Kennen is a high risk, high reward AP carry that utilizes the energy system. Kennen is often thought of as a relatively weak AP carry, with terrible AP ratios and is only useful for his utility. Fortunately, this is completely untrue (else I wouldn't make a guide for him ;) )

I feel it is much more important to be concise and to the point rather than drag out explanations in which most people won't end up reading.

My 9/21/0 masteries build give him magic penetration, while giving Kennen tanky early game stats combined with extra defensive perks that are much more important to a champion who deals all his damage in melee range. Also, anything offered in the other trees simply aren't as worthwhile compared to points invested in the Defense tree.

My masteries and starting item choices typically cover Kennen's early defensive vulnerabilities, allowing me to focus more on early game power and late game bonuses in my rune choices.

The above four are all excellent summoner spells.

Ignite gives Kennen that extra boost in damage which really helps with early game ganks and fights, while continues to be amazing late game against teams with healing capabilities.

Flash allows Kennen to initiate in a moment's notice and from over unpassable terrain. Flash is mandatory for initiating on Kennen.

Ghost allows Kennen to move quickly into a fight and chase down targets while using his ultimate(R). However, because Kennen has a slightly weaker Ghost in the form of Lightning Rush(E), it isn't nearly as good as Flash in most situations.

Cleanse is an alright alternative, but throwing stuns on Kennen won't stop his ult, therefore it isn't exactly the best choice of summoners.

Kennen's Mark of the Storm - Kennen's abilities add Marks of the Storm to opponents. Upon receiving 3 Marks of Storm an opponent is stunned and Kennen receives 25 energy. Has a diminished effect if done twice within 7 seconds.


Note: This is the glue that holds Kennen together and the only reason why he can be viable.





Throws a shuriken that damages the first enemy it hits for 75/115/155/195/235 (+0.66) magic damage and adds a Mark of the Storm.

Energy: 65/60/55/50/45
Cooldown: 7/6/5/4/3 seconds
Range: 1050

Note: This skill actually hits slightly beyond its targeting circle.



This image shows the very edge of Kennen's Q range and the two purple caster minions closest to me are actually in range, despite clearly being beyond the targeting circle.



Passive: Every 5 attacks Kennen deals magic damage equal to 40/50/60/70/80% of his attack damage and adds a Mark of the Storm to his target.

Active: Surges electricity through all nearby targets afflicted by Mark of the Storm dealing 65/95/125/155/185 (+0.55) magic damage and adding another mark.

Energy: 45
Cooldown: 14/12/10/8/6 seconds
Range: 800


Note: The active portion of it does hit through fog of war and can show enemy position in brush (if they already have a Mark of the Storm on them).






Kennen moves very fast and may pass through units dealing 85/125/165/205/245 (+0.55) magic damage and adding a Mark of the Storm to any enemy he passes through. Additionally Kennen will gain 10/20/30/40/50 armor and magic resistance for 4 seconds.

Kennen is refunded 40 energy if he passes through an enemy but can only gain this effect once.

Lightning Rush deals half damage to minions.

Energy: 110
Cooldown: 10/9/8/7/6 seconds
Range: 200


Note: This is all of Kennen's mobility and is extra damage early game, but too mana costly for constant usage in teamfights.




Summons a magical storm that deals 80/145/210 (+0.4) magic damage and applies a Mark of the Storm to a random enemy champion near Kennen every 0.5/0.4/0.33 seconds.

This storm attacks up to 6/10/15 times and cannot hit the same target more than 3 times.


Energy: 40
Cooldown: 120
Range: 600-700 (my guess)


Note: This is the reason people play Kennen. The level 3 ultimate hits for a base 630 damage to each enemy target, though it may be hard to land every hit.

Because I typically dominate the lane, I always rush a to build into a . If I unable to get much farm, I am then forced to go for a , but I still aim to rush the Deathcap as it brings amazing damage. If I'm doing well I simply go straight from to , as Hourglass is all the survivability I need in a teamfight. If we do not end up killing or forcing the opponent to retreat after I use all my spells, no extra survivability will help me.

is practically all Kennen needs for amazing damage.

Because I build complete glass cannon, save for Hourglass (which synergies extremely well with Kennen's ult), I am not the initiator in any fight and that is not Kennen's role.

I always take the solo top lane and it is my goal to dominate the lane. At level one, I typically just sit back and CS as it is difficult to do much with only one skill and it is impossible to get a stun off. At level three, with a point in each skill, it is possible to get a stun off and do some decent harass. At level six, Kennen actually has amazing burst, which combined with Ignite can kill most low HP targets. It is, however, more important that you not miss out on exp/creep kills as winning your lane is useless if you don't have anything to show for doing so.

With a Deathcap and another Needlessly Large Rod, the amount of damage dealt with level two ultimate is quite amazing. However, farming to finish Zhonya's Hourglass and hitting level 16 should still be priority over any major teamfighting.

The moment Rabadon's Deathcap and Zhonya's Hourglass are completed, it is time for teamfighting. A level 16 Kennen with those two items will have around 400 AP once it is combined with a Blue Potion

Simple combo: Shuriken from auto attacks → → (Stun) → .

More advanced combo: → → (Stun) → → Auto attacks

However, one reason why I enjoy Kennen so much is that bread and butter combos aren't needed and I do not use the same sequence of spells, simply because as long as I land my spells, it will do a lot of damage. Consequently, missing skillshots makes Kennen's damage rather pitiful causing many to simply frown upon Kennen's damage. Feel free to be innovative!

It is important NOT to initiate a teamfight. Despite Kennen's ultimate being an AoE stun, it actually takes five seconds to completely use up all its lightning procs, which gives plenty of time for the opponent to avoid it. Having someone on your team initiate and then following up guarantees more hits while causing less focus to be on you for the first few seconds. Also, though the ultimate does a lot of Kennen's damage, being forced to immediately use Zhonya's Hourglass causes a lot of missed out damage, since the energy gained from stun procs aren't being used up and because Kennen's other skills also do a lot of damage with high AP.

These VoDs are a result of my terrible streaming and I realize it is super laggy. I'd rather that you guys don't even watch it, but I'll try to make something better once I get home from college x.x;

Though Kennen does not see much competitive US play, the EUs do run him occasionally. There are few champions that have as much lane power as Kennen and I often see these EU teams abuse that. However, most competitive games don't allow the Kennen to get the farm he needs to do late game damage. Also, Kennen's ult is a great counter-initiation move (initiating off the opposing team's initiation), but this is simply advanced psychology techniques really only needed at the highest level of play.

As a reminder, Kennen is not an easy champion. Landing skillshots consistently can be tough, but as always, one must remain confident and not let a few misses affect the game. It is important to be reminded that all players DO miss skillshots sometimes and subsequently can cause a missed out kill, it is simply a part of the game.