============================================================================= | Pyrololis and You! | |An instructional guide on firetossing little girls and how to respond to one | |RenamonFOX - citanulcitnamor@hotmail.com Season 3 - 1.20 | ============================================================================= 00.00 - Version History 01.00 - Introduction, Why Annie? 02.00 - Runes 03.00 - Masteries 04.00 - Skills 04.10 - Summoner Spells 05.00 - Items 05.10 - Unconventional Builds 06.00 - Matchups 07.00 - How to Play 99.00 - Credits -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 00.00 - Version History -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.00 - First Draft 1.01 - Included more matchup information, Removed nicknames 1.10 - Updated for changes to version 3.8 1.11 - Typographical errors fixed 1.20 - Updated for season 4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01.00 - Introduction, Why Annie? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annie is an easy to play hero with a powerful one-trick pony. Her job, in a nutshell, is to stun a target, unload all her spells, and hope they die before they have the ability to move again. This makes her incredibly weak if the game goes super long, or they have a peeler (champion whose modus operandi is to stop you from dropping your bear on their AD Carry) with a fair amount of magic resistance and hit points. Passive: Pyromania After casting 4 spells, Annie's next spell will stun the target for 1.75 seconds This is as straightforward as it gets. Drop spells until the little icon above your skillbar is colored, or look for a little white hula hoop effect swirling around Annie, and your stun is good to go. NOTE: When an enemy sees your stun up, they will be reluctant to jump on you. However, if you blow your stun to kill a minion, that's the biggest "KILL ME RIGHT NOW!" signal you can send to your opponent. As a result, you will want to have your stun ready 95% of the time, and use your autoattack to farm for the duration of the laning phase. Q: Disintegrate Annie flings a mana-infused fireball dealing magic damage. Disintegrate's mana cost is refunded if it deals a killing blow. Mana cost: 60 65 70 75 80 Magic Damage: 85 125 165 205 245 AP Boost: 70% 70% 70% 70% 70% Cooldown: 4 sec 4 sec 4 sec 4 sec 4 sec While it's very tempting to get lazy with your farming and just toss fireballs at every minion you see, due to its mana cost of zero when used effectively, it is almost always favorable to keep the fireball ready to go as an initiator for your jungler's ganks, or to harass if the enemy mid comes in range. W: Incinerate Annie casts a cone of fire dealing magic damage to all enemy targets in an area. Mana Cost: 70 80 90 100 110 Magic Damage: 80 130 180 230 280 AP Boost: 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% Cooldown: 8 sec 8 sec 8 sec 8 sec 8 sec This is going to be the spell you want to max first in every game you play. It's the highest damage per shot, and behind Tibbers, this is your largest source of damage. When a team fight breaks out at level 9, would you rather have a single target 400 damage fireball, or a multi-target 450 damage cone? Furthermore, once this spell hits level 5, and Annie has a modicum of ability power, she'll be able to clear caster waves with no additional damage from other sources. E: Molten Shield Annie gets a shield for 6 seconds that increases her armor and magic resistance. Additionally, enemies will be dealt magic damage whenever they use an autoattack on her while the shield is active. Mana Cost: 20 20 20 20 20 Armor/MR Boost: 20 30 40 50 60 Magic Damage: 20 30 40 50 60 AP Boost: 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% Cooldown: 10 sec 10 sec 10 sec 10 sec 10 sec The usefulness of this spell is without measure, however, it's by far her worst ability when you consider exactly what it is Annie tries to accomplish. Due to recent changes to this spell, you can now have a shield nonstop at 40% cooldown reduction. The super short timer and small mana cost on this spell will also allow you to turn it on every single time you want to walk up to your lanemate to harass. Finally, this shield makes it infinitely easier to steal wraiths once your damage output makes it possible to do so due to the reduced damage taken and increased damage dealt drastically improving the clear time. Realistically, though, expect to get the first point in this spell at level 4, and don't touch it again until level 14. R: Summon Tibbers Annie summons her bear, Tibbers, in a fiery explosion at the desired point. Tibbers stays alive to burn and attack nearby enemies for 45 seconds afterwards. Mana Cost: 125 175 225 Magic Damage: 200 325 450 AP Boost: 70% 70% 70% Fallout Damage: 35/sec 35/sec 35/sec AP Boost: 20% 20% 20% Cooldown 120 sec 120 sec 120 sec "Have you seen my bomb, Tibbers?" In teamfights, this will be your primary source of damage, and is 100% of your usefulness to your team. When your stun is ready, this guy will nuke the enemy team for a sizable amount of damage, and stun as many as you can hit. Placement of this spell is crucial. -In lane, *DO NOT* use Tibbers to initiate a stun, unless absolutely necessary. A little girl with a hula hoop walking right up to you is the world's most obvious tell. "I'm gonna come stun you and kill you now!", and nothing's more frustrating than blowing a 120 second cooldown because your opponent walked or flashed away. -In teamfights, *DO* use Tibbers to initiate a stun. The range and area of effect are both greater than incinerate's, and due to Annie's fragility and lack of mobility, "waist deep in flying blades" is not where Annie wants to be. Ever. