LoL Wild Rift Kennen Build & Guide (Patch 5.0) - Runes, Counters, Items, Ability Analysis

S Tier

Class: Mage

Recommended Lane: Baron

Best Kennen Wild Rift build guide for Season 11 Patch 5.0 of WR. With our Kennen guide you will learn which items to build, runes to select, skill order, who counters Kennen, and how to use abilities properly.

Recommended Builds

Starting Item

Boots

Core Items

Complete Build

Runes

Starting Item

Boots

Core Items

Complete Build

Runes

Kennen, the only yordle member of the Kinkou, is a lightning-quick enforcer of Ionan. He uses devastating electrical energy to strike down his foes. Kennen is an AP Baron lane bully with a strong laning phase and amazing team fighting presence. He can also be played in the middle lane as an AP carry.

Kennen Wild Rift Build Recommendation

Here are Item Build Recommendations that works on this champion and which are the best build for Kennen Wild Rift in this patch.

Thunderous Tempest

Void Staff [This item has been removed from WR]

This is the standard Kennen Wild Rift build which grants him superior sustained damage and enough sustainability for himself.

Infinity Orb – Abilities deal bonus damage
Rabadon’s Deathcap – Boosts ability power
Stasis Enchant – Turn invulnerable
Riftmaker – Grants max health, ability power, ability haste and omnivamp. Deals true damage at maximum stacks of corruption.
Void Staff – Increases ability power and magic penetration
Crystalline Reflector – Reduce physical damage and deals magic damage back

Tiny Typhoon

Rapid Firecannon [This item has been removed from WR]

This Kennen Wild Rift build is for ADC Kennen which is played in the Dragon lane. This build focuses on on-hit effects and increasing his attack speed to maximize his W, Electrical Surge damage. Unfortunately, because of the absence of Guinsoo’s Rageblade in the game as of now, this is not a viable build. In the meantime, only use this build in PVPs and ARAM.

Blade of the Ruined King shreds tanks with its %HP damage. It’s kind of like the ADC version of Liandry’s Torment but focused on whoever you are auto-attacking. Its Drain passive steals the enemy’s movement speed allowing you to kite your prey better.
Gluttonous Grieves grants omnivamp for additional sustain. You can build Ionian Boots of Lucidity if you prefer the extra ability reduction. The Enchantment upgrade is pretty much the same as the AP Kennen build.
Runaan’s Hurricane spreads your attacks for a portion of the damage but for the full amount of your on-hit effects. Sadly it doesn’t spread the passive of your W, Electrical Surge.
Nashor’s Tooth adds magic damage on-hit effect to your attacks.
Rapid Firecannon increases your attack range and adds bonus damage on max Energized stacks perfect for single target initiation and assassination using your W, Electrical Surge passive.
Guardian Angel grants the Resurrect passive which revives you upon receiving fatal damage. This item will force enemies to deal with you twice, as if you’re not annoying to deal with even just once.

Runes for Kennen in Wild Rift

Conqueror adds an amazing amount of damage to your combos. Try to stack up before engaging with your ultimate to maximize its effect. Electrocute is your alternative rune if you want to oppress an immobile baron laner even more.
Brutal grants additional damage and penetration.
Hunter – Titan grants bonus health and tenacity for each unique takedown.
Hunter – Genius provides bonus ability haste for each unique takedown.

Spells

In our Kennen Wild Rift Guide, here are the best champion spells that you can equip on him.

Use Ignite if you absolutely know you are going to win your lane. It’s a good Summoner Spell to snowball but it loses its strength in the later stages of the game and its use doesn’t suit your mid and late game as you’ll focus on team fighting.

Barrier is your Summoner Spell if you are unsure about your laning phase if against a champion you know you’ll have a hard time against for example if you see in the loading screen that you are going to face a level 7 mastery Gragas. Barrier also allows you to go deep into the enemy team while using your Slicing Tempest and be relatively safe.

Flash allows you to surprise the enemy team with your ultimate and it can be used in a wide variety of offensive and defensive scenarios. So, why not?

