Champion Guide

Ornn Guide

By LoLSuggest

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Ornn is a late-game tank top laner and one of the best teamfight engagers in the game. Living Forge lets him buy items anywhere on the map and, later, upgrade his teammates' items. Volcanic Rupture slows in a line and raises a pillar, Bellows Breath deals percentage health damage while he walks forward and makes the target Brittle, Searing Charge dashes forward and knocks up enemies near walls or pillars it hits, and Call of the Forge God summons a ram that he can headbutt into the enemy team for a huge knock-up. Hitting a Brittle target with crowd control or an attack deals extra damage and lengthens the disable.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Ornn build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

Start Doran's Shield and a Health Potion, or Doran's Helm against laners with little poke. Your first item depends on the lane: Unending Despair is the standard, Randuin's Omen is better against ranged champions, Frozen Heart against basic-attack champions, Kaenic Rookern against AP laners, and Force of Nature against damage-over-time laners. After that maximize effective health with Randuin's Omen, Frozen Heart, Protoplasm Harness, Kaenic Rookern and Jak'Sho, The Protean; Heartsteel is only for easy tank lanes such as Malphite or Sion. Do not build Sunfire Aegis or Hollow Radiance, as Unending Despair, Kaenic Rookern and Force of Nature outvalue them. Buy Plated Steelcaps if at least one enemy deals damage through attacks, otherwise Ionian Boots of Lucidity, with Boots of Swiftness against heavy slows; Mercury's Treads are rarely worth it. Run Grasp of the Undying with Font of Life, Second Wind and Overgrowth, plus Manaflow Band and Transcendence; against ranged laners take Unsealed Spellbook with Magical Footwear, Biscuit Delivery and Cosmic Insight. Take Flash with Ignite, or Teleport for safer lanes. Max W, then E, then Q.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

A strong laner for a tank thanks to Bellows Breath damage and forging items without recalling.
Call of the Forge God is a huge, long-range engage that also works for ganks and disengage.
Upgrades his allies' items, making the whole team stronger late.

Weaknesses

Mana-hungry early without Manaflow Band or a Sapphire Crystal.
Searing Charge is his only mobility, so a wasted dash can get him killed.
Can be kited easily and is not a good split pusher.

Laning Phase

Play the early game solidly to transition into a mid game where you impact the map with your ultimate. Focus on farming and short, safe trades, and do not spam Volcanic Rupture or you will run out of mana; save it for combos and for melee minions. Keep the wave on your side, near the walls by your tower where Searing Charge knock-ups are easy. Ornn is a strong laner for a tank: whenever Bellows Breath is up and the enemy wastes a cooldown, trade and escape with Searing Charge. At level 3 your main combo is Volcanic Rupture into Searing Charge into the pillar, then Bellows Breath and an attack on the Brittle target. Spend your gold as soon as you can by forging components between waves.

Mid & Late Game

Without your ultimate and with no objective coming, stay in a side lane to gain experience for your item upgrades. With it, check the map for plays: roam mid or bot and cast Call of the Forge God from out of vision, which most enemies do not expect. Save your ultimate for big fights around dragon and Rift Herald, group with your team and start fights from a safe distance so the enemy cannot interrupt the recast. Throw Volcanic Rupture into choke points before the fight so enemies must risk a knock-up. At level 6, land the triple Brittle combo: Volcanic Rupture, Call of the Forge God, Searing Charge into the pillar, Bellows Breath, then recast the ultimate for a huge burst.

Key Tips

Upgrade the item in an ally's first inventory slot; prioritize the teammate who is strongest at that moment.
Cast Searing Charge just before the pillar disappears to extend it and bait enemies.
Use Bellows Breath in reaction to hard crowd control such as Mordekaiser's ultimate or Lillia's sleep.
Searing Charge can knock up enemies on the other side of thin walls.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.