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02.00 - Runes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everyone's got their own opinions on what to use on any hero. This section will state acceptable runes, and why you would want to use them. Quintessences: ~~Movement Speed~~ Between having no natural escapes and short spell ranges, MS quints serve the dual purpose of "Getting the heck out of there" when a jungler comes to say "hello", and "Getting the heck in there" when you want to introduce your lanemate to your bear, Tibbers. ~~Flat Ability Power~~ Nothing asks for these quints quite like a 2.15 AP ratio on a full rotation. These quints only work if you can hit with your spells. Remember, power out of place is not power at all. Marks: ~~Hybrid Penetration~~ ~~Magic Penetration~~ While any caster loves MPen marks, especially with the inclusion of Liandry's Torment, Hybrid Penetration marks deserve mention due to the fact that Annie's autoattack is going to be her primary form of harassment in the early game, and that her autoattack is also the third longest range in the game at 625, behind Caitlyn at 650, and level 10+ Tristana at 631-703. ~~Flat Attack Damage~~ As with Hybrid Penetration Marks, Annie's massive autoattack range can take great advantage of these. With Marks, Masteries, and a Long Sword, Annie's attack damage at level 1 is over 80, driving her level 2 kill potential through the roof, while making farming minions significantly easier. Seals: ~~Flat Armor~~ ~~Scaling HP~~ Both are good for survivability. HP helps you survive bursty guys like LeBlanc, while armor should be preferred in any game where you expect to see those fun Black Cleavers. Flat Armor seals also allow you to take more of a beating from minions if you have to chase them behind your own minions to get there. Any game with an AD mid should be using armor seals. Annie's base armor is too low to compete vs most AD mids at level 6. ~~Flat/Scaling Mana Regen~~ If you're a big fan of harassing with your spells, and not particularly fond of Rod of Ages or Athene's Grail, these will make your life easier. Now that Flat Armor runes have had their efficacy reduced from 14 to 9 for a whole set, they're no longer the "OMG MUST HAVE" yellow they once were, making room for more offensive runes. Glyphs: ~~Flat Magic Resist~~ ~~Scaling Magic Resist~~ Since Annie is a bit of a bully with her autos, opting to use her spells to finish the job, you may want an extra 30% magic resist when the enemy mid starts fighting back instead of an extra 5% to your burst damage. ~~Flat Ability Power~~ This is a gamble. Annie has one of the strongest level 2s in the game, and due to her ability to stun someone for two seconds, she's also one of the easiest champs to gank for as well. If you trust your jungler, you can get an easy First Blood with flash/ignite, and a giant burst. ~~Scaling Ability Power~~ This helps Annie do what Annie does best. However, she'll be weak in lane to anybody that can harass her once they get sorcerer shoes. I only get these when mid and top are both AD. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03.00 - Masteries -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Similar to runes, there are plenty of opinions on which masteries should be used on Annie. The only *MUST HAVE!* on her is the Magic Penetration mastery, while everything else is a matter of opinion. 21/9/0 21/7/2 Most Annie players will be using this, unless they're confident in their skills, or they're more of the roaming type. Straight down the AP tree, with Martial Mastery for the +4 AD in Offense. Veteran's Scars from the Defense tree. Optional Fleet of Foot from Utility tree. 21/0/9 My personal favorite, and trades off defense for offense. This build is reliant on your ability to dodge skillshots, and have some map awareness. Straight down the AP tree, with Martial Mastery for the +4 AD in Offense. Fleet of Foot, MP/HP Regen, and either biscuits or Runic Affinity from utility. 12/0/18 9/0/21 The support Annie build. Wanderer synergizes nicely with boots of mobility, whereas the 12/0/18 allows you to get both Martial mastery and Arcane Mastery. Bandit is super useful with Annie's long range. Scavenger is great on any support. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 04.00 - Skills -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- While it's really hard to play Annie incorrectly, her skills just lend themselves nicely to one path in a conventional build. Level 1 - W Level 2 - Q Level 3 - W Level 4 - E/Q Level 5 - W Level 6 - R Level 7 - W Level 8 - Q/E Level 9 - W Level 10- Q Level 11- R Level 12- Q Level 13- Q Level 16- R Level 1 W -Charge this twice in the fountain, then finish your stun as you walk wherever you like. By the time the minions spawn and hit mid, your mana will be back to maximum. In a level 1 fight, a group stun is the best thing you could ask for. Waiting in a bush to counterinvade with this is amazing. Level 2 Q -Q/W is amazing damage at level 2, and if your jungler comes to gank, it's one of the easiest kills to secure. Level 4/8 E -Stealing wraiths, mitigating damage received in trades, and charging your stun back up quickly and for less mana is the reason this spell exists. It doesn't help you burst, and it doesn't help you secure kills at higher levels, so there is very little reason to max this out any level before 18. Alternatively, you can save your first point of E for level 8, as the second early level of Q may help you CS or secure kills. Maxing W first -Higher AP ratio than Q, and higher base damage than Q means you have a stronger burst when it comes time to dive the enemy. Multi-target means it's infinitely more useful in teamfights than Q. Clearing whole caster waves at skill level 5 makes this spell amazingly useful for farming. Maxing Q second -More damage = better burst, and the return on investment from molten shield is laughable. OPTIONAL: Maxing Q first -If you're having a hard time farming with your auto attack. -If you're not confident in your ability to land W. -If you're unable to farm waves with your W, due to low AP or other concerns. Maxing Q will make you weaker in teamfights, and weakens your burst. Alternative skill build for non AP builds. Level 1 - W Level 2 - Q/E Level 3 - Q/E Level 4 - E/Q (No more than one point in E by level 4) Level 5 - Q Level 6 - R Level 7 - Q Level 8 - W Level 9 - Q Level 10- W Level 11- R Level 12- W Level 13- W Level 16- R Level 1 W Just as in conventional skill order, you want a stun at level 1. Maxing Q first When playing AD Annie, you are likely to use your Q to farm, then when your stun is up, harass with *ONLY* your Q, and not the Q/W combo conventional Annie does. When playing support, you will also be conserving your mana by charging your stun with E, stunning with Q, and running back into your bush to charge your stun on E again. Level 4/3/2 E As AD or support, you want to get your stun up, as it's what makes you scary. Support wants level 3 E, as you won't be able to land a lot of Qs on the enemy ADC without tapping out, and your ADC will cry and scream if you charge your stun on his farm. ADC Annie wants level 4 E, if you can handle it, level 3 E, if you're being camped by the enemy jungler, to get the stun up faster. Level 2 Q ASAP is another super-strong auto to help you CS. Alternative skill build for jungling Annie Level 1 - E Level 2 - W Level 3 - Q Level 4 - W Level 5 - W Level 6 - R Level 7 - W Level 8 - Q Level 9 - W Level 10- Q Level 11- R Level 12- Q Level 13- Q Level 16- R Level 1 E Coupled with a machete or cloth armor, this start is ideal for dealing a healthy amount of bonus damage to the red/blue monter. Later on, however, the molten shield falls into the role of every other Annie build out there, as a stun charger, as she gains the power to clear camps in seconds. Maxing W first Jungle Annie is still AP, and as such, maxing W first helps her burst. It just so happens that it's also her best camp clearing skill. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 04.10 - Summoner Spells -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is 100% matter of opinion. Play with what you're good at. FLASH - Flash/Tibbers has always been a thing, and will never be bad. Flash also helps no-escape Annie get away from ganks. IGNITE - Coupled with Flash, it's the most common summoner skillset on Annie. Drop your burst, then ignite for more free damage. GHOST - Uncommon, but much better now that distortion boots have changed. Flash/Ghost with Distortion is used on support Annie at Diamond level. TELEPORT - Have you seen my bear, Tibbers? Again, better now that Distortion boots have gotten their buff. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 05.00 - Items -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this section, I'll list "Core" items (Must have), "Great" items (Items worth getting), "Situational" items, and "Never ever get these items". The items listed will have "Offense", "Defense", or "Support" after them, which will state what type of build would take the item. OFFENSE builds prioritize doing as much damage in one rotation as possible. Example: Red Trinket > DFG > Deathcap > Void Staff > Zhonya/Liandry/Lichbane PROS: Best damage of any build. Stacking a bush and deleting a single unit at 40 minutes, then pushing for the win is what you do best. CONS: If the enemy team has a sizable amount of magic resist, you don't do much damage with one rotation. After one rotation, you're dead. If you don't kill someone with your initiate and die, you just lost the teamfight for everyone. If your bear is on cooldown, you're worthless. DEFENSE builds prioritize staying alive in teamfights, at the cost of DPS. Example: Rod of Ages > Deathcap > Zhonya > Abyssal > DFG/Void/Rod of Ages PROS: If you get targeted, you still have some survivability. After dropping the bear, you can kite and do some sustained damage. CONS: Significantly less likely to kill a caught non-ADC at 40 minutes. Banshee's Veil is still intensely infuriating. Falls off harder than offense Annie. If your team can't win a teamfight with