it gets to him.

Ornn's ult has some pretty crazy range, so you don't have to be point blank to use it.

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So, ready for Ornn's ultimate combo? Start off with Q and R cast at the same time. Throw your ult back into the enemy team and knock them all up, and then ram into your pillar, knocking them up again. This will chunk their entire team and CC them for a good 3+ seconds, allowing your team to do some massive damage.

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So, I explained how his kit works, and a few tips on how to play him. If you still can't make it work, ask questions, and I'll do my best to answer them.