Skill Order

Q, Thundering Shuriken is maxed first because it is a spammable ability that can be used to damage from afar and last hit minions. 2nd, Electrical Surge is maxed next to increase your passive’s damage as well as its active which is a large part of your burst damage. 3rd, Lightning Rush is obtained at level 3 so you’ll be safe from early ganks but it is maxed last because it only serves as a utility tool to escape or add another Mark of the Storm during your ultimate. The attack speed is just a bonus if you are playing as a mage but if you are playing as an ADC, max 3rd, Lighting Rush second, and max your 1st, Thundering Shuriken last. Get a point in your ultimate whenever possible.

Abilities

Mark of the Storm

Passive

Hitting enemies with abilities places a Mark of the Storm on them for 6 seconds. At 3 stacks, the enemy is stunned for 1.25 seconds and Kennen gains 25 energy.

Stunning an enemy multiple times within 6 seconds reduces the stun duration to 0.5 seconds.

Thundering Shuriken

Active

Throws a shuriken, dealing 65 magic damage (65 + 75% AP) to the first enemy hit.

Electrical Surge

Passive | Active

Passive: Every 5th attack deals 10 bonus magic damage (10 + 60% bonus AD + 20% AP) and applies a Mark of the Storm.

Active: Shocks nearby enemies afflicted by Mark of the Storm, dealing 60 magic damage (60 + 80% AP).

Lightning Rush

Active

Transform into an electric ball for 2 seconds, becoming unable to attack but gaining 100% bonus Movement Speed and dealing 85 magic damage (85 + 80% AP) to enemies he passes through. The bonus Movement Speed is doubled during the first 0.5 seconds. Kennen gains 40% Attack Speed for 3 seconds upon exiting Lightning Rush.

Slicing Maelstrom

Active

Summons a storm that grants Kennen 20 Armor and Magic Resist and deals 35 magic damage (35 + 20% AP) every 0.5 seconds for 3 seconds.

Each subsequent bolt against the same target deals 10% increased damage.

Only applies 3 Marks of the Storm to a single target.

Abilities Analysis

Innate Passive: Mark of the Storm

Hitting enemies with abilities places a Mark of the Storm on them for a short duration. Hitting the enemy with three abilities activates the mark to stun the enemies.

Kennen’s playstyle revolves around timing his abilities to activate his passive.

Part of Kennen’s destructive team fighting capabilities is being able to hit as many champions with his 3rd, Lightning Rush, and 2nd, Electrical Surge together with his ultimate Ult, Slicing Maelstrom to maximize passive activation and damage.

On the other hand, in the laning phase, his ability to bully his enemies does not only come from his range but his ability to activate the passive stun using the passive portion of 2nd, Electrical Surge, hitting the enemy with his 1st, Thundering Shuriken then activating 2nd, Electrical Surge.

Stunning an enemy again within 6 seconds reduces the stun duration to 0.5 seconds but do not underestimate the mini stun’s power to interrupt enemies.

Q | 1st: Thundering Shuriken

Thundering Shuriken is a long-range poke with a short cooldown. It’s a skill shot which damages the first enemy it hits.

Use Thundering Shuriken to safely last hit minions from a distance. If you want to save up your empowered basic attack from your 2nd, Electrical Surge, use this ability to last hit instead.

Thundering Shuriken is a pseudo-auto attack reset. It doesn’t really increase your attack speed but using it after a basic attack still increases your overall DPS.

W | 2nd: Electrical Surge

The passive portion of Electrical Surge is an empowered attack every 5th attack. It has a counter below Kennen’s energy bar which is exactly like Annie’s counter but for auto-attacks. When the fifth attack is ready, the counter turns purple. This counter is also visible to your enemies.

Landing the empowered attack is crucial in the laning phase for your harass combo. Do not chase the enemy trying to land your empowered attack. Stay near the minions and last hit using your 1st, Thundering Shuriken. The enemy will lose last hits respecting your empowered attack combo which goes like this: AA(2nd) + 1st + 2nd

If they do not respect your combo, stun them then proceed to repeat the process until the enemy is low enough for an all in which is about less than half their HP when you don’t have your ultimate yet.