a team stunned by Tibbers, you're not winning the game. SUPPORT builds are designed to overcome Annie's ability to fall off like a boss coupled with a complete lack of farm. Example: Frostfang > DFG > Sightstone > Deathcap/Zhonya/Morellonomicon/Void PROS: In the early game, amazing damage with no AP. Super easy to get an ADC fed with her damage. Instead of three carries to react to your bear, you now have four. Possibly the best initiator in the game, as "Who cares if support dies?", especially after she's done her damage. CONS: Same as Offense AND Defense builds. Requires an active and responsive ADC to work in lane. Requires a team that can win a teamfight even more than Defense builds. Buying a lot of wards, since DFG is more important than sightstone. ~~CORE~~ Deathfire Grasp - OFFENSE, DEFENSE, SUPPORT -What's better on a bursty AP champ than 120 AP, another damaging attack, and magic damage amplification? How about cooldown reduction? Yeah. This item should never ever ever be passed up on. Sorcerer's Shoes - OFFENSE, DEFENSE, SUPPORT -Magic Penetration is all the rage these days. The lower a target's MR is, the more important it is to get through those last few points to get to true damage. Haunting Guise - OFFENSE, SUPPORT -See Sorcerer's Shoes. Rabadon's Deathcap - OFFENSE, DEFENSE -If you only have one bullet, AND YOU WILL, because nothing attracts the hate like a little girl and her teddy bear, you want that bullet to be as ginormous and as scary as humanly possible. Elixir of Brilliance - OFFENSE, DEFENSE -Think of having one of these active during all important fights as your job, just like a support having a sightstone is her job. Adding 130 damage to your burst is amazing, and the CDR will get you to your second incinerate faster. Doran's Ring - OFFENSE, DEFENSE -This item allows you to pass off your second and third blues to your top and jungler, while providing early boost to your burst. I occasionally get two when my jungler is very mana hungry, such as Fiddlesticks or Amumu. ~~GREAT~~ Merc Treads - DEFENSE -Vs LeBlanc, Veigar, or any other champion that's both bursty and CC-flavored, you'll want to consider the option of "Survive the burst, then hit 'em with your own". Boots of Mobility/Alacrity Sorcerer Shoes/Boots of Swiftness - OFFENSE, SUPPORT -Amazing gank capacity. Void Staff - OFFENSE, DEFENSE, SUPPORT -Since percentage MPen and flat MPen stack favorably now (100 MR turns into ~19 now, with guise/boots/mastery/runes/void), Void/Guise/Sorcs are a good choice vs targets stacking magic resist. Zhonya's Hourglass - OFFENSE, DEFENSE, SUPPORT -Great if you're getting focused, or if enemy team is super AD heavy. Abyssal Scepter - DEFENSE, SUPPORT -Great vs bursty mids, like Veigar and LeBlanc. Also, it helps your burst, by further lowering enemy MR. However, it does not stack favorably with Void Staff, so avoid getting these two items together. ~~SITUATIONAL~~ Athene's Unholy Grail - DEFENSE -Basically a bad Abyssal Scepter. Yeah, you can spam without blue, but the doran ring(s) should be doing a good job keeping you afloat. Yeah, it gives MR and AP like Abyssal Scepter, but it doesn't reduce the enemy MR like the scepter does. Annie really likes true damage. Lichbane - OFFENSE -Increased movement speed, and helps your burst. Mejai's Soulstealer - OFFENSE -While I personally never get this item, I can't argue about it's usefulness. If you're dominating your lane, roaming, and collecting kills like those bad Halloween toffees, this will allow you to snowball unbelievably well. Rod of Ages - DEFENSE, SUPPORT -I hate this item with the fiery burning passion of a thousand suns, but again, I can't argue that it's got its place. The sustain offered by Catalyst is better than dorans, and helps you survive LeBlanc's burst as well as an Abyssal would, with the bonus of also surviving a jump from the fed Pantheon or allowing you to duel with most ADCs in the game. Liandry's Torment - OFFENSE -You've got a stun and a single target spell. There's nothing inherently bad about this item, but it shouldn't be rushed. As the damage from this item is 5% of CURRENT health, and after Annie's megaburst, the enemy will not have much health left, this item's contribution is piddly. You'd be paying for the extra AP when your build is full and you don't want to sell the MPen. Morellonomicon - SUPPORT -You get cooldown from blue buff, DFG, and brilliance elixir. You get mana from dorans, blue buff, and not spamming skills to farm. You get ability power in greater amounts for less gold from everywhere. Rylai's Crystal Scepter - DEFENSE -Annie has a stun. If you or your team haven't completed the job in the 1.75 second "lol u can't move" time, odds are, you're not going to get the kill while you're waiting for your spells to cool down so you can slow 'em down again. However, if you're being targeted, it allows you to kite, and offers bonus HP. ~~NEVER EVER GET THESE ITEMS~~ Will of the Ancients/Hextech Revolver -The cooldown on Annie's spells are far too long for these to be useful out of lane phase, and a crystalline flask is infinitely better in lane phase. Archangel's Staff -WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? Annie is not Lux. While she does occasionally go home for mana without blue