Tips on how to use Janus

I've been using mages for a long time and had little trouble with them, but now that I'm at Janus I can't even kill with him, or in rare occasions. And worst of all I tend to die a lot if I get a bit closer to the action.

My build is in order of purchase

Shoes of Focus
Book of Thoth
Rod of Tahuti
Chronos Pendant
Soul Reaver
Ethereal Staff

Any tips on how to use him will be appreciated

First: Rod of Tahuti comes way too early in your build; it won't scale well in early game. Go for Chronos' Pendant before, you need the cooldown. Maybe Warlock's Sash instead of Book of Thoth. Also, you need penetration. With Janus I prefer Obsidian Shard to Spear of the Magus. Gem of Isolation is also really good on him.
Regarding starters, Vampiric Shroud, always.

Anyway, regarding tips. Use your threshold and portal as chase/rotation/evade options, your ultimate as well, for you or even for your teammates. Your main damage ability should be the Unstable Vortex. Good combo on your enemy is the portal followed by the Unstable Vortex (as you know where he will land), but keep in mind to ALWAYS keep evade options opened. Janus is the most tricky mage to kill because of all the mobility in his kit. Use that to your advantage!

like vithaliy said your build misses pen and tahuti is way to early which is hurting your DPS.

the recommended style for most mages is
1.boots
2.stacking item or lifesteal (with stacking being more common)
3.CDR
4.Pen or lifesteal (if you haven't gone stacking and aren't planning on soulreaver
5.pen or tahuti (depends on point 4 always get pen before tahuti boosts you dps better)
6.tahuti or soul reaver (depending on stacking and lifesteal choices)

Also getting Ethereal Staff isn't worth it as most mages (except Zhong Kui) aren't really tanky.

Also you should consider getting a warlock sash instead of book of toth as it boosts your survivability

So based on what you guys told me my new build is

Shoes of Focus
Ethereal Staff (I really need that hp)
Warlocks Sash
Obsidian Shard
Rod of Tahuti
Soul Reaver

IMO, you should have the enough HP with Warlock's Sash. If it's not, you're probably doing something wrong : either getting too close in fights or pushing too hard/too early (that's a common mistake).

So should i swap ethereal staff for which item?

Spear of the Magus

wait so I run obsidian + Spear?

No. It gives you more pen but inefficient penetration. Choose one or the other. I'd recommend Obsidian Shard.

My suggested Janus build for you is:
Shoes of Focus
warlock's sash
Chronos' Pendant
Obsidian Shard
Rod of Tahuti
Ethereal Staff

I think warlock's sash is enough HP but if you really want it, get Ethereal Staff last. I personally go Book of Thoth second item and Soul Reaver last item because you're building max CDR you don't need that extra HP. Your Portal makes you as slippery as an eel.

This build will let you smash the enemy team.


Shoes of Focus
Book of Thoth
Chronos' Pendant
Obsidian Shard
Rod of Tahuti
Soul Reaver