[REWORK] Janna - Air Reincarnated
So my favorite champion in league is Janna. I find her playstyle very fun and as a support main she has some qualities that I find very enjoyable. However her character is very flat and during this summer break I thought that I would spend a little time trying to expand on leagues Air Champion. I want to recreate this character with a wide range of emotions and a depth that I believe she is lacking.
Janna - Air Reincarnated There are those in the world who would give up parts of themselves for power. Some follow the primal powers of nature in the hope of finding order in this chaotic world. However some forgo the learned practice of magic in search of a deeper connection with the world. The easiest way to gain power is to follow the powerful. Copying their success and emulating how they act, though it is surprisingly difficult to surpass them. For some though greatness is thrust upon them.
The only way to survive is by joining a gang but she had a good one. It was made up of some of the other orphans from her orphanage, and they sought to one day be feared by all. As an orphan growing up amidst the chaos that is the city-state of Zaun it was rare to be blessed with beauty. Luckily for Janna she was a plain looking girl able to disguise herself as a boy. She would buzz he hair and always were a hat. Afraid that if anyone saw her blond hair they would realize what she was and prevent the freedom that she had won to roam the streets.
As a common pick pocket her life was dangerous, she tried to eke out whatever life she could. The rampant magic that plagued Zaun was a most alluring tool. As a young girl she discovered that she had an affinity for a particular type of magic - the elemental magic of air. Janna realized that without wits the only way she could protect and elevate herself was through her gift. This was the one gift that one of the random assortment of Gods saw to bless her with. From a young age she was able to make small gusts of wind. While she was not able to use this skill to rake in the cash by performing at the docks, she was able to take advantage of the admiring patrons amidst the bustling crowds. A little puff here and little gust there she was able to create an opening for here to steal a wallet or a wad of cash from the wealthy dock patrons. It was not a powerful gift but it was the only thing that she had to distinguish herself from the other member in her gang and she took pride in it.
One night her gang heard about a secret shipment that the pirates were going to deliver. One of the boys who worked at the docks eavesdropped about a big score that the pirates had stolen. Apparently the Noxians had stolen a rare artifact that had been sequestered in a monastery on the small island of Galrin off Ionia’s southern-most coast. They had found the Noxious ship abandoned off the coast of Bilgewater, almost as if it was begging to be robbed. They planned to steal whatever it was that caused such excitement among the pirates. The gangs plan was to attack while the prize was in the process of being offloaded of the ship. If they managed to make this mission work they were going to be set for a year or maybe more if their prize was valuable. There was a rush of excitement among the group as the lookout finely relied the information that a crate was being unloaded. They waited for their leader to give the signal to attack. With a slight motion of his hand everyone started running for the ship.
There were not many witnesses to the event that happened afterward but there were some that said they heard an explosion some heard a canon go off. But the one thing that they all agreed on was that after the explosion the night was quiet. There was no movement and the weirdest thing of all was it seemed as if the night was quiet. When the authorities finally arrived they found a scene that was littered with bodies, debris, and fire. In the center of it all they found one body. Intriguingly it was surrounded by a ring of what appeared to be chunks of an orange glass. With nothing left to do but clean up the scene and make up a report. The cleaners were called in and started to mop up the mess that these miscreants had created. Most of the mess had been cleaned up but there was one thing was left to do. Many of the cleaners were superstitious and felt that the body surrounded by the stones was a bad omen occasionally you could hear them mutter a prayer wishing the spirit wouldn’t attack them, for disturbing their bodies. Many of them were nervous about the last body so they decided to pick lots to see who would handle it. The guy who lost was obviously scared but after poking the stones with, in his opinion, a very long stick was relieved that nothing happened. Collecting the stones was a simple task and the knot of worry that had been in his stomach since he first witnessed the scene started to dissipate. Walking back towards his compatriots easy until he felt a wind brush the back of his neck. He could see the whites of his coworker’s eyes. Slowly turning around he saw what he thought was the dead body slowly rising. It wasn’t until it eyes flashed open with an unearthly light that he dropped the bag and ran away.
The chief captain in charge sent out a missive to all of the major magical powers in the city. It call for the immediate help in identifying an unknown threat. Many of the greatest wizards, sorceresses and scientist gathered to the pier. However nobody could get close, whenever anybody got close they were immediately pushed back. She just floated there. Some witnesses reported that her clothing would vanish only to be replaced by a bolt of pure white cloth. Others said that her hair seamed to grow and bleach until her locks of hair could be compared to the steam off a hot cup of tea. But it was the glowing stones that traveled around her body that was the most disturbing part. It was as if they were caressing her molding her body, creating something beautiful and otherworldly. It seemed that they were at a standstill and in a last ditch effort the captain picked up a rifle aimed it at the floating women.
Something changed.
The bullet appeared to pass right through her. She slowly swiveled her head to look in his direction. Lifting her arm a whirlwind appeared in her hand and stated coming straight for him. Paralyzed by shock everyone just stood there, no one having ever seen a mastery of wind magic like that. Lucky for him the tornado stopped just short of him and the women collapsed. The mages slowly approached but were unable to apply any binding spell to her. Any magic that they tried just dissipated.
After waking up Janna was not confused but she didn’t know where she was. She looked down and saw straps attached to her bed, but she was attached to them. She moved the blanket aside and stepped out of bed. She realized that her clothes were missing but she felt strangely detached and a giggle burst from her mouth. She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed, searching here memories she didn’t find much. Though what she did find was her name “Janna”. She was reborn she was still who she was before but now she was more. She could feel a greater connection to the world around her. She knew that her comrades were dead and that she was now alone but deep down she could faintly hear an inner voice deep inside her that everything was going to work out. As she stepped through the door she felt free and nobody was going to take it from her.
Her rapid ascension changed her physical appearance, giving her an otherworldly look. Many believe that Janna is one of those surprising few who managed to achieve communion with otherworld spirits and become enlightened. Recognized as one those rare lucky few that are found deserving every generation. The elation the Janna found from her new life was liberating. Seeking to share this freedom that she has found with the world (particularly in city of Zaun), Janna has brought her talents to the League. She is a new voice in this age of oppression. There is something untouchable about Janna, however, and her affections can change as quickly as the wind. REWORK:
Tailwind Increases the Movement Speed of all allied champions whenever Janna’s skills are active by 8/10/12/14/16% (+[2% Ability Power]%)
“Riot has stated that they dislike abilities that provide hidden power. Her previous passive was global MS buff. It should be changed to allow brief bursts of MS. This allows for a passive that conveys clear periods of power. For Janna to effectively use this skill she needs to be in front of her team. However this is not a place where a squishy support should be amidst the tanks and juggernauts. She doesn’t want to be in the middle of the fight unless she if channeling her ult. This change provides a more dynamic passive.”
Howling Gale Cost: 90/105/120/135/150 Mana Range: 1700 By creating a localized change in pressure and temperature, Janna is able to create a small storm that grows in size with time. She can activate the spell again to release the storm. On release this storm will fly towards the direction it was cast in, dealing damage and knocking away any enemies in its path. If an enemy walks into the charging tornado they are immediately knocked up. Summons a whirlwind, If enemy champion walks into the charging whirlwind they are knocked up for 1 second and dealt 60/85/110/135/160 (+35% Ability Power) magic damage. The whirlwind can be charged for up to 3 seconds. For each second it charges, it deals 15/20/25/30/35 (+10% Ability Power) bonus damage and knocks up for an additional 0.25 seconds starting at 0.5 seconds, traveling 35% further. Activate again to release the whirlwind pathing toward the initial cast location.
“Predicting this skill is incredibly easy. It does not encourage a support player to charge the full skill. These quality of life changes allows Janna to create clear areas where enemies should avoid. This can be partially effective in choke points allowing herself to disengage in a newly effectively way. By using this skill she indicates where she is safe and intends to use the skill. She communicates to the enemy where they should position themselves and who they should focus. It provides clear windows of power. Quality of life buff – have a range indicator show how far the tornado is going to go while charging. Only Janna can see this. It can be frustrating to release the spell unsure how for it is going to go.”
Zephyr Cost: 40/50/60/70/80 Mana Range: 600 Janna becomes an air elemental that passively increases her Movement Speed and enables her to pass through units. She may also activate this ability becomes immune to any damage or crowd control. The passive is lost while this ability is on cooldown. Passive: Increases Movement Speed by 9/11/13/15/17% (+[2% Ability Power]%) and allows movement through units. Active: Become immune to any damage or crowd control while doubling this passives movement speed for 3 seconds. Janna is unable to cast any other abilities while this is active. Passive benefit is lost while Zephyr is on cooldown.
“This skill is the most flat and boring part of her kit. You don’t use it much in lane. The extra movement speed is more valuable to dodge damage. When used on an enemy it does little damage and mostly just used for the slow during a gank. This new skill takes away a damaging spell, allowing for an adjustment in power. By giving Janna brief periods of invulnerability she becomes a distinctive support with clear but brief periods of power. She now has more survivability allowing her to become more reliable.’
Eye Of The Storm Cost: 70/80/90/100/110 Mana Range: 800 Janna conjures a defensive gale that shields an ally champion or turret from incoming damage and increases their Attack Damage. The shield absorbs up to 80/120/160/200/240 (+70% Ability Power) damage and grants 10/17.5/25/32.5/40 (+10% Ability Power) Attack Damage until it breaks or for 4 seconds. On allied Champion: The first auto attack on enemy champion slows their Movement Speed by 24/28/32/36/40% (+[6% Ability Power]%) for 3 seconds. On allied Turret: Grants turret extra damage and area of effect. Minions killed by the turret during this time is awarded to Janna.
“Currently this this shield is in my opinion one of Janna’s defining characteristics. She protects an ally and when played with an adc this ability scales really well. However this puts her in the position where she has to play as a support to scale well. By allowing more interaction with turrets Janna has more ability to CS in a solo lane. It also allows for more dynamic decision making. The slow on first auto and extra ad allows for great chase potential in bot lane. While the damage and protection she can add to a turret can stall enemies, enough for her allies to reposition and protect an outlying turret. ”
Monsoon Cost: 100 Mana Knockback Range: 360 Range: 720 Janna surrounds herself in a magical storm, throwing enemies back. After the storm has settled, soothing winds heal nearby allies and slowing enemy’s while the ability is active. The heal is twice as large as the knockback. Can use W while channeling. Channels for 3 seconds knocking back enemies and healing allies. Restores 100/150/200 (+50% Ability Power) Health to nearby allies each second. Slows enemy’s by 5/7/9% (+[2% Ability Power]%).
“So I wanted to reward the Janna player for channeling this skill while in a team fight. Typically as it stands it is mostly just used as a disengage tool, a quick reposition of the enemy and then you run away. There are aggressive ways to use it but the only time you actually channel the whole thing is when you are wining or its just for the heal. The slow makes sense because the winds that Janna controls is used to hinder the enemies while buffing allies. Used with her W this skill becomes very reliable.”