buff, it certainly doesn't merit the absolutely massive amount of gold that would be going into the paltry amount of AP you get in addition to "more mana than you can ever spend." Guardian Angel -So the game is at 60 minutes, you have a full build, and everyone's got a GA, right? So you sell your Void staff, Liandry's Torment, or Lichbane to get one, only to realize that you HURT YOUR DAMAGE in exchange for two seconds of invulnerability while you respawn and your spells cool down. What else gives two seconds of invulnerability but doesn't hurt your damage? Here's a hint. It's Zhonya's Hourglass. Seriously. Leave the GA to your bruisers and your AD Carry. Your job is to hit as many people as you can with your stun, unload your spells, and hope the team does their job. -- The following build orders are recent. OFFENSE - Red Trinket, Long Sword, 3 potion Boots Seeker's Armguard -DFG Sorc Boots -Deathcap -Alacrity upgrade (You can get alacs sooner, too, for more roaming fun) -Zhonya's Hourglass -Void Staff ~~Use vs Zed/Pantheon and bursty AD Assassin mids. Red Trinket, Long Sword, 3 potion Boots -DFG Sorc Boots -Deathcap -Alacrity upgrade (You can get alacs sooner, too, for more roaming fun) -Void Staff -Zhonya's Hourglass = Lichbane ~~My 99% build. If you're winning your lane and want to roam, or if you're against a long range bully like Lux or Orianna, this lets you position yourself where you want, uninhibited by her short range spells. Red Trinket, Long Sword, 3 potion Boots Sheen -Hextech Gunblade -DFG -Deathcap -Void Staff -Lichbane -Alac Sorcs whenever you can ~~Awesome for any lane you can bully with your autoattack. DFG/Gunblade have amazing synergy, and helps you sustain in top lane after you stun the Jax that just jumped on you. DEFENSE Green Trinket, Doran Ring, Potions Boots Second Doran Ring optional -DFG -Zhonya's Hourglass -Void Staff -Rylai's Crystal Scepter ~~Used by Challenger tier's Annie Bot Green Trinket, Boots, Potions -Rod of Ages -DFG -Deathcap -Void Staff -Guise > Liandry's Torment -Upgrade to sorc shoes when possible SUPPORT Green/Red Trinket, Spellthief, Potions/Wards -Frostfang Boots -DFG -Void Staff (Later if enemy MR is low) -Sightstone -Zhonya's Hourglass ~~Used by Diamond I's Abusive Panleel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 05.10 - Unconventional Builds -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~*~AD Annie~*~ As an ADC, Annie is simply the best lane bully in the game. She's got almost as much attack range as Caitlyn, her own stun for a blitz/leona/thresh followup, and even with no AP, a very strong burst vs the squishy ADCs that don't rush abyssal scepters like certain mids would vs Annie. Additionally, with the buff to Tibbers' health, he can tank towers much longer, allowing Annie to get more hits in. Since AD Annie is good at killing towers regardless, having her bear eat several hits just makes it better. Read: Backdoor like Master Yi. The obvious drawbacks are that her abilities don't scale with her attack damage, and that her attack speed is the slowest in the game. Recognize that these do not make her "A bad ADC", but rather, "Weaknesses", just as Vayne's weakness is her inferior attack range, and Miss Fortune's is a lack of escapes. ADC Annie works best in the bot lane vs champs she can harass for free with her autoattack. Charge stun on creeps, Q+Auto the ADC, repeat until you get a kill. Avoid picking ADC Annie into Caitlyn, Ezreal, and Corki. Caitlyn will hit you back when you hit her, and Ez/Corki have jumps that prevent kills, as well as indirect long range attacks they can use to hit you back if they're good. AD Annie works best in the mid lane vs low range champs. Kassadin, Morgana, and Katarina all have to eat damage every time they come to farm. AD Annie works *better than AP Annie* in the mid lane vs champs with long range skills that typically counter conventional Annie. Gragas, Orianna, Brand, Lux, and Nidalee will have to spend mana to harass you at the range you harass them. Since they all rely on skillshots to hit you, while all you have to do is click them, you can use clever positioning and a 9/0/21+MS quint build to get free pokes all day. Recommended items: Berserker Greaves - CORE - Alacrity -Rush this. She needs the attack speed. Alacrity can wait as long as you want, but don't be afraid to get it early if you need it to roam or escape. Infinity Edge - CORE -Better than bloodthirster by a longshot. Since you attack slow, you want your pokes to be as potent as possible. Zephyr/Statikk Shiv/Phantom Dancer - CORE -You only need to rush one attack speed/move speed increasing item. Annie's short range on spells are helped by the MS boost, and her low base AS is helped by the other part of the item. You *CAN* get two of these in a row after you finish your Infinity Edge, but after a second, you must get another damage item before a third AS/MS item or your DPS will suffer. ~~Zephyr is the best for escape/chasing, due to tenacity and large MS boost. ~~Shiv is the best for poking (pre-teamfights at tower etc.) due to her range. ~~Phantom Dancer is the best in a brawl, due to the crit chance and attack speed stacking favorably with the infinity edge Bloodthirster/Last Whisper/Black Cleaver - GOOD -As soon as you have IE and