The active portion of Electrical Surge is instant burst damage on all enemies around you who are marked with Mark of the Storm.

There is a thin line that circles around Kennen that represents the range of the active of Electrical Surge. It is slightly farther than Kennen’s auto attack and his ultimate.

When trying to kill a single enemy, activate it at the same time your 1st, Thundering Shuriken lands for the burst damage.

In team fights, hit as many enemies with your ultimate, Slicing Maelstrom before activating Electrical Surge.

Electrical Surge is an instant cast. Surprise enemies with the quick stun. It also adds another Mark of the Storm.

E | 3rd: Lightning Rush

Lightning Rush is Kennen’s mobility ability. It turns him into a fast ball of lightning that damages all enemies he passes through and adds a Mark of the Storm.

After its duration or upon deactivation, Kennen gains bonus attack speed.

In the laning phase, avoid using Lightning Rush to harass enemies unless you are going in for the kill and if you know the position of the enemy’s jungler.

Lightning Rush is your only means of escape and you are vulnerable without it.

You’ll want to use Lightning Rush offensively when in team fights in combination with your ultimate, Slicing Maelstrom. With the bonus Movement Speed, you’ll be able to stay on top of your enemies during your ultimate’s duration.

You should deactivate Lightning Rush early to finish off a low HP enemy you have already passed through using your auto attacks with the bonus attack speed.

R | Ultimate: Slicing Maelstrom

Kennen summons up a storm, gains bonus armor, and magic resistance, and deals DPS which increases in damage over time.

It deals damage every 0.5 seconds and adds a Mark of the Storm for each instance of damage.

Slicing Maelstrom is a devastating team fighting ability that deals a lot of crowd control and damage, how much? By this much at max level:

For comparison, a max level Ashe has 2,200+ HP. Slicing Maelstrom alone will reduce Ashe’s HP by 80%! A bruiser build Garen has 3,200+ HP so Slicing Maelstrom will still reduce Garen’s HP by 40-60% depending on his magic resist.

Combos:

1v1/lane harass: AA(2nd) + 1st + 2nd

Team fight: (Flash) + Ult + 3rd + 2nd + 1st + AA

Kennen Early Game Guide

When playing as Kennen in the Baron lane. You’ll have an innate advantage against most Baron laners because you are a ranged champion. But keep in mind that Kennen has low base stats so if the enemy laner managed to get close to you, you’ll lose the trade so keep your distance using proper spacing and your 3rd, Lighting Rush.

To harass the enemy while minimizing minion aggro (minions following and attacking you) attack the enemy champion once and walk back or into the bush before your attack hits the enemy. Repeat for maximum effect.

Use your 1st, Thundering Shuriken to last hit minions safely and when you have your empowered attack from 2nd, Electrical Surge available. Sitting on a fifth attack will increase your lane pressure and if the enemy doesn’t respect you and go inside your range, use your combo on them. You’ll quickly stun them if you land your 2nds and 1st so they won’t be able to fight back.

Never use your 3rd, Lightning Rush to initiate unless you are sure of the enemy jungler’s position because you are vulnerable without it.

Get back before the first Drake appears so you can participate in the team fight there. You’ll be able to snag a kill or two with your ultimate, Slicing Maelstrom if used correctly.

Kennen Late Game Guide

In the late game, like the assassin that he is, Kennen works best if used as a team fight flanker.

The difference with the traditional assassin though, is that you’d want to flank to a full team fight.

The more you affect with your ultimate, Slicing Maelstrom, the better. Remember to use your other abilities in as many enemies as possible and target your 1st, Thundering Shuriken on their squishies (Easily killable enemies).

Your enemies will be wary of your capabilities in the late game now more than ever and will try to kill you before you pop your ultimate on them so delay your appearance until they target another enemy. That is if you are not your team’s primary engage.

Stay on the bushes and go the long way to avoid wards and switch your Trinket Wards into Oracle Lenses so you’ll able to spot and deactivate their wards.