one or two AS/MS items, you're as effective as any other ADC in a teamfight as far as autoattacks are concerned, but with a kit that says "I stun the whole enemy team" instead of "I steal a kill with ace in the hole". These items will see to it that you're still applying a fair amount of damage while you're there. ~~Bloodthirster is your highest damage per shot, and good sustain if you plan on leaving the fight, farming some jungle creeps, and coming back. ~~Last Whisper is what you get vs a team that has even one person stacking armor. The last thing you want is to throw fifteen fireballs into combat and not kill anything. ~~Black Cleaver is just amazing. Cooldown reduction helps you get your stun back faster in a teamfight, as well as imitating Last Whisper's job. ************** When this guide was created, "Support Annie" was not nearly as popular as it is now. For purposes of amusement hipster-ness, this section will be left here. The items and build are outdated, however. Check the Items section for a more up-to-date support Annie recommendation. ************** ~*~Support Annie~*~ Simply amazing. She plays almost exactly like Taric without the heal, a bigger burst, and a persistent long range harass, or Leona without that whole "COMMIT NOW OR DIE!" mentality. Play her like you'd play any other support. Stun the ADC when you can, ward when you need to, and hope your ADC knows how to react. Annie has no escapes after she uses her stun, so if you bomb Vayne and your ADC is afk farming, the last place you want to be is walking INTO her. *DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF YOUR BURST*. Even with no AP, a full rotation of skills is enough to cripple any enemy ADC. If the enemy ADC rushes a vampiric scepter, it is a dream come true for Annie, as burst is the natural enemy of long term sustain. You can drop a Q/W/Auto on an enemy ADC, while your ADC follows up. Even if you don't get a kill, they will be low enough that you can keep threatening them with your stun, keeping them from coming out to leech that life back. Recommended items: Swiftness/Sorcerer/Mobility boots - CORE -Many ADCs have a longer auto range, or a natural escape that can prevent them from meeting your bear, Tibbers. Mobas are awesome, but swifties are better if they have Lulu, Karma, or other long range harass/slows to threaten your ability to chase with. Philosopher's Stone - CORE -It just costs too much mana, even with spamming E to charge stun, to stay in lane without this thing. It builds into Shurelya later, which everyone, including Annie, really likes. Sightstone - CORE -Supports that don't get this item probably need to be shot. Runic Bulwark - GREAT -Though you might not be able to build one every game, you want to get one every time the situation permits, as it confers thousands of gold worth of defense to your team. If your jungler wants one for himself, or if the enemy team has no scary AP, you will probably be skipping this item. Banner of Command - GREAT -Annie likes the AP, the CDR, and the armor, in addition to the promotion shenanigans you can pull bot while dancing around at baron top. It also helps sustain in pre-teamfights at tower when poking is going on, as the HP regen effect on this item, VALOR, stacks with the HP regen effect on Aegis/Bulwark, LEGION. Shurelya's Reverie - GOOD -Team chase, team escape, and bear initiate all work well with this item. DFG/Deathcap - GOOD -If your team is helped by your magic damage going up more than they would a runic bulwark, you'll be able to kill squishies while stunning and initiating. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 06.00 - Matchups -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quite simply, what to expect when you're in the lane. ~~HARD MATCHUPS~~ *ANNIE* Go home. You're drunk. *GALIO* I'm sorry. You just can' win vs this guy if he knows what he's doing. In addition to being hyper tanky, he pushes the lane harder than you do, preventing you from roaming. This is a matchup I'd get merc treads for, to mitigate his ultimate's efficacy. *LUX* Hard hard hard. Dodge her skillshots and farm. Her double shield first mitigates your burst, then mitigates your ignite. I go 9/0/21 mastery and MS quints to dodge the skillshots and get the stun off, then get jungler help for the gank. *ORIANNA* See Lux. *CHO'GATH* He's a tank, and he just has too darn much sustain. Poke him with your auto as much as you can, but don't miss CS for it. Try to avoid wasting mana cooking him, as he can get it back fast. *GRAGAS* He outranges you by a not-small amount, and his ultimate is truly scary. Fortunately, he's modestly squishy, so if you can bully him by standing away from creeps, and forcing him to choose where to throw his barrels, you should be fine, and may score a kill. Post 6, however, a good Gragas ult is your doom. Even flash won't save you from a well placed gragas ult into Maokai stun. *BRAND* This guy outranges you, but he's all skillshots. If you can dodge his attacks, you can go straight for the stun. I get MS Quints and 21/0/9 vs this guy. *DIANA* Shields, especially double shields, are a bursty AP's worst nightmare. Punch her with your auto every chance you can get, as she needs to be in melee range to farm for the first half of the game. Fortunately, most Dianas tend to only have one point in shield until level 8, leaving you that window to score some kills. If you can dodge her Q, she won't be able to kill you. If you can't, however, expect her to R you every time you get hit. *FIZZ* This depends entirely on the Fizz. A great Fizz is horrible to face in lane, as he can blow your stun with his trollpole, then win a trade while your ability is on cooldown. Annie's best bet is to use her W to stun, as it has instant travel time. ~~SKILL (MEDIUM) MATCHUPS~~ *AKALI* Pink wards. After some bullying, she's going to use her shroud to farm. Vision ward that and she'll be underfarmed until she hits 6. The difference you make in CS will more than pay for the pink wards you buy. After she hits 6, have your stun up and shield ready forever and always. *ANIVIA* Pre-6, dodge blue balls and poke. 21/0/9 and MS quints. You should be able to egg her easily enough, but don't waste a flash to do it, as it's rare you'll be able to kill her egg if you used your burst to get her that way. *CASSIOPEIA* Cass has range, but Annie wins trades. Stand away from creeps, commit if she Qs the creeps and if you can get there before it cools down. At 6, whoever stuns first wins. This is one of the rare times I'd suggest using Tibbers to stun. *EVELYNN* You're going to squish her in lane. She's melee, you push better, you farm under turret better, and you win trades. Her strength is that she'll eventually say "Screw this" and go roam, and there's nothing you can do to stop her. When she leaves lane, push with W and roam. 9/0/21, MS quints, and Mobility/Alacrity boots are nice here. *EZREAL* He outranges you and has a flash on a short cooldown. If you can dodge his quick moving skillshots and NOT miss your bear, you should be fine. Move speed is of paramount importance in this matchup. *KHA'ZIX* Very similar to Pantheon, except he's got a better escape and no stun. Keep your stun ready to disengage if he decides to jump you. He does additional damage with his Q (melee range slash) if you're not near allied units, so unless you're confident you can stun him mid-jump, you'll want to be reasonably close to your creeps. His W is an AoE, so you'll want to not be right on top of your minions. *LEBLANC* Buy Mercs, and trade trade trade. If she Qs you, Q/W her. If she silences you, CHASE HER. Silence doesn't last that long, and you hit harder than she does. LeBlanc hates it when you rush Abyssal. *LEE SIN* This can either go incredibly well or incredibly poorly, and it's almost entirely based on whether or not his Qs hit you. Fortunately, any amount of skill in positioning creeps between yourself and him should make that a non-issue. Because he's so mobile, and packs a shield, you'll want to hang the idea of killing Lee in lane without jungler assistance. As with all melee champs, use your mega long range auto and bully him. *MALZAHAR* You can't stop him from farming. Just do what you can to keep his Malefic Visions off your being. Sadly, merc treads do nothing for suppress. Cleanse or QSS are worthy buys in this lane, unless you're a fan of "First person to get their ultcombo off wins". *MASTER YI* Don't be near creeps when there's only 3. Getting hit by free Alpha Strikes is a surefire way to lose this lane. Harass with Auto, bluff stuns when you can, and *do not* let him meditate. If he meditates and you see him. Stun him. Put that megaheal on cooldown. Force him to go way behind tower, or go home to get his HP back. If he meditates, decide whether or not you can kill him before starting to harass again. The massive cooldown on the skill allows you plenty of time to harass him and get him in "HAVE YOU SEEN MY BEAR TIBBERS?" range. If you can't kill him, just keep farming, and save your stun to stay alive. Always initiate stuns with W. A well timed Q from Yi can blow your stun, while it's harder to anticipate an incinerate. If you miss your stun and he Qs at you, you die. *MORDEKAISER* The lane plays simply enough. Stand away from creeps, force him to choose between harassing and CSing. The problem is when he chooses to harass. Annie hates shields, and Annie hates Mordekaiser's ultimate+Hextech Revolver combo just as much. Fortunately, most of the time, Mordekaisers that harass are also low on damage, and mordekaisers that farm are easily harassed and more easily ganked. *MORGANA* Her black shield doesn't block your auto, nor does it stop the instant travel speed of your incinerate. It shouldn't be hard to stun Morgana at all, as you can try and bait the shield. If she uses it, it's got a long cooldown, if she doesn't, press W and click. No amount of reaction time stops that. Also it should be easy to dodge her slow moving Qs. If you can't dodge her Qs, merc treads are a must. She pushes significantly harder than you (at level 5, with black soil level 3), so you'll have a hard time keeping her in lane, and an even harder time roaming, unless you say "Screw CS". *PANTHEON* Only trade when your stun is up. Use your 625 range auto to farm. He hits harder than you do, so press E when he comes walkin' at you, stun him with Q/W, and walk away. *RYZE* You win trades, but only if your stun is up. He's going to E you and unload, and his Q cools down faster than yours. The difference is that you can still attack while snared, whereas he can't do anything but eat fire while stunned. Q/W/Auto get out. You should win trades if you do this over and over again. Unfortunately, you only have to screw up once and you could end up dead, giving him the lane. *SION* If he turns on his shield to farm, ignore him until he pops the shield, then beat him up. If he turns on his shield and starts running at you, stun him and walk away. If you can break his shield, just stun him and keep throwing fire at him. He likes that. This is a double doran ring lane. *SWAIN* 9/0/21, MS Quints, and mercs. Avoid his snares, stun and burst. This guy has no escapes, making him a jungler's dream for ganks when a rocket-shoes-wearing Annie is ready at a moment's notice to stun. Once he gets some survivability, though, just ditch the lane and roam. Swain with a merc/chalice is even worse to fight than Galio. *TALON* Plays like vs Mordekaiser. Stand away from creeps, harass when he throws his knives. I would get RoA/Zhonya for this lane. *WUKONG* Very similar to Akali, but a physical version. Drop a pink ward and he'll have a much harder time farming than Akali, since he's got no ability to farm from range. Although it's unlikely you will be killing him in lane, MS quints are recommended to mitigate the effectiveness of his gapcloser. ~~EASY MATCHUPS~~ *AHRI* 9/0/21, MS quints, sorc shoes. It's hard to land skillshots on a target moving at 413 MS. She misses one spell, you go for the trade and win it. *KARTHUS* Squishy guy whose only escape stops EITHER Annie OR the jungler? Get to 6, Flash Tibbers. If he manages to do damage late, get a Zhonya. *KATARINA* 9/0/21, MS quints Stand away from creeps, harass with auto. If she uses her Q and is in range, use your mana to stun and get some big damage in. It hurts your mana, but the longer you keep her off hextech, the better life will be. Post 6, save stun for ult. *KENNEN* Wait until he uses his auto passive on a minion, then harass. If he presses E and runs TOWARDS you, he's food. Stun and possibly kill. *ZYRA* See Ahri. You get gold and doranprocs off her plants. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 07.00 - How to Play -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~~EARLY GAME~~ You always want to start W, and charge it twice in the fountain, then twice more on your way to lane. You will have full mana by the time minions come if nothing happens. However, if something does happen, you have a group stun ready to go. Your jungler will be all set to appear for a level 2 gank if your stun is already up when he clears blue/red. Early game farming should be done almost exclusively with your auto attack, leaving your stun up to threaten your opponent at all times. Drop your stun to get some early damage on them if you want, and Q some minions to get the stun back. Only do this if you're unsure what your damage is going to do when you do decide to commit, or if you're sure they can't shrug the damage off (no potions, no sustain). Ganking for Annie is easy, but nobody wants to sit in a brush and wait 30 seconds while you charge up a stun. Have it ready to go so your jungler can try for it ASAP, and get right back to what he was doing if it fails. If you blow your stun, use your shield right after to get a charge back. Also, if you feel like you have to use your Q to farm at some point (two minions at once) try leaving your stun at 3, shield first, then Q. If the enemy can't see your white hula hoops, they won't know when you're ready to stun. Annie is useless without damage. If you can't kill your own lane, shove and roam. Most ADCs can't take Tibbers' manly physique. ~~MID GAME~~ Annie's at her best when her burst still matters more than just stunning. Get your group together as soon as you can (level 11, first tower down, preparing for a fight at dragon, what have you), as any excuse to 5v5 while Annie's burst still does 40% of a team's life total is a good one. If the enemy refuses to group up and 5v5 you, roam, gank, take towers, take dragons, and ward the crap out of the enemy jungle. ~~LATE GAME~~ And now Annie's in trouble. Your damage is too low and cooldowns are too high to matter vs anybody except the carries that, if everyone's playing well, won't be Tibbers'd. At this point, you've got a few options that basically boil down to the same thing. INITIATE! -Drop a Tibbers in a good spot (Enemy ADC, three people, separated member, start a 4v5), as nothing is quite as much a *GO!* button as an ult and a stun. PEEL! -While you can't stop an Olaf or Yorick from killing your Ezreal before you kill the Olaf or Yorick, you can certainly send a strong signal to your carry by dropping everything you got on the bruiser trying to zone them out of the fight. SHACO! -You're relatively insignificant outside of stunning at the start of a teamfight, but at the END of one, you're a red-headed angel of death! After your first rotation, get your stun back up, escape the teamfight, and leave Tibbers to fight. Hide in a bush, or make your way around to target the squishy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 99.00 - Credits -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- duffman316 for yi c'est #1 Guide exclusively produced for Gamefaqs.com