Synergies

For our Kennen Wild Rift Guide, we highly recommend using him with the following champions as they synergize well with him.

Amumu’s Curse of the Sad Mummy is an amazing large AoE initiation ability that stuns the enemy team so you can unleash the full blow of Slicing Maelstrom on them. His passive Cursed Touch turns a portion of your magic damage into true damage which turns you into a more devastating team fight monster. Malphite, Jarvan IV, and Shyvana also work well with Kennen because of the same logic but to a lesser extent.

Orianna‘s Command: Shockwave has amazing synergy and superior burst damage when combined with Slicing Maelstrom and Lightning Rush. She can further increase Kennen’s movement speed through her ability Command: Dissonance and shield him as he ravages the enemies with Command: Protect.

Lulu’s Wild Growth is another ability that has OP synergy with Kennen’s Slicing Maelstrom. Wild Growth will knock up enemies near Kennen and make enemies slower around him. She can also shield and speed him up.

All Kennen Wild Rift Counter Champions

In this section, we’ll specifically show champions that can easily counter Kennen in Wild Rift.

Gragas can poke you down from a distance like you do. He can heal himself while you can’t. He can burst you down before level 5 while you cannot do that to him before having your ultimate. And his ultimate, Explosive Cask can mess up yours with a single press of a button. He will make your life hard throughout the game.

Janna can push you away with her ultimate, Monsoon which will render your ultimate useless.

Alistar can also push you away while your ultimate is active using his Headbutt.

Olaf can use Ragnarok and simply ignore your abilities while running you down to death.

Pros & Cons About Kennen

Here are some pros and cons if you are playing with Kennen in Wild Rift.

Pros

Kennen is great at all stages of the game. He has a good laning stage due to the fact that most of his matchups are melee champions while he is ranged and he has good harass. He has strong mid-game and late game due to his strong team fighting thanks to his ultimate.
He has lots to bring into his team. He has strong AoE damage and a lot of CC thanks to his passive. He also has enough mobility so he doesn’t need too much protection.
Kennen doesn’t use mana and he can spam his abilities as he wants as long as he stuns people.

Cons

Kennen is more on the squishier side when it comes to Baron laners. Most Baron laners are tanks and bruisers but Kennen is a ranged mage so naturally, he has lower base Health and resistances. Due to this, he requires good timing when entering team fights or he’ll get burst down to death.
Missing his ultimate or being countered by being pushed away is a big loss to Kennen’s damage output and ability to stun multiple enemies.
Kennen does not have his own sustain so he’ll lose out to enemies with strong pokes or self-healing.

FAQ's About Kennen in Wild Rift

How good is Kennen in Wild Rift?

Kennen is an (Tier S) champion. He can do well against most Baron laner and he has amazing team fight presence. The only problem why he isn’t an S tier is that he is hard countered by a couple of S tier champion who are constant picks in the current meta.

What role / lane should I play with Kennen in Wild Rift?

Kennen is traditionally played in the Baron lane where he can bully most matchups but he can also be played in the middle lane and even in the Dragon lane as an ADC.

What abilities do I level up with Kennen?

The abilities to max with Kennen boils down to preference but his 1st, Thundering Shuriken is usually maxed first by Baron and mid laners and his 2nd, Electrical Surge is usually maxed first by ADC Kennens.

What items should I build with Kennen?

Hextech Gunblade is the first core item for Kennen so he’ll have a way to sustain himself and its passive can slow enemies. Liandry’s Torment is bought next because of its %HP based damage that is devastating against tanks and on team fights. ADC Kennens usually buy Blade of the Ruined King first for the on-hit effect and lane sustainability.

What Runes should I use when playing as Kennen?

Conqueror is the Keystone Rune for Kennen whether as an AP carry or AD carry because of his consistent DPS nature. His minor runes are Brutal, Hunter – Titan, and Hunter – Genius.

Any tips so I can land my Kennen's ultimate better?

To maximize the effect of your game-breaking ultimate, Slicing Maelstrom, wait in the bushes, and then flank from the side when both teams begin using their abilities